One More Girl Documentary Will Be Made!

http://www.prlog.org/11435516-funded-one-more-girl-exposing-the-other-side-of-mercks-one-less-hpv-campaign.html

The PR Release link is above.

People believe enough in the "anecdotal evidence" to back this film. So if you are a mother, or a daughter, or a woman affected by this vaccine they are now looking for females to show in the documentary. I would, although my own experience is with only one dose of the vaccine and my side effects relatively mild. Thank goodness I realized something was rotten with the vaccine and didn't accept any subsequent doses. I hope girls will continue to refuse this vaccine and/or subsequent doses if they are experiencing side effects so they do not have to experience what the worst affected have.

I'm looking forward to the documentary.

Hypochloridia

Thank-you Truth About Gardasil group! This is the most interesting article I have come across in a long time and it explains a lot!

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2001_Oct/ai_78900837/?tag=content;col1


Hypochloridia, or low stomach acid. This is a contender for explaining all the problems! Luckily right now I'm pretty healthy, I'm digesting my food well, I'm going to ballet class multiple times a week, and coping pretty well with everything in general and have time to hang out with friends, but during the dark times it definitely was not so much this way. Anyway, the article is fascinating and can explain hypochloridia much better than I can in my own words.

Anyway, it's kind of impressive because the acupuncturist told me that I had a stomach yin deficiency and my stomach most markedly was abnormal according to eastern diagnosis.

Maybe it's always been a problem for me... I always experienced heartburn and nausea episodes as a kid. Maybe it led to some of the phenomenon described in the article (high levels of detrimental ions, aluminum, zinc, cadmium etc...) and then the sensitivity to the Gardasil shot. So maybe it's an underlying problem. This is the only condition I have ever seen that explains the waxing and waning severity of geographic tongue. I always wondered about that.

I don't think that hypochloridia is uncommon at all, seeing as how overmedicated for "excess acid" people are these days.

That was interesting. A part of me will always be interested in science.

___________________

If you think you may have low stomach acid (I'm sure it's fairly common) I've been thinking of what you can do to fix it.

1) Eat small, frequent, meals. You will better digest your food, it is better for your sugar metabolism which may be compromised because of the condition, and have time to regenerate and digest everything more effectively.

2) Don't drink too much water with meals. It will dilute what acid is in your stomach. Wait until a little while after your meal to drink.

3) Eat unprocessed foods. Try to avoid refined flours, sugars, etc. This is a good step for all health conditions.

4) Betaine HCl (to supplement the HCl which is the acid for your stomach): BUT be cautious with it. Sx of hyperacidity and hypoacidity are really similar. Start out with a small dose, monitor its effects carefully. This is a good site about Betaine HCl
http://www.modernherbalist.com/betaine.html

I'll add more as I think of them.

One More Girl

Project focusing on the negative effects of Gardasil:

THEY ARE CURRENTLY FUNDRAISING to make a DOCUMENTARY FILM: (yay)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1995527181/one-more-girl-documentary

They're fundraising and need a certain amount by April in order to get the movie made. I say one less shot of Gardasil and One MORE girl. Thank goodness I'm on the mend. Must be forever grateful because I never know when the horrible feelins will come back. I'll probably try to donate some. Why not donate an hour's pay... maybe it can save another girl all the hours I spent suffering. Compared to some I've hardly had it half bad. But the point is that it's preventable and young girls who did not ask for this are being willingly subjected to the roulette of whether they will be one of the millions who are unaffected, or if they will experience the negative effects.

I'm Back

I'm back after the (short) Thanksgiving Break. Actually, it felt pretty long (because there are basically no breaks at my university...) I think I've been seeing some improvement. This is all I'm taking now:

If you have any issue this does not substitute for seeking treatment from anyone. It is merely a description of what is happening in my life. When in doubt always seek help from a qualified provider.

