Genital warts duration and frequency

[worriedzed]

I was diagnosed with warts last year and after several cryptography sessions, the warts always came back after 3-4 months. Right now I'm on my 8 week of Aldara and even though I have seen a lot of side effects like redness and swelling, it hasn't done much on warts. I am still going to continue with the full course of 16 weeks but I'm not very hopeful about it. In my case, warts are very small and barely noticeable, nothing like the pictures on the internet that show severe cases.

I have done a lot of research and most articles say that 90% of the people will clear the virus in two years. Since I'm already in my second year, I'm starting to lose hope on this. I am a very healthy person other than this. I watch my diet, started using vitamins and supplements for the past month and a half but I'm freaking out what I'm going to do if I have to have these warts treated for the rest of my life. I have done so many online searches and found other posts from a few people who suffered from this problem for 5-7 years. When I ask my dermatologist, he says that he has never seen any patient with warts for that long and it is unlikely for the virus to stay active in one's body with frequent outbreaks unless there are other complications.

My question is, what are my chances of having warts for the rest of my life? Even after 5-10 years, are there a lot of people with health immune systems who have constant outbreaks? It is really psychologically overwhelming and I can hardly do anything else but think about this all the time.

[MikeJuliano]

I found warts in my anus in early 2014. I got them removed/burnt off with Lazer surgery. They also kept coming back every 2-3 months.
Everytime bigger/larger and they looked different everytime. It happened 3 times in the matter or 2 years. I got my last surgery last September and got a new doctor who tried a different surgery and removed the skin (as opposed to burning off the wart/s) and he tried Acetic Acid on the skin and apparently if the chemical turned "white" it indicated the virus being still present and he would remove skin until it was no longer there.
It worked.
I haven't gotten any symptoms at all and it was a painfull recovery but I got strong meds and was very healthy and careful.
I'm a 26 year old male. And like the above comment; smoking is a no no, I used to smoke through my first two surgeries an I stopped and those things never came back.
But I also thought the nightmare would never end.
Hope that helps...goodluck

[veryworried420]

Your chances are low. About 10%.  For sure, stress leads to more warts. De-stress by exercising, getting more sleep, meditation, yoga, etc. Continue with the vitamins and supplements as some of us think they will fight the virus. Don't drink shots, ales or beer. Wine seems to be OK. Cigarette smoking also leads to more warts. Don't smoke 420. Keep a positive attitude. I'm a firm believer in meditation and exercising to aid a recovery. Sleep as much as you can, I know its tough to do that when worried but you must get as much rest as possible. Stay away from sick people who can pass colds. If your job is stressful, then definitely exercise and meditate at the end of the day. If the Aldara isn't helping after 16 weeks, then ask your doctor to freeze them off. Some people just don't respond to the cream as well as others. If necessary, see a therapist to improve your outlook on life. Losing hope will be bad for your recovery.

Good luck!