In mid-late February I was diagnosed with genital warts. I had some around the vaginal opening (they are all external) removed with TCA acid and the ones on the lips were not treated. I waited for 3 weeks as advised by my doctor, and returned, and clusters more had developed all over the vulva. Since more had developed I was told to use aldara cream 3x a week for six weeks. I would return to my doctor in six weeks, and whatever was left over he would laser off. While using the cream did clear some of the warts, I'm in my fourth week and about 3 more have popped up and not all of them are gone. I had to see my GP today just for a urinary tract infection (and she insisted on doing a pelvic exam for some reason?) and she seemed very concerned that I still had visible warts and told me I should return to my gyno immediately. Currently, I have about 10 warts, and judging by the way I'm itching, I feel like I may develop a few more :(
I know a great deal about low risk HPV infection, but there are a few members on this board that seem very knowledgeable, so I'm interested in what you have to say. When I first acquired this, I figured I'd probably have to wait a year or so on average for this to clear up and to safely have sex again without worrying so severely about transmitting it. Are 3 more warts popping up a few months later (in conjunction with the ones that haven't resolved) a really bad sign that this will be an infection that plagues me for more like 24 months opposed to the normal, average 6-8 months it takes to clear? This just seems like it's going to be a lot more long-term than I had previously imagined. Also, I'm not sure if anyone would have the answer to this, but has having the UTI (for four months now, I have frequent uti's that are resistant to most antibiotics, I had this problem before I acquired the sti) screwed up my immune system too much and not allowing my body to fight or "clear" the hpv virus?
I'm just really discouraged upon finding these new warts, and a little alarmed by my general practitioner's reaction to my warts. I'm not sure if I should see my gynecologist earlier as she advised, or just finish the aldara treatment.
I know there may be no clear answer, but is there anyway to tell if my infection will be a persistent one? The last time I saw my doctor and asked about this, he said he didn't see this being a long-term problem for me. But I'm just not sure what to believe anymore...