gardasil seizures

Thyroid Dysfunction With Medication or Vaccine Induced Demyelinating Diseases

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It is always amazing to me when seemingly disparate research articles come across my desk and within an instant there is a shift in understanding. That is what happened over the last two weeks, community members from different disease groups shared research articles. From the Gardasil community: CNS Demyelination and Quadrivalent HPV Vaccination .  From our friends at Thyroid Change: Triiodothyronine Administration Ameliorates the Demyelination/Remyelination Ratio in a Non-Human Primate Model of Multiple Sclerosis by Correcting Tissue Hypothyroidism. And I connected some dots.

Thyroid and Neuromuscular Reactions to Gardasil and Lupron

Among the more common side-effects reported by Gardasil injured and a group we are just beginning to study, Lupron injured women, include decreased thyroid function, sometimes associated with Hashimoto’s, thyrotoxicosis or even thyroid cancer. Simultaneously, but frequently viewed as separate or unrelated disease processes, both groups of women report a constellation of neurological and neuromuscular symptoms, many consistent with demyelinating disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Indeed, case reports of central nervous system (CNS) demyelination or MS and Gardasil have been reported (cited above). There may be a connection between the demyelination process and the thyroid injury that develops as an adverse immune response to a drug or vaccine. More importantly, there may be a treatment opportunity.

Thyroid Hormones Affect Myelination

Almost a decade of research conducted solely in animals, rodents and monkeys, shows a connection between decreased thyroid function and demyelination disorders. Specifically, researchers found that administration of the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) not only improves the clinical course of the MS – like symptoms but effectively switches the disease process from a primarily demyelinating progression to remyelination. That is, the T3 induces cell level responses that regrow the protective myelin sheaths around CNS axons and corrects the medication-induced, tissue level, hypothyroidism. For the young women experiencing the host of neurological and neuromuscular symptoms post HPV vaccine, Gardasil or Cervarix, and/or post Lupron, this research may point to both an etiology and a treatment opportunity – disrupted thyroid metabolism mediated by an inflammatory reaction and T3 supplementation, respectively.

Dysregulated Thyroid in Critical and Chronic Illness

Vast amounts of research show a connection between thyroid function and critical and chronic illness. Hypothyroidism is common in what are otherwise considered ‘euthryoid’ or ‘normal’ thyroid individuals, but whose physiology is so severely stressed by disease or injury, thyroid function is affected. The presentation of diminished thyroid function during severe or chronic illness of unrelated etiology is often difficult to determine and its treatment is controversial. In these cases, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is within the normal range in all but about 10% of patients and thyroxine (T4) may or may not be reduced. If and when further analysis is completed, T3, however, is often shown to be significantly diminished, the T4/T3 ratio is larger, reverse T3 (rT3), the T3 deactivating hormone is increased, while the enzymes responsible for converting T4 to T3 are reduced; clear evidence of disrupted thyroid metabolism that can be missed with traditional testing.

With the mixed laboratory presentation and evidence that supplementing with levothyroxine (synthetic T4) does little to improve patient outcomes, treating illness induced thyroid dysfunction is controversial, many physicians and medical organizations argue against treatment. Indeed, even in primary hypothyroidism, treatment with anything other than levothyroxine – T4 is controversial. Perhaps it shouldn’t be. The evidence reported in these animal studies, clearly indicates, T3 dysfunction and consequent supplementation controls the demyelination and remyelination process at the cell level and may improve clinical outcomes.  In this research, T3 supplementation also improved T4 levels without a concomitant onset of hyperthyroidism, the reason often cited for not utilizing T3.

What This Means

If you or your child are suffering with the constellation of symptoms associated with an inflammatory nerve disease such as multiple sclerosis and/or if you have known hypothyroid symptoms in combination with undiagnosed neuromuscular symptoms, it’s time to connect the dots. The two may be related and may require T3 supplementation. Whether these symptoms were initiated with an adverse reaction to a medication such as Lupron, a vaccine such as Gardasil or Cervarix, or by some other process entirely, the research presented here clearly suggests a role for T3 in the array of symptoms associated hypothyroid disease and CNS demyelinating diseases.

