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Post Gardasil Dysautonomia: Nina’s Story

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Our story begins in late May of 2007. I took my daughter Nina to the pediatrician for her 12 year old checkup. During the visit the doctor proposed that I have Nina receive the first vaccine of Gardasil. I immediately told him that I was not well informed about this new vaccine. He reassured me that it was fine and better to get it while she was young. I trusted my doctor. As we left the office, I had this strange feeling come over me. I started to question myself about my decision to allow the doctor to administer a vaccine that was new to the industry. My daughter was 12 years old and what was the rush to protect her against a sexually transmitted disease?  Maybe it was mother’s intuition, but I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

The Early Signs of Illness Post Gardasil

In early July, Nina started complaining of her hair falling out. Nina is beautiful Italian with long thick brown hair. As a mother of three, and Nina being the youngest, I often play down any medical concerns of my children until I see a true problem. I put her to ease by telling her that with her amount of hair it is common to see more of it in the shower or on the bathroom floor.

Over the next few weeks Nina started to complain of flu like symptoms. She would wake up very fatigued and nauseous. The symptoms were intermittent, but becoming more regular as the weeks passed. I did start to notice an abundance of her hair on the bathroom floor. I was becoming concerned. By August, her complaints were becoming more severe. I took her to the local Med Express and they told me she was very dehydrated and they administered IV fluids. Nina felt great and I felt relief.

The next morning, the symptoms returned. She missed the first week of the new school year. The next week I started driving her to school because she was too sick to get on the bus. The school was only five minutes away but by the time we got there she was already too sick to get out of the car. My first thoughts were maybe she was having some type of anxiety about her seventh grade. It did not make sense to me. Nina was a very active child who was always laughing and playing with friends. Her relentless love of basketball always kept her on the go. She played on three different teams.

A Mother’s Intuition

She tried to muddle her way through the first semester of school, but was losing the battle. She was becoming ill at all times of the day. She would sleep on the bathroom floor hoping not to vomit one more time. I made repeated visits to the pediatrician’s office and pleaded with them to help our child. Thoughts were running through my head as to why she became ill so suddenly. Then I remembered my mother’s intuition moment and realized our world began to change after the Gardasil vaccine. The pediatrician was in agreement that we would not proceed with the second dose of the vaccine due to Nina’s illness.

Searching for Help

The next year was filled with illness, doctor’s appointments, diagnostic tests, multiple medications, multiple diagnoses, and many, many disappointments. We were told she was suffering from, Vestibular hypo function, Meniere’s disease, tonsillitis, and last but not least, a mental illness.

My husband and I were baffled. No matter what medicine the doctor’s prescribed for our daughter, her illness continued to invade her body and turn our worlds upside down.  We finally caved in and took her to see a psychologist. The psychologist commended Nina for dealing with this confusing illness in such an adult manner. She reassured us that Nina seemed well adjusted and saw no reason for any type of treatment. How could our healthy child who played basketball 24/7 and aspired to play basketball in college dwindle down to a chronically sick child who was now on home bound study with no social life?  Most of her friends drifted away as her illness seemed invisible to them, as there was no visible signs such a blood spouting from an artery.

We then decided that the traditional medical community was not helping so we decided to try a naturopathic route. We were told it was coming form an adrenal problem and were given vitamins, detoxifying foot baths, and massage therapy know as Reiki. All were complementary, but did not give her any long term relief.

Time marched on and in April of 2009 we stumbled across the television show Mystery Diagnosis. This particular episode was describing Nina exactly. This was the first time I had ever heard the word dysautonomia. I immediately went to the internet to research this illness. I found no specialists in the Pittsburgh area. I began calling every specialist within the United States and faxed all of Nina’s medical information to their offices. We took the first available appointment from the first specialist to return our call.

