cowgirl02

My sister had a one night stand a little while back and discovered about a week ago the she had little white bumps around the outside of her vagina. So she went to the Gyno and he told her that she has HPV (human papillius virus-i think) he i guess "froze" them off. i know that i can google hpv but i was wanting to see your guys opinion if this is a really bad STD, if it can be spread, does it goes away, anything that you know about it. My sister is blowing it off like its no big deal and it is really bothering me that she is. I think that she should take it serious? Is it a big deal or am i just worring to much? If it is a big deal, what do you think that i should tell her?

__________________
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them"- Mother Theresa

*No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.

*Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

*Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you.

maleficent

There are SOME types of HPV that have been linked to cervical cancer, not all types but some, what those types are I haven't a clue.

She's gone to the doctor, and has dealt with it, get a second opinion if you think the doctor was that blase about it...

It's genital warts,from what I have read, they are not obvious in men, they are in women...

__________________

Gilda

There are many different types of HPV, commonly known as genital warts.

The biggest risk is cervical cancer, which comes from high risk HPV. What your sister apparently had was one of the types that causes genital warts. These are low risk, and don't tend to lead to a risk of cervical cancer. It's not a big deal, but she does need to make sure she's gotten a free and clear from her gyno before she has sex again so that she doesn't pass it on to a new partner.

lindseylatch

75% of the population has HPV, so it usually not something to worry about, unless it's one of the types that cause cervical cancer. There are three types, out of the 20-some.
However, I'm sure the doctor would have mentioned it if they were one of those types.

__________________
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him."
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
-Voltaire

little_tippler

She should take it seriously. Really. This is commonly called genital warts. Human Papilloma Virus is a virus that stays, like herpes. you can transmit it or get it even with a condom, because it's not only in the genitals area, it can be in all the surrounding genital skin. You can transmit it even when there are no visible signs of it. You can have it for up to a year and not know. The effects on your sexual health can be pretty bad. Besides the uncomfortable and sometimes painul warts, in women, it can lead to cervical cancer (if you get a bad strain), and you can transmit it to your baby. This in turn can cause them a lifelong illness where they grow warts in their throat and need surgery regularly to remove them. You can get HPV in your throat too, through oral sex (this is rare). I think people who have HPV need to be aware of how this is something you can give to someone else for life, and you should have the responsibility to tell your sexual partners you have this, and also what it could mean for your health. Most people have a less aggressive strain that appears only on the outer labia (for women), and then with some luck they never have a visible sign of it again. But the virus is still there, it never goes away.

can it really be 75% of the world's population? sounds like a lot!

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

raeanna74

Ok If she discovered it by finding the warts then most possibly it is one of the thousands of types of HPV (including the warts that you get on your hands) that DON'T cause cervical cancer. There are only 6 types if I remember right that have been known to cause cervical cancer. Also if she goes for bi-yearly exams and gets them all removed as they develop then her risk of them developing further into cervical cancer is very low. HVP is the same virus that causes warts on your hands. It's a bit more tenatious when it takes hold in the genitals. It can last from 6mo's to about 3-4 years. The only treatment available is removing the warts. This can be quite effective because the visible warts are pockets of the virus and highly communicable. The only way to infect other's with this particular strain of the virus is by physical contact - ie. sex. Your sister really should respect others and avoid sex with them until she is positive, by word of her Dr, that she is clear of the virus. One good thing about this virus is that once you get rid of it you are immune to that particular strain in the future.

Don't panic - if she is faithful to go to her Dr and get checkups and doesn't have sex and spread this then most likely all will be fine. It does take time to develop cervical cancer from HPV. IF she goes bi-yearly they should be able to prevent it. It sounds to me like this particular strain isn't the type to put her at high risk.

CDC

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

ironmaiden7o7

I do have a friend that had hpv and froze them out, I do know that they are infectious and could be dangerous to a certain degree. As long as she stays protected, she should be okay. The cervical cancer thing is scary, but since these were easily taken off, she shouldn't have a reason to worry much. I don't have much advice on this, but seeing a doctor regularly would help. Good luck.

sillygirl

There are strains of HPV that doctors still can't trace, as in, they're not all sexually transmitted. Really the only way to tell exactly how 'dangerous' one is is to know what strain is there and learn about it.

