At the end of November 2006 I had a colposcopy done and then had a LEEP done Feb. 2007 to remove moderate dysplasia. They told me that the edges of the piece removed were clean so they got all of it. I went in 3 months later and had an abnormal pap, 3 months later had a normal pap, and now 4 months later have gotten another abnormal pap and have been scheduled for another colposcopy. I really don't want to go through this again because I thought everything was solved. Has this happened to anyone else where it has been normal and than come back abnormal so quick? I am getting married in May and am upset because I want to have children and am feeling like I will be having LEEP procedures for the rest of my life. I have HPV and the doctor said it usually becomes inactive within 2 years and it has been almost 2 years since I was diagnosed. Does it just never go away for some women? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am fed up and just wish I could be normal again.

I have been having abnormal paps for nearly two years. I have had a coloscopy and I never want to do that again. I lean towards natural healing and medicine, but recently I stumbled upon some stories from women who tried natural therpy with much success and they had CIN III. This particular women drank an herbal tea, took sitz bath with castor oil packs pressed on her abs and used a tampon soaked in an herbs and it went away.

I decided I am going in for one more and if it comes back abnormal again, I am trying this. You will have to do this often, like everyday, but within a few months women have success. Another also posted here recently that she went to a naturopathic doctor and used herbal suppositories and vitamins, etc. and she also has success. It may be another alternative that to be scraped and cut at.

Alexa, can you please post the protocol including which herbs and how often to take or insert each item? I didn't know castor oil was helpful. I used those before. It's messy but if it helps, I'm going back to it.

JMU, I agree with Alexa-- right now would be a great time for you to try the naturopath way. And have surgery to fall back on.

I have a question for you gals. I'm looking at a possible leep in March (but praying and working at this to go away in the meantime) and wanted to know what is cut. Do they remove just the bad patch (plus some extra) leaving a "dent" that fills in with scar tissue?

Or do they remove the entire layer of cervix?

I am getting on a protocol hopefully in a week when I have my naturopath appointment (nervous and can't wait) and if it works I promise to return to guide others.

Yes, I can post the reciepe for the tea and tampon soaks tomorrow, Tuesday. I am going to try them myself. The herbal, natural way of healing makes sense to me.

link removed

Well, I had two normal paps 3 and 6 months after my LEEP and then an abnormal one at 9 months. When I got the colposcopy done and the took a couple of biopsies my doctor said I was still "healing". This could be the case with you as well. I had my 12 months one last month and it came back normal. I can now go every 6 months instead of every 3.

HPV doesn't "go away". It just surpresses, but it can come back. Stress can trigger it. My second pregnancey triggered it. Following a healthy lifestyle (like the previous poster recommended) is important. If you smoke, quit. If you take birth control, get off of it. Most importantly, talk to your doctor and let him/her know of your plans for starting a family. They should be able to work with you and your fears. If you are uncomfortable talking with them or they don't have the time, that's a sign you should find a more "patient friendly" doctor.

I had to have a cold knife cone done last November, which came back with carcinoma in-site, but the biopsy results came back with perfectly clear margins. Every 3 monhts I had to have another pap, the first 2 came back normal but the third came back HSIL again. My gyno seemed to be very worried about this, just had anotehr colposcopy Friday, ughhhh, and right away she said I should really think about hysterectomy, just great. But of course we will wait for the results to come back, but in the mean time, I am not going to let myself get worried sick over it, I have enough other problems. I dont know why it came back after being normal 2 x prior, but she did ask If I have alot of stress. I do have alot from being in major pain alot, but other than that, thats really my only big stressor. I wonder if steroids can play some part, being that these drugs lower one's immunity. I have taken oral prednisone, medrol dose packs, and several lumbar epidural injections and a nerve block with steroids. So maybe all my pain plus these steroids has something to do with it, i dont know.

Here are the recipes as promised. I know in my city there is an herbal store nearby that has every dry herb you could imagine, so I hope you are able to find these herbs too. Also, women with dysplasia and that are also on a birth control pill tend to be deficient in folic acid. Take a good dose of folic acid for 3 months and make sure you are also getting vitamin A, B complex, and of course C. You are suppose to do this everyday until your next appointment, especially if it is within a couple of months and hopefully this along with proper vitamins and diet and exercise you could come back with a normal exam. Like I said, I am going to be trying this soon. It doesn't work for everyone, but it works with many and you have to be patient, the body knows how to heal itself given the healthy alternative here.

