Hi!
I’m happy I found this website.
My story. I started being sexually active (I’m 28) this year in May. I had my first smear that showed LSIL. I came back in 6 months (Dec, 2013) and it showed CIN1 with HPV effect. I had a colp done and sadly it was worse – CIN2 with HPV.
The doctor said I had two options, wait 6 mths or do a LLETZ (in March 2014). He said statistically people would wait 6 months and see.
I was happy to do this but my only concern is that from May till now I’ve already progressed to CIN2. He did note that it was unusual.
So I guess now that makes me worried. So worried in fact I’m scared to even wait until March for a LLEETZ. I was happy to wait 6 months initially but when he said about the timeline being so quick from being sexually active for the first time to developing this is freaked me out.
I also want to have kids so I’m worried how all this would affect my fertility.
Anyone have any thoughts they could share? I would appreciate it. Also he seems to think this is common but I am so stressed and concerned about having this. Thanks.
Hello hun. although I'm in a similar situation - I can only offer advice from what I have been through/heard. The usual procedure for CIN2 is a LLETZ treatment, some colposcopist's will offer treatment there and then, not all do this. Some offer the 'wait and watch' approach which is very common. The thing with CIN1 (which I have) and also a lot of the time with CIN2 as well, can usually regress and go back to normal on their own. If he has offered you the wait and watch approach then he may be just wanting to see if your immune system will turn it around and clear the virus as well as turn the cells back to normal! The fact you're only 28 as well means your immune system could usually clear the virus. It very unlikely that CIN2 will progress within 6 months. If it's still the same in 6 months then he will offer the necessary treatment to remove the cells. It sounds quite normal hun so I wouldn't worry too much. They have used the wait and watch approach with me and referred me back in 12 months time! So hopefully my body can just do it's job and clear the virus and hopefully the cells will be normal again. Hope I have helped you somewhat! Good luck hun! Xxx
Oh also, Vitamin C is a natural enemy of HPV, so plenty of vitamin C!! :) xxx
Hello,
I also had to make this decision and I decided to have the treatment even though I don’t have a family yet. I just thought I would give you my reasons for doing so in case it might help you decide. I had CIN2 + glands (not just focal) and positive for HPV. My immune system isn’t at it’s best because I deal with quite a lot of stress so I wasn’t confident that my body could build up immunity to the virus. I thought it was therefore best I get rid of the cells as soon as possible, my doctor was also quite keen for me to have the treatment but different doctors recommend different things.
Although if the doctor is quite happy for you to return in 6 months then they are probably quite confident you will be able to build immunity to it.
I know it’s hard not to worry but I felt more relaxed once I’d made a decision I knew was best for me.
I hope this helps a little 
Danielle xx
Thanks for the replies ladies, hugs. It did make me feel better. I am happy to wait 6 months it was just that I thought with it coming on my first ever pap smear in the first time I become sexually active concerned me and when the doctor said this was unusual it just made me more concerned (even though despite saying it was unusual (from what he had seen) he was still happy for me to wait 6 months). I just don’t know if I trust my body lol. I have PCOS and have strated taking the pill and an anti-androgen blocking medicine called Aldactone that is given to high blood pressure people but also has been known to help PCOS (PCOS I have the kind where I produce high level androgens that makes me lose my head hair and where I have cysts) and I’ve been fighting that this year (and my stress has been high because of it). I also just naturally have high stress in the past and I tend to worry ALOT. But I am making an effort to stress less. I just don’t know if it’s enough. I’m already at CIN2 , my body hasn’t been doing so well fighting it off so far it seems. I do have an appointment with my endocrinologist who knows my medical history with stress/my body more so I’m hoping she might shed some light on if she thinks my immune system has a chance. danielle may I ask what glands mean? My pathology summary just said cervix: CIN2 + HPV. I don't even know what strand of hpv I have. Is that normal for it just to say hpv and not the kind of hpv? Also, how was the procedure?
