I think every sexually active person has at least one HPV so you're in good company ;o). It's so common and most people never know they have/had it. I had LGSIL caused by high risk HPV. No treatment was ever needed although I have had two colposcopies for closer review. I have now reverted back to being negative for high risk HPV and my pap is also back to normal and I am in my late 40's. This is what usually happens. Like Dr. HHH said, early treatment is key b/c this never has to progress to cancer.
I had to stop reading the stuff on the web b/c it's confusing. Listen to the dr's on Medhelp. They have actually experience treating people everyday with HPV and other STD's.
There are only about 9,000 cases of invasive cervical cancder per year in the US, and almost all those occur in women who don't get pap smears at all. Those tested and managed properly never get it, for practical purposes. The details of why HPV persists in some people and not others, and why some persistent infections and not others lead to pre-malignant changes and sometimes to cancer isn't known. There are no implications for the quality of your immune system or your health in general.
Therefore, your doctor is exactly right: once you are properly treated (to "kill abnormal cells") there will be nothing to worry about. You are over-interpreting the scientific information in a very complex and not entirely understood arena. Regardless of patient age and the duration of HPV infection, almost nobody who is properly managed goes on to develop actual cancer. The reasons--i.e. the contribution of immune system versus the treatment procedures itself or other unknown factors--are not known with certainty. Whatever the mechanism, women in your situation rarely if ever continue to transmit HPV to their sex partners, and rarely if ever get yet further pap smear abnormalities in the future, once treated.
So my advice is to just follow your doc's advice and don't let this bother you as much as it has been. Apart from the inconvenience of the medical procedures themselve--colposcopy, ablative therapy, repeat pap smears, etc--this is not something that should be stressful at all. You're fine.
I hope this is helpful. Happy holidays-- HHH, MD
I don't know how long I had HPV (that's a debate whether it's one from my 20's or a recent infection) but it was abt 14 months between the first abn-pap - the LGSIL and the normal pap with negative hpv. I've stopped smoking and started taking a good multi-vitamin plus folic acid.
Thank you for some piece of mind.
Can I ask you a question. How long was it before you reverted back to normal tests and do you have any idea how long you had HPV before you were daignosed with LGSIL. If this is too personal don't need to respond. Again appreciate your help
Thank you so much. I have been up all night surfing the web reading so much material and trying to do my best to interpret the medical information sites and blogging stories. As you can tell, I am very analytical and absolutly devastated to have been diagnosed with HPV.