Cervical Dysplasia Tea

2 teaspoons vitex berries

1 teaspoon each burdock root and false indigo root

½ teaspoon each calendula flowers and echinacea root

5 cups water

Bring herbs and water to a boil in an uncovered pot, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover pot and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain out herbs. This can also be taken as a tincture or in pill form.

Tampon Soak

1 heaping teaspoon dried calendula flowers

½ teaspoon goldenseal rhizome powder

1 cup water

5 drops tea tree essential oil

Put herbs and water in a pot, place on stove and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let steep for about 30 minutes. Strain and add essential oil. Soak tampon in mixture, stirring well to distribute the oil. (Be sure to use a tampon that comes enclosed in a cylinder inserter or the soaking will expand it too much.)

Drugs could be a contributing factor because they consist of toxic chemicals and it isn't natural for our bodies. Sometimes we don't have immediate side effects, but side effects that may affect you months or years down the road. Chemicals build up in various parts of the body and we are unable to filter them out because it isn't natural, therefore causing diasese, sickness, etc....Steroids inhibit natural hormones in the body. Naturally, diasese and sickness comes about when our body is out of balance, meaning our hormones or ph levels are out of whack. I know Prednizone is also a type of steroid too. Epidurals can give you a lifetime of headaches, literally. I actually gave birth drug and intervention free in 2006 because of the side effects of drugs. I didn't want them in my body or my babies body. I am not sure of the reasons of why you are on several steroids, etc. but you may want to look into alternatives or really read the side effects. I wish you well! :)

I am not sure of the reasons of why you are on several steroids, etc. but you may want to look into alternatives or really read the side effects. I wish you well! :)

I have possible lupus or something that causes me flare ups of joint pains, swelling, hives, rashes, etc...the only med that helped was pred. I also have OA & spine problems, had steroid injections into my spinal canal several times; also had short course medrol dose packs for flares and to try to help nerve inflammation from disc herniations and lumbar stenosis. And actually the steroids usually help me immensely, though the side effects are the bad part. So pain & inflammation from all of this over the past several yrs has been very stressful on my body. I got to the point where I basically could no longer walk & finally had spine surgery.

I have heard of the more natural remedies...just wasn't sure if they worked or not...I guess I was just wondering how many people this happens to? I mean...I had the LEEP once and supposedly was back to normal for one pap...why would it go bad again so quickly?

Natural rememdies make sense when you really think about it. The same problem will keep reoccuring if you don't change your lifestyle. Doctors may cut it out of you, but if you are toxic or your bosy is still out of balance the same problem can occur over and over again. If you feed your body the natural herbs, minerals, and vitamins it needs you body has the ability to heal itself. This is always the case, but for many it can be without being cut.

I have had abnormal results for nearly two years. I figure I am toxic. I need to eliminate stress in my life which I always work at and I need to exercise more. Although I eat organically for the most part, I love to bake and eat a lot of candy and sweets. I never de-toxed myself, although I have the system to do it, I am going to start that this week now that I have it. I started drinking herbal teas, and if my next exam comes back abnormal, I am dedicating myself to naturally healing myself of these bad cells. I believe it to be possible and I am willing to give it a try. I believe that my body is off and this is the way it is telling me I need to take better care of myself. I am HPV negative, so I have more of a chance to correct this on my own because I don't have HPV contributing. I am starting to ramble, but the more I delve into reading about alternatives, the more it makes sense to me, especially when I read other people's stories.

How tea-like are the herbal teas? I ask because I cannot usually drink teas, hot or cold. I always get headaches from it so I have quit trying to drink them.

I am nit sure what you mean, tea is tea. They are dried flowers or herbs that are in bags that you drop into hot water and let them steep for a couple of minutes. I was never a tea drinker until recently, I drink lemon tea with rosehips. It has a lemon zip to it and I add fresh squeezed lemon. Chamomile is light tasting. I don't add honey, sugar, or drink it caffinated. I buy mine at the grocery store, but for this dysplasia tea, I will have to go to an herbal store and buy each herb in order to make it.

Ok I have to post here. This happened to me back in the early eighties and I often wonder whatever became of it. Shortly after moving to Tucson I had an abnormal pap. Moderate to severe dysplasia. I was offered two choices-cyrosurgery or I could partake in an experimental trial that the U of A was conducting. I opted for the latter. It involved putting a cervical cap of vitamin A cream on the cervix for periods of time. I can't remember specifics but I know it started with having the cap put on every day for like a week or two and then decreasing how many times they put it on. My dysplasia went away and has never returned. The amount of time I spent in the study was a good year and involved them taking pictures of my cervix (along with all the other participants) and sending them to Washington so I am assuming it was either funded by the government or maybe the FDA was overseeing it. I had to have a couple of cone biopsies done through out this time and I feel your pain...they hurt. Also I understand your feelings of wanting children. That was one of my concerns. I don't know if the U of A would have any info on this but I often wonder whatever happened to it. Good luck to you all:)

tigerlilyx61, was this the University of Alabama or University of Arkansas, and do you remember the name of the study and/or the name(s) of the overseeing doctor(s)?

It sounds like they used a vitamin A suppository which is like a "mild chemotherapy" of the cervix. It sloughs off the bad cells in the hopes that new cells will grow in place.

I'm glad to hear it worked for you and thank you for sharing.

One more question: you said they took cone biopsies? Do you mean regular biopsies because cone biopsies are reserved for dysplasia or cancer inside the cervical canal?

Thanks.

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I sometimes feel like I am on my own about this because my parents make SUCH a huge deal out of it. I am still home frequently as I am 22 and I sometimes feel like they think this is my payment for having sex because they don't believe in premarital sex. I haven't told them about my latest abnormal because I know it will be a huge fiasco. Thank you very much for all the ideas and support...it really means a lot!

The study was at the University of Arizona. As far as the biopsies go I don't know. They just told me they were cone biopsies. Maybe things have changed in the last 25 years but my understanding of the cone biopsy is to get a sample of tissue deeper than superficial epithelial cells because you can't really tell how far the dysplasia cells go down. So in my eyes it would make sense to get a cone biopsy. And then again maybe this particular study mandated that they do this. Who knows:confused:

OK I just dug the report out...yes I still have it after 25 years. It looks like the docs name is Surwit but who knows if he is even alive. I hope that doesn't sound too mean. But honestly I think I maybe saw him twice the whole time. Usually it was his nurse Vivian who I saw. The used 1 cc. 0.372% TRA cream in a cervical cap. I think the TRA stands for transretinoic acid or something like that.

If vitamins works then why don't we know more about it or why isn't it offered as an option to healing, I mean it makes sense that something like that would work?

The study was at the University of Arizona. As far as the biopsies go I don't know. They just told me they were cone biopsies. Maybe things have changed in the last 25 years but my understanding of the cone biopsy is to get a sample of tissue deeper than superficial epithelial cells because you can't really tell how far the dysplasia cells go down. So in my eyes it would make sense to get a cone biopsy. And then again maybe this particular study mandated that they do this. Who knows:confused:

OK I just dug the report out...yes I still have it after 25 years. It looks like the docs name is Surwit but who knows if he is even alive. I hope that doesn't sound too mean. But honestly I think I maybe saw him twice the whole time. Usually it was his nurse Vivian who I saw. The used 1 cc. 0.372% TRA cream in a cervical cap. I think the TRA stands for transretinoic acid or something like that.

tigerlilyx61, thank you so much for digging up that old report. I'm going to broach this with my naturopath over the holidays. I hope to try the TRA cream or even the 5FU (Efudex, another topical chemotherapy agent) if herbal suppositories don't work (provided it's still LSIL). Failing that, I will undergo leep.

I looked up your doctor and he is a VERY well known and published gyn-onco, and as far as I can see, still alive (and practicing).

What is a "cervical cap?" Is that like a diaphragm? (sorry, I have only used condoms, the pill, and NFP for birth control and don't know much anatomy) Or is it like a vaginal suppository pushed far up against the cervix? How is it shaped and how big is it? Do you recall having any discomfort or bleeding during therapy? (some women do, but I think fairly uncommonly)

AlexaIn2006, thank you for posting that regimen. I have a lot to discuss with my naturopath and I'll let you know what she says about that. I don't know why doctors never mention this--I imagine perhaps because most MDs don't believe in this "holistic mumbo-jumbo", since there aren't any peer-reviewed scientific journals proving this works, and/or the leeps make too much $. But, back in the 80s, they used to use transvaginal 5FU cream for cervical dysplasia, with as I recall good results.

