I was recently diagnosed with HPV during my yearly pap smear, and was told to go see my doctor. What now?

Question

I don't have the genital warts strain of the virus, but if I did, I know what would happen at the doctors. Does anyone know what happens if you DON'T have warts, if it is only detected from my pap smear? Do you know anything about the tests they might do? I'm just nervous about not knowing what's going to happen, if it'll hurt, etc. Any advice would be really helpful.

Answer 1

You don't need to have genital warts to have an abnormal pap smear come back. Now that you have had an abnormal pap they are going to want you to come back probably every 3-4 months now for a re-paps. When you go back to the doctor they are probably going to want to do what's called a coloscopy. This is where they place a small amount of vinegar on your cervix. The abnormal cells will "lit up" when vinegar is applied to them. Then the doctor will take a small sample of the abnormal cells and send it of to the lab to be anylized. This procedure can be painful for some women, while others feel no pain. I have had this done twice now. It's not so much painful for me, but it gave me the worst cramps ever! My doctor even suggested taking a couple Ibuprofen before I went, to help with the cramping. When they are finished getting the tissue, they will put a orange colored substance on your cervix, this helps stop the bleeding.

Once the results come back from the tissue sample, it will either say they are pre-cancerous cells or that it's nothing. Then, you go from there. I have had both results. When I was 17 years old my abnormal cells turned into cervical cancer. I had to go to the doctor every 3 months after that. About two years later I had another abnormal pap, but this time it turned out to be nothing.

Check out this site for some more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colposcopy

Answer 2

I have HPV -- a high risk subtype that can cause cervical cancer. There are over a hundred different subtypes of HPV. Thirty (30) subtypes of HPV affect the genital area and the virus lives in the mucous membranes of the skin.

My last pap smear was abnormal. I have to go back in 3 months for a recheck. If it still shows abnormalities then I have to get a colposcopy and possibly have a procedure such as LEEP to burn off the abnormal cells so they don't become cancer. The great news is cervical dysplasia can disappear on its own, sometimes.

HPV is more inconvenient than dangerous, for the most part. However, It is very important that you see your gynecologist regularly and follow their instructions since it can cause cervical cancer. Warts and cervical dysplasia are symptoms of HPV. That means they only appear when your immune system is weak. Generally, a healthy person's immune system can eliminate the HPV virus within two years and suppress it so there is no symptoms (i.e., warts, cervical dysplasia).

Answer 3

If they told you that you have HPV by doing a pap smear basically it means that they found abnormal (precancerous) cells on your cervix. Now this is nothing to freak out about don't worry about having cancer at this point that would take years. Basically you need to go with your doctor and talk about what he/she wants to do. Usually they will have you come in every 3-6 months to access if there are any changes in the cells. If they thought there was a problem they would remove part of the cervix. Just make sure you keep going back to the doctor.

Answer 4

since you get yearly pap smears most likely they will do a colposcopy which is when they take a thing that looks like binoculars on one end and a telescope on the other and take a good look up there. If they think they may see something they do a biopsy which isn't anywhere near as bad as it sounds. It didn't hurt at all for me cause I coughed when they told me to. After they get the results back they will talk to you about what comes next.

Answer 5

i recently had to have a radical hysterectomy because of HPV. human papiloma virus caused me to have cervical cancer. i had my surgery in january and i still am not healed. i didnt have any warts either and had no idea anything was wrong. i found out through a pap smear too. after i found out they sent me for a cone biopsy and that came back bad and i had to have a hysterectomy. maybe in your case it wont be as bad as mine. i hope not. you need to have it further checked out though. dont wait. if it has developed into cancer, the sooner you find out the sooner you can do something about it. if you have any more quesions i will be glad to talk to you. my email address is miss_dd39@yahoo .com

Answer 6

I think when you are under 25 they test for hpv, chlamydia, syphilis, and another major one that I cannot think of at the moment. They also check for cancerous cells. After the age of 25 you have to ask for the extra testing. And I am not sure if they test you for a yeast infection or if you have to ask to have it done. Your best bet will be to call your doctor and ask her the same questions you are asking us. Also for future exams take the time to sit and write down every question that you want answered, that way you wont forget to ask any important questions you wanted answered but forgot about.

Answer 7

i didn't have warts either, it doesn't hurt but just the thought of what their doing is freaky, lol don't panic. they usually do a biopsy,(cut a little piece of you off and run tests) and take it from there. good luck and relax, also i'm pretty sure that there is about 30 strains of hpv not hundreds

Answer 8

There are like 100 strains of HPV. Just depends on which one you contracted.

Answer 9

No reason to panic first they will scrape cells (not painfull) and test. If the section is small enough at the obgyn's office they will freeze scrape the cells to remove them. If it is a large area it is outpatient surgery and they will remove the section