Abnormal cells come back after clear smear last year

Cervical screening results
1

Hi all,

 

So after three years am back here. 

 

I started with high grade (moderate) dyskaryosis after my first smear 3 years ago. I had a biopsy showing cin 1 focal cin 2 and terrified as I was for procedures I opted for a wait and see approach under strict supervision. I first came back after 3-4 months and because I stopped smoking the colposcopist uncologist seen a decrease in my abnormal cells, a year after my first smear a vast improvement and my smear came back with nuclear changes. Last year no abnormal cells were seen and my smear came back clear. I was put on a yearly smear protocol following no treatment abnormal cells found. 

To my horror my results came back HPV positive with yet again high grade (moderate) dyskaryosis. 

And now here I am petrified, clearly the HPV is the root cause of the abnormal cell changes 3 years ago and now again. I’ve had to put up with a vitamin D deficiency causing me extreme backache and fatigue, a vitamin B12 deficiency causing me to feel like I’m 82 instead of 28, sinus infection probably caused by a root canal and ever since I had my first smear and stopped smoking felt like my health has gone so ridiculously rubbish. 

I’m still terrified of treatment and know 100% they will do a biopsy during my scheduled colposcopy to do further investigation so I gone to my doctor for some diazepam as I can not cope with this stress. I rather have another root canal and go without anaesthetic than have another biopsy done so the doctor happily given me some pills to take the edge off. The colposcopist nurse said last time if the cells return I had to have treatment, I’m just worried that if I managed to temporarily get rid of abnormal cells and they now returned that if I do get treatment I end up with abnormal cells again down the line if I end up with long lasting HPV infection as that’s obviously the cause. 

 

If I do opt for treatment I want to be more closely monitored preferably 3-6 months rather than yearly and if it comes back I just want to have my womb and cervix removed as I wanted to get sterilised anyway as I can’t go through that stress every so often. 

 

I can’t find much about people being in the same boat as me as most will have had treatment first time round and I haven’t but to be honest I don’t see the difference as it more important to me that the smear results have seen improvement which were confirmed by the colposcopy and now it’s come back. I believe that if I had treatment it now would’ve been back too as I still have the HPV infection. 

 

 

2

Hey,

im not in the same boat as you but I have been considering a similar treatment path. I had a smear last year which showed I was HPV positive but with no cell change and a year later I have low grade change. Which to me feels like quick change. I have my colposcopy tomorrow and wanted to opt for a watch and wait treatment as I think you need to give your body chance to fight off the nasty little HPV virus. It seems from some - reading around - the virus is persistent and perhaps feeling unwell/lifestyle changes can impact your bodies ability to fight it off.

Everybody tells me treatment is very effective with a 98/99% success rate. Perhaps the chance of reoccurrence is never impossible but removing the dodgy cells can only help and keep it from progressing quickly and aggressively.  If I am offered yearly smears I will pay private for 6 monthly I think this is roughly £200 but worth the price of not getting anxious and stressed. 

3

I went from clear to moderate. If I had low I wouldn’t be as worried. 

I changed my lifestyle, I don’t drink, I stopped smoking 3 years ago after I first had cell changes and it didn’t help. 

You can have a wait and see approach but in my case it had gone and now it’s gone back because I’m still HPV positive and that’s the root cause of my abnormal cells coming back again.