Glad I could be of help. Yes a cervical cap is just like a diaphram. Good luck to you.

tigerlilyx61, do you recall experiencing side effects to treatment (irritation, infection, etc) or did it go smoothly?

And you have consistently had clear paps and negative HPV since?

I'm SO glad you came to share--thank you again.

Well, on the report it says I had no side effects other than the cap fell out several times. Tee-hee. I do remember it being quite messy.

Yes I have had negative paps ever since. Is dyspasia always caused by HPV? Back when I had it I don't think I had ever heard of HPV. Of course I know it's a huge epidemic now but they never tested me for HPV.

I think the thing we need to understand here is that there is no magic about healing ourselves. If you body is consistantly off because of stress, nutritional or vitamin deficiences then, yes, you will get abnormal paps again, or cancer, whatever the case is. You need to keep yourself healthy. You can't take vitamins and make it go away and expect to stay that way from then on, you have to upkeep yourself. I hope that makes sense. When using natural ways of curing yourself like herbs, vitamins, your only side effects may be from an allergy. There are no chemicals.

No, dysplasia is not always caused by HPV. I am HPV negative time after time and yet I am abnormal. It is a major factor I believe, but isn't always the culprit. The way I look at it, I probably did this to myself. This is my nody telling me I need to be more healthy and that I am off balance inside and I need balance in my body and I need to figure what I am deficient in that would cause this so I can heal.

Medical doctors do not study and learn about anything other than drugs or surgery for treatments. Many of them will dismiss you if you tell them about curing yourself of cancer or some other disease. They may even suggest that you were misdiagnosed in the first place or it was a fluke thing that it went away. Not all doctors are like this, but most are.

Just a side note, doctors don't sell herbs and can't make money off of vitamins for the most part, it just isn't what they do. So, if you want to seek drugs and have biopsies and surgery then seek an MD, Medical Doctor. If you want to try helping your body heal itself, understand how the body can get sick and cause dysplasia and cancer, understand what vitamins, herbs, or teas will help you heal, then seek a ND, Naturopathic Doctor. That is the major difference.

Thanks ladies.

To answer your question yes, my gyn-onco said dysplasia is caused by hpv 100% of the time, and that's why he doesn't bother running an hpv test when a pap comes up abnormal, it would just confirm the obvious. But I've read a few anecdotal accounts of dysplasia in the absence of hpv. It may be that hpv is just lying low, undetectable (since tests aren't perfect), but still causing problems. Increasingly evidence is pointing not towards eradication but suppression. That's not the same thing.

If hpv is so common, but has such devastating potential (not just cervical, but many other types of female cancers as well), health care providers are doing a major disservice by dismissing it as "ubiquitous" and "easily cleared by most people." Two of my ob-gyns were incredibly dismissive and only the gyn-onco took me seriously. Mine is hrhpv (may also have lrhpv? not sure, hope not) and has been around 13 months causing problems, and I sure don't feel reassured by those words right now.

Well, on the report it says I had no side effects other than the cap fell out several times. Tee-hee. I do remember it being quite messy.

Yes I have had negative paps ever since. Is dyspasia always caused by HPV? Back when I had it I don't think I had ever heard of HPV. Of course I know it's a huge epidemic now but they never tested me for HPV.


tigerlilyx61, I think this is the study you were in! Let me know if this is it:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=3818228&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=******

Not a very high success rate unfortuantely (and it never made it past phase II trials), but it looks like you were one of the lucky ones who benefited from a higher dose of TRA (outcome was dose-dependent). Thanks again for sharing and happy holidays!

Wow brieaukirsch thank you. How very interesting. I didn't realize how many clinical trials he was involved in. No wonder I hardly ever saw him.:) Thank you so much for looking that up.