-fish oil, breakfast/dinner

-low dose B-vitamin with C (Solgar), 1 at breakfast

-magnesium glycinate (1 50 tablet, breakfast and dinner)

-taurine 1000 mg, breakfast and dinner

-zinc citrate 15 (mg?)

-vitamin D3 drops for kids (low dose)

-5-HTP, 50 mg, 1x a day, when I sense that I'm getting tearful and on edge again

ALSO... trying to avoid copper

So far so good on that. Vitamin D3, despite my deficiency in it, consistently seems to give me an on-edge sort of feeling. I try to take it earlier in the day. It's been about 3 weeks since I have seen any doctor so I am doing better. I have not had one night where I could not fall asleep for a few weeks now. Things are slowly but surely stabilizing... I really don't know what happened. It was probably a combination of the detox diet I was doing (even though it was not extreme! I was following a paleo diet... lean proteins, light on carb, rich in vegetables and fruits.) Fruits can set me off I guess. Then I tried an herbal mixture... I still think there is something really wonky with my immune system and that there is probably some kind of toxin left from the vaccine, or even if the toxins don't bother people, not all people have the same immune response to those toxins. There is a protocol outlined by Dr. Baylock (Blaylock) for treating negative vaccine reactions advising against any mushroom/immune stimulating extracts. Something there is still dysfunctional, which is evident because I have had a low-level mono infection for more than 2 years. He's really good, he wrote one of my favorite books: "Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills" all about MSG and aspartate... not the BEST book in the world but it was pretty good.

Let's see... what else is working...

-prayer and meditation

-avoiding googling my symptoms (for the health anxiety that all these symptoms started... I'll admit it is there but I really don't think it's everything...)

-www.anxietyzone.com-- a bunch of people with crazy symptoms... who are surviving... it helps with my feeling of being all alone in this

Max's brother is here. There's a lot of getting acquainted we still have to do but just like my health, I'll just take it slow and natural. I really want things to work out but it has stirred up some anxiousness and requires some adjusting but nothing too crazy. I have a speaking final in Japanese tomorrow (so I'm going to take my studying to the net and just write out some of the potential dialogues/things I may say tomorrow to help me study) and if you have fun reading Japanese, by all means

どうぞ、読んでもいいです。

Some Fog has Cleared

Been a few days since I wrote here *gasp*.

My parents came down for the weekend to help me out, had a good day on Saturday, a little off on Sunday, and then until today this week has been pretty hard. Even this morning was really rough. Lot's of doctor's appointments. Good news is the cyst probably won't need surgery, it is probably already on its way to recovery. There is a check-up coming after the end of the term to make sure it goes away.

I am off progesterone for the time being... after my functional med dr. said the dose was way too high... no wonder I was having side effects from it. And my cycle has began for the first time in about a month and a half. At least the progesterone works to jump start things... however getting the right dose is tricky. As expected, I am encouraged to go on synthetic hormone bcps because of the PCOS (not by the functional med dr.) but if keeping my weight low and working on diet, insulin resistance and such will keep the cycle regular, I prefer that method. Because I feel sicker around my cycle I'm cautiously optimistic that things will turn around after this week. Now I know how werewolves are. Except these symptoms make me feel more like a were-human.

I'm getting tested for leaky gut and parasites. Getting the samples ready is kind of a pain in the butt.

Mom watered the seed in my head that I might have a brain tumor, although my strongest suspicion is still that the vaccine did something to my immune system. Maybe my immune system is finally calming down. Glands under my tongue that have been swollen for months have gone down slightly since my cycle began. I was also having night sweats... and horrible anxiety this week. Very much like in Japan. I don't know if it feels worse because it is worse or worse because I'm more comfortable around my family and in Japan I had to do my very best to pull myself together for my host family and as a scholarship student I had many commitments and events (such as going to tour the Mazda factory.) Very exciting time in my life, but also a very scary one. And even though I'm scared that it may be a brain tumor or MS or something, my symptoms don't completely fit that picture... looks like an as of yet misunderstood immune reaction. It's not all that implausible... vaccines have been discontinued when they have done similar things to the public. One that I discovered is Lymerix, the vaccine for Lyme disease which is no longer out in public because of the extremely high rate of people having reactions to it. Oh if I had a billion dollars, there would have to be some research in the area of reversing vaccine damage or more understanding on what appear to be autoimmune responses.

