Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Let's talk about vaccines.

I'm 26. Almost 27, at which point I will no longer be able to get the HPV vaccine. For some reason, I'm not convinced I need to get it.

"Females who are sexually active may also benefit from the vaccine. But they may get less benefit from the vaccine since they may have already acquired one or more HPV type(s) covered by the vaccine." Source: CDC

What do people think? What have people done?

6 comments:

Hendershott said...

So doctors say you don't need to get vaccinated after 27? Me, personally, I don't see a reason NOT to do it. If you have talked to your doctor and discussed the possibility of it not working, then I suppose that's one thing but I see it as an important thing for all of us to get.
G'luck with the decision.

Kristin said...

I think you should get the vaccine. It seems any cervical cancer prevention is worth it because even when you catch that shit early, it is still expensive and painful (and scary) to treat.

Even though HPV and I are already pals, I shoud probably think about getting the vaccine myself because there are four different types. And who knows, maybe I haven't been exposed to all four quite yet.

mega said...

i've asked multiple doctors and gotten as many different responses. some doctors say the number of partners and other health risks (smoking, for example) are important to factor in when assessing your vulnerability. others say some people just get that shit. not one of them fully endorsed or opposed the vaccine. i haven't gotten it, but that's mostly out of laziness. from what i hear it's not that expensive, and the shots have no real side effects-so why not? even if it might protect you, it's probably worth it.

Hendershott said...

While walking to pick up my prescriptions I got to thinking about this HPV post. When I got to the counter where the pharmacist was, I said, "I know you're not a doctor, but I had a question about HPV. Is it only transmittable through sexual contact? Are lesbians at risk?" and you know what she did? She laughed. She kept making [not so] secret glances at her co-worker, and broke into giggles (presumably from my having mentioned "sex") so much so that she couldn't respond. I repeated some questions in a "this-is-not-a-big-deal" sort've way, trying to maintain some sense of maturity about the subject. Eventually I just took my Rxs and left, really disappointed with how a professional health dudette could be so ... fucked.
Me? I walked out neither giggling nor feeling ashamed. My head held high, I left her practically doubled over.

Kristin said...

Rebec, holy shit, that is seriously fucked up. I can't believe she would be so immature and unprofessional. So wrong. Way to go on continuing to ask questions and keeping your head up. That's so unbelievably lame.

Meg said...

ok, this I have to respond to this as well. like Kristin I was also diagnosed with HPV (here in Mexico). I have been told by the head doctor here not to do anything. She says that the vaccine really doesn't help because there are more than four strains. Only four you will be protected from. Usually our bodies will kill HPV by itself and after a year or two if it doesn't go away that is when you need to get the shit burned. this also happened to my mom. She waited and her body killed everything on its own. I am going to wait to see what happens as well. What i was told is that everything depends on the doctor you see. Some are scared and tell you to get rid of it right away. Others are more patient and say wait to see what your body does. You know, we are very strong beings and are body does more than we think. Someone let me know what they think.