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HPV or something else?
I have had many previous pap tests come back low grade abnormal. Ive always went for the follow up colposcopy, in which they say they see nothing wrong. Ive never had a normal pap smear and now this recent pap came back high grade abnormal. Is a high grade abnormal pap always something bad, something to be worried about? Now im worried. Im scheduled for another colposcopy but not for 2 weeks. What exactly is HPV? I know its an std and Ive heard it goes away on its own and then ive heard it causes cancer. Does it go away and is it treatable? Also, I just had a miscarriage a week before my pap test. Could that have caused my pap to come back high grade abnormal? Please give me some kind of relief im scared to death ive got something bad. I cant wait to go in for this colposcopy to find out whats going on.
mandasabs echoes my experience with HPV..i had the colps and a LEEP..know how all 3 of u feel.My ordeal stated 11-06..i had LEEP 8-07 and now clean pap 12-17....have to go every 4 mos.now for first year and if they remain clean i can go back to once a year.This is a way 2 common thing with many women today.there is a lot of good support here!:)
HPV is in fact an STD. It can be passed through intercourse and oral sex or sexual play. I myself was diagnosed with it 6 months ago. At first it was just abnormal squamous cells, and I went for my colposcopy, they did a biopsy and it came back so minor that they didn't want to remove anything. Six months later, I just went for another pap test, which came back with more abnormal cells that are slightly worse than the list time. So now I have to go for another colposcopy. I'm not sure what will happen this time, but I have a good doctor and if she says we have to remove some cells, I will do it.
HPV comes in over 100 different forms. Some forms merely cause warts on hands and feet, another batch of forms causes genital warts, and another causes cervical cells to sometimes go abnormal. If you have the one that effects your cervix, it will not give you genital warts, unless of course you have more than one form of it in your body.
It is possible that the miscarriage caused abnormal cells in your cervix and that's what the pap picked up. But it's possible that it's something else too. The colposcopy will let your doctor look at your cervix more clearly and take a better sample of the cells for testing (if he/she feels a biopsy is necessary). It is a slighty uncomfortable procedure that lasts about 10-15 minutes. Afterwards you will have cramping for most of the day and you will want to wear a pad because when the cortorize the place they do the biopsy, the solution they use will come out gradually and look like coffee grounds (doesn't smell too good either). But by the next day you will feel better. The results can take 1-2 weeks to come back and your doc will go from there. Sometimes it's nothing, but other times it is a result of HPV. HPV is not fun and it can be unnerving, but it's best to have a doc that wants to keep watch of your cervix. Having a good doc also means having someone who will answer the millions of questions you may have. So when you go in, either before or after he/she does the colposcopy, ask questions. Do online research on everything you can find. HPV is not the end of the world. If you get yearly or 6 month paps they can prevent you from having any cellular changes turn to cancer. As per my own doc, it normally takes years of UNNOTICED cells to become cancer. This is why we go for yearly exams, to take precautions against cancer cells forming from abnormal or PREcancerous cells.
Don't worry too much, and if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to talk to me. It's a sucky thing to deal with, but you'll be okay.
HPV comes in over 100 different forms. Some forms merely cause warts on hands and feet, another batch of forms causes genital warts, and another causes cervical cells to sometimes go abnormal. If you have the one that effects your cervix, it will not give you genital warts, unless of course you have more than one form of it in your body.
It is possible that the miscarriage caused abnormal cells in your cervix and that's what the pap picked up. But it's possible that it's something else too. The colposcopy will let your doctor look at your cervix more clearly and take a better sample of the cells for testing (if he/she feels a biopsy is necessary). It is a slighty uncomfortable procedure that lasts about 10-15 minutes. Afterwards you will have cramping for most of the day and you will want to wear a pad because when the cortorize the place they do the biopsy, the solution they use will come out gradually and look like coffee grounds (doesn't smell too good either). But by the next day you will feel better. The results can take 1-2 weeks to come back and your doc will go from there. Sometimes it's nothing, but other times it is a result of HPV. HPV is not fun and it can be unnerving, but it's best to have a doc that wants to keep watch of your cervix. Having a good doc also means having someone who will answer the millions of questions you may have. So when you go in, either before or after he/she does the colposcopy, ask questions. Do online research on everything you can find. HPV is not the end of the world. If you get yearly or 6 month paps they can prevent you from having any cellular changes turn to cancer. As per my own doc, it normally takes years of UNNOTICED cells to become cancer. This is why we go for yearly exams, to take precautions against cancer cells forming from abnormal or PREcancerous cells.
Don't worry too much, and if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to talk to me. It's a sucky thing to deal with, but you'll be okay.
I know exactly how you are feeling. When I found out that I had an abnormal pap, I was freaking out! I had been with my partner since I was 15, but we has split for a while when we were about 21 and in that short time I had been with one other person. I didn't worry about any STD because it had been so long that I thought for sure anything would of showed up before then, until someone told me about HPV and how it was an STD. Everytime I went into the doctors for a colposcopy, I was freaking out. Did I have cancer? Did I have an STD or both. I still don't know if having HPV means that I for sure have warts or not. I kinda think that they go hand in hand. I just asked the question, so I am waiting to see. I am sure that if it is cancer cells and it was caught early that you have nothing to worry about. Just keep going to your apts and everything will be fine. For me, I had the freezing done on the abnormal cells and then later needed the laser. It was fine. I had a pap done almost a year ago and everything is ok...I just never thought to ask him if he seen any warts or thought that I had any. I will ask next time though. Take care!
You are reading content posted in the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Community
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