Or, this reaction could very well be the symptoms provoke great anxiety which in turn causes and exacerbates the symptoms. This is a tough nut to crack.

The mechanism of injury for the Lymerix vaccine appeared to be the inclusion of the lyme protein itself... probably the reason that lyme disease is so devastating because the proteins of the infections agents (besides the special tricks the bacterium can play) mimic the proteins of tissues. The immune system forms a memory of that protein (amino acid sequence) and then the cells in the system designed to target the bacterium are confused and start doing their job on tissues of the body! How confusing!

Theories are the same as Epstein Barr Virus linked to Multiple Sclerosis. Generally, any immune reaction puts an individual at risk for Guillian Barre. I'm going to look into what naturopathy does about autoimmune illnesses, although it seems that as naturopathic methods are natural, they aim to stimulate the immune system. That process is a little dangerous in those with these "bad memories" in their immune cells... which is why I'm sure I had a flare of this after having my immune system stimulated. And now that I'm getting run down... I truly hope I can go back to just being a worn down version of myself instead of completely nuts. Just the anxiety is sickening.

Also can report that I test negative for all the classic autoimmune diseases: RA and Lupus. Sed rates don't show that anything is going on, but I'm certainly weakened by the nausea, weight loss, anxiety, lack of appetite and so on and so forth. But feeling more optimistic because I'm feeling better tonight. Getting worried because I can make it through a great day and crash at night... hopefully not tonight... because the anxiety meds just don't really help.

Actually feeling a little like knitting tonight and watching some TV shows with my hubby... this is improvement. Made it through class and my mind for homework has somewhat come back. No more immune stimulation for me after this episode.

Walking down memory lane... pictures are from my trip to the Mazda main headquarters in Hiroshima Japan in the midst of my first health crisis after getting the vaccine. Part symptoms, part anxiety... so much I didn't know. I do believe it was a beautiful experience, but can't help but feel bittnerness that the magnitude of that beauty was affected by that vaccine... I guess i'm working on coming to terms with it.

My Momiji Racer design won that day for the car design contest~~~ (But really, the true prize was being able to go to Japan, I would have never been able to afford the study abroad without the scholarship I received) momiji is maple leaf, which is a symbol of Hiroshima/Miyajima. One of the popular local souvenirs is momiji manjuu or Maple Leaf shaped dessert buns. There's nothing quite like eating one straight from Nishikido

A little write-up in the local paper

With Ryuga, Mazda's concept car. Just like all the ones you see in magazines.

On Mercury Detox

LINK: http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/mercury-part-ii

Good website detailing mercury detox protocol. I'm not about to do anything by myself because I'm afraid there will be further exacerbations. Same for anyone out there looking for help. Don't do it alone. Anything is worth a try. First stop: building up my nutrition. Kinda tough now because I have no appetite. It really feels just like when I got sick in summer 2007. I remember I would have fitful, very scared nights. I feel tremendous guilt for putting my host families through that. On top of that, whatever is going on with my system has my hormones really out of whack and I have all the symptoms of PMDD. Seeing my PCP on Monday but pretty sure I'll just get sent out with a perscription for allergy med and SSRI... good thing I'm also seeing someone who might be interested in doing some functional analysis. It's a mystery.

Hopefully I'll go back to my normal level of sub-functioning soon and no permanent damage is being done. Toxicities can mimic MS... and perhaps MS is a misdiagnosed form of environmental toxicity. Just a theory that should be investigated. Anyway, the point is people have exacerbations but there are also pseudo-exacerbations. Once the inflammation goes away, given time and extended periods of health, the brain has the proven ability to regenerate and heal itself, or redirect messages through areas of the brain that are not damaged. If damage occurs in the spine the same flexibility isn't there...

