@acunamatada while i was catching up I was also thinking about gardasil and glad you brought it up. I'm pro-vax. I had a couple questions on the chicken pox one just because that was new to me and was curious how that wasn't automatically putting shingles into people, but I just smile and nod and do what the dr's tell me because I agree with herd mentality. I do have major issues with the gardasil esque vaccines that fall into the big pharm "ask your dr" - if you are RUNNING COMMERCIALS for this thing and it's not a required/reccomended vaccine I'm seeing this the same as every other "ask your doctor" medication and highly suspicious. I think the only other vaccine I've seen commercials for was TDAP for whooping cough but pretty sure those were more PSA after the outbreak than actual brand name medical commercials. I also didn't get gardasil - I was 18 or 19 when it came out, it was brand new, there wasn't a whole lot of studies or published information on it yet, I always am that 5% weird side effect reaction with drugs, and I wasn't participating in a lifestyle that put me at risk for HPV. I find those ads disgusting and outright fear mongering for profit.
FYI- I did not and do not and have not participated in a lifestyle that put me at risk for HPV and neither has my husband, and the vax did not exist when I was younger. Guess who ended up with HPV? This girl. Guess who has the possibility of early term labor because of a shortened cervix? This girl. Guess who had to have two painful procedures to remove the HPV and cancerous cells? This girl. Just a little insight that sometimes the lifestyle doesn't mean a thing. One exposure can mean all the difference. And it didn't show up for at least 11 years.
I didn't get the Gerdasil either...I think I was a teenager when it came out, but old enough that I was making my own decisions...so maybe I was like 18 or 19 when it was offered to me. I refused getting it for the 5 or so years I was eligible since it came out - obviously too old now - mostly because it was so new, seemed elective to me (did I mention I was a teenager? why were they leaving this decision to me at that age?), and I had been in a relationship from 17-24 with my high school boyfriend who had been a virgin when we got together so I figured I was super low risk. I was pretty dumb, not thinking about the possibility that we wouldn't be together forever and be each other's only partner. Then he broke up with me and came out as gay, so so much for that haha. I will likely have my kids get it (they offer it to boys too now right?) but in my mind gardasil and flu shot are nowhere near the same as refusing meningitis and polio and Tdap.
@zande2016 i think they have them for boys too, at least the commercials makes it sound like there is. I agree flu and gardasil are good but not nearly as important as the others.
@WorkinWeezel thanks for the further insight - I really struggle with this one and plan on doing a lot of research in the 10 years until DD is of age for it. That is absolutely true that it does just take the once and statistics are not always in one's favor, either no one talked about it when I was in college or it wasn't as prevalent then/where I was. Of 50+ girls with varied lifestyles I was close to in college, I only know of 1 person who contracted HPV - though if it can sit dormant for 11 years there may be many more I don't know of. There was a weird thing going on when I was in college that some area dr's were pushing "abnormal" pap's to mean you absolutely have HPV and cancer and must immediately get laser procedures - which 1 abnormal pap does not mean definitively. It happened to 3 of us at the same time - I pushed back and my follow up pap and all screenings were normal, one semi-pushed back and just had the biopsy which was normal, the last went straight to treatment no questions asked. Not saying this is what happened to you at all! And of course avoiding HPV is also not a guarantee of avoiding cervical cancer - my MIL has had pre-cancerous cells lasered at least 2x in the last 10 years.
@gingerbride26 not only can it hang out dormant but isn't there no test for men that detects it? I think I remember by OB telling me that once and I was absolutely shocked...I was out of college at the time they told me that which means men could be spreading it and have literally no idea. Maybe I'm thinking of a different virus.
ETA: I just googled it and there is no HPV test for men.
FYI- I did not and do not and have not participated in a lifestyle that put me at risk for HPV and neither has my husband, and the vax did not exist when I was younger. Guess who ended up with HPV? This girl. Guess who has the possibility of early term labor because of a shortened cervix? This girl. Guess who had to have two painful procedures to remove the HPV and cancerous cells? This girl. Just a little insight that sometimes the lifestyle doesn't mean a thing. One exposure can mean all the difference. And it didn't show up for at least 11 years.
THANK YOU!
I really appreciate you sharing this. My experience is so similar. I am not at all an "at risk" individual/lifestyle but I got it as well. I don't know when/where I got it but I found out after a regular pap came back abnormal some 10 years ago. I have had since had two biopsies of cervical tissue followed by a procedure that burns the precancerous cells out of the cervix (LEEP).
