# OMG! She has HPV



## Jade2561 (Jun 12, 2005)

My 18 year old sister just tested positive for HPV. I was wondering if anyone here has ever contracted it; or has a teenage son/daughter that has ever contracted an STD? How did you handle it?


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## MrsMoe (May 17, 2005)

HPV is very very very common. One in four women has it and condoms do not offer protection. In some cases people can actually be born with it. Most women are carriers and are clueless to the fact they have it. Ever have an abnormal papsmear? If so, odds are oyu have HPV.

There are many strains of HPV, some cause visible warts, some do not. There are several strains of HPV that require yearly papsmears as it CAN (but usually does not) cause cervical issues that can lead to cervical can cause cancer. HPV is the only cause of cervical cancer but onlya few strains cause it.
The types that cause visible warts can be treated with creams or removal of hte warts. Over a period of time - unless the immune system is weak - the body fights the HPV and it goes dormant. While you are always a carrier - the sypmtoms go away in time.


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## Starflower (Sep 25, 2004)

I'm sorry to hear about your sister's positive test for HPV. The best thing you can do for her is to educate yourself about it, be open to listening if she wants to talk, and be non-judgmental.

It's estimated that 75% (3 out of 4) of sexually active Americans (men & women) have had an HPV infection. (Wow!) Yet it's really very misunderstood, mostly due to (IMO) social stigmas in our society. (See ASHA & Planned Parenthood sites info for stats).

Here are a few websites that have information to browse. I think the ASHA site is the easiest to use and is very imformative, especially about HPV infections in women and how they can cause cervical problems, including cancer.

Now, yes, that word (cancer) is scary but HPV doesn't mean you get cancer. I have HPV and developed cervical displaysia (a pre-cancerous condition) about 10 years ago. I had it treated and had extra Pap tests until I was "cleared" to go to the yearly tests. (







Just got another clear test last week!)

The thing that was most frustrating to me was that not only did I have to be treated twice because the first doctor missed some of it, but she never told me what had caused it.














I had no idea I had HPV until I had a second procedure done by another doctor in another state. I do think the medical community is getting better about this by now - this was before they had a test for HPV and everything.

I hope the weblinks are useful to you and your sister. PM me if you want to talk more about it.

American Social Health Association's (ASHA) website devoted specifically to HPV - this is a really good site:

http://www.ashastd.org/hpvccrc/index.html

This site has tons of Q&A's by real people and also personal experiences. Looked interesting but I just now found it on Google so I can't endorse it:

http://www.hpvfaq.com/

Planned Parenthood info on HPV (pretty straight forward/clinical info + links):

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2...77989658196157

And here's a link to a book I've seen at Barnes and Noble before, though I haven't read it, so I can't give you my opinion about it. Looked interesting though.
http://www.twbookmark.com/books/76/0446677876/


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## HaveWool~Will Felt (Apr 26, 2004)

I was 18 when I contracted HPV. I had a few years that weren't very fun. ie: paps every 3 months, etc...
However I had gone on to have two vaginal births. My babies didn't contraced it.
I am now in my mid 30's...mine is dormant. However I can feel when my body may be fighting the virus...Over the years I have learned how and what works best for me....I learned by trial and error...


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## Jade2561 (Jun 12, 2005)

Thanks for the links starflower.









She has a doctors appointment on the 25th before she goes to college.
I just feel bad for her because my parents are giving her a really hard time. My mom thought she as a virgin!?!? Although, I think she's just been in denial for years.








I'll get to see her tommorrow (it's been 4 months, I live cross country). I just think she's freaked b/c the guy she thinks she contracted it from lives in an area that has the highest AIDS rate in the state







- and she broke up with the guy b/c he was having sex with all kinds of girls. It's just scary - you know? Could have been much worse...


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## johub (Feb 19, 2005)

Shortly after my oldest dd was born I had HPV show up on a pap. About a year and a half later I had a warts breakout. (even the type that cause warts can lay dormant and break out at any time) It was horrifyingly embarassing and I had to seek treatment ,and so did my boyfriend. He got this nice painless cryosugery removal. Basically I had to have mine burned off with liquid nitrogen which felt like acid. It was very painful and I had to go in for 2 visits to fully remove all of it. It was absolutely awful.
Interestingly enough, I have not had it show up on any paps since (that was 12 years ago)
It is considered "uncurable" because they have no reliable way to make sure it goes away. HOwever some women do become cured so I am sure that it wont be long before their treatments become more reliable in eradicating the virus completely.
If she actually gets warts it is embarassing and uncomfortable. But it is common enough to really not freak out too much about.
Joline


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## flyingspaghettimama (Dec 18, 2001)

I would like to point out that she can get her HPV DNA-typed. Basically, the HPVs with the DNA that are "good" and have not correlated to cause cancer will probably go away on their own (as some people here have experienced); and she will not need to be seen any more than once a year. Not all doctors offer this but can get it done with patient prompting.