Gee I wish this is what they taught in biology class. I would have got better grades. But when I was in biology class we were learning about the amino acids (yay histidine... histamine.. all this stuff...) but I didn't get far enough to study how it all actually worked.

Ingredients in the Vaccines I had prior to everything changing:

Gardasil: (from link http://www.offtheradar.co.nz/vaccines/52-gardasil-ingredients.html) Dang that off the radar site is good. It also makes sense with the link I posted yesterday about why putting histidine in with all these toxins is simply not a good idea.

Aluminum 225mcg

Animal and human studies have shown aluminum can cause nerve cell death and that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to enter the brain, as well as cause inflammation at the injection site leading to chronic joint and muscle pain as well as fatigue.

Sodium Borate 35mcg

This is the main ingredient in Boric Acid. Powdered Boric Acid is often used to kill cockroaches. Sodium Borate is now listed as a dangerous poison. Symptons of Sodium Borate poisoning are very similar to many of the side effects being reported with the Gardasil vaccine.

Polysorbate 80 50mcg

Although Polysorbate 80 is a food additive that enables solubility of flavouring oils with water, injection is quite different. Polysorbate 80 injected into prepubescent rats caused a rapid growth of reproductive organs, but growth was abnormal and the rats were sterile, unable to have children. When used intravenously with vitamins it has been known to cause anaphylactic shock. According to the Polysorbate 80 MSDS, it may be a carcinogenic, (cause cancer), as well as a mutagenic, (birth defects).

L-histidine 0.78mcg

L-histidine is an essential amino acid which is a precursor to allergic reactions. It stimulates the inflammatory response of skin and mucous membranes (one possible cause of the allergic reactions reported). It is also responsible for forming metal bearing enzymes (such as the toxic metal storage protein metallothionein). Metals such as zinc, copper, and nickel are transported by binding to L-histidine and the binding is essential for excretion of excess heavy metals. Many parents of autistic children are quite familiar with Metallothionein and MT deficiency.

Sodium Chloride 9.56mcg

Common salt

Yeast Protein 7mcg

This is a hidden form of MSG, as it creates synthetic free glutamic acid in the processing, which in simpler terms is MSG. Most vaccines contain some hidden form of MSG (eg hydrolysed gelatin) as this feeds the live virus.

Menactra:

5oo mcg Aluminum

Hepatitis Vaccine:

Formaldehyde. 2.66 mcg

Couldn't really find the ingredients for the other two vaccines. They're pretty well hidden. It doesn't look like I was exposed to Thimerosal but I'm sure I was as a child as I made it through all the scheduled shots without issue. Just need to keep telling myself that I have recovered from this before therefore I should be able to recover from this again. 頑張ろうね。

Articles I Don't Want to Forget

http://www.whale.to/vaccine/janak_h.html

They are all accessible from the page.

Smart lady. My hero.

Feeling awful this evening. Lots of brain fog and whole left side feels strange.

Just a Link

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-hpv-vaccines-or-jumping-rope-1288283419.html

Free Press, Press Release regarding Gardasil.

Amen to this.

Until mainstream medicine, or any medicine for that matter, finds out what is causing my problems, I will believe that it is Gardasil that triggered them, regardless of whether they were underlying issues before the shot. Better lying in wait then troubling me nearly everyday of my life.