Some of the symptoms associated with MS include:

  • Vision problems (optic neuritis)
  • Numbness or tingling of the face, arms, legs
  • Chronic, unexplained pain
  • Muscle spasms – painful muscle contractions
  • Uncontrollable, often painful jerking of the arms or legs
  • Extreme fatigue and weakness
  • Dizziness
  • Vertigo (spinning)
  • Balance or gait (walking) problems
  • Hearing problems or loss
  • Seizures
  • Uncontrollable shaking
  • Breathing problems
  • Slurred speech
  • Trouble swallowing
  • Dysfunctional bladder urinating frequently, strong urges to urinate, or inability to hold in urine
  • Bowel problems – constipation, diarrhea, or loss of bowel control
  • Memory problems
  • Concentration problems
  • Language/speaking
  • Depression
  • Rapidly switching moods
  • Uncontrollable moods
  • Inappropriate moods

These symptoms have been noted in post Gardasil or Cervarix reactions, and as we are learning, in post Lupron reactions as well.  Even though these are two entirely different medications with entirely different mechanisms of action, the core reaction illness that ensues is inflammatory and often attacks the thyroid. When the thyroid is compromised, a range of other pathophysiological processes emerge, including demyelination. Certainly, additional research is warranted, but in the absence of time, and in the face of great suffering, T3 testing and supplementation may be indicated.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash.

This article was published previously on Hormones Matter in August 2013.

One More Day – A Day in the Life Post Gardasil

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My head feels strange, like I might have a seizure today. It is difficult to explain, but Mom seems to understand what I mean. She tries to get my breakfast made as quickly as possible. My legs are so unstable so decide to sit in my favorite recliner – maybe watch one of the shows I recorded while my food is being made.

The pain in my head, the pressure especially is worse right now. Brain fog is preventing me from understanding what is going on in the program. Thankfully, Mom arrives with my scrambled eggs, gluten free English muffin, grapes, mint tea. She knows my stomach is not the greatest, but I am hungry!  She sits with me for a few minutes while we eat. We talk a little but my mind isn’t thinking so clearly. That weird feeling in my head is worse. As Mom heads back upstairs with my tray I ask her for some sparkling water for my stomach.

The blinding pain hits me like a white-hot knife cutting through my head. It is a searing series of jolts, like I am being electrocuted multiple times. Mercifully, an inky blackness spreads over me and everything goes dark.

Even though I’m pretty sure I’m still on the recliner I am only vaguely aware of choking on the foam that has risen in my throat during the seizure. I can feel Mom trying to wipe my mouth with a tissue. She lets me tug it from her hand to clear my mouth better. It hurts incredibly to move, but I need to get to bed. The pressure is worse in my head now.

The weird sensation is rising from my stomach into my head. Have to tell Mom, but my vocal cords are frozen. I’m blind as well from the first seizure. Even my hearing is gone. All I can do is make motions with my hands, but Mom understands enough to lower the recliner, ease me forward, then slowly get me to my feet. It’s a struggle to do any of it but will my body to stand. Oh, how I wish my legs would cooperate! They are weak, trembly, unsteady. Can’t blame them, they have very little feeling left from mid-thigh down. Mom slides my arms around her shoulders, then leads me to my bed – Slowly, Mom, legs are protesting, my mind tries to shout. After what seems like forever we reach my bed. Mom helps guide my hands to the edge, helping me find the blessed pillows. It’s so hard to lift my legs, but finally I’m safe on the mattress, before another seizure hits.

I have no idea how long I’ve been lying in bed when my consciousness returns. Without vision, hearing or speech it is impossible to know anything safe for the new levels of pain that run from my head to my upper thighs. Everything is achingly tender. I flinch when Mom gently strokes my ear. She pulls her hand away not knowing how to comfort me. While attempting to sign to her I discover the blood pressure cuff is still on my arm – It hurts! Must have whimpered because Mom quickly got it off.  I sign again to the open air, hoping Mom will understand. She gives me her hand so I can spell out short words. She squeezes my hand once – Yes! She understands my request! (We worked out a system to communicate when all of my other senses flee after a seizure. Squeeze once for Yes, squeeze twice for No. And when my confusion clears enough we spell into each other’s hand to ask or answer questions.)

After giving me a drink to clear my throat, Mom lets me rest – I truly need rest to recover. My body won’t cooperate, needing a trip to the bathroom. After locating the wall by my bed, I begin to knock. I don’t know how loud it is, but Mom is quickly by my bed. She holds my hand to let me know, but I flinch again from the pain. That hand is swollen a bit as well. Mom waits for me to sign, which is easy this time. She gently guides me to and from my destination; helping me as best she can. Finally back in bed, she signs into my left hand to rest. Wish my hearing would release – I need to listen to my ocean CD. It is so relaxing.

