Colposcopy. Awe Jeeze. HPV? WTF?!

[Sarsar133]

Oh no.  I went to my OB, and she told me that my PAP was abnormal, and they found HPV?  Or something of the sort.  I was scared to death..  She says it goes away within 2 years of contracting it.  But it's still an STD.  Why?  I haven't even been with that many people??  I read up on it, there's no way to trace where it came from or when.  I'm scared..  What is this?  I know nothing about it?  I heard that the baby won't get it, Thank God!!  Still scared.  And don't know how to break it to my man.  Someone help, please.  I have a Colposcopy this coming Monday, again...  I don't really know what that is.  Someone with info or experience please help.  I looked all over the internet, and they all say different things about it..  Confused.  Quite embarrassed.

[Katiemarie18]

I am only posting because I too was told I have hpv and I silently stewed in my anxiety and fear. How could this have happened to me? Why wasnt I more careful? How painful is this procedure? Well... I must have been sent an angel doctor. I was shaking while I signed the consent form before the doctor came in. I was scared, how painful is a biopsy going to be? I want other women to know that this was no worse than a pap. Yes, it's a longer procedure, but not a painful one. The doctor I saw talked me through the entire procedure. I took 4 ibuprofen before I went in to help with the cramping... But I felt no cramping. I had a biopsy on two spots. I would encourage anyone who is going through this same thing to ignore all the comments that tell you this procedure is painful. It isn't. It's uncomfortable (I hate paps) but I am so pleased at how smoothly the entire thing went. I still don't have results, I have to wait a week or two, but taking these first steps has really calmed my anxiety. Best of luck to any of you who are going to have the same thing done... Take a deep breath and know it's going to be ok.

[sprarah]

HpV is a virus and yes it may lie dormant after having a issue but you continue to carry it and can be spread through sexual contact. It is not really a big deal considering more than 75% of the population has it and most never know.....especially men. In pregnant women the virus usually comes out of hiding due to all the hormones. As long as annual paps are performed every thing will be fine. Many women that have it never know they have it until they are diagnosed with cervical cancer and they may have had the virus for 20 years and never knew it and all previous paps came up negative. There are many different strains of the virus.....the ones that cause actual genital warts generally do not cause cervical cancer. A negative pap does not mean you do not have HpV.....there is extensive blood work done to test for specific strains of the virus and they can be done on men and women. However it is rarely ever necessary to do it being there is really nothing that can be done about it. It is not a routine part of STD tesing which is a common misconception.

[jschoch8]

great news!

[Sarsar133]

UPDATE:

I just got back from the appointment.  They used some sort of vinegar solution, and didn't find anything abnormal in this one.  Thank god!  She didn't explain why it could have been abnormal, maybe I had sex the night before, I'm not sure..  Thanks so much for all of the information, guys.  I really appreciate it!

[jtapc101290]

I can understand how you must be feeling but, like others said, you need to calm down. HPV can cause cervical cancer and that is why the doctors have to make a big deal out of it. Most likely, your baby will be fine. You do need to tell your man. He deserves to know. I think you should tell him with your OBGYN around so he/she can back you up. He shouldn't upset him that bad. I had an abnormal pap once too but they determined it to be abnormal because I was pregnant. It was very scary though because the first thing the nurse said to me was that it was possible I could have or get cervical cancer. I never went to the Coloscopy because I couldn't afford to but when I had my next pap smear and every pap smear since has been normal. I know it is very different from your situation but I just wanted you to know you are not alone and lots on women have been on similar "boats". If you ever need someone to vent at just message me.

[chele24]

I had that happen to be about a year and half ago.  I was freaking out!!  They went in and did the snip snip and about 3 days later I got a phone call saying that they still couldn't tell what it was.  But it wasn't HPV.  They couldn't tell at the stage, comforting right?  Well I lost my job, and haven't had insurance yet so for all I know I have cancer at the moment.  But I wouldn't freak out to much, the procedure is easy, and like the woman earlier have stated it goes away.  Just breathe, it'll be ok.  It ***** being a woman!

[slinkyhead]

***I HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THIS***

well 2 1/2 years ago i had a wart on my lips of my vagina...i had a colposcopy and then a PAP smear and it came back abnormal at the level of ASCUS (Abnormal Squamous Cell of an Undisclosed Significance) but when they tested me for HPV it was neg. and since then all my PAP's have been normal. Honestly i think my PAP was abnormal because i had sex the night before my PAP(didnt know i wasnt supposed to). Dont worry its not uncomfortable or life threatening. Something like 80% of people will have it at some point or another and they just dont know it because it goes away usually after 2 years. RELAX!

[ammanda]

When i got my pap smear done for my first prenatal visit, my doctor said I had an abnormal test, and they told me it could be HpV.  i was freaked out, and confused and disgusted.  He scheduled me a biopsy, and I went and did that(while pregnant) and i will add everything went fine.  He called me a week later and told me it was nothing, and not to worry.  I was so relieved... Just wait till after your biopsy before you start to worry, and chances are that it came from your husband so dont be affraid to tell him, like all the other girls said, guys are carriers of it. Explain that to him or take him to your biopsy nd have your doctor explain it to him.  And it does go away on its own.  And I also heardthat giving birth to a baby will make it go away too.  Keep us posted and dont worry too much about it

[faye83]

HPV can "clear itself out" but you'll always have it with you.
Also, taking vitamins and stuff won't necessarily clear itself out, I actually have never heard of it before. When I was told I had high risk HPV I had a biopsy done like a month afterwards. The results came back negative (meaning what they thought were bad cells they werent anything at all) and then on my next paps I've been clear. I even got one done a month or so ago and it was clear again, and I didn't have to take vitamins or anything. Your body will take care of it

[nickieb85]

Hey I had a leep due to HPV in 2009 and so far my PAPS have been normal. Mine were HGSILC (the highest grade your body can have before cancer)... I wouldn't worry about telling your husband because it will not effect him (still tell him but you won't ever be able to be sure if it came from him or not because there are not tests for it for men) and the reason that they are doing the biopsy is to make sure that it hasn't progressed. 90% of women will contract the disease and 75% of women never know it and it disappears on its own within the 2 year time period that you were talking about. I know it is scary but they are doing it for your health and the health of your baby. They won't do anything more invasive until after your baby is born due to compromising the cervix. I hope everything turns out well :)

[jschoch8]

sorry i wanted to add, i wouldnt recommend taking these vitamins when you are pregnant!

[jschoch8]

First, calm down its not that scary, but i completely understand. its not a big deal where you have to tell your boyfriend he has a std, it wont even effect him. Also, you say that you are having a colposcopy, I would be uncomfortable doing that while i was pregnant, expecially if they plan to biopsy. I guess it depends what grade your pap came back at.

I got that news about 2 years ago and also was only with a couple of people (long term boyfriends). My pap showed low grade. there is ascus, low grade, high grade and cancer in that order. i did a TON of reading on this because i was really freaked out too. i took a bunch of vitamins for the 6 month wait. vit a, e, and DIM (broccoli something) which controls your estrogen which feeds the HPV. I also took a pill i cant remember what it was called but its like mushrooms or something that is used in chinese medicine for cancer patients that helps fight the virus (pretty expensive though but in any health food store). 6 months later i was down to ascus, HPV showing negative. 6 months after that i was back to normal.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

HPV is the human papilloma virus.  Here is a link to the CDC's information on it:

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm

Hope this helps.  My understanding is that men can be carriers for HPV and never even know it, never have any symptoms.