I think they should have told you whether your HPV is high risk or low risk. They told me straight away at my colposcopy after my smear results just said 'evidence of HPV' even the results from my biopsy results didn't mention HPV, just that I had CIN1 and that no treatment was needed and referred me back in 12 months. I may try to bring it forward 6 months though cause it's always at the back of my mind and it makes me wonder, is it regressing or professing? It's horrible! I'm a natural worrier too, I'm terrible lol. I have learnt not to be though cause it only leads to stress and it's not good for the body, especially trying to clear this virus. Make sure you get your vitamins down you! Plenty of vitamin C, fruit and leafy veg! Blueberries are wonderful for the body, I eat a packet a day plus I have about 3/4 vitamins of 1000mg vitamin C! I am trying everything I can to get rid of this HPV - what a horrible thing to have in our bodies huh?! If it's so 'common' like everyone says - why don't they lower the age for smears? Girls and boys are becoming sexually active at a young age and they say all it takes is one person to contract the virus. So say, a young girl becomes sexually active at the age of 16 and contracts the virus by just having one sexual partner, then she could possibly have an active virus which could cause abnormalities and would be none the wiser till she was 25. To me, I think they need to lower it absolutely! Girls are going to their doctors with symptoms but their not prepared to do a smear due to their age. It's wrong. You should also contact the nurse who did your colposcopy examination and find out whether you're high risk HPV or low risk, they should have told you. Good luck hun!! Wish you all the best!! In the meantime, don't worry - I'm sure they will do whats necessary. Enjoy your Christmas and think about it after - don't let it ruin your Christmas :) it's not worth it whatsoever! An remember, plenty of vitamins!!!! Lol xxx
Yeah I was told at my first colposcopy appointment that the HPV I had was high risk too. I have no idea what particular strain though. Yeah I'm starting vitamin tablets and trying to eat a healthier, hoping that feeling like I am actively trying to help my immune system will also help me deal with the worry :) I agree with you about the lower age, especially if people are showing symptoms!I can’t really make a comment about how fast progression can be or PCOS so I’m sorry I can’t be any help there! Your endocrinologist is probably a very good person to speak to then, hopefully they can offer you advice to help stop you worrying about it too much.As far as I understand (only done a quick google search) glands means the hpv has started infecting the cells up the cervix, not just a focal point on the outside of the cervix. I was only told this at the meeting with the doctor, not on my results letter.I actually found the procedure wasn’t as bad as I was expecting (I found the previous biopsy quite painful and nearly passed out after, oops!). The initial needles were a bit painful/uncomfortable but the loop biopsy wasn’t painful at all, it just felt a little weird as the anaesthetic doesn’t affect your temperature receptors. I also didn’t have much pain when the anaesthetic wore off.Hoping the Christmas holidays will cheer everyone up, having to plan presents is certainly keeping me occupied! xx
So I should call the doctor who did the colp and ask what hpv risk I am? If I decide to go ahead with treatment I'll be doing it in March, so a few months away. I will in Jan see another doctor to get a second opinion though. I'm trying to relax and enjoy the holidays but sometimes my mind wonders and I think about the what ifs. Like my boyfriend yesterday was talking about kids someday and I wanted to tear up thinking will I ever have them? Will I even be alive? It's funny how the mind works. Thanks to that I tensed up and got a headache and thought oh no I'm stressing, that's not helping! lol. But it’s so hard to relax when you’re telling yourself too lol. Also it doesn’t help that I told my father about it and he got this really sad and sombre look. He had a scare with cancer himself but they caught it early (burned it off) and it never came back but he looked so worried for me. I told him I don’t have cancer just something I need to monitor but he still looked worried an even told me if I could do something about it next week! Seeing his fear made me fear even though the doctor told me it was ok to wait a few months to do the procedure (or wait 6 months to re test). I just wanted him to be positive and say everything will be ok. Seeing someone else worry makes me worry more (though I know it’s only cause he cares and loves me). Anyways, back to the boyfriend. I part of me wanted to yell, it’s all your fault! Lol. But of course I know it doesn’t matter. I have what I have, the blame game doesn't help. Funny thing is my boyfriend who is in the army said that they have testing for them that is available for HPV that isn’t for the general public and that he was tested for it and it came out negative. So I was thinking, what? I’m one of the million small possibilities that I got it from where? A toilet