__________________

Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly-Rose Franken
....absence makes me miss him more...

Eowyn_Vala

there are many strains, it is the most common STD and it is easily spread, condom or not, most guys never know unless they develop warts, most women don't unless abnormal pap or they develop warts, I know a high percentage of the population has HPV but I don't think it is 75% and if it is 75% I don't think all of that is STD warts or cancer. Not sure. I've acutally been doing research on HPV b/c a friend of mine has it, slept with my roommate, hasn't told him and I was wondering if I should tell him. She is constantly having one night stands and not telling them. I've asked her about it and she says if she has sex with them a second time she'll tell them, but she's actually only told one guy out of the many. She thinks a condom will prevent it and it won't, she also thinks that if she's not broken out she can't and she's okay. So I'm really worried about her and all the people she is passing it on too. I know she gets regular check ups from the doctor to make sure she isn't breaking out and that it isn't coming back but that's all she does. She doesn't even use a condom hardly ever.

I would do some research, check with a doctor to see what they say and talk to your sister about it. I'm going to talk to my friend about it. Good Luck!

__________________
Cain: I know what you're doing. I've lead troops into battle before.
DG: And, how am I doing?
Cain: Well, there's less *hugging* when I do it

JustJess

Just found out a friend of mine has it... doing a little research. This just sucks. What would you do if your partner told you about it before having sex? After? Would you keep seeing them then, or ever?

__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

superredhead

at least she was responsible and went to a doctor about it. perhaps her way of dealing with the hpv thing is to downplay the whole thing so she herself doesn't freak out. just urge her to get regular checkups and play it safe. you're a great sister to care so much

__________________
*yawn*

Sugar&Spice

http://www.hpvsupport.com/index.php?...18fcea0e7b2b09

That is a really great forum with tons of information and a lot of people with HPV who are willing to talk about it and help others when they are struggling with it.

If I started dating someone, and they had HPV I wouldn't break it off with them because I have read so much information on it. There are ways to have sex and be extremely protected (guy keeps his boxers on and uses a condom). Actually, it would depend on how much I cared about the person and wanted to be with them. If I truly cared about someone, then it wouldn't stop me from dating them.

__________________
-Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

Peapod

That sucks. I hope that they don't show up again.. Stupid STD's!!!! She should be careful when (if) trying to have kids... sometimes HPV messes with your reproduction... *hug*

little_tippler

Good news in the near future for people with HPV or as a preventative measure:

HPV Vaccine

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

Sultana

And did you know that males who carry the high-risk strains can't even be tested for it? They wouldn't even know it. And a female wouldn't know if she had it (high-risk strain, that is) unless she got a "bad pap" (which is not a given). She could have it and it not develop into anything, and then she could pass it to a guy who couldn't possibly know he had it, and then he passes it along...That's why so many people have it.

The fortunate thing is that even if a female gets a high-risk strain and it develops enough to cause an abnormal pap, Chances are low that it would be malignant, and even if it was malignant, it would take a lot of time and complete lack of care to get dangerous. There are fairly easy procedures that can be done to remove the cancerous cells, and then it's just a matter of having paps twice as often to monitor the situation.

If I understand correctly, HPV is one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, yearly paps are de rigour for annual physicals.

And a vaccine against it would be great, I wonder how long it will take to become part of easily available health care? Hopefully not long.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

raeanna74

I was re-reading this thread and noticed this comment that I had not paid close attention to before.

"Most people who become infected with HPV will not have any symptoms and will clear the infection on their own." CDC

Genital HPV Does go away except in cases of immune suppressed individuals. With faithful treatment it does not usually spread or cause cancer either.

"Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year." CDC

So it is QUITE a common infection. It is not uncommon for people to become infected and for the infection to go away before they even realize that they had it.

Rarely, a pregnant woman can pass HPV to her baby during vaginal delivery. A baby that is exposed to HPV only very rarely develops warts in the throat or voice box. The rate of infection according to CDC is no greater than 1.1 out of every 100,000. I realize that to that 1 or 2 children it does not matter. What I can find in reference to RRP (the respiratory infection which infants can aquire) is that this is as was mentioned in the quoted post, is that this is a lifetime infection that can turn dormant or can spread throughout the respiratory tract. It is a very good reason for a woman who intends to continue to bare children to avoid promisuous sex .