Even the mayo clinic website outlines a list of symptoms, most of which I have experienced to one degree or another since getting the shot- as side effects. I hope some smarty-pants up there decides to figure out how to help people's vaccine damage, although most students are probably concerned with following the Gold-Brick ROAD to $$$ (Radiology, oncology, anaesthesiology, and dermatology...) don't forget cardiology and neurology--true story, I have done a lot of reading on what it takes to become a doctor because since I became sick I dreamed of going to medical school. Although since vaccines affect so many neurologically (what's with the aluminum additives and msg excitotoxins? ethylmercury? really!) I really wanted to go to med school or do my science classes so that I could someday help people going through what I am. And then overwhelming waves of pessimism wash over me when I see the state of the system. Practicioners that get closest to addressing the fundamental issues are rare: naturopaths, functional medicine drs. (And I don't know if naturopathy has quite figured out vaccine reactions yet... nature didn't intend for these poisons to be layered upon developing young people... of course I knew nothing of this... received all my vacs through elementary school, didn't opt out, didn't think twice and now I can't stop thinking about it, it is with me everyday) Like I said, those drs are rare, their treatments are expensive, they're not covered, and just like the vaccines they are up until now untested.

Felt pretty bad this morning despite sleeping well. Made it though my Japanese class (and test), think I did well. Didn't do so well on my science midterms from a couple weeks back. I was feeling pretty sick and was just sort of coasting through my classes... not attacking them as I liked to pre-Gardasil. More restlessness, feeling weak, tired, hungry, empty, heat sensations, and nauseated. But I made it and am doing better at home.

FInally, what's going on now

Hi folks.

Well I finished writing up background information blogs, they're by no means super organized but they kind of show the progression over time and avenues I have tried and have not tried. I've been reading a lot about Gardasil girls. Our problems are varied but they were all precipitated, or activated, from the vaccine. I will see my functional medicine Dr. on Monday with my mom and a GYN about the complex cyst on Nov. 8th (which is kind of scary, because its 3cm *3 cm which is about ping-pong ball if you think about it, sitting on the walnut sized ovary! Scared it might burst or something. Since that can be as serious as appendicitis, it would be no good if that went.

What did I do today?

Well, I woke up after a fitful non-sleep (for two days) because of strange feelings of heat and twitching, feeling like something bad is going to happen when I sleep. But I guess nothing bad has happened and I should just attribute it to this flare. I felt like this in Japan when it was real bad back in 2007. Can it get worse? Can it get better? Nobody knows because the vaccine has never been properly tested . But I guess I know that it can get better and as far as developing seizures or anything, I like to hold out hope that three years after receiving the vaccine I shouldn't have to worry about that. Klonopin which usually helps has not been helping, but I dragged myself to my one class today and got my papers so I can withdraw from the other two which I simply have not been able to commit my energy to due the symptoms.

Thinking about possible triggers of this episode I'm looking at:

-an herbal I received from a naturopath, designed to stimulate the immune system, my immune system is not ready to be stimulated I think and it's not her fault for not knowing, this is tricky business, I got hives and felt strange after it

-lack of sleep: the bad parts of the flare started when I went on vacation with my parents, it' had been a sleep deprived time and we went on vacation

-heat: I was doing saunas and hot tubs, and epsom salt baths when I got back... and the other day when I took a bath to try to help the ovary and my sinuses... I noticed my toe got tingly and numb-ish... feel more restless when hot.

Things I want tested: heavy metal toxicity (aluminum), hormone levels (another expensive saliva test >.< ' )

Things I want to work on: getting my strength and equilibrium back after this flare up

Since this began I really wanted to become some sort of doctor or even a naturopath but now I just want to get well, get well with others, help others get well, get the word out, and frankly, not otherwise have anything to do with the whole mess. What I really want to do is go back to my first love which is Japan, writing, feeling deeply and thinking clearly... enjoying life... and teaching English.

Symptoms Over Time, Specialists Seen and Tests Done

Symptoms Over Time after Receiving Gardasil Vaccination (Related or not, they are what they are) most symptoms come and go but "flares" in which old symptoms return or intensify are still felt.