Finally a Diagnosis: Dysautonomia

Nina was finally diagnosed with dysautonomia by Dr. Hassan Abdallah at The Children’s Heart Institute in Reston, Virginia.  As sad as it may sound, we were delighted to finally have a name for her illness. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together. Dr. Abdallah started her on blood pressure medication, followed by a vasoconstrictor medicine, followed by a medicine used for people with Attention Deficit Disorder. These medicines all help push more blood to the heart and brain, thus making her illness less violent. Typically, people with dysautonomia do not perform well in the morning.  It takes hours for their bodies to function and begin their day.  Even though we had a diagnosis for Nina, we still could not get her back to functioning like a teenager. We continued our battle by getting a second and third opinion from The Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Medical Center.  It was at Case Western that a doctor finally admitted that they had seen an increase in dysautonomia since the Gardasil vaccine was introduced.

She also takes melatonin to sleep at night. She constantly has issues with low Vitamin D which requires a prescription dose of the vitamin periodically. She takes an anti-nausea medicine as needed. She has recently been diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and insulin resistance. She combats all this by pushing herself to exercise with a trainer who specializes in strength and heart rate monitoring.

I have researched Gardasil and the facts against it are astounding.

  • Why would the FDA place a vaccine on their fast tract program (which means it only requires six months of research) if this vaccine was being administered to little girls?
  • Why are there over 2000 class action lawsuits against the manufacturers because of debilitating side effects and even death?
  • Why do the manufacturers constantly ignore the facts of websites such as Truthaboutgardasil.org?
  • Do they really think that all these people are just complainers and really don’t want to have a normal life?

We are currently seeking information about a new procedure called Transvascular Autonomic Modulation. It is an invasive procedure where they feed a catheter through the jugular vein and stretch the nerve fibers near the vagal nerve. This is said to reset the autonomic nervous system, thus giving patients relief of symptoms. It does have a 75% success rate. It is only performed by an interventional radiologist in California.

Six Years Post Gardasil

Nina was on the home bound program for high school. She never got to play on her high school basketball team. She never got to attend any proms. Regardless of the adversity she faces, she managed to graduate with a 4.0 GPA. She now attends the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg as a full time student. She struggles through each and every day with the perseverance of a soldier. Her strength and relentless integrity to live her dreams inspires everyone who has the pleasure of knowing her. The light at the end of the tunnel is that most people with dysautonomia will out-grow it. The doctors agree that Nina’s case is severe and it may be much longer before she gets relief from most symptoms.

Lessons Learned From Gardasil

Gardasil has taught us some valuable lessons. First, never think your doctor knows everything. They are human. They work for you. If you have questions, never stop asking until you are satisfied. Always trust your gut feelings or mother’s intuition. We are better people because of this illness. We no longer take life for granted. Our days of long hours at the gym watching basketball games and striving for the most points and the biggest scholarship have been traded in for a day of no pain or a friend who cared enough to spend some time doing nothing with Nina just because she is a fun person when her symptoms simmer down. Never judge a person with an invisible illness. Everybody carries some type of a burden in their life. Lastly and most important, we trust God has a plan and we will continue the battle until his will we be done.

Participate in Research

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.

 

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Five Years After Gardasil

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My name is Ashley Adair and I am suffering the side effects of something I thought would help me.  I received the Gardasil vaccine because the people and doctors all around me kept telling me “OH! This vaccine is the best thing to happen to the medical industry!” Of course my mom and I fell for it like many girls have. I want to let people know about the dark side of the Gardasil vaccine.

My Life Before Gardasil

Before the HPV Vaccine, I was the most energetic child. I went to school for 8 hours, then went to 3 hours of gymnastics practice, finishing with homework at night. My weekends were filled with gymnastics meets. After gymnastics I went straight into competition cheerleading, which were the same hours. I basically lived in the gym and loved every second of it. I was blessed. Overall I was a healthy child.

After the First Gardasil Injection

I received my first injection in April, 2008. My injection did hurt more than a normal injection. I had mild soreness and redness after. At the time, I didn’t recognize the symptoms I was having. I had slight fatigue, and I would occasionally have a very sore throat. I could not stick my tongue out and I just threw it off as an allergic reaction to chlorine because I was swimming a lot.

After the Second Gardasil Injection

The nightmare began in June, 2008. I received the second shot and I noticed it hurt a bit more than the first. I almost cried a bit, which is very much unlike me. I got a little lightheaded at the checkout line. After 30 minutes, I was fine. The very next night I told my mom I was very sick. I was crying in pain with my pelvis and legs absolutely killing me. I was running a fever and I was very nauseous. So like any parent would, she took me to the emergency room. Of course, the doctors only listen to one symptom and told me I had a stomach virus and that they couldn’t do anything for me. They sent me home.

The next day I was so exhausted and slept till about 3 o’clock. My mom came home from work.  I went outside and noticed I had some kind of rash all over my body. It looked like someone took a fine point purple permanent marker and dotted it all over me. My mom immediately took me to my regular pediatrician and he could not figure out what was on me. He ran a lot of blood work and we went home until we could receive the blood work news. My mom received a phone call around 9 o’clock; one of the scariest phone calls she has ever received. My doctor told her I needed to get back to the ER ASAP. He told her that my blood work was CRITICAL, and the rash on me was called a petechial rash.

Petechiae rashMy red blood cells and white blood cells were completely wiped out. They told me if I were to do a handstand my gums would start bleeding and I would bleed to death. If I caught a common cold my body would not be able to fight it off and I would die. Over the next six weeks I went through so many different rashes, EXTREME fatigue, joint pains, leg pains, shoulder pains, dizziness, and low blood pressure. I finally went to an infectious disease specialist and he told me not to get the third shot or I wouldn’t be here.

I finally started getting better. At the age of 15 I still had not received my menstrual cycle. I went to an OBGYN and he put me on birth control to start my period. That should have been a sign then but we didn’t think about it. I never gained my energy back. My senior year things started acting up again. I got a hemangioma on my lip.

This was very strange because it is mostly babies that will get a hemangioma, not adults. After that happened, I started getting very sick. I missed weeks of school at a time. I kept getting severe bronchitis and I just couldn’t shake it off. I also had to go to the doctor because I was very depressed. I was then put on Zoloft. Luckily my teachers worked with me and I graduated with A’s and B’s.

Ashley Adair Hemangioma post Gardasil
The hemangioma that developed on my lip.

Five Years Post Gardasil

Over the five years after I received the shot I always slept, never had energy, and kept getting what I thought was growing pains. In June of 2012 my growing pains were getting worse in my knees/legs. So my mom took me to the doctor and they couldn’t really figure out what was wrong. They put me in a knee brace and gave me medicine and sent me off. I also just did not feel good at all and my doctor ran some more blood work on me. We then found out I had hypothyroidism, I am now on medicine for that.

From June 2012 until now (August 2013), I face every day with severe pain. My pain is in my lower back, pelvic, hips, back of leg, and knee. I had eight epidurals for the pain. Nothing worked. My legs will also turn a dark purple almost black and it will travel all the way down to my feet.  No one seems to know what causes this.

Ashley Adair post Gardasil blood pooling
My leg turning purple.

I had an MRI for my back and found out that I am missing an ovary and have a mass on my uterus. Of course, when I went to the OBGYN for it, he did a sonogram and could find neither the mass nor my ovary. He threw me off like it was no big deal. I am now lost on whether I have an ovary or a mass.

I have discovered in this situation that doctors really will not try to help you. They just don’t believe you or throw you off to another doctor if they can’t figure it out. I also have lost family members because of this problem. Not everyone will believe you or know what you are going through, but I am here to get my word out so no girl or boy will have to go through the misery that I am going through. I want to create something good out of something terrible.

Participate in Research

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.

 

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Before and After Gardasil

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On January 29th, 2011, I went to a gynecological appointment with my fiancé to discuss birth control pills and get my first set of HPV Gardasil vaccinations. I believed the vaccine was important. I personally had never taken the time to research vaccinations or Gardasil. I believed it was a part of the ‘healthcare’ system.  I had seen the commercials and wanted to be ‘one less girl’ affected by cervical cancer. I didn’t know the ingredients, the real statistics on HPV, cervical cancer, or even how long it had been studied and tested. I knew nothing about the vaccine but trusted my doctors.

