gardasil pain

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.

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.

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