After lying in my bed a few minutes, aching from the seizures, my hearing suddenly returns. Silent tears slide down my face unbidden, but I can’t help it. Every time my senses begin to return, there is relief, joy, thankfulness. Knocking on the wall again, Mom returns, but I can hear her softly speaking, praying for me. When I respond she is also relieved that my hearing returned. She immediately turns on my ocean waves CD. She whispers she loves me, then allows me to drift fitfully to sleep.

Several hours later I awake, realizing immediately that my vision is returning. It isn’t the greatest, but I have color and can distinguish objects. My legs are a little less wobbly so I can get my own water. Eventually I can get out of bed, go up to the kitchen to see my mom. She is surprised that I’ve negotiated the steps on my own, giving me a smile and a gentle hug. My body feels I have been in the fight of my life, tender, aching, sore, but my head pressure is improved some. The weird sensation is almost gone. Mom notices one of my eyelids is drooping, but it’s hard to miss. She just smiles, then asks me if I’m hungry. Since my voice hasn’t returned I sign in a little while. After I get a glass of mint tea, Mom helps me back down to the family room. My vision still isn’t the greatest but I can watch Duck Dynasty! The show makes me laugh which I desperately need until supper.

My stomach isn’t doing the best right now; ate something with gluten a couple of days previous, so I’m paying for it. Mom has given me several choices for supper, but nothing sounds good. My dad had just finished eating, giving me a soft kiss on the forehead. He has to go to a meeting at church, so he can’t linger but a few minutes. How I miss our dates we had while growing up! It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to have dinner and a movie night. I smile at my dad, trying not to let him see my pain. The Gardasil injury has been very hard on both my parents. Not an easy thing to live with, but this is my life now.

Mom finally makes me quinoa with chicken and organic veggies – it tastes good so digesting will be easy, I hope. After watching a movie with mom I decide to take a shower. Couldn’t get my IV today, but I’m very determined to go tomorrow! Mom isn’t crazy about the idea, but lets me know she will be close by. I am thankful that I can do this much finally, but knowing she’s close if I need help is reassuring. After my second dose of Gardasil, Mom had to bathe me, feed me, help me in and out of my wheelchair. Six years later I’m doing some things on my own again!

During my shower I begin to overheat. Reducing the water temperature isn’t helping. My head and stomach are way too hot now, so I quickly shut off the water, open the door while trying to call for mom. Even with the door wide open, my towel is too hot as well. As the waves of nausea strike, I grab my trash can. Mom arrives as I lose my super.  My body really seems to hate me, though my voice has unexpectedly returned!  At least something positive has just happened! Wobbly legs and trembling arms prevent me from drying off quickly. With Mom’s help though, I’m partly dressed by the time I hit my bed. My face is on fire from the flaming nerve endings that bloom on my body randomly. The nausea is pretty bad, but mom fans me best she can. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the flame in my face and stomach fades. I’m still trembling from the exertion but at least I’m not tossing my cookies. Mom gets me something for my stomach, Bromelain – best thing I’ve ever tried for nausea! It settles my stomach to the point I can finish getting ready for bed. Thank you, Lord, for getting me through one more day. Tonight, hopefully I will sleep. Tomorrow will be a better day…

Brittney and Roxie Fiste

To read more about Brittney’s Gardasil injury: One Less After Gardasil.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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A Day in the Life of Alexis Wolf: Six Years After Gardasil

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Alexis is now 20 years old. Six years have passed since her first injection of Gardasil. Life has changed drastically since then. After the Gardasil vaccine, Alexis developed encephalopathy, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and a horrible seizure disorder that has yet to be controlled. Read the first part of Alexis’ Gardasil journey here.

Post Gardasil Brain Injury

Alexis’ brain injury post Gardasil is in the frontal lobe. This part of the brain controls so much of who we are. This has left Alexis with the mental capacity of about an 8 year old. She gets very confused easily and struggles with short term and long term memory so she requires constant supervision with frequent redirection on everyday tasks. Her skill level of preparing meals for herself and daily personal hygiene is almost nonexistent. She can no longer take showers due to the danger of having a seizure and falling. I have to help her take a bath and make sure she gets clean. I have to assist in washing her hair to make sure it gets clean. I also have to get her clothes ready for her. She can usually dress herself with little assistance.

Post Gardasil Bowel and Bladder Problems

Since receiving Gardasil, Alexis progressively lost bladder and bowel control.  She has to wear adult diapers.  Sometimes she will put her fingers inside her anus to try to help herself go #2. Although we have discussed this with all of her doctors and with her, telling her it is very dangerous for her and everyone one else, she cannot control herself. We make her wash her hands OFTEN. I wipe things down with Lysol wipes OFTEN.