June 2007

-anxiety, difficulty sleeping, "feeling weird"-heat sensations down arms, creepy crawly, urge to move, nausea, irritable bowel, eyes feel strange, chest pain, rapid heart beat (unexplained)

July 2007

-hair loss, weight loss, intensified anxiety and difficulty especially in evening time, afraid to fall asleep especially when alone (which was very hard during study abroad to Japan)

CBC normal, slightly elevated lymphocytes

August 2007

-continued symptoms, after trying beta blocker experienced first heart palpitations, continued heart palpitations, dizzy spells,

September 2007

-experienced first hot flash while on zoloft

Tried: neurologist (MRI, with follow up CT when an "air cell" was seen, not suspected as cause for symptoms), cardiologist (holter monitor, ECG (also done multiple times in Japan... Drs. pitying me performed it free of charge)stress test, cardiac MRI, have had extended Holter Monitor Follow up Since then) pediatrician (lyme (probably not a good test), CBC, metabolic panels numerous time, naturopath (cortisol found to be low in saliva tests) Vitamin D deficiency-suspected adrenal fatigue, used nutrition/vitamin IV therapy and supplements, dermatologist (for hair loss, no testing requested)

January 2008

After much prodding from my friends (I'm grateful for) urged me to go to college breaking me out of a deep situational depression when I felt I could control nothing in my life and that nobody would ever be able to help me, but have received sense of warmth from naturopath and alternative physicians, worst experience has been--- I MADE IT TO COLLEGE!

-one night sweat episode

-intermittent evening "feeling wierd" spells, call parents in tears when it happens

Continued efforts with naturopath: nutritional treatments (fatigued after them)

May 2008

-met a boy first term at college, turned out to be the one (currently married, don't got the paperwork yet though)

-first LARGE floater noticed... eyes just seem to be deteriorating

-menstrual period absent for 3 months, jump started with progesterone pill,

-weight gain

PCOS DIAGNOSED

Winter break 2008-2009

-Went to Korea (my husband is Korean), node on neck became irritated and swollen, caught a cold toward end of trip... suffered through winter term with

MONO- liver involvement highly elevated liver enzymes, nausea, swollen nodes and tonsils, haven't recovered since. Add this to the relapsing, remitting symptoms previously addressed, chronic fatigue definitely not helped by this

Summer 2009

-dizzy spell, went to ER, not knowing my history of course no tests were ordered and I was diagnosed with "dizziness"

Fall 2009

-working with Functional Medicine Dr., "paleo-mediterranean diet", drinking protein shake... raw vegetables irritated G.I. tract... adopted strict diet and am for the most part 100% organic foods

Winter

-at end of winter term, diagnosed with gallstone (don't attribute this so much to gardasil but to a poor diet (I ate school cafeteria food growing up), surgery to remove the gallbladder

Summer 2010

-brief respite from symptoms, riding bike everyday for about 1 hr, playing tennis with a sweet neighbor girl who my husband and I just adore, hanging out with friends, rediscovering old passions for crafts and art, don't have the same attention span for it... but taught myself how to knit and crochet...

neck and throat nodes, glands swelling, glands under tongue swollen since cold infection in spring term...

Tried: attempted the "paleo" diet... eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, lean protein... progesterone cream

Fall 2010:

-exacerbation of symptoms following similar pattern

-complex ovarian cyst, right side (scared that this is going to need surgery 3*3 cm) painful, thought it was appendicitis! yikes!

-more/increased eye symptoms (hopefully when the flare goes away then my brain or whatever is irritated will heal and these will resolve somewhat)

-for the first time before 2007 having difficulty functioning due to worry about symptoms

Winter 2010-2011:

-problems have gone away, feeling much better, a lot of help from acupuncture

able to participate in ballet 3 x a week and didn't miss any school except for a really bad cold 2/20 ish, periods regulated... acupuncture is amazing!

Been a While, Down For the Count

Ladies and Germs.

It's been a while since I've been in. Combination of good and bad. Made it out of summer term with A- in both sections of organic chemistry laboratory. Summer brought a respite from my symptoms. I think it's because I wasn't taking on as much as the summer before (when I was doing many many classes and also volunteer teaching a Japanese class.) All those are things I love to do but my body just doesn't take it that well I think.

I would first like to tell a short story, naw, make it a long story.

