Follow-up (June 2013)

A follow-up:

We have tried repeatedly over the past 4 years to report this side-effect to VAERS, Merck, and the CDC. To date, nobody has taken our report.


Their reporting mechanisms are deeply, deeply flawed. Though this experience, we first learned how unsafe these vaccines can be. But since then, we have learned that nobody wants to hear about problems with vaccines ... and that many, many of the vaccine side-effects never get reported.

I learned that Merck lied to me initially (when I spoke to them on the phone) about having no reporting mechanism. They are required by law to take the report or to direct me to VAERS. Their defense was, I was talking to the wrong department (as if that's a valid excuse).

I've tried several times to fill out the online VAERS report. The first time, after over an hour filling out the multiple fields, I hit submit and an error message told me they were having site problems and to try again later. Jeez ... I wish you could have told me that BEFORE I wasted an hour.

I tried calling several times, and either got busy signals or put on hold indefinitely. I have kids, and can't sit on hold for over an hour, with no evidence that a human being would actually answer.

Merck has no online form to report problems that I can find. I tried to submit my experience with the CDC, but they needed the lot number from the vaccine to file a report, which I didn't have.

Are you getting the picture here? ...nobody wants to hear about problems with vaccines. They only want success stories. Can you imagine an uneducated person or busy single mom trying to cut through all this red tape?


I called the original doctor for the lot number for the vaccine - the original doctor was not there, and the staff did not know how to look up the lot number for the vaccine.


I tried VAERS online about 10 times (spending about an hour each time), and it errors out when I hit submit. My husband & I are very computer savvy ...this was not user error. This is either a poorly developed site, or it's intentionally rejecting submissions.


I called Merck (the correct department) again, and they told me to fill out VAERS online. I told them I had problems doing that, and could I submit a separate report with them. They transferred me, which hung up on me. Apparently, that department is only open from 9am to 9:05am on the 3rd Thursday of the month *if* it's a full moon.


So 4+ years later, we still have not been able to tell our story to any official reporting agency. I did however report it on RateADrug.com and also filled out a form on VacLib.org (a terrific yet overwhelming source of vaccine information).

Did You Know Vaccines Can Give You Lupus? Neither did I...Until It Happened to Me

During my pregnancy I noticed a lot of joint pain. I just thought it was pregnancy related.

Did you know, during pregnancy, your body slowly releases hormones to make you more flexible? Then, during labor, you get a gush of additional hormones (if you take pitocin, it actually slows down these hormones, making you less flexible, causing you more pain, and increasing your chances of tearing.

Anyway when the baby arrived, the joint pain just got worse and worse. I was spraining my ankles for no reason. My fingers were swollen. I seemed to injure myself doing silly things, like opening a jar of pickles.

And other things were happening. I had constant brain fog. I had psoriasis flare up *all* over my body (I had huge psoriasis scabs all over my body, including my face, & sensitive areas like my breasts). Trust me, even though this looks horrible, it was the least of my problems, and nothing at all compared to the joint pain.

My body couldn't regulate temperature any more (I couldn't tell if I was freezing or burning up. I would go outside in the snow, I would bundle up in down comforters in 90 degree weather). And my sweat glands went nuts - I was sweating all the time, and smelled bad. I mean, taking 2-3 showers a day, and still smelled homeless. I'm not exaggerating at all.

I went to several doctors, who prescribed me skin care for the psoriasis, and had no other suggestions. I finally went to a chiropractor, who said, there is something really wrong here. Do you have a family history of connective joint disorders? No... Well, he said, I'm referring you to a clinic for some X-rays.

So the X-rays come back ... I have rheumatoid arthritis in all my joints. I have 20+ sprains throughout my body. My toes have started to mutate (as I write, my toes do not function at all, they do not bend, I can no longer run, bike, ski, or any of the things I used to do). And my hand strength (measured with a device) went from 80 pounds to 2 pounds. I can no longer open a jar of pickles, or even pop open a soda can.

So what the heck is going on here? I went to a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with rheumatoid arthritis...even though I have no family history, and he can't explain the other symptoms.

I then went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis...even though I have no family history, and he can't explain the other symptoms.

Then I went to a bone and joint specialist, who diagnosed me with connective tissue disorder...even though I have no family history, and he can't explain the other symptoms.

I won't bore you with the other doctors I visited, but finally went out of state to immunology specialists at a university hospital. It was definitely drug-induced Lupus.