Post Gardasil Pain

Alexis has often expressed frustration, depression and suicidal thoughts as to her present life and her future. She can be swift to anger and have great mood swings. She will slam doors, throw things, spit at us and call us a variety of cuss words. She is miserable most of the time. She complains about pain constantly. We have been turned away by three different pain specialist because they review her records and tell me she is “too complex” for them to treat. The only thing she has to help her with the pain is medical marijuana in the form of tinctures and vapors. When her head hurts really badly she will hit her forehead with the palm of her hand and say “brain get better, brain get better…” She also complains about all over body aches, sharp pains in her chest, joint and muscle pain. She will tell us that everything looks scary, strange and unusual even herself. The best description she was able to give us was that it looked like the walls were melting and people looked like cartoons. I had to take her out of high school for the above reasons. Her teachers were not very patient with her and they would push her buttons so one day she hit one of her teachers in the arm. The school called the police so I took her out of school.

Post Gardasil Seizures

Alexis’ speech patterns can often digress to repetitive statements over and over. This occurs without the knowledge that she is engaged in that behavior. Her motivation level is very low due to her brain injury. Getting her to do anything is quite the struggle. Almost every task is labored and takes lots of patience from the person helping her. Often at times she will flat out refuse to move and begs to take a nap. She naps off and on all day every day. We really do not know how long she sleeps at night but we think it is no longer than two hours at a time. The seizures happen all the time and they wake her up while she is sleeping. She is usually unable to fall back to sleep, so she wanders the house and searches for food. She has horrible impulse control and she is not able to tell if she is full or not. We have to keep the fridge and the pantry locked up at all times so she does not eat herself into a coma. If she eats a full meal and then has a seizure she will forget that she has just eaten and she begs for food saying that she is starving. We also lock up her medications because she will forget that she has taken them and try to take more even though I store them in those daily dose medicine boxes. She can have many, many seizures in a day. She takes anti-seizure meds and she also has a device implanted in her chest called a VNS therapy. It is supposed to reduce or stop her seizures but so far we have not really noticed a difference. She has had it for 3 years and soon she will be due for a battery replacement that will require another surgery. The battery should have lasted 5-10 years but the doctors have made so many adjustments on the therapy levels that the battery only has a few months left of power.

Alexis having a Seizure in 2010

Six Years and Counting

In the past six years we have had to deal with many people who do not understand the side-effects of the Gardasil vaccine. We have been accused of horrible things. We have had to endure being investigated by Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, police, detectives and more. Family, friends and neighbors have turned their heads and left us behind. Alexis’ father has not spoken to her in two years and all the help he had once offered is nonexistent. The government services that should support Alexis and her brain injury are bogged down so she is on a waiting list of over 40,000 people. I was told she MIGHT get services in 2019 when her name comes up next on the list. The way things have been going it is possible that all money and services may dry up and go away before her name even comes up.

Alexis’ inability to live independently will require lifelong care and assistance. I worry all the time about what will happen to her when I am no longer able to care for her. Every day new challenges arise so I can never put down my guard. I have been told by at least two doctors that I should look into some sort of institutional assisted living facility, but I cannot wrap my mind around that just yet. Life is quite different than it was six years ago, before Gardasil. Six years ago Alexis was a normal 14 year old. Starting to wear make-up and get interested in boys…working hard in school and enjoying honor roll. She had her whole life ahead of her and now she spends every day in a living hell filled with pain and misery, begging to be better, begging everyone to pray for her.

Six years ago, before Gardasil, life was very different.

Alexis Wolf before Gardasil
Alexis Wolf, age 14, before her first Gardasil injection.

 

Alexis Wolf after Gardasil
Alexis Wolf, age 20, six years after Gardasil.

 

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One Less After Gardasil

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Imagine for a moment having an outgoing, vibrant daughter, just turned 21 years old – her whole life ahead of her. She’s a bright, outgoing, athletic, college student, kind and compassionate. She has hopes and dreams just waiting to be fulfilled. No parent could ask for more. All parental bias aside, this was our daughter, Brittney, before Gardasil.

When Brittney received her first Gardasil injection in June of 2007, she was told that the only real risk involved was the possibility of her having a small seizure shortly after the shot was administered. She did not react within the 15-minute window, during which the medical staff monitored her. She thought she had nothing to worry about. She admitted later, after she took the first dose, that the doctor had told her she could get the HPV viruses that cause cervical cancer through a lab accident at college, (where her blood might mingle with someone infected). She had been in a lab accident just a few months previous, so the fear of being infected was immense.