I am fortunate enough that I have had no lasting side effects and I have access to good medical care but this stuff is no joke. I know several women that have had to go through the LEEP procedure, unfortunately this is extremely common.
I will absolutely get my daughters vaccinated. Also, I get so frustrated with the whole "a random online article knows better than a doctor and the medical community is trying to scam me or pressure me it to something bad" attitude.
@runsomewhere I asked DH about this, and I was the one that was like, oh it can't be that important it doesn't cover ALL strains, just some, so if its not covered by insurance will we shell out all the money? And DH was like ABSOLUTELY. He pointed out that by the time our kids are eligible it may be way more effective and since we only have boys, I guess if it keeps them from spreading 6 types of cancer causing HPV around, then great! Hopefully they'll just use a condom outside of a monogomous commited relationship but I'm willing to bet every one of us has screwed that up at least once because we were otherwise protected (or not). Anyway, DH was incredulous that I would even consider not doing it and called me an anti-vaxxer, lol.
@runsomewhere I didn't mean to imply that the internet knew better than a doctor - by research I mean talk to pediatrician, CDC findings, etc - I was saying I don't always trust big pharm that pushes medications, not medical community, and don't feel the 2 are the same; and I know plenty of dr's that complain about the "ask your doctor about...." medication commercials just as much as WebMD. Two separate points perhaps mistakenly put together. Honestly though, the gardasil commercials come across as big pharm push without more widespread education on or personal accounts such as those you both shared about HPV. Gardasil came out/gained popularity just before I aged out; it was new, it was completely optional, I asked my dr and she had no real opinion on it yet and didn't suggest either course of action more, believe she even said if you use condoms it doesn't matter, so I didn't get it. I think education and awareness of HPV is just as important if not more so than the vaccination alone, especially if it does not protect against all strains.
@gingerbride26 and @runsomewhere I think it's important for people to just see that it doesn't really matter what lifestyle we lead, it's still possible to get it. I had the LEEP as well, and it was pretty painful, but my paps have since come back clear, thankfully. I am still not sure whether or not I will get my children the vaccination, but I'm hoping we have more long-term information by the time it's time for them. Although my son is 8, so we're running out of time...
Re: FFFC 4/27
I'm pro-vax. I had a couple questions on the chicken pox one just because that was new to me and was curious how that wasn't automatically putting shingles into people, but I just smile and nod and do what the dr's tell me because I agree with herd mentality. I do have major issues with the gardasil esque vaccines that fall into the big pharm "ask your dr" - if you are RUNNING COMMERCIALS for this thing and it's not a required/reccomended vaccine I'm seeing this the same as every other "ask your doctor" medication and highly suspicious. I think the only other vaccine I've seen commercials for was TDAP for whooping cough but pretty sure those were more PSA after the outbreak than actual brand name medical commercials. I also didn't get gardasil - I was 18 or 19 when it came out, it was brand new, there wasn't a whole lot of studies or published information on it yet, I always am that 5% weird side effect reaction with drugs, and I wasn't participating in a lifestyle that put me at risk for HPV. I find those ads disgusting and outright fear mongering for profit.
Married: 6/27/2008
DS: 3/14/2010 Planned, PG first try
M/C 6/2012
DD: 4/22/2013 Planned, UnDx Infertility, PG on our own
BFP: 10/28/2016 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE!
M/C 12/12/2016
BFP: 10/27/2017 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE
EDD: 7/2/2018
ETA: I just googled it and there is no HPV test for men.
I really appreciate you sharing this. My experience is so similar. I am not at all an "at risk" individual/lifestyle but I got it as well. I don't know when/where I got it but I found out after a regular pap came back abnormal some 10 years ago. I have had since had two biopsies of cervical tissue followed by a procedure that burns the precancerous cells out of the cervix (LEEP).
I am fortunate enough that I have had no lasting side effects and I have access to good medical care but this stuff is no joke. I know several women that have had to go through the LEEP procedure, unfortunately this is extremely common.
I will absolutely get my daughters vaccinated. Also, I get so frustrated with the whole "a random online article knows better than a doctor and the medical community is trying to scam me or pressure me it to something bad" attitude.
Married: 6/27/2008
DS: 3/14/2010 Planned, PG first try
M/C 6/2012
DD: 4/22/2013 Planned, UnDx Infertility, PG on our own
BFP: 10/28/2016 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE!
M/C 12/12/2016
BFP: 10/27/2017 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE
EDD: 7/2/2018