hpv confusion-long missed follow ups - Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Message Board

scaredone · 07-15-2004, 09:32 PM

hi everyone-
about a year and a half ago i got a bad pap result... after a few rechecks and switching doctors(i was going to a clinic and switched to a gyno/surgeon that my mother used to work with) he told me i have severe dysplasia- i had a biopsy- and he told me he thought i probably had hpv(to my knowledge- i was not actually tested for hpv- but again i'm not totally sure). i went back several times and got several paps back showing dysplasia- then he said to come back in 6 months. needless to say- being the person i am i never went back- i was due to go back last august. that was a year ago- and i went ahead and set up a new dr's appt here in NY(i moved during the year) so i'm awaiting that check up.(yes- i know it was careless to not keep my appt but there was just so much going on- and the routine of going to the doc's every couple of weeks was just getting to be too much mental and physical stress.it was also getting too costly-i did not have insurance)

i am confused and didn't get a lot of information from my former doc- i thought HPV caused genital warts- which i asked the doctor and he assured me that i do not have warts-so i am confused.

i have been taking oral birth control for years- i started taking them not because i was sexually active but because my periods were and still are irregular.i read somewhere that there was a possible link between the legnth of time you take oral contreceptives and cervical cancer...?

my mother had cervical cancer. my grandmother has had a hysterectomy due to cancer. my other grandmother has had a double mastectomy(of course that is not cervical related, but still important).both of my younger sisters have now had abnormal paps. are you genetically prone to these things?

how long would it take me- if i had severe dysplasia a year and a half ago- to actually develop cancer? and if i have- what are the choices i have for treatment? i'm only 24- i haven't had any kids yet(i'm in college) but i really want to one day. the doctor i had did not seem overly anxious to do much more than biopsies and colposcopies(sp?) and more paps...lots of paps... and all of those things add up to lost of money and lots of waiting nervously...

can anyone help calm me a bit? what should i expect with my new doc? i'm kind of nervous she's going to lecture me on missing my paps for so long...

lipovarinrules · 07-15-2004, 10:47 PM

Hi there,
i can understand ur confusion. i just had leep(loop electrosurgical excision procedure)done today, a month ago my pap result came out abnormal(highest level) i m 25 just graduated in last Dec and had been looking for a job for 6 months therefore no insurance.i was very much scared after i found out that my pap result was abnormal and doctor wanted to do a biopsy on me. i bought the short term insurance in which i had 80/20 ratio. i had to pay around $90 per month. i got sexually active last yr only and since then i have been having problems. my doctor told me that i have HPV and it's sexually transmitted. since i have had only one partner i m really not sure how i got it (my fiance has been tested negative for HIV and other STDs) anyways in the biopsy they found precancerous cells in my cervix and my doctor didn't wanna ignore that since it was between level 1-2( i think there are three levels) so she suggested me to have leep done in which they remove the "bad" cells. it's really important that u go for the biopsy and if you have already done that ur doc should have told u whether u need a leep. i don't know how much it'll cost me since i haven't got the bill yet(hopefully not much) i m a lil sore frm the surgery. it was only 10 mins long but hurts afterwards same as when u have ur periods. i will have to go after 2 weeks for follow up and then after that paps every three months for two yrs to make sure everything is alrite and that there aren't any "bad" cells left. i suggest that u do not ignore this matter since money keeps coming and going. it's ur health and it's important.
good luck

scaredone · 07-15-2004, 11:26 PM

thanks- i hope everything goes well for you too...

hmm...i scanned thru a few of these posts and i'm a little concerned... my previous doctor only did a biopsy and colposcopy, and several paps... my mother had said she was concerned because he did not do a cryo or a leep,
i think maybe he just wanted to take the least evasive(sp?) route... but looking around i'm concerned because a lot of people who had fewer abnormal paps than i (i have lost count at how many came back abnormal- the process went on for almost a year of me going every 3-6 weeks) have had more treatment... i hope my former doctor did not give me lesser treatment...i got to the point where i WANTED the leep or anything that would prevent me from having to go every few weeks... i guess i'll wait and see what the new doc says when she sees me in august...

off to bed i go...nighty!

PS- if anyone knows- is hpv only contractible thru intercourse?

CBL

jaimie7399 · 07-16-2004, 01:17 AM

scaredone,
I just got diagonosed with moderate HPV-Dysplasia, and from what i've read up on cuz my doctor was no help is that its not just contractible thru intercourse...you can get it from smoking, bad nutrition ( ur immune system not being healthy), and also from being on the pill for a long period of time...i've also read that having sex with someone who smokes somehow can cause you problems...i guess it has to do with the chemicals in nicotine and what they do to ur glands...so thats what i have found...because i wondered the same thing...i also learned that alot of men are carriers but from what i've read they cant be tested for HPV...like their carriers of it but dont have symptoms...so its almost like a STD but not...from what i gather...hopefully if i'm wrong on any of this someone will correct me...but thats my take on it...
Good luck and i hope everything works out for you...Take care!

timlea · 07-16-2004, 04:57 PM

I've also read that you can get HPV through sharing towels. I searched this topic on the internet about contracting HPV, genetics, ect. and was really interested in finding something about this, since I suspect that my mother also had HPV. She has quite an extensive history of dysplasia, and I remember her going through the cryo procedure and having a leep, before having a hysterectomy done at age 43. Whether or not she had the hysterectomy due to dysplasia or cancer was never clear as her story about having the surgery didn't quite make sense-she was to have bladder surgery and docs decided to do a hysterectomy as well. After about a year I finally decided to let my HPV contraction go since I wasn't finding out any more info from my mom, and concluded that somewhere along the line I got it. So is there a genetic predisposition to cervical cancer, I would think yes, but I think people are far more likely to get dysplasia or cervical cancer if they have HPV. Unfortunately I didn't run across much research about children of adults with HPV/dyspasia with the same problems. I know for myself all I can really do is just keep up with my appointments and hopefully have another leep in the near future so I can get rid of the dysplasia.

Hope all goes well for everyone and hang in there!