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

CaliLivChick

I used to have HPV. It wasn't the type that produced warts. However, it was discovered through an abnormal pap smear. My GYN gave me some paperwork, I freaked out for a little while, but she said it is VERY common, and to come back every six months for a pap, and it eventually just went away. Now I'm cleared to go back yearly instead. It also wasn't possible to find out who I got it from, because men wouldn't test positive.

__________________
Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me.

little_tippler

From the same site where raeanna74 got her quote from:

"There is no "cure" for HPV infection, although in most women the infection goes away on its own. The treatments provided are directed to the changes in the skin or mucous membrane caused by HPV infection, such as warts and pre-cancerous changes in the cervix."


There is no cure - it may go away, but how do you know it's gone away? It's simple, it's similar to herpes virus that lays dormant under the skin. You can only test positive for it if you have visible signs. So how will you know? You could still transmit it to someone else, though it is rare if you have no visible signs any more.

That's why the new vaccine is useful.

Out of curiosity, how do you know for certain your HPV went away CaliLivChick?

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

CaliLivChick

My Pap smears are normal now, and have been for a couple years.

__________________
Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me.

raeanna74

I had it. I had no visible signs. Once you have an abnormal PAP smear then they schedule another in 3 or 6 mo. If that one is abnormal as well they schedule a Colposcopy (miserable procedure). During a colposcopy they put an orangy/yellow dye on your vaginal walls and cervix. The dye turns black if they find pockets of the virus and they excise whatever pockets they find. I had no warts whatsoever. They biopsied and tested and told me exactly what strain I'd had. They have since tested again and found no virus. There is a test but they have to biopsy in order to do it. A biopsy is not indicated if there are no abnormal cells when they do a Pap smear. Even if a person has no visible signs such as warts a Pap smear will still show if there is a strain of HPV virus present.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

Sultana

And once you've gone through that cycle, aren't you immunized against that strain forever, like a flu virus?

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

raeanna74

Yes - that's why they should be able to make the vaccines for it work. The vaccines, one should note, is only being designed to protect against the 6 or so strains that are known to cause cancer.

"One vaccine would protect against four types of HPV, including two that cause most (70%) cervical cancers (types 16, 18), and two that cause most (90%) genital warts (types 6, 11). This vaccine is being tested in women and men.

The second vaccine would protect against the two types of HPV (16,18) that cause most (70%) cervical cancers. This vaccine is being tested in women." CDC

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

squirrelyburt

Question? So if you were married for 16 years and you got this does this mean your husband cheated on you? Is sexual contact the only way you can get it?

__________________
If you've ever felt there was a reason to be afraid of the dark, you were right.

raeanna74

This would probably be a better question to ask your Dr. I found several sites that said the incubation period was 3 mo to 6 years, and one that said the incubation period could be 12 years.

One question would be, how was it discovered that he has it?? If he suddenly had a number of warts cropping up I would doubt that it was completely dormant for 16 years. Please note this is my opinion and logic. Some strains cause MANY warts. Some strains cause no warts. The strains that cause no warts can remain in a person's system much longer without detection. But a strain that causes a lot of warts would in theory cause a number of warts at first infection before going dormant if the infected person's immune system does not completely overcome the virus. Also, is the person's immune system hampered in any way, Are they often sick, showing a less health immune system? If they are rarely sick then I'd doubt that they had the virus just living dormant for that long. So putting these aspects together - dormant virus due to impared immune system, and non-wart causing virus being present - if these are not true of the infected person then I'd say the likelyhood of them having cheated is pretty high.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

raeanna74

A male member here wanted to share with you all the importance of getting your yearly checkups and double checking results.