The HPVs with DNA that are "bad" tend to be more aggressive, recur, and correlate to cancer. Some people unfortunately have this kind.







:

I would highly, highly suggest getting this test, even if paying out of pocket. On one hand, it may be peace of mind and won't require all the visits, colposcopies, and 4x/yearly pap smears - on the other, she will need to really stay on top of it and be open to more aggressive treatment of the problem.

http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders.../hpv/test.html


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## LizD (Feb 22, 2002)

Dan Savage had some good stuff on HPV in his column a month or two ago.

Personally I'm kind of glad I have the "bad" kind.







: Cervical cancer is a slow-growing cancer and can be caught quickly with regular testing. I would rather cope with that than painful genital warts, one of the other kinds of HPV.

I used this natural stuff called beta-mannan for six months and have had normal Pap smears since. It's high doses of aloe and zinc I think. You put it in internally and you also take it orally. The internal bit is incredibly gross and a mighty nuisance but better than LEEP or cryotherapy or cone biposies. If I get another abnormal Pap I would try it again for three months and see if it helped. This guy's website has some great testimonials and I found them incredibly kind and professional when answering my questions. I even have a testimonial on there!







He addresses the fact that while LEEP etc remove the lesion they don't combat the HPV infection, so you can end up having more and more of these aggressive treatments. Many cervical lesions resolve on their own. Many factors contribute to an abnormal Pap smear, too. Even ACOG recommends that as long as it's not a carcinoma in situ you should wait three months and test again.

Gary Null also has some info on this; check his website. He points out that many cervical lesions "disappear" after a vaginal delivery of a baby.


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## wasabi (Oct 12, 2004)

Genital warts are not painful. Having them removed is painful. I had a strain of HPV that causes genital warts but is not linked with cervical cancer so I was glad for that. I had one incidence of warts only (8 years ago) and they never returned nor have any of my partners since then developed warts. I was told several years ago that given the amount of time since an outbreak and that it was only one that I was immune to that strain which of course does not mean that I'm immune to any others and could easily develop warts or cancer from one of those strains. The CDC does say if you've had three or more partners then you are assumed to have HPV and just haven't developed symptoms yet it's that prevalent. Anyway if you have to have an STD HPV is at least easily treatable with fewer longterm consequences than many other STDs.


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## Starflower (Sep 25, 2004)

Jade,

Sorry to hear that your parents are giving your sister a hard time. Like she needs that added to her stress.

If she is going in for a colposcopy (where they look at the cervix with a special scope after spraying it with vinegar to make pre-cancerous type cells visible) I would suggest she bring along an ally for support.

A colposcopy doesn't hurt though a large speculum is used and can be uncomfortable. If they find suspect cells they may want to treat it right there in the office. I had a LEEP procedure (where they cut the bad cells off with an instrument which cauterized the wound at the same time). I chose this option over laser treatment because I had no health insurance at the time and it was cheaper.

The LEEP itself didn't hurt, but it did hurt when they numbed my cervix. Their brochure described the procedure as uncomfortable. I thought it was awful, but much of that was because I had a panic attack during the procedure. That's why I wish I'd had a good friend with me for support. I was just really scared. The nurse held my hand and the staff was supportive, but a good friend would have made a real difference. The recovery was pretty quick and felt like menstrual cramps for a day.

There are different options available for treatment if she has abnormal cells.

As for warts showing up, I have had those also. I didn't get them diagnosed until I was with my DH. So of course, we have no idea which one of has that strain first. He wasn't too weird about it, but it really freaked me out because of the social stigma. (This was amplified by my father's attitude toward STDs when I was growing up, so that I felt contaminated or something.)

I'm pretty much OK with it now. Haven't had any warts show up in a while even during pregnancy. They never hurt. I had some frozen off, but it didn't really bother me much. I didn't think it hurt either. My DH has had some frozen off too. Mostly they've just been a nuisance.

I hope everything goes well with your sister's doctor's appoinment. I assume she is being tested for HIV too. It's pretty standard testing. She may be tested for Hepatitis, too. I've always tested negative for those (thank goodness). If your sis tests negative for hepatitis, she can get a vaccine for that one, I believe. I would if I were young and single. Or even just single.