So I was surprised to learn, they created a new category of disease to cover all of these other diseases. It's called ASIA (autoimmune inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants). Adjuvants are things like mercury and aluminum, used as preservatives in most vaccines:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20708902

I was also surprised to learn that the most common demographic to get rheumatoid arthritis is no longer seniors ... it's teenage girls. They are pushing the Gardasil vaccine in middle schools, and these girls are having reactions at alarming rates.

Every arthritis doctor I went to, I was there with a dozen teenage girls (very few elderly people). Here's a Youtube of a parent, showing what the Gardasil shot did to her previously healthy teenage daughter (and, yup, this is what I was like after the symptoms started surfacing, there were days I couldn't walk, stand, or evey bend my knees or fingers):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5GquxhjDRY

So after tests and more tests, it turns I had a severe reaction to the Gardasil shot (among other things, it contains aluminum, which I'm allergic to). I had my aluminum levels tested, and I was off the charts. I had 300% higher than acceptable levels of aluminum.

At this point, it was too late for traditional chelation, so we tried 6 months of natural and dietary chelation, which actually helped quite a bit. But the damage is already done to my joints and toes. I will never walk normally again.

I take dozens of pills every day, go to physical therapy 3-5 times per week, none of which is covered by our stupid healthcare plan (it's considered experimental, out of network, or alternative). So I don't have time to work, and picked up another $25,000 per year in medical expenses.

I don't have the hand strength to shift a car into drive, so we had to buy a handicap-accessible minivan, with automatic doors and push button shifters (add another $15,000 in illness-related expenses). Fortunately my husband is good with money, but after working 10-12 hour days, he comes home and basically takes care of me AND our two kids. Oh yeah, and my parents won't talk to me (they are very pro-vaccine, and somehow, my illness offends them on a political level). So we have no help from family, not even birthday or Christmas cards for my children.

(btw, my doctors gave me a handicap sticker, and would you believe, a cop harassed me the other day because I didn't "look" handicapped!! I was carrying my 2 yr old child into the store, and remember, I have no functioning toes! Not to mention the joint pain and no hand strength)

Then I find out this shot actually has no hope of preventing HPV (the only reason I got the damned thing). Quote: "HPV vaccines have not been demonstrated to prevent any cervical cancers so why are they being promoted as cervical cancer vaccines?":

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565961/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482043/

I could go on and on, but my point is not to complain about how rough things are, or how this shot has ruined our lives. Rather, I just want to warn people. I beg you not give this to your teenage daughter. I don't have a political or financial agenda, I'm not selling a book or vitamins or anything like that. I'm sad for myself and my loss of livelihood, but it just breaks my heart ten-fold to see these young girls at the doctor's office with arthritis and the same symptoms I have. If any school nurse tried to give this to my daughter, I would go ballistic!!! They haven't visited the waiting rooms, or seen the fallout from these unsafe, unproven medications.

And by the way, there is currently a blackout on all reporting of problems with Gardasil. They don't want to hear it. Try it yourself - call Merck to say you are reporting a Gardasil side effect, and you will get transferred 2 or 3 times before they just hang up on you. Anyone that says these things are tested and safe don't know what they're talking about - there was only one initial trial (which injured 77% of recipients, according to the FDA), but it had preapproval and they are not collecting any more reports of adverse effects.

The HPV Vaccine Gardasil Almost Killed Me

First, I am not a medical doctor, nor do I have an opinion on the national debate about Gardasil (the HPV Vaccine). I understand there is a heated national debate about the effectiveness, dangers, problems with some of the studies done ... and I am not qualified to comment on these things.

I did, however, get the vaccine last winter, and it almost killed me and my baby - the Gardasil caused a birth defect that put my life (and my baby's life) in jeopardy. When I say "almost" killed me ... I had only a 1 in 3 chance of surviving; my baby had a 1 in 10,000 chance of surviving.

So I am not here to tell you the drug is safe or not. I am not telling you to get the vaccine or not. I am just giving you my story so you can have a FULLY informed decision ... knowing that I would NEVER have had the vaccine if I had known the risks, and I'm lucky I'm alive today.

I am 25. There was a grant for young women to get the free Gardasil vaccine, so my doctor recommended it. I was on birth control at the time (Micronor) - my husband and I were planning on having kids, but we were planning to wait a few years.

I am normally against vaccines, but my husband's ex-wife was raped by a youth minister related to the IHOP movement, who gave her HPV, and obviously my husband was exposed. (*It broke up their marriage, and caused her to spiral into depression. The minister has had several other similar allegations, but is still working for the church as far as I know).

Anyway, the Gardasil apparently nullified my birth control, and we got pregnant! I was warned about getting pregnant while having the vaccine ... but nobody told me it would nullify our birth control. Micronor has a 99.99% effective rate, so the vaccine is definitely credited for my pregnancy.

