Gardasil for My Son

Diseases = bad.
Preventing diseases = good.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/health/measles-gupta-fact/

I think there's a whole lot of misinformation about vaccines in general, and about this vaccine in particular. I can't believe the nonsense that's out there on the internet about a lot of things, like vaccines cause mental retardation and autism. (Same thing applies to "soy causes cancer" and "you must have 8 glasses of water a day" - no basis in fact, no matter how many blogs repeat the same info so much that people accept it as fact.)

Yes, I absolutely would. Read Doris Day's response. There are so few side effects to vaccines, and the benefits outweigh the risks. I certainly don't believe that a vaccine makes kids promiscuous. (Neither does contraception info, for that matter.)

So, unless a child is in a high risk group for a particular vaccine, I say to get it. My son was in the varicella (chicken pox) trials years ago in a neighboring state, before it was widely available everywhere. I'm thrilled that we did it and grateful to the MD friend who recommended we participate. I don't take every drug at the drop of a hat - quite the opposite. But vaccines are different.

It is being recommended for boys because they can pass it on to their partners even if they do not develop symptoms. This is relatively new, like in the last couple years at most.
As for what I think about it. As of right now we're skipping it. It's too new and has had too many issues related to it. I'm not anti-vaccine by any stretch but this one does not have the safety track record I want to see.

Be prepared for some ugly remarks on your thread from some of the militant moms here. One of them told me that I was lucky my son didn't die because I got him the shot. Ask me what I think of her for that nasty remark... (on second thought, DON'T ask because you probably don't want to hear my language...)

There are people who actually want to believe the lies that circulate on the internet about this vaccine and other vaccines. There are people who actually believe that their child will go out and have sex because they get a vaccine to prevent cancer. There are people who will tell you that they will never get the vaccine for their girls, much less their boys, and that is certainly their decision to make. You will need to make your own decision for your own children. I hope that you will make your decision based on facts rather than on these kinds of hyped up remarks from people who simply want to force THEIR views down YOUR throat.

I will tell you why I got my son the shot. I want to protect him and his future wife from the strains of HPV that are MOST common and cause the most cervical and penile cancers, as well as genital warts. There are lots of strains of HPV, and the vaccine doesn't cover them all. But the vaccine DOES cover the deadliest ones. My son may not have slept with the entire girls' college dorm, but the last guy his girlfriend slept with may have. Whoever you sleep with, you've also been exposed to who all THEY slept with. I don't believe that it should JUST be about the girls getting the shot. It's not just the girls that pass on HPV. It's the boys too. I am aware that there is much less penile cancer than cervical cancer, but 20 years from now when my DIL and son are raising kids, a cervical cancer diagnosis would pull our worlds down over our heads, and if I can get him a series of shots as a teen that would thwart that scenario, it is worth it. As time goes on and the general populous sees that #1 girls (and boys) AREN'T dying from the shot like some people are desperate for you to believe (and they DO put it all over the internet as if there's a Gardisil death epidemic), and #2 that cervical cancer and penile cancer is way down, then this will become a much more accepted thing.

One of these days, maybe we'll get lucky enough for there to be a lung cancer vaccine. Or a breast cancer vaccine. Etc, etc, etc. Perhaps because it's not sexually transmitted, people will act like it's a great thing instead of deciding it must be terrible. When women aren't dying from cervical cancer anymore, maybe we mothers who decided to ignore the negativity will get some credit. Then again, we have people who are oh so happy to let their kids get measles and whooping cough as if it's nothing. THAT boggles my mind, even after all the evidence that shows how much these vaccines have helped society.

So, there ya go. Best to you in your decision.

My daughter got the three shots in middle school, but they were not giving it to boys then, so my sons did not get it.

My boys are 20 and 22 now, and have been sexually active....so not sure it would benefit them at all now.

If it had been available for boys when they were 12? Yeah, I probably would have. Only because all of my kids have gotten every vaccine, on schedule, and have never had an issue with any of them.

This particular vaccine, as a woman who has had cervical dysplasia, pre-cancerous cells, caused by an HPV I had no idea I ever had, seems like a brilliant plan to me.

:)

Our son is about to get his third in the series of the Gardisil vaccinations. I don't buy into Internet scare stories. Our son already has ADHD and I know what garbage is out there online about that, so I never base medical decisions that way.

I go with what the pediatrician recommends. Doctor > Strangers on the Internet.

By the way, we've seen zero side effects.

it's very common in this country to think 'XYZ good so more of it must be better.'
there are some planet-changing vaccines that have improved life quality and expectation for us as an entire species.
that doesn't mean that all vaccines, especially all the ones they're pumping out like skittles these days, are good.
gardasil is especially problematic. it only guards against 4 strains of the disease, does so unreliably, and has a slew of potential nasty side effects. and all for a disease that's entirely preventable.
for me it would never be an option for girls OR boys. do your research and draw your own conclusions.
khairete
S.

Not only NO, but H$LL no.

Have you done thorough research?? Have you seen the problems?

No.

My son will next year. It has no more side effects than other vaccines and is a gift to his future partners. And virtually all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. Most people who smoke don't get lung cancer BUT much/most lung cancer is due to smoking. Same thing. However you will probably hear from the militant moms on the site. There are people who think vaccinating a child will make them feel free to be promiscuous and measles is a minor inconvenience - not a scourge that has killed millions.

