anyone female who had been treated by GARDASIL can you tell me more about it?

Question

female who had sex should get tested? how about female who had kids should be tested too? should i get test? i just had a baby now hes 9 months. how much does it cost?

Answer 1

EVERY woman who is sexually active should get an annual Pap smear. This is how we screen for HPV. While Pap smears don't test directly for HPV, it finds problems that are usually caused by HPV (where there's smoke, there's fire). Because you are sexually active (presuming, since you've got a baby and all), you should be getting Pap smears regularly. Paps will be covered by insurance, or you could get them cheap or free from your local public health clinic.

Gardasil is intended for girls and women ages 9 to 26. It is not yet available to males in the US, but it will be soon. Ideally you'd want to administer the vaccine before a person becomes sexually active (and therefore at risk of contracting HPV). That's why they set the age bar really low -- they want to cover as many people as possible. And bear in mind, rape can transmit HPV, so it's not as if we're raising a generation of child prostitutes, sometimes bad things happen to innocent people.

The age limit is up to 26. You can get Gardasil past that age, but it is not going to be covered by insurance because that's off-label use. The age issue is because most people who contract HPV will do so in their teens or early 20s. Statistically speaking, if you haven't contracted some form of HPV by the age of 26, it's really not likely to happen.

However because there are so many kinds of HPV (Gardasil protects against the big 4 strains), even if you have one strain, you can/should get Gardasil to protect you against the other 3. The chances of a woman already having all four of the strains is pretty slim.

Gardasil can cost between $300 to $450 out of pocket. See if your insurance will cover it.

Answer 2

How old are you? They don't give it to you if you're over 27. Also, if you're monogamous (though just b/c you have a baby doesn't mean you're married), you don't normally need it. If you're b/f or husband has it he gave it to you already anyway. HPV is not the end of the world. Many of us have it, but if you're under 27 and sleeping around, you should get it. Talk to your primary care physician about it, then your insurance may cover it.