When she passed out the next morning on our family room floor, she got up wondering what had happened. Britt chalked it up to the possibility of being dehydrated. She had been quite active for several months. Several years before she had fainted from dehydration, so she didn’t think much of it. She was so unconcerned she didn’t even mention the incident until over a week later. By this point, she had experienced two other unusual episodes.

The next incident occurred nine days after her HPV vaccine injection. She had what we now know was a partial seizure. Three days later, her legs gave out while she was at a water park. Hammering pain spread up and down her legs for 15 minutes, then disappeared. As a parent, I was beginning to think the incidents were related, but was not sure how they were connected.

Britt is a fighter. She never backed down from anything, but charged head-on until she accomplished her goals. The nagging leg pain and the strange episodes of blacking out were just one more challenge to conquer. She pushed through summer determined nothing would prevent her from achieving her goal to graduate college and pursue a dream of becoming a singer/dancer.

Sometime mid-July, our doctor reassured us that what Brittney was experiencing had nothing to do with Gardasil. We were relieved – at least we could relax on that score…

In July, we took Britt to Myrtle Beach for a belated 21st birthday celebration. During this week, Brittney began to lose control of her emotions off and on. She would be completely normal, then suddenly explode. She would scream at us that we were trying to upset her, or prevent her from living her life. She had never acted this way in her life. Both my husband and I were shocked at her unprovoked outbursts. We spent the entire vacation walking on eggshells when she was present. It seemed the most innocent remark could set her off. The only thing that seemed to soothe her during that week was going to the ocean and walking the beaches.

In August, she had another ‘episode’ as the doctor called them, this time in the company of several college chums. One of them had a sister who experienced many seizures while growing up. She told Britt’s boyfriend at the time that it looked like Britt was having a partial seizure.

Unfortunately, the boyfriend would not accept this reality and shoved an inhaler in her mouth while she was unconscious and depressed it. Britt came around, choking on the aerosol. She told me about the incident later, which was upsetting. She also mentioned the incident to her doctor, but nothing more than a blood test was taken. The results showed that she was a little low on Potassium so she was told to eat more bananas.

In late August 2007, Britt received her second injection of Gardasil – again with no reaction during the 15 minutes of post-vaccination observation. But, within a week she began to have nagging issues with head pressure, like a cap with too tight of a band around her head. Over the next couple of weeks this progressed to the point where she could barely open her mouth because the muscles in her jaw were so tight. She began falling down for no reason. After three weeks, she began to experience blurred, doubled vision. She was extremely sensitive to light of any type. The pressure in her head was so intense, she was passing out daily. She developed a swelling that appeared to be filled with fluid at the base of her skull and along her spine. Along with all of the other symptoms, severe pain was raging through her body. As soon as her doctor examined the swelling, Britt was sent straight to the hospital.

Multiple tests were done, but nothing showed up on any of them. Britt was sent home with a couple of pain tablets. The resident on call felt she had some sort of brain virus and that it would go away in a couple of days.

From this point on, Brittney’s health deteriorated quickly. She couldn’t read anymore because the words seemed to run together or off the pages. She could no longer tolerate light or sound of any kind. We had to speak in whispers when near her or go up to the third floor and speak very softly. Her hearing was so sensitive that she could hear sirens more than three to four miles away and conversations several rooms away. She couldn’t sit in the same room with a television or radio on. Her pain was so bad, she cried all of the time. We bought noise cancelling headphones so she could tolerate trips to the doctor’s office. She had to have wrap around dark glasses – regular sunglasses were not sufficient to protect her from the severe sensitivity to light.

The nightmare didn’t stop there. Her face would sometimes droop to one side like it was sliding off her skull as pressure in her head grew worse. Seizures and stroking migraines began to happen 24/7. Her stomach was upset all the time. She could hardly keep anything down. She lost sensation in her legs and fingertips, she became completely bedridden, and simply longed to die.

Over the next three years, Britt was seen by over 60 doctors, including teams at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic and the University Of Cincinnati Hospital. None of them could help her. She was so sick to her stomach, she could eat nothing but three ounces of protein drink at a time, fed with a baby spoon. Not one doctor suggested we have her stomach looked at. They simply dismissed it as being stressed, over-reacting to life, or a conversion disorder.