There are adverse side effects for Gardasil, but nothing more than any other vaccine. I would read up on it yourself using literature provided by legitimate resources, rather than asking people on the Internet, considering the supercharged debate about vaccinations happening right now. Or just ignore anyone frothing at the mouth defending their position, lol.

My main concern about giving it to my son would be that the testing and trials were done almost exclusively on females, but I don't know if that would impact your decision or not, or if it should.

well, I wouldn't want my son to get genital warts any more than I would want my daughter to get them. Also - as an STD this is a communicable disease, so I'm not sure why you would ONLY want to protect the girls..... the guys are spreading it too.

This vaccine is still recommended by the FDA and the CDC.

And - just to level set.... the SERIOUS side effects that everyone is freaking out are these:

Have serious adverse events been reported after people receive HPV vaccines?
From June 2006-March 2014, approximately 67 million doses of HPV vaccines were distributed in the United States. VAERS received approximately 25,000 adverse event reports occurring in girls and women who received HPV vaccines. Of the reports to VAERS, 8 percent were classified as “serious”.
Among VAERS reports, the most frequently reported symptoms were: fainting, dizziness, nausea, headache, fever, hives, and localized pain, redness, and swelling at the sight of the injection.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Vaccines/HPV/hpv_faqs.html

Our daughter has gotten it so have lots of her college friends.
I have a dear friend that her daughter just completed her set of shots. She is now a sophomore in college.
My business partner that had cancer, had HPV it was what she died from. Her husband has been telling everyone to get the shot.

It was a terrible way to die.

We have vaccinated our kids on schedule for everything, they have never missed one. The one we do NOT get is the flu shot - for our own experiences all of the kids suffered because of it, so they do NOT get that and I will not feel bad or bullied for it either.

This is another one I'm not sold on. As of now, our 11 year old will not be getting it when she turn 12 this summer. Our boys are a little younger, so no for them too. I need to do more research, but likely this will remain a NO in our house.

Our doctor gave it to his sons and I know our doctor well and discussed it with him at length after doing my own research. We decided to have our oldest get the shot this year. He's 17.

Do you believe the benefits outweigh the risks? Then do it. My kids won't be getting that particular vaccine because it has a high side effect rate and lots of unknowns since it's new. Your doctor won't tell you that but it's easy to research. Some girls have died from the vaccine. Not sure about boys. It also protects against only a few strains of HPV, so it doesn't "prevent cancer". HPV is easy to catch early and rarely leads to cancer. It often clears up on it's own. And again, you can still get most strains of HPV with the vaccine. But if you trust vaccines and think, "hey, any protection is better than none" you'll feel good getting it.

I'm not a fan of it for either sex. My daughter was a teen when it hit the market, and I explained to her what it was, and left the decision to get it or not up to her. She opted not to.

My daughter got her three shots last year, so chances are two years from now my son will too.

In 2013, the Japanese health ministry stopped recommending this vaccine due to side effects (not just minor ones, but pretty serious ones like seizures, brain damage, blindness, paralysis, speech problems, pancreatitis and short-term memory loss). You can still get it there, but doctors are advised to tell you that it's not recommended. They're not saying it's a bad vaccine, but they ARE saying they need more information before introducing it into the vaccine schedule again. You can google 'Japan and HPV' vaccine to read some stuff on it.

Once (if) they do that, I'll consider it for my kids. I grew up in Japan. It's a pretty highly advanced country. If THEY don't want my kids to get this vaccine, I guess I'll hold off on it for now. And if we decide to go for it in the future, my son would be included in that.

ETA: I'm not at all against vaccines. My kids have been on the regular recommended American vaccine schedule since birth. I'm just not comfortable jumping on this particular vaccine's bandwagon just yet. Maybe it'll change in a few years...

I have two sons. They are too young now (7 and turning 4 tomorrow) but they will get this vaccine when they are older.

The cloud of misinformation surrounding this vaccine is bigger than most--people are weird about a lot of things that pertain to sex, but the vaccine is safe. Side effects are rare and tend to be mild.

Talk to your doctor about it. He/she is a far better source of unbiased information than a bunch of strangers on the internet :-)

No, I would never sign on for that one, especially for my sons.

At 12, my son will not be getting it this year.
He will likely receive it as a teen.

My ex just got the shot for our 15 year old son when he took him in for his physical. Lord that man does not understand English. I told him I would have preferred you wait until he makes the decision but it is done so no big deal. My older two both chose to get the shots as adults so I figure this child would have done it on their own too. He thought I was chewing him out, I digress

Oddly my older daughter had a bad reaction to it, my boys, no reaction at all. I can't remember exactly what the reaction was but she was miserable for a couple days but not bad enough that she didn't come back for the second shot.

Men tend to not get symptoms of HPV even when they have it but when they do have symptoms I have been told it is a million times worse than what we go through. Of course since they can be a carrier and not have symptoms they can spread it not knowing they have it. Not a nice thing to do.

My older kids are 16--2 girls and a boy. They will decide if they should get it. They have time. I have told them about it and explained HPV etc. I also told them that they should not decide NOT to get it just because it is a shot. But it will be their decision, not mine.

All of my kids are up to date on vaccines though I did do a little deviance from normal schedules. What child need 4 shots at once? The pain of 2 is enough.

No. This is really bad and I won't be giving it to my girl or my boys. Google it and see how many young people died from this vaccine!