I went back and reread my report to see what the final report said. This was the last biopsy they did at the end of the study. I did have a negative pap but this is what the report says, "a section reveals fragments of cervical stroma covered focally by unremarkable simple columnar glandular epithelium but mostly lined by nonkeratinizing stratified squamous epithelium. The squamous epithelium is well-ordered and shows evidence of maturation. The cells at the surface, however, are minimally atypical with larger than expected nuclei. There is no evidence of malignancy. Diagnosis: minimal cellular atypia."

I don't know if maybe they considered this too not be cured or what. I continue to have normal paps and have had 3 normal pregnancies producing 3 normal healthy (and beatutiful I may add) children

Wow brieaukirsch thank you. How very interesting. I didn't realize how many clinical trials he was involved in. No wonder I hardly ever saw him.:) Thank you so much for looking that up.

I went back and reread my report to see what the final report said. This was the last biopsy they did at the end of the study. I did have a negative pap but this is what the report says, "a section reveals fragments of cervical stroma covered focally by unremarkable simple columnar glandular epithelium but mostly lined by nonkeratinizing stratified squamous epithelium. The squamous epithelium is well-ordered and shows evidence of maturation. The cells at the surface, however, are minimally atypical with larger than expected nuclei. There is no evidence of malignancy. Diagnosis: minimal cellular atypia."

I don't know if maybe they considered this too not be cured or what. I continue to have normal paps and have had 3 normal pregnancies producing 3 normal healthy (and beatutiful I may add) children

Hi tigerlilyx61, are you sure this was it? (the dates match, right?...1986) I only ask because there were several TRA studies in the 1980s and early 1990s, and Surwit led most but not all of them. Hmm, maybe I will try to contact him.

Your last biopsy showed a small portion of extremely mild (as in ASCUS or less than CIN1) remnants of hpv activity in the enlarged nuclei, what they call koilocytosis now. I think your treatment allowed your immune system to take care of that.

Tears almost came to my eyes when I read your last paragraph. Am I to understand you did not experience hpv recurrence during your pregnancies or immediately after delivery? (Pregnancy lowers the mother's immunity a lot) There's some question about whether it is ever really "cleared" and I think for some people, it is, but for most people, it's dormant and not causing problems. I wish it could be eradicated for everyone, I didn't realize how potentially serious it could be!

THANK YOU for such a happy Christmas post and be well!!!

Merry Christmas to you too brieaukirsch :)

What kinds of problems might I have experienced during my pregnancies? I went online to research but didn't find much. The only thing I had happen was the delivery of my first daughter at 36 weeks. They treated me prophylactically with my secong child assuming it was a strep B infection. But that was it.

I don't know too much about HPV but if it is a matter of having a healthy immune system to clear the virus it might make sense that I got it when I did. I had just had a pap in August in Pa. before my boyfriend (now my husband) moved to Az. in December. Then I had another pap in May because I wanted to get established with Family Planning out there. That is when the abnormal pap occurred. I was 19 and 2000 miles away from ALL my family and friends so I am sure I was stressed. I remember crying myself to sleep. But as I was treated for the dysplasia I got a job and started to make friends and adjust to life out there. Started to feel less stressed. I also quit smoking in 1990 and for a period of time starting around 1983 started to exercise. I am going to ask the nurse practitioner who I see about all this as far as the HPV goes.

Keep me posted as to what happens with you and...all the best!!

Hey there!

Sorry, didn't mean to alarm you about the pregnancy thing-- nothing happens to the babies (the slightly premature baby had NOTHING to do with the hpv or dysplasi), just that pregnancy lowers the mother's immunity a lot, this goes for every woman (hpv or no hpv). Nature takes whatever is important for the baby at the mother's expense, as it's the primary focus.

Also, levels of estradiol (the most dominant estrogen) during pregnancy is sky-high, and estradiol has strong proliferative effects...so it causes cells to grow very rapidly, much more rapidly than a non-pregnant state. That is why it is not uncommon for a pregnant woman to have a bad pap, then clear or regress spontaneously after delivery. :)

Good for you that you quit smoking! I wouldn't be surprised if that and the stress caused you to develop the CIN when you otherwise would have kept it in check.

Was the study you participated in in 1986? (Surwit has been involved in so many)

I am glad everything has so far worked out well for you, and I wish you and your family continued good health.

Actually the study I was involved in was in 1982-83 but Surwit was difinitely the doc.