Just to give you an idea of what her new life is like, I will briefly touch on a few events:

  • January to March 2008 – Britt was totally bedridden and seemed to be wasting away. She nearly died before we found a doctor who helped alleviate some of her more severe issues. Unfortunately, she became intolerant of the medications that helped her. She began reacting to everything the doctor gave her. She was sent to many specialists who threw up their hands in frustration at her body’s resistance to treatments.
  • Early 2009 – We found an alternative chiropractor who recommended Okra Pepsin3 with Multizyme to help settle the lining of Britt’s gastro-intestinal tract. After several months, Britt was able to eat many organic and natural foods for the first time since her second Gardasil injection.
  • June 2009 – Brittney seemed to improve for a couple of months, including strength, but this didn’t last. By December she had lost all feeling in her legs, plus the head pressure had returned more intensely.
  • January 2010 – After being seen at Johns Hopkins Hospital Britt’s legs were put into massage bladders. This seemed to relieve some of the loss of feeling – when she left she could feel her upper thighs again. By spring, she was working with a researcher who was willing to try to help with some of Britt’s other issues. He suggested CoQ10, vitamin K Complex, magnesium, calcium and Vitamin D3 supplements. Britt’s sensitivity to light and sound diminished and some of her pain was alleviated. She had a boost of energy for the first time in three years.
  • April 2010 – A migraine specialist administered pain blocks to the back of her head (scalp) which relieved a great deal of the head pressure, jaw pain and complex migraines. She began to eat better.
  • June 2010 to January 2011 – Brittney seemed to be doing well. An alternative doctor had made some modifications to her diet that seemed to mitigate some of her more severe symptoms. She began a gluten-free, casein-free, sugar-free diet, avoiding Citric Acid, MSG, artificial preservatives, and mushrooms.
  • January 2011 – She was exposed to a virus. Her immune system could not handle it. She physically collapsed. The doctor told us that her immune system was crashing and he couldn’t help her. Britt’s grandmother sent over what we thought was homemade chicken with dumplings to boost her health. Brittney gained 60 pounds during the following 24 – 30 hours. We discovered there was Citric Acid in the broth. Nothing would bring the swelling down but time.
  • May to June 2011 – Her more severe pain symptoms calmed down a bit, but she was still vomiting. Her abdomen and stomach swelled to the point where she looked like she was six months pregnant.
  • 2011 – We finally found a gastroenterologist who was willing to examine Britt’s stomach. She was horrified at what she found – Gastroparesis – a damaged Vagus nerve in Britt’s stomach which prevented normal digestion and emptying of her stomach.

Last summer, 2012, we started taking Britt to another alternative doctor. Gradually Britt began to have a small semblance of the life she had before Gardasil. After months of IV treatments, she has been able to handle a large crowd at a cinema, a very busy restaurant, and even go to the mall briefly. Understand that these events have taken place weeks apart. She still has a long way to go. She has been able to enjoy her favorite music with the speakers “normal” without suffering. She wears her wrap-around low vision glasses only on very bad days. She is able to walk on her own for short distances despite the lack of feeling in her legs.

January to April 2013 – Britt has had a huge setback which we believe was triggered by an LH hormone test. This test was to check the levels of these brain-based hormones to try to regulate them. She felt like the Gardasil nightmare was starting all over again before the hormone was neutralized. Within days of the test she began a slow increase of seizure activity, which built from a couple over a four month period, to multiple, daily events. Some were so severe that her power port shifted under her skin. After four weeks of non-stop seizures, we were able to get her in to the doctor’s office for a much needed IV. It took her nurse three tries to find, then flush the port, before the IV therapy could begin. Her seizure activity has now slowed to a minimum. As long as she stays on track for the IV’s, (basic vitamin/mineral infusions that help boost her immune system, calm physical issues, improve mal-absorption of nutrients), she can maintain much of her homebound activities. There are still periods when we talk with her that she displays signs of confusion, memory loss, and inability to concentrate.

Brittney has been ruled “Disabled” due to residuals of Gardasil by the SSA. She receives some compensation through the SSI which is helping pay her myriad medical bills.

Nearly six years ago, Gardasil changed our lives forever. It has been a nightmare without end watching our daughter suffer through every stage of the past several years. She has literally become ONE LESS!

 

Hormones MatterTM is conducting research on the side effects and adverse events associated with Gardasil and its counterpart Cervarix. If you or your daughter has had either HPV vaccine, please take this important survey. The Gardasil Cervarix HPV Vaccine Survey. 

To take one of our other Real Women. Real Data.TM surveys, click here.

To sign up for our newsletter and receive weekly updates on the latest research news, click here.