seat? My mother? My fingernails? (apparently the doctor said there’s a 1 in a million chance of that happening). I haven’t told him yet about my CIN2 because even though I know it’s from him (again my first sexual experience in any capacity, have never had sexual contact with anyone else before and he has admitted to one night stands in the past before our relationship) but he has it in his head it’s not from him. Before my colp when I mentioned it might be HPV he didn’t have the best expression. I felt like it was my fault even though he said if it’s hpv he would still stick by me. But deep down I still can’t help feeling like I’m to blame somehow because my body can’t do what others seem to do and that’s fight it. I will eventually tell him once I decide if I go for the LEEP. But right now I just feel like he doesn’t deserve to know. Funny I know. But his reaction worries me. I'll try and stay positive. I mean I don't know the stats but once they know you have CIN/HPV early there's ways to look after and treat right? I mean it's not a cancer that just creeps up on you and you can do nothing about. Or so I hope. I'm still researching it. The only thing that does scare me is people going from a normal or just low abnormal pap to like cancer in a year or something (like they see normal in one pap, abnormal next, come back in 6 months and it's cancer). I thought it was slow growing but I guess not always. So starting at CIN2 my first ever go just freaks me out. Thanks for talking to me ladies, it's made me feel better.
Dani, I personally would go after 6 motnhs not a year. My first pap said LSIL and they told me to come back in 6 motnhs.
The colposcopy clinic will have your notes with those kind of details, possibly your gp also. Don’t be afraid to talk to other people about this, I’ve found this to be really helpful in making me think more rationally about the situation. When I’m alone I tend to sit and think about all possible situations and that’s just not healthy! Surround yourself with supportive people :) Also through talking to other people I’ve been able to find out just how common this procedure is, nearly every female I have spoken to about it knows one or more friends who have had it and gone on to have a family.
As far as research goes I think many people on here have advised sticking to trusted websites such as Jo’s trust.
I don’t know for certain but I think when people have a low grade smear result and then have a cancer diagnosis very quick, possibly could be from something that has been missed in the smear test. As far as I understand It is hard in a smear test to sample cells from up inside the cervix rather than just the opening. I had a borderline smear result and then cin2 result from biopsy. So I think the fact they have caught your cells at cin2 and can now monitor you by colposcopy is very positive and they will offer you any treatment they think is necessary to prevent any further progression.
I can’t really comment on where you contracted hpv but you now know that you have it, so maybe try to focus your energy on how to build you immune system to fight against it. I will just stress, please talk to other people about this and not just sit and think about it on your own, especially to other females! I think the reason it really scared me is because it is a subject that people don’t really like talking about so you don’t realise just how common it is. xx
Hi!
I thought I would update you all on the situation and at the same time provide some hope for ladies out there in a similar situation.
2-3 months after my initial diagnosis of CIN2 with HPV present I decided to see another doctor (in the public sector because couldn’t afford the private) and he decided to start from scratch and did the pap smear/colp again. This time though he also did the HPV test (which hadn’t actually been done before).
Well I got my results and it was good! I’m back on Low grade and the HPV test was negative! With the low grade he said I also had inflammation so that was probably what was affecting the test and showing abnormal.
To be honest I’m still surprised at the difference only a few months later. Could the colp have been wrong? I almost want to call him again to make sure it was my file he read because that’s a difference from 2 months ago! Can the HPV go in 2 months? Or can the colpscopy have been wrong to start with?
Either way it just goes to show that you can’t jump to panic mode. I’m glad I didn’t have the LEEP automatically and gave it some time.
Hi Lightsun, I just wanted to say I'm very happy for you getting some good news you must feel quite relieved! Glad you made the right desicion for you. My Lletz results came back as CIN3 so having treatment was the right decision for me! I guess your body could have already been building immunity to the HPV virus and at some point the test will go from positive to negative.
Anyway just wanted to say congrats and thanks for updating, hearing a positive story is always uplifting :)
Thanks danielle! I defintely think if results come back as CIN3 having treatment is the way to go (in my opinion of course). I would have had the treatment had it showed CIN3. It all depends on the individual person.