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## flyingspaghettimama (Dec 18, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Starflower*
A colposcopy doesn't hurt though a large speculum is used and can be uncomfortable. If they find suspect cells they may want to treat it right there in the office. I had a LEEP procedure (where they cut the bad cells off with an instrument which cauterized the wound at the same time). I chose this option over laser treatment because I had no health insurance at the time and it was cheaper.

Ooh. Mine hurt. I guess it's individual, but when someone's scraping a sharp poky thingy over a very sensitive part of my body...uh, it hurt me. Yucky.


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## merrick (Dec 8, 2003)

I had a colposcopy after an abnormal pap during pregnancy. It did not hurt any more than the pap test. Basically, they insert the speculum and look with this little pair of binocular type thingies. Not bad at all, at least for me.


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## flyingspaghettimama (Dec 18, 2001)

oh - this is why - i had a colpo + biopsy. I imagine the former wouldn't hurt. I thought they usually did a biopsy to test the tissue, but maybe not always?? sorry for the confusion. good luck to your sister.


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## merrick (Dec 8, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loraeileen*
oh - this is why - i had a colpo + biopsy. I imagine the former wouldn't hurt. I thought they usually did a biopsy to test the tissue, but maybe not always?? sorry for the confusion. good luck to your sister.


I think they normally do a biopsy too. In my case, I was pregnant so they didn't do the biopsy.


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## LizD (Feb 22, 2002)

Some say colposcopy doesn't hurt, and a few women I know say it was the most painful thing they've ever experienced (the biopsy part). Cryotherapy is supposed to be the best treatment for lesions or warts because it is supposedly the most precise and least damaging to healthy cells.

Sorry to hear the parents are giving her a hard time. Unfortunately that will not lead to greater closeness in future; she just knows now what she can't discuss with them.


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## MrsMoe (May 17, 2005)

I have the cancer causing HPV and had 3 biopsies. The first 3 biopsies did not hurt, but the 3rd was just horrible, I wansnt expecting that level of pain, but I was told the reason it hurt so much was likely due to a heavy amount of scar tissue in that area of my cervix from a previous childbirth.

While I have HPV strain 16 and one other (both cancer causing but not wart causing) I only had abnormal paps for about 6 months - soon after I contracted the virus. Since then, all my paps remain normal, which means my body is effectively surpressing the virus. I also opted to cease taking the birth control pill, and I personally feel this also helped to clear up my HPV as BC always made my cervical tissue thin and tender and prone to bleeding with intercourse.

If your sister smokes, I urge her to quit! Women with HPV and htat smoke are very very likely to be weaker to the virus than women who do not smoke and greatly increases odds of it developing into cervical cancer. In fact, smoking makes you 3 times more likely to get a high-grade cervical invasive cancer.

On a good note, there is a vaccine comming out soon for HPV strains 16 and 18 which research shows reduces persistent infections between 91% to 100%.


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## merrick (Dec 8, 2003)

Wow! I had heard about a vaccine, but that's really cool. But does it work when you already have the infection, or does it only prevent you from getting it?


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## MrsMoe (May 17, 2005)

http://www.immunizationinfo.org/vacc...tail.cfv?id=93

http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/C...al/Q14875.html

Yes, the vaccine will help those already infected... please read above links esp link #2

But in order to gain full benefit from the vaccine, a woman would of course need to be immunized prior to contracting the virus.


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## dynamohumm6 (Feb 22, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LizD*

I used this natural stuff called beta-mannan for six months and have had normal Pap smears since. It's high doses of aloe and zinc I think. You put it in internally and you also take it orally. The internal bit is incredibly gross and a mighty nuisance but better than LEEP or cryotherapy or cone biposies. If I get another abnormal Pap I would try it again for three months and see if it helped. This guy's website has some great testimonials and I found them incredibly kind and professional when answering my questions. I even have a testimonial on there!







He addresses the fact that while LEEP etc remove the lesion they don't combat the HPV infection, so you can end up having more and more of these aggressive treatments. Many cervical lesions resolve on their own. Many factors contribute to an abnormal Pap smear, too. Even ACOG recommends that as long as it's not a carcinoma in situ you should wait three months and test again.

Gary Null also has some info on this; check his website. He points out that many cervical lesions "disappear" after a vaginal delivery of a baby.

Elizabeth, what site is this? I'm interested in this natural treatment. I'm waiting on the results of my post-partum (8 week) pap. Went through colposcopy with "sample clippings" taken last year...I really don't want to go through all this again.


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## ericaz (Jun 10, 2003)

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