Hello there. I REALLY need some advice. I have been part of this forum for a while now asking for advice, to vent and to reply to others. My background story again:
I'm a 24 year old woman with no kids (yet) who had her first abnormal pap smear at the age of 23 in May 2018. It said positive for high risk HPV and negative for HPV 16, 18/45. I then had a colposcopy in September 2018 which revealed I had CIN1 and chronic cervicitis in all areas. Since then I was told to wait for 6 months (watch and wait). Was scheduled another colposcopy in March 2019 with that same OBGYN who did the first colposcopy. I moved cities so I couldn't go back to her. I found a new doctor where I live now and I got my follow up pap smear done 2 weeks ago. During the pap he said my cervix is friable and it bleeds upon contact. I have had this issue ever since I had my abnormal pap. I have been told by some doctors that it's because of the HPV.
Anyway, so I got my results today which again were abnormal. Positive for high risk HPV and negative for HPV 16 and 18/45. It says on the interpretation: "Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance. Case reviewed by Pathologist". And in OLD CLASSIFICATION it says ll.
So my OGBYN said to me that he wanted togo ahead and do the cryosurgery right there and then but I said no because I'm gonna get my period very soon and I don't wanna risk an infection on top of this. To which he replied that it doesn't matter that the risk of infection is low and that he could do it regardless but that it was my choice if I wanted to get it done today or wait for my period to go away. He also said to me that I could have sex a week after having the cryosurgery!!! Which I KNOW IS NOT TRUE from what I have read online, and what my friend's OBGYN said when she had cryosurgery done for her HPV cells. I also asked if I would feel a lot of discomfort or not and he had the audacity to say "I don't know because I'm not a woman" REALLY??? What kind of doctor says this to a patient? He also said "HPV goes away in most people in around 3 months. If the infection persists it means that you will never get rid of the HPV. You will always have it and if you don't get treatment for it those cells will keep developing and you will get cancer. I was apalled at how he treated me and said these things to me. Felt very upset to say the least.
So my questions are:
1. Why won't he do a colposcopy before doing the cryosurgery to see whether the cells have advanced or not? Why is he guessing that I still have LSIL (CIN1) when it's been 7 months and during our first consultation he said that cells can change in weeks! Should I push for a colposcopy?
2. Why is he telling me that I will never get rid of the HPV? According to him, since 3 months passed by and I have been having this issue for like almost a year now or maybe 2 (first normal pap was on 2016 and the second on the 2018 which was the abnormal one so maybe the HPV infection started after that first pap) it means my body doesn't have the antibodies or markers to detect the virus and that I will continue to have it forever. What the hell does that mean then? That I will have to go back every 3 or 6 months for paps and treatments until there is no cervix left??? I have read online about women who have had HPV for a long time then all of the sudden it "goes away" or remains dormant or whatever it is but it doesn't cause anymore problems.
3. Should I change doctors? Should I get the cryosurgery done with him? Or should I find a new doctor who can explain things better to me and is more cautious?
4. If I'm HPV 16, 18/45 negative, does that mean I can still get the vaccine to cover those strains? Will getting the vaccine help my body identify the HPV strain(s) I have so my body's immune system can clear it? Or will the vaccine make things worse and make the cells progress even faster?
PLEASE PLEASE HELP. I'm really confused and I have been to 4 gynecologists in total and they all have told me different things about this situation and I'm at my wits end. I need closure and I need clear answers and I need them now. My life has been ruined ever since my diagnosis and depression has been slowly taking over once more :'(