In June 2007 I was about to graduate from high school, and I'd recently been informed that I received a Mazda Foundation Scholarship to go to Japan for 6 weeks. At the same time, my grandfather was passing away.

Before that trip, I went for a sayonara physicial at my pediatrician. Before this time I went to the doctor maybe once, twice a year. I was healthy, with the occasional ear infection as I'd always had some drainage problems. At that physical I was given a clean bill of health, expressed no complaints, and then they brought in the vacs.

This included Gardasil, Menactra, and a hepatitis vaccine. I'd been coming off a cold and my mother asked "is it safe that these be administered when she is coming off a cold?" Without batting an eye they said "yes" and in complete blind faith I accepted the vaccinations: I'd never been squeamish about them.

I don't have the exact date, but I think it was about a week or less before graduation. I remained sick... my cold didn't let up. Graduation day I was hit with the most profound, odd, and frightening feeling I'd ever had in my life. I needed to use the toilet and I felt hot and restless. I remember asking my mother if I should go to the emergency room. She looked serious, and being a nurse, she suspected a vaccine reaction but did not tell me at that time. I was determined to go to my graduation, but was feeling restless and on edge the whole time, kind of out of touch and focus. And it was a blur. Like the intensity I felt life with had been drained away and everything had become less. But I made it through and went to a party with my friends. And for the most part I felt things went back to normal after that.

I had a little nausea in the mean time, digestive system wasn't quite right, attributed it to the excitement of getting to go to Japan again. I'd been to Japan a year before and truly had the most beautiful moment of my life, besides those one shares with family. Both were exchange immersion programs and Japan was where my passions and my talents were. I participated in the state-wide language speech competitions (took home 5th/35 in Division 1, didn't place in Division 2 but did well), laughed hard and played hard with my friends, ate junk food like crazy... did school musicals. I was a normal teen.

And then I was off for an orientation outside of San Francisco then Tokyo-bound but two days later. Felt a little weird, attributed it to the tired feeling you get when traveling. Couldn't sleep well but attributed it to jet-lag. Felt extremely nervous but attributed it to excited energy when I was riding the shinkansen to meet my host family in Hiroshima. For the first few days... being swept through entering a new home, meeting neighbors, introducing myself at school, meeting new friends... things went alright.

However, there was an escalation of symptoms which has not since decreased however there tend to be flares and remissions of varying lengths. These includes:

-Chest tightness/difficulty breathing

-Rapid heart rate, including at rest

-Dizziness

-Feeling strange, difficulty falling asleep: restless, hot feeling, great sense of unease with urge to move

-Nausea

-Irritable Bowel

_______________

Toward the end of my stay, the symptoms progressed to include

-Strange feeling on face, around eye (right side worse)

-Hair loss

-Sense that something was wrong with eyes, jumpy (although now it includes floaters (started after taking Celexa)... could've just been the progression of whatever is going on...

How I survived, I don't know. The memories are still fond and I still yearn for the day that I may be able to go back to Japan, such as to teach English. Dealing with these symptoms made me desperately want to become a physician or naturopath doing research on problems such as these (which I believe was set off by the vaccine, regardless of whether it was an underlying issue... I truly believe that it would not be as severe as it is if I had never received the Gardasil vaccine, especially in conjunction with Menactra and Hepatitis B vaccine. I survived climbing up the steep staircase to put the clothes on the line and being attacked by wasps on the little balcony where the clothes were hung ;)

I do believe a lot of this I have documented in a journal I kept during my journey. I'll make a mental note that this is something I can show to doctors while looking for help. So that is a background story, but I'm also going to publish a blog of everything I have experienced since being vaccinated in June 2006 and if I am able to obtain specifics I will provide them. I will provide a blog detailing tests I have had done (good now that I'm having a full flare up of the symptoms) so that I will have everything in my mind and I'll try to make other posts more or less organized (I may use them to go to my appointments.)

And then when I get all this background information out of the way I can start writing about the day to day.