Using Gardasil to help treat already present HPV??

I have HPV.. several different kinds. My doctor (who is a kind of expert with HPV) says it is clearing up ok but she is recommending I get the HPV vaccine Gardasil to help get rid of it.
I am very holistic and really don't care for putting strange chemicals in my body. Especially ones that have not been around very long and long term effects unknown. But if it will help me get rid of this thing and it is safe, I may try it. I am pretty desperate (after dealing with this for almost a year).
It is my understanding that vaccines usually operate by adding the sickness. So like if it is an HPV vaccine, the vaccine would contain HPV. If I already have HPV.. how would that work? How would that make it better? Also vaccines contain toxic heavy metals such as mercury that can cause serious health effects such as emotional issues.. depression, mental confusion and learning disabilities in children.
I ask many questions to my doctors and remember that medicine is an art and there are many different ways to go about things. I also have a heightened awareness about drug companies trying to make money. I think it is extremely important to be well informed on your own and get many opinions and not just trust one doctor.
So... like I said, I am not closed to the idea. Anything that may help, I am open to. But I would really like to know more about the vaccine and if anyone has heard of using it to treat HPV not just prevent it. Could just be a way of selling more vaccines or using patients as guinea pigs. At any rate, I only want to do things that are going to make it better.
Is there anyone out there who can really tell me about this vaccine from a science perspective?
I want this gone already!! :)

Thanks!

By flowershoplady
Posted April 26, 2009 at 5:01 pm
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the information/research studies i've read have shown that gardasil doesn't help current hpv infections, but it can protect against future hpv infections. and, merck doesn't market the vaccine as an effective treatment for current hpv infection. since your doctor is an hpv expert and is recommending the vaccine, i'm sure she'll share the research studies she's found to support her approach....and then you can share it with us! :)

By kala81
Posted April 26, 2009 at 5:57 pm
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OK. She seemed to say that studies are coming out that getting the vaccine after the fact can help in treatment. It didn't sound like anyone knows anything solid though. While I am happy to help out w/ HPV research, I want to help my own cause in the process. I do, however, wish in a way, that I got the vaccine before (as much as I dislike vaccines). I just want to make sure I am helping, not hurting my situation.
I would have asked her more at the time but she was on her way out the door and I think I was just needing a minute (or few days) to process the idea.
Maybe if I call her she will actually speak to me by phone. But I know she is very busy.
I will definitely let everyone know what I find out :)

By cattas
Posted April 26, 2009 at 8:50 pm
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my dr suggested the same thing. he said that it would give my immune system the boost it needed to overcome the infection. i'm not too interested in that at all since i've heard of it not helping those who are over 26, who already have the virus...all of a sudden i'm supposed to be one to taking it. like you said perhaps if there were supporting research papers. i'll inquire at my next appt and pass info along.

By corellin
Posted April 27, 2009 at 12:30 am
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http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/298/7/743

Here's a link to a study that concludes:
"In women positive for HPV DNA, HPV-16/18 vaccination does not accelerate clearance of the virus and should not be used to treat prevalent infections."

When your doctor says that the vaccine can boost immunity, what does he/she mean? The vaccine causes antibodies to be developed which essentially de-activate the virus before it can establish infection in the basal layer of cells. But once infection is already established, I think a different type of immunity, cellular immunity, works to clear the cell of the virus. I don't think the vaccine in any way boosts cellular immunity.

I do wonder, though, if the vaccine could prevent infection in new places, such as anus or oral cavity. And, it can prevent infection with types you don't already have. And, I also wonder if it can prevent "reinfection" or future infection, once the current infection has cleared.

If doctors can provide any specific information on the vaccine relating to clearing current infections, I'd love to hear it, because maybe there's new information. The above study was in 2007.

By kala81
Posted April 27, 2009 at 4:53 am
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Yeah. Any study info would be great. I am not going to rush into anything. And at the same time, time is of the essence. I am shooting to be rid of this thing within 4 months. I am praying to. I guess I will use this time to secure my future career goals and work on school. and have non-physical relationships. Perhaps my doctor is right: I am failing to recognize the gifts here. (from having this)
sorry i got off track there....
I will keep you all posted on any information about the vaccine. I am about 50/50 on it.

By jamiegirl
Posted April 27, 2009 at 1:11 pm
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I went for a anal pap today. The doctor was extremely nice and knowledgeable. He deals mainly with gay men because it seems that anal cancer and hpv in the heteroesexual community has not lit a light bulb in the minds of most doctors. Anyway, he recommended getting the Gardisil vaccine for people over age 26. He said that there is data showing that it IS effective in the over 26 population. I asked him if it could help prevent an hpv type you already have from taking hold in another place in your body not currently infected and he said "no". HOWEVER, he did say that if you clear an hpv ifection, ie. hpv 16, then getting the Gardisil vaccine WILL INDEED prevent you from becoming reinfected with that same hpv type....very interesting news I thought.

By samz
Posted April 27, 2009 at 1:46 pm
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My OBGYN gave my Gardisil for an already present HPV infection which was causing me some trouble. I just got my results back after LEEP and everything is clean, no sign of HPV. So from my POV, it just might work. I had no side effects from the multiple injections.

By samz
Posted April 27, 2009 at 9:05 pm
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My OBGYN said that the Gardisil will/should prevent any further re-infection if indeed it was the LEEP that worked. I had never had an abnormal PAP until I started using the NuvaRing (which is another discussion entirely). But anyhow, my Dr. thought it would make a big difference in how well I did after the LEEP (keeping the HPV at bay or from spreading).

By kala81
Posted April 28, 2009 at 1:01 am
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huh.. hmm.. maybe I should get the shot. we'll see. still trying to find a doc in San Francisco. If anyone knows any.... would be so appreciated.
take care. & congratulations to you on your recovery :)

By bookbabe20
Posted April 29, 2009 at 2:25 am
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This quote merits discussion with our doctors -From http://www.infectagentscancer.com/content/2/1/11

"The introduction of the type-specific Gardasil™ HPV vaccines into the sexually active female population also requires genotype monitoring of the HPV infections before and after immunization to develop prevention strategy for the individual patients. Based on a "Background Document" submitted to the FDA [26], injection of HPV vaccines into women who have concurrent vaccine-relevant HPV type infections may increase the risk, by 44.6%, of developing high-grade precancerous lesions in the cervix. Therefore, it would be prudent to perform a genotype-specific HPV assay if prior HPV infection is suspected."

Citation 26:
VRBPAC Background Document: Gardasil™ HPV Quadrivalent Vaccine. [http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/briefing/2006-4222B3.pdf] webcite
VRBPAC Meeting
May 18, 2006

By sweetsassystj
Posted April 30, 2009 at 9:04 pm
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Now I personally have a problem with this shot. My doctor told me that you are suppose to have all 3 shots by the time you are 27. Its suppose to help preventing you from getting HPV and any other forms of cervical cancer. So I did the shots. 3 months after getting the final shot, I went to get a pap, and guess what..I have cervical cancer. It shows no signs of HPV, but I still have a form of cervical cancer. So to me the shot is a joke, because I get the shots and still end up with cancer.

By cattas
Posted April 30, 2009 at 10:14 pm
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sweetsassystj...i'm sorry you went thru that. it must have floored you to get that news.

positive energy to help our bodies heal themselves. i feel like that is all we can count on. they're working thru all this stiff and don't even know what its all about.

By flowershoplady
Posted April 30, 2009 at 11:30 pm
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sweetsassystj, i'm sorry to hear this....unfortunately the gardasil vaccine is only preventive for most of the hpv strains that cause cervical cancer (70% of cervical cancers) and thus doesn't protect against all cervical cancers. and it only helps if a woman has not yet been exposed to those hpv strains. if you had previously had sex, then that would be how you had contracted hpv. how are you doing from your leep? is that when the cancer was detected? you'll want to see a gynecologic oncologist since they're they've got the experience and expertise. let us know how you're doing!

By sweetsassystj
Posted April 30, 2009 at 11:36 pm
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flowershoplady. Well thanks for your knowledge. When I got told by the doctor about gardisil they were telling me that it protected you from all cancers. And I haven't had my leep yet. I go next Friday. I don't know much about anything. They keep talking in lingo that I just don't understand. I just keep doing what they tell me to do..and wait til they say I'm better!

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