My Health before Gardasil

Prior to that visit, I had been dealing with spine issues and pain since I was a teenager. In October of 2010 I had another injury that put me out of work and aggravated my spine issues. I was prescribed heavy doses of muscle relaxers.  I had been taking those medications for the six months prior, but had weaned myself off a couple weeks before my Ob/Gyn checkup. The muscle relaxers were causing gastrointestinal (GI) complications in my body, exacerbating GI issues I already had. I thought this appointment would be beneficial and I was happy I had weaned off muscle relaxers two weeks prior. I was hoping to keep what small progress I had going.

My First Gardasil Injection

Within the first few days and for the week after the Gardasil shot, I was bedridden and sick with what we thought was a bad flu. It was also possible I was having a reaction from the muscle relaxer withdrawal or the side effects of my newly prescribed birth control pills. I stopped taking the birth control pills after eight days and my symptoms worsened.

My mother and fiancé remember the physical changes when I wasn’t feeling well, but those few days after Gardasil have blurred together for me. I was so sick. The next days, weeks and months to come, I experienced the worst nausea, weakness and most severe pain in every crevice of my stomach and body that I have ever felt in my life. Even the other stomach sensitivities and spine/back issues I had experienced previously paled in comparison to what happened to me after getting Gardasil.

The Doctors

We went to every doctor appointment and tested everything we possibly could. The tests kept coming back ‘fine’. (Ironically, they never tested for heavy metal poisoning, which we found later I had. If any doctor would have known those symptoms, I had nearly all of them, perhaps I wouldn’t have suffered for so long.) None of the doctors said there could be any connection with Gardasil, but we suspected otherwise. In fact, most told us just the opposite; that my symptoms were definitely not caused by Gardasil. It was not until blood tests taken outside of my doctor’s office nine months later that we discovered the toxic stress, heavy metal poisoning and other toxins were filtering through my bloodstream. (Gardasil ingredients included; we finally connected it with certainty here.)

The Pain and Nausea

During this period of many months, for twenty four hours a day, every moment of my life, I was nauseas, sick to my stomach and alternating puking. I could not drink water or eat anything without getting sick. Digesting anything was extremely painful. It hurt to move, to walk or to do anything. I could not even wear jeans around my waist for seven months because of how painful my stomach felt. I discovered new levels of dizziness. I was losing weight rapidly, up to 15 pounds a month, with limited activity.

Nicole Alexandra Before and After Gardasil
Left: me in December 2010, one month before Gardasil. Right: a year and a half later, July 2012 after the extreme weight loss post Gardasil.

I tried to focus and meditate healing into my body to counteract what was happening. I lost 100 pounds within that first year and a half. My diastolic blood pressure dropped to the 50’s/40’s. It used to be consistently around 120’s/60-70’s. My hair fell out at the rate of my weight loss – quickly. Even my tongue turned a grey black color in the center, and my eyes turned a slight yellow.

The most challenging and embarrassing issues were the gastrointestinal problems, which were each horrifying on their own. Every time I had to use the restroom, it made me more ill than I already felt, and the pain I experienced is something I will never forget. The pain in my stomach and body was disorientating. It physically hurt everywhere. I struggled focusing, verbalizing my anxiety or frustrations because I was feeling so toxic in my own body. I was in more pain, more exhausted and more fatigued than I had ever felt. It was often overwhelming and uncomfortable, especially trying to sleep with comfort or ease. Meanwhile through all of this, I was told by my doctors that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and to go on a whole grain diet. That was the only advice they had for us, after all my symptoms, IBS. We knew we needed other help and resources.

Family Support

My family focused all of their efforts into helping me any way they could. I was already seeing an acupuncturist outside of my insurance every week and she was documenting my progressing issues as time went on.

We bought vitamins, herbs, protein powders, digestive enzymes, probiotics, and fiber supplements to treat IBS issues. We began the first of many dramatic diet changes to facilitate gut healing. After months of using these products, they were helping on a small scale by not making things feel worse, with some slight benefits. The nausea and pain were still constant. My back and whole body were amongst the most excruciating pains and because of the pain, my mobility, energy and strength were limited. As the months went by, I became further immobilized. I walked as much as I was able. I tried swimming during the summer, but it exacerbated my pain greatly. My physical therapist told me, “This was as good as I was going to get.” We didn’t stick around with her after that.