A Ruined Life from Gardasil

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This was submitted by Tracy Wolf, the mother of Alexis who has suffered severe side effects from the Gardasil vaccine, this is her story. We thank Tracy for sharing.

In the spring of 2007, Alexis was a happy, shy, and well-adjusted 13-year-old, young lady. She had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in January of 2006, but responded to this in the most positive way. Her doctors were so impressed with how well she dealt with it that they recommended she be put on the insulin pump. Through all of this she worked hard, made the honor roll at school and was educating her fellow students about Type 1 diabetes. Her grandparents wanted her to visit them in Germany, but we were reluctant to do this because of the diabetes. Her doctor felt that she was so responsible and mature compared to other kids her age with Type 1, that she should be allowed to go.

In March of 2007, I took Alexis to see her pediatrician for a wellness check up before her trip to Germany and she received her first Gardasil injection. Alexis asked for it to be given in her leg. We did not notice any side effects at that point. In June, we returned to the doctor’s office right before Alexis left on her trip for the 2nd of 3 injections for Gardasil. Again there were no immediate side effects. A couple weeks later she left for Germany. While she was in Germany most everything went well. Her grandparents said she did act a little strange and out of character for her, but nothing they thought to be too serious.

When Alexis arrived back home from her trip, I noticed that she did not experience jet lag like we all had the last time we all went to Germany. Also, I thought it was odd that she didn’t (or couldn’t) cry when she was told that our 12-year-old dog had passed away while she was gone because she had always been a very sensitive child. As time went on more and more strange behavior, very unlike Alexis, started. She was getting in trouble at school and was unable to concentrate or retain anything she learned. I was taking her to every kind of doctor I could think of, but every test came back normal. Things progressively got worse. At this point her personality had changed 100%. She would go through bits of rage and she would scream at me and call me names and tell me how much she hated our family and me. She said she wanted to be taken to an orphanage and be adopted by another family. At this point doctors and school staff were telling me that Alexis was acting out and testing her boundaries. I argued with all of them. I knew there had to be something medical going on, although doctors and the school were not listening to me. She started having massive panic attacks where her heart would pound so hard you could see her chest moving. Sound and movements bothered her. She would talk about “things looking funny or strange.” she said that peoples faces made her sick to her stomach including people on TV and everyone around her. Often, she would look around as if she didn’t know where she was.

Soon I realized that she was not sleeping at all. She stayed up in her room writing notes all night. The notes were nonsense. She became obsessed with food and would eat anything she could get her hands on while we were asleep. I didn’t realize this at first because she was still being pretty responsible with her diabetes and giving herself the insulin she needed to correct for the food she was eating. One day she stuck her tongue out at me and I noticed a huge bump on the side of her tongue. She had no memory of how the bump got there and it was so big it looked like she had bit off a chunk. Looking back now, I think this is when the seizures started in her sleep.

I took her back to see her endocrinologist and at that point her doctor suggested that we see the in office psychologist thinking that maybe she was having issues being a diabetic. I told her that I really didn’t think it had anything to do with her diabetes, but she wanted us to try. On the second visit with her psychologist, the doctor came to the conclusion that Alexis had been sexually molested while she was in Germany. I was so upset and asked her why she thought this. She said that Alexis talked about seeing nudity in Germany (hello, have you ever been to Europe?) Nudity is everywhere in Germany and I talked to Alexis about this for many hours and on different occasions. Alexis swore to me that nothing like that happened in Germany. I spoke to her grandparents about it and they said that nothing like that happened. Seemed like the only one that believed that really happened was the psychologist (months later she apologized for being wrong, but at that point every doctor after that was subjected to her notes. I was labeled as a “mother in denial”). We were sent to other psychologist and psychiatrist. The only thing they knew what to do was throw anti-psychotic medications at her. Nothing worked, she only got worse. She started throwing up everything she ate, and then couldn’t wait to eat more.

By January 2008, I had taken her in to see her pediatrician again and she was given the 3rd shot in the Gardasil series. Things got much worse after that. Two weeks later we were back at her pediatrician’s office because she had lost five pounds in a week, was throwing up a lot, and not sleeping at all. The doctor sent us to the hospital. Alexis was admitted and spent the next four days getting blood tests, MRIs and a CT scan. Everything came back normal. I was told, once again, that nothing medical was wrong with my daughter. They sent her to Kaseman Behavioral Unit. There she was treated like an animal. They put her on many more anti-psychotic medications, none of which helped her sleep or stopped the vomiting. They told her that if she threw up her food she would not get anything else to eat. They seemed to have no idea how to deal with her diabetes and I had to constantly show them how to deal with it. She was not allowed to be around any of the other children and was told she could only be in her room or walk up and down a short hall. They gave her a bucket for the vomit and on the fourth day two nurses witnessed her eating her vomit from the bucket. After five days of being admitted, they said she was stable and sent Alexis home. That day she was not able to keep any food down and she did not sleep at all that night. The notes were lined up on the banister the next morning when I woke up.