Please take note of this: If you get the Gardasil vaccine, it may nullify your birth control!

On with the story: we're both health food nuts - we exercise, take lots of vitamins, see an herbalist and a naturopath, eat organic raw vegetables.

So Gardasil at the time was a series of 3 shots (now it's 2). The first shot nullified the birth control, after the second shot I started experiencing health problems I had never had before (such as arthritis), and when I went to the doctor to check out these problems, that's when we found out we were pregnant ... with TRIPLETS! 

At that point they should have stopped giving me the Gardasil - the insert clearly says do NOT give to pregnant women. I had to look up after the fact, it was not part of any of the drug disclosures I received at the doctors office.

But they gave me the third shot anyway, and that night I was on the floor in pain, and hemorrhaging. We didn't want to go to the emergency room because our insurance at the time had a $5,000 deductible, so we called the Planned Parenthood where I got the vaccine, and they could not have been more callous - they just didn't care, basically hung up on me. My husband was frantically calling different nurses hotlines while I was in the bathroom hemorrhaging blood. After a couple hours the bleeding stopped, and I don't want to be too graphic, but the Gardasil insert warned that getting the shot could result in spontaneous abortion, and that's exactly what had happened. I was sure I lost all the babies.

After dozens of phone calls into the night, my husband found a midwife that we could see the next day. We had an ultrasound ... and there was one baby still in there! Frankly this was a miracle.

The rest of the pregnancy seemed quite normal, but one night, with three weeks to go, I started getting contractions. I knew something was off. 

I had just had a prenatal appointment the previous day, and so I knew we had 3 more weeks to go. But she wanted to come out. The delivery went fine (my husband delivered, with the assistance of midwives), and she came out and despite being early was healthy and beautiful.

After handing me the newborn, my husband noticed a problem - the umbilical cord was not in tact! There was 6" missing from the cord.

Basically, the little arteries and veins were the only thing connecting the placenta to the baby. The Wharton's jelly around the umbilical cord was missing. After the fact the midwife showed us the literature - a child's chance of survival with a defective umbilical cord were 1 in 10,000, but she had made it! 

I, however, was not in the clear - because the Wharton's jelly was missing, after delivery my cervix closed before I could deliver the placenta! With the placenta stuck inside me, I hemorrhaged (again) and could have bled to death. My chances of survival were 1 in 3. It was an extremely serious and intense situation - my husband grabbed the baby and got out of the way, the midwives called 911 and put them on speakerphone, they were sending both an ambulance and a medevac, they didn't know which hospital could get me in right away, I had only minutes before hemorrhaging to death. 

My quick thinking midwife saved my life - she reached, and with her fingers, pried open my cervix, with one hand, had me push while she pulled with the other, and we got the placenta out.

I signed a release form for the placenta, because they are doing a medical study on it. It was very rare. She should have been miscarried. The doctors credit my commitment to exercise and health foods, otherwise she would have died in the womb, or during delivery.

Obviously we're both lucky to be alive, despite this vaccine. But here's something even more troubling - I asked the doctor if they had heard this before, and he said yes there are reports of problems, but no studies. I asked how to report this - he didn't know.

So I contacted Merk, the manufacturer. They said they don't have any other reports like this, and yet they have no reporting or feedback system either. So how can consumers know there are problems if there is no system in place to report problems?

I called the clinic where I had the vaccine - they didn't know how to report problems with the vaccine. I called the State, and I contacted the FDA - nobody wants to hear about problems with this vaccine.

I've read hundreds of stories online (discussion boards, blogs, etc) about similar problems with this vaccine. And yet, Merk reported that millions of young women have had this vaccine since 2006, and they report ZERO birth defects or significant side effects. Excuse me?

If nobody is following up on the vaccines, how can we spot problems that become trends? If nobody (doctors, hospitals, clinics, state, fed, etc) is collecting data on this, how can Merk say confidently that they have zero problems? Shouldn't they be legally obligated to say, we don't compile data? We haven't done any follow-up studies?

Also, if it has killed one or both of us ... would it have been reported? Who, exactly, would have taken the time to connect our deaths with the vaccine? The answer is nobody. My husband is livid, but who is out there to listen? The local TV channels aren't interested in the story because Merk is a heavy TV advertiser.

Anyway, that's my story. I'm lucky to be alive despite this vaccine. I get cold sweats every time I think of it, and my eyes tear up, thinking that this stupid vaccine may have killed my daughter. I pray it didn't cause any permanent damage in my daughter. She's only weeks old at this point - only time will tell.