Out of Desperation

We were at our tip of desperation after I returned from a two day trip with my fiancé. We went out of town to see friends. It was traveling, something I hadn’t done during this year of many changes. We were trying to make it work even with my health complications. It was wonderful seeing my friends, but my body could not recover from exhaustion after returning. We sought additional help. The physicians we saw during this time had not helped, many would not help and denied my symptoms. It was my acupuncturist, who stuck with us and tried to heal me. She gave me the name of a chiropractor in the area. It was worth a try.

Chiropractic Health

One of our biggest blessings through this chaos was finding chiropractic care and meeting my chiropractor, Dr. McKillican. He recognized the crisis my health and nervous system were in and was the first sincere and genuine doctor that strived to help us. A chiropractor was not on any of my insurance or among the recommendations suggested to me, ever. In fact, I was advised to stay away from them earlier in life. I know with my whole being that chiropractic saved my life, especially during this crucial time of disease and sickness. I have been getting weekly adjustments for nearly two years, beginning seven months after getting Gardasil. Chiropractic adjustments have made significant and dramatic improvements in healing and strengthening my nervous system and body. Regular adjustments work on our nervous system to remove nerve interference within us and to promote the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

 Vital Hematology and Nutrition

Nine months after Gardasil, I worked with a vital hematologist to detoxify my body naturally. We used a focused diet that included: juicing specific veggies, fruits, herbs, multiple vitamins, digestive enzymes, colloidal silver, olive leaf extract, glutathione, aloe vera juice. This regime greatly helped with my unbearable, chronic nausea.  It seems to have reduced the intensity of pain throughout my stomach. I have had significant improvements in GI health.

This past year I also began working with a nutritionist to deal with the continuous mending needed to repair my GI issues, adrenal dysfunction, energy, appetite/food challenges and over all internal damages. I am thankful beyond words for the healing I’ve experienced, and despite the pain and the many challenges I have faced post Gardasil, my body is mending at the rate it can.  I use my energy to focus on this.

Two Years Post Gardasil

The issues I am still working on healing and mending are different two and half years after Gardasil are the autoimmunity changes. These include:  gastrointestinal issues, body pain, appetite dysregulation and the ability to eat enough, malabsorption of nutrients, low blood pressure and dizziness, energy, sensitivity to cold temperature and chemicals.

Food and my appetite can be very overwhelming sometimes.  I often don’t want or have the desire to eat or I get full too quickly. I also get really hungry all at once, often unexpectedly and painfully. The food and appetite issues are a constant work in progress that is still very complex. They have become somewhat easier to work with now than in the years before. I find focusing on ratios of carbs, fats and protein I need helps. I have also eliminated foods with gluten, GMO or that are processed. I no longer eat foods that are spicy or acidic either. I eat raw organic veggies only juiced because my GI tract cannot tolerate the un-juiced vegetables.  I watch my sugar intake, including many fruits, and other foods that I am sensitive to. I eat whole foods, organic vegetables and fruits, good fats (butter and coconut oil have helped immensely here) and as much healthy, grass fed, organic protein and protein shakes as my body needs to be balanced. All this has helped substantially.

My healthy lifestyle is vital to keep my progress going. With nutrition, vitamins, medicinal herbs, supplements, regular chiropractic adjustments, removing as many toxins from my environment, and adding as much movement, exercise, walking or stretching as I can, I am slowly improving. I also use coffee enemas and drink alkalized water (and lots of it). My body now seems to be on the path it needs to recover from the atrocity that Gardasil caused. Every day is different with pain and energy levels, but I focus on the blessings, because I know how much worse it can be.

The Support of My Family

It has taken a substantial amount of money, time and sacrifices from my extraordinary mother and fiancé to care for me post Gardasil. Without them, none of this progress could have been possible. I am more grateful and humbled than ever to be alive and for all the amazing, most abundant love and support of people I’m blessed to share my life with. I could not have come this far without these wonderful people.

Gardasil changed my health, my life, and family’s lives forever; physically, mentally emotionally, financially, and educationally. What I can give and share with others through this experience is the truth, my experiences, and the real facts and statistics regarding Gardasil. I plan to do this until this vaccine exists no more.

Participate in Research

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.

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