The next day, we were told to take her to a new psychiatrist. We did and the doctor was almost in tears. She had no idea why we were sent to her. She could see right off the bat that she would not be able to help Alexis. She told us that she thought we were getting the run around. We went home and called her pediatrician and begged her to help us. She was reluctant but said she would make some calls and get back to us. We were able to get her into the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital at the University of New Mexico Hospital. This was on a Friday night and their psychiatrist would not be in until Monday so they just tried to focus on getting Alexis to sleep. They gave her high doses of Trazadone and she still didn’t sleep. The next morning I went to see her and she was sitting in a chair in the front room and she was slumped over and drooling and moaning. When I walked in, she slowly raised her head and almost in slow motion said, “Hi mommy.” I got her up and took her to her room and tried to get her to lie down and try to sleep. She started dozing off and I thought Yeah, she is going to sleep! But within five minutes her face clenched as if she were in pain, her eyes twitched, and her mouth filled up with saliva. They noticed right away that Alexis was not going through behavioral issues. When the doctor showed on Monday morning I told her exactly what was happening and while I was telling her, Alexis had another “spell.” The psychiatrist noticed right away that she was most likely having seizures. An EEG was done and they found out she was in fact having seizures that were all concentrated in her frontal lobe, the part of our brain that control our personality. She had been having seizures some time and no one noticed, until just then!

Alexis spent the next six months at UNMH. They did every medical test on her that they could come up with: EEGs, CT scans, MRI’s, 2 spinal taps, muscle biopsy, blood tests were sent out all over the United States, plasmapheresis, IVIG, and then some. Everything came back normal. They determined that she was exposed to a virus and her body made antibodies to attack the virus. However, she had not been sick and had not shown any symptoms of having a virus or even the sniffles. The only virus she had been exposed to was the Gardasil shots. They also determined that she suffered brain damage because of the seizures. She now is testing at a 4th grade level and still to this day is unable to attend school. She has seizure activity every day and night, almost constantly. She is in constant pain and no medication seems to help. Every day more symptoms pop up. She has numbness in her arms and legs, headaches, horrible pain, loss of bladder control (now she has to wear adult diapers), constipation (and when she is able to have a BM they are the size of a grapefruit and plug the toilet every time), vision problems, memory loss, brain fog, chronic fatigue, leg cramps, back pain, dizziness, she repeats the same things over and over again with no memory of having said it a million times, she is unable to retain anything that is said to her or that she sees, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and more

In 2009, she spent four days in the local Presbyterian hospital for high heart rate and super high blood pressure. All the tests came back normal. In November, I took her to Barrows Neuro in Phoenix. She spent six days attached to an EEG machine and under went another MRI. All the doctors were baffled and don’t know what to do. Her neurologist is very experienced and has never seen anything like what Alexis is going through.

We are all heart broken that a girl who showed so much promise three years ago, had her life as we knew it taken away. She will never be the same. We are pretty much out of options and our next step is getting an adult neurologist to look over her case to see if she would be a candidate for Vagus Nerve Stimulation or VNS therapy. This would mean having surgery to implant a device in her chest that would send impulses to her nerve endings in the base of her skull to try to stop the seizures. Alexis is scared and does not want to have this done, but I feel we have no other choice because none of the anticonvulsants are working.

Lawyers have refused to include Alexis in their class action lawsuits against Gardasil because her first symptoms were more “behavioral”. We now know that her behavior change was due to seizures. I spend most of my time trying to get Alexis special services that our government provides to people who have traumatic brain injuries, but I was told Alexis is on a waiting list of over 47,000 people in New Mexico and it could take up to 10 years for her to receive any benefits because there is no money to support the people in need. This is such a horrible nightmare that I wish we could all wake up from, but unfortunately this is real, very real.

Thank you for taking the time to read Alexis’ story. Some of these things are very hard to talk about and probably hard to read as well, but we all need to know what is happening to our children and be able to make educated decisions.

Alexis will be featured in the upcoming documentary One More Girl.

To read an update on Alexis’ condition: A Day in the Life of Alexis Wolf: Six Years After Gardasil.

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Alexis after receiving the vaccine