Public Service Announcement
So I’ve been grappling over posting this for the last few days. Ever since I found out quite frankly. But I have written the tough stuff before and so I decided to write this as well. Hopefully someone can learn something from me putting this here.
I am a careful girl. I visit my girly doctor and have my lady parts checked out every year like clockwork. I even get tested above and beyond that. I use birth control and protection. And if I choose not to use protection, I make sure there is an honest conversation about the safety of that decision. I never choose to go without birth control. I monitor my own health and call someone if something is odd. You get the picture. I take care of myself.
So it came as a total surprise when this year, after said lady part examination, I got a letter from the doctor. Letters from the girly doctor are never good. If everything is okay, they don’t bother to talk to you again until next year. Letters only come when something isn’t okay.
So here’s the bottom line: I am HPV positive. Don’t panic it says. Everything else is normal, it says. But, you know, except for the HPV thing.
Here’s some fun information. HPV won’t show on any STD screenings. (In fact, it’s an infection, not a disease.) In men, there is flat out no way to detect it reliably. In women it can only be caught with your regular exam and only if your girly doctor screens for it which all of them don’t. Even those who do may only screen certain age groups. It’s not something they will immediately treat. It is something 50% of Americans have. There are 100s of kinds and no quick and easy way to tell which you have in most cases.
I have been in the age group for a while. My girly doctor just found it this year. That narrows my field for who could have passed that little gem on. To two people really… Big and LC. Furthermore, based on timing and general riskiness, all signs point to Big. Unfortunately, I can’t say for sure that’s the source. HPV can be latent for a period of time. People can get it and not present with symptoms. There is no way to be sure.
Of course, I had to tell them both. I told Big I thought he was the source. I also told him regardless of who the source was, he and all of his partners are now at risk. For him, it means not much. There are minimal risks for men. For them, it means a lot.
I don’t know if the HPV I have is low risk (may not do any damage at all) or high risk (may cause cancer). I don’t know if I have more than one kind. I don’t know how long I’ll have it. I don’t know if LC is infected now. I may never know these answers. Or I may find some of them out with time. But time is basically the only way to tell.
Here’s the PSA part of today’s program. The vaccine for HPV came out too late to help me. I was already too old. But it’s not too late to help our daughters. We can ensure they never have to go through what I’m going through right now. They don’t have to find this out and wonder. They don’t have to feel dirty. They don’t have to be at risk for cancer. Spare them from this and get them vaccinated. Give them one less thing to worry about in life.
Back to me. All I know right now is that I am HPV positive. I will have to tell doctors about this until I die. And I will have to ensure I am screened at least yearly for at least as long as it takes to go away.
And based on general symptoms and stuff, I am 95% certain this is the only thing Big ever gave me. He needs to shop at better stores.
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No worries hun, I dealt with a high risk strain of HPV. Most HPV infections clear on thier own in 2 years. I would suggest going back to the girly doc every 6months to be tested (blood test). As long as your pap continues to be normal there is not much to worry about. I realize that it is a shock but relax, you are not the only one and it is manageable.
I thought blood tests wouldn’t turn show it? Everything I’ve read and know says it’s an additional test run with your PAP smear and that blood tests are unhelpful.
Oh sheesh, you know, you scared me. Seriously, I thought I read HIV and not HPV. I about fell over.
Dude, while it’s a shock I’m sure, be glad it didn’t come out on you in the form of genital warts!
See the positive spin I can put on things? This is, clearly why you love me.
MWAH.
I’m sure I didn’t mention my symptoms. Just sayin’.
I don’t think there’s a blood test, either. Otherwise, they could test guys. I’ve dealt with this myself. I don’t think there’s any exact length of time in which it will clear up, but it usually does go away on its own. Keep on checking in with the lady doctor as often as you need to and keep your chin up. Many, many of us go through this; thanks for the PSA.
I’m taking care of it as best I can. I think it’s good for everyone (me included) to be reminded that this is common and we’re not alone.