"I lost my wife in 2004 to cervical cancer, she was 36 at the time. She had a cyst removed from her cervix, and the doctor said she should be fine, but would send it in to be checked. It came back cancerous. They went back and retested her paps from 2001 and 2002. 2001 had tested good, and 2002 originally had showed not enough cells to test. When they were retested they both showed HPV (basically the lab blew it 2 years in a row.) She had HPV 18. We started dating at ages 14 and 16, and were completely monogomous our whole life. Neither of us ever showed any physical signs of HPV. Because we were mongomous, I felt it had to come from me somehow, but her doctor said it can be picked other places such as suntan beds for example. I don't know if you want to share this with the nice ladies on tfp, and I don't want to scare them, but if any pap tests ever come back untestable please encourage them to get them re done."

I went on further to check out information on acquiring HPV from an inanimate object. Apparently this is not common but still possible. The most common object that is suspected is when people share towels. I even found this mentioned at the CDC's website as a possibility. I had not been aware of this and appreciate this gentleman sharing with us.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

little_tippler

I was aware of it being transmitted through towels, but only rarely. That's terrible, I'm sorry you had to go through that.

raeanna74, thanks for telling me about how you're sure yours is gone, I hadn't heard of that procedure.

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

abaya

Well, here we go again, folks. I had an abnormal pap about a year ago, went back in several times to get it checked, and everything was fine.

Had my annual last week, and guess what: abnormal again, this time more seriously (whatever that means). They want to do a colposcopy, which scares the shit out of me since hearing other TFP women talk about it.

The nurse told me to take 2 Advil about an hour before the procedure; is that going to be enough???

And what if I have HPV. And what if I gave it to ktspktsp. And what if, what if, what if. What if I get cervical cancer.

I know, my mind is running wild, but I HATE hearing this kind of news. I need to focus on the fact that I haven't heard any results yet, that it might be a fluke, that I might be okay. Or that I might have HPV, but it won't kill me or ktspktsp. Please tell me that will be the case.

/tries to take a deep breath...

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

snowy

Oh, hon, that sucks.

I'm hoping it all turns out fine.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

abaya

Thanks, Owl. I guess a lot of my reaction is rooted in the fact that other than one, foolish one-night stand, I have only really been with one person... and he's totally clean. I just feel like these abnormal pap smears are a constant reminder of how irresponsible I was to get drunk and blacked out with a group of people I didn't know (only once in my life), and screwed up royally enough to possibly get HPV. I just really hope I don't have it.

But I know ktspktsp totally supports me and never judges me , which is invaluable... and we will get through this no matter what the results.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Sultana

oh abaya, I am hugging you right now!

Even in a worst case scenario, you'd have to completely not take care of yourself for many years for anything really bad to possibly maybe happen. And the chances of that are very, very, very unlikely.

You'll just go, have your procedure, and the chances are truely infintesimal that the results are anything but benign. Yes, take your advil. Relax. Do not fret. There is nothing further you can do for it now.

It's wierd, but I just happened to talk to a friend who works as a Quality Assurance manager at a hotline for STD questions, and he says HPV is something that most people already have (remember, males CANNOT even be tested for it). They're (medical labs, not his hotline) also working on a vaccine, hope to have that out in a few months (!!!), and the plan is to erradicate it in 2-3 generations.

I am still hugging you.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

abaya

Thank you for your hugs and kind words, Sultana. I appreciate them, really.

Well, I just called the doc to make an appointment... there's an opening at 9am tomorrow (either that or I have to wait a few weeks, which I don't want to do). So I guess that's it. I'll wake up early and chug some Advil, then head up there. I wish the doctor was a female, but oh well... he's not. I wonder if I can bring my headphones to distract me??

Those who have gone through this... how much Advil should I take? Two doesn't seem like enough... how much is it safe to take? Any other advice on reducing the pain?

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Sultana

I'd say take as much as you safely can. Dunno exactly how much it will affect you, but I don't think now is the time to try to take the minimum.

Like childbirth--the one time in a woman's life she really, truely *NEEDS* drugs, and so many try to do it naturally... :P

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

abaya

Procedure is over. Thanks to all you TFP ladies for support!! Details below, if you want to know or if it's helpful to you when you have to go through it, yourself.

It really wasn't as bad as I thought. At all. It really was like an extended pap-smear.

