How I did it: Most campuses in my state give it out for free. The Merck reminder emails told me when to make appointments, so I showed up and got stabbed. I even got a lollypop out of the deal.

Planned parenthoods will give it out at a discount, but when I tried that method I found that it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be (they are hard to make well timed appointments with, and hard to reach if you're carless on a campus without a planed parenthood.)

Lessons & tips: Springloaded syringes should be avoided if at all possible! I got a serious bruise from the first dose because they used that method. The second two doses were from plain syringes and were fine. It stings a bit (less than tetanus by a lot though) but it's definitely worth it for the added peace of mind. No side effects here!

Another issue I faced were a lot of people asking me why I was bothering to get it. They kept saying it was just the result of fearmongering to make a profit. To be honest though, I think I would prefer to get it and have been conned, than to not get it and get hpv and reget not getting it. If there's the smallest chance that something might help, go for it, kind of like Pascal's Wager. The probability of getting side effects is much smaller than the possibility of eradicating a cause of cervical cancer and a silent epidemic.


And not that anyone would forget, but just remember that it only protects against a few strains and it's still necessary to practice safe sex because who knows how many other things are out there. Enjoy!

Resources: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

http://www.gardasil.com/what-is-gardasil/3-is-Key/three-is-key/

May 10, 12:56PM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer