Hello,
About three years ago, I was having protected sex with my girlfriend when she told me she felt something funny (through the condom) on my penis. After looking down, I noticed one small, fleshy bump on the middle-right side of my penis shaft. At the time, I figured it was just a pimple, but then two weeks later I grew worried when it still hadn't gone away.
After a couple of months, I went to the local outpatient clinic to have an "STD test." The clinician who came in asked me if I had any worries in particular, which prompted me to tell him about my "bump." He took a look at it, said he wasn't sure what it was, but that it could very well be a wart. He referred me to a urologist, but my health insurance ran out before the appointment, so I canceled and that was that.
For about a year and a half after that appointment at the clinic I lived in complete shame. I thought my sexual life was over, unless I chose to risk the embarrassment of telling a potential partner about the condition. Even though I wasn't definitively diagnosed, I was sure that what I had was a wart. All the meantime, I still had (and still have) the same girlfriend.
Anyway, about a year ago the bump disappeared. I had been taking some super-strong Vitamin C pills for a few months beforehand, and I figured the Vitamin C helped boost my immune system enough to kill the virus. All was peachy for about 12 or 13 months...until last week.
Suddenly, I've noticed another small "bump" (looks like a wart) growing at the tip of my penis, where the urethra and the skin of the penis meet. I stopped taking Vitamin C about six months ago, but that's neither here nor there, as I have absolutely no idea as to whether or not it helped.
I have no idea who I got the infection from. I'd (stupidly) had unprotected sex with a few different women before my girlfriend, all of whom I was SURE weren't the "type" of carry an STI. Well, that goes to show you what ignorance can do, because now I'm the "type."
That's the history of my bout with what appears to be genital warts, but that all said, I have a few questions that I really, really need help with:
1) I didn't have any bumps on my penis shaft for a full year after the first one disappeared. In the meantime, I haven't slept with anyone other than the same girlfriend I've had from the first time I noticed a bump on my penis.
Could this new bump be the same virus coming back or is there some way I contracted a different strand of the HPV virus? How am I getting what seems to be a wart again if it appears my body fought off the original infection, and there's no way I could have gotten another strain of HPV (through sex with someone else)?
2) This is an issue I've read conflicting reports on EVERYWHERE: Is it possible for genital warts to spread to areas of the body outside of the genitals? I have a huge fear that when touching my penis the infection is going to spread to my hands, and then from there, to my face, etc. Can this happen? I've been washing my hands more than Howard Hughes because I'm afraid of spreading the infection!
3) I've apparently had a second outbreak. Once (if) this clears, what are my odds of getting a 3rd outbreak? I'm extremely fit, healthy, young (mid-20's) and for the most part I eat really well. I'm just looking for a ballpark figure if there's one available. 50%? 25%? 10%? 1%? Will I ever have piece of mind?
4) Should I go to my PCP or an STD clinic to get this checked out? Just looking for advice on that one...I really want to have the best expert I can find locally help me out. My PCP specializes in pulmonary and geriatric issues, so I don't feel completely confident in his expertise of STI's.
5) Any general advice for me moving forward?
If possible, I would appreciate if AJ found time to answer my questions. I've read her responses to others, and she seems to be far and away the most knowledgeable person I've seen who's discussed this topic. She's worth her weight in gold.
BTW, this forum is a godsend. Thank you to all who run it! Apologies for the novel.