Oh I am so glad you shared! I am due to see my girly doc in a couple weeks so I will ask just to be sure I am getting tested.
My last visit came back odd for the 1st time in my life, but after further examination it turned out to be nothing.
I hope it works itself out of you fast!!
Yay for being proactive! And the good news is they won’t have to do anything they weren’t going to do anyway in order to run the test.
Well, first of all….
I’m glad I heard it from you.
And not from an e-mail response sent to both of us from QTMama.
Good on you for the PSA. I hope this is resolved in the best way possible.
And seriously,…Big? Horrible gift giver.
-R.
*snort* I’m torn between laughing hysterically and feeling bad for QTMama. Laughing hysterically is totally winning.
HAHAHA an email to both of you!
Oh please, I’d do a three way call for this, not an email. Sheesh.
Conference me in! I’m waiting.
From the front page of today’s NYT:
The doctors’ group also felt it was safe to test women less often because cervical cancer grows slowly, so there is time to catch precancerous growths. Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus, human papillomavirus, or HPV, that is practically ubiquitous. Only some people who are exposed to it develop cancer; in most, the immune system fights off the virus. If cancer does develop, it can take 10 to 20 years after exposure to the virus.
The new guidelines say women 30 and older who have three consecutive Pap tests that were normal, and who have no history of seriously abnormal findings, can stretch the interval between screenings to three years.
In addition, women who have a total hysterectomy (which removes the uterus and cervix) for a noncancerous condition, and who had no severe abnormalities on previous Pap tests, can quit having the tests entirely.
The guidelines also say that women can stop having Pap tests between 65 and 70 if they have three or more negative tests in a row and no abnormal test results in the last 10 years.
Are these the same fools who say that we shouldn’t start having mammograms until age 50? All they’re doing is making me pay more $$ since my insurance is going to stop covering things.
Thanks for the PSA about the vaccine, but what the vaccine doesn’t tell you – it only vaccinates against 4 – yes 4 – strains of HPV. There are more than 100 strains of HPV.
I WAS vaccinated, and I still tested positive. It sucks – but it’s manageable.
HPV and Herpes are the most commen STDs for women – and they also happen to the be the 2 STDS they DON’T test for during STD tests. If you don’t have symptoms, it’s not a bad idea to request a blood test from your doctor to be on the safe side. Like HPV, most people don’t have symptoms, and so they are unaware that they spread it.
Good luck with everything, but keep in mind, that the worst part about an STD is the stigma.
Again, I don’t think HPV is detectable via a blood test. Otherwise men could be reliably tested and that is not the case. And thanks for the info on the vaccine… I didn’t know that. Still, I bet those 4 strains are all high risk so it’s not without value to go ahead and get it anyway.
Thank you SO much for sharing this! This completely reminded me to make my annual appt. with my lady doc.
I will consider this PSA effective then!
Thanks so much for sharing such an intimate, and significant detail of your life. It’s an unfortunate, last chapter in singledom. Unnecessary punctuation before heading forward with your next chapter. Sorry to hear about it, but thank you for sharing. The story.
Don’t worry, I’m trying not to share the infection too.
Thanks for the PSA about the vaccine, but what the vaccine doesn’t tell you – it only vaccinates against 4 – yes 4 – strains of HPV. There are more than 100 strains of HPV.
I WAS vaccinated, and I still tested positive. It sucks – but it’s manageable.
HPV and Herpes are the most commen STDs for women – and they also happen to the be the 2 STDS they DON’T test for during STD tests. If you don’t have symptoms, it’s not a bad idea to request a blood test from your doctor to be on the safe side. Like HPV, most people don’t have symptoms, and so they are unaware that they spread it.
Good luck with everything, but keep in mind, that the worst part about an STD is the stigma.
Again, I don’t think HPV is detectable via a blood test. Otherwise men could be reliably tested and that is not the case. And thanks for the info on the vaccine… I didn’t know that. Still, I bet those 4 strains are all high risk so it’s not without value to go ahead and get it anyway.