I took my 4 Advil about 45 mins before the appointment, and then they made me wait about 45 minutes more AFTER my appointment time (just to get in the freakin' exam room!). Apparently they schedule all the colposcopies on the same day in the summer, since the campus health services only has one *real* doctor who can do them.

I'm lying there on the table, half-naked (with that lovely sheet on my legs) for about 15 minutes, when FINALLY the doctor comes in and proceeds to foul up his computer. He starts venting about how they schedule him for all these colpos at the same time, yadda yadda, whining about his job basically. I was like, uh... about my cervix? He and the nurse mess around with the computer, he restarts it, and the colposcope is finally ready to go. I lie back and do my meditation breathing, prepared for the worst.

Which doesn't happen. I honestly don't remember feeling anything particularly painful... I mean, it was certainly uncomfortable, and there was definitely a lot of weird pinching/brushing sensations... but maybe they used some kind of surface anesthesia, because even when he took the biopsy (endocervical cutterage?) I didn't feel the tool in there.

However, what I found most interesting was the front-seat view of my cervix. With the camera on, I was watching the whole thing on the computer screen... fascinating! It was like a big pink mouth, though of course it's actually tiny in comparison to the q-tips and such that he was putting in there (which made me more terrified of child birth than anything )

The doctor said there was very little area of concern (once he put the vinegar on), though it does look indicative of low-grade HPV. :P But, at this point I am simply glad that it's nothing more serious, since that's the real issue of HPV (esp. since ktspktsp and I don't plan on changing partners anytime!). If I don't have warts, and if it's not high-grade/cancerous, then I'm happy. I'll get the official results back in a couple of weeks.

The only bad part: NO SEX FOR A WEEK! Well, the nurse actually said two weeks, but the doctor said that since it was such a small biopsy, a week would be fine.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Sultana

I'm so glad to hear it went relatively smoothly for you, and that you're feeling better about it all now.

LOL@ "What about my cervix?"

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

raeanna74

Glad it went well for you. When they scraped inside my cervix I could feel my abdominal muscles suddenly cramp up all on their own. That was disconcerting and uncomfortable for me. Some people don't have the cramping reaction and seems like you might be one of them. Lucky you.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

abaya

Well Raeanna, I think it may be that it was a pretty small biopsy... if the marks on my cervix had been more severe (e.g. more than one small white spot), then I can imagine it would have hurt more to take bigger samples out. And I'm sure the 4 Advil helped! (The nurse kind of looked askance at me.)

He said that it looked pretty clear overall, and they just wanted one tiny piece to check on it... I'm starting to think you're right, they could have just done another pap! (I did ask about that, but they said it's because of my history.)

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

JustJess

Wait, so they just clipped the cervix itself? No wonder!
On mine, they put that scope INTO my uterus itself, causing all kinds of painful cramping. Ugh and double ugh.

I hope it's nothing... and don't worry, even if it's not, like you said - it's just you and kstpstp.

__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

abaya

OUCH, Jess! I mean, I watched the scope go inside the cervix, but I don't think they put it very high up there to clip the tissue (though there was definitely blood coming out from inside the cervix, in case you need the gory details).

Again, it may be because the affected area was not very large... but jesus, yeah, clipping the uterus itself seems like it would be a bitch.

Makes you wanna have kids, doesn't it? (How did you do it, Raeanna?!)

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Sultana

Ouchie!!

Crap, the Uterus is my #1 NO-GO Zone. Nothing's going in, and nothing's coming out. Ever. (Except for leftovers, you know.)

Evolutionary dead end zone.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

Sweetpea

i'm glad it went well abaya! And thanks for giving such a detailed discription, makes us all feel a little more comfortable if/when we need to have the same procedure.

I was lucky enough to be one of the rare women to test negative for HPV.

But i'm probably the only woman i know amongst my girlfriends who has.

statistics:

"Most sexually active adults (ages 15 to 49) will acquire HPV at some time in their lives and will never even know it."

"(6.2 million new cases each year)."

http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_overview.cfm

"What is HPV?
HPV is a virus that is very common. In fact, most men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives. There are approximately 100 types of HPV. Some HPV types only infect the genital area and may cause warts, some cause mild changes in cervical cells that do not turn into cancer, and some cause changes that may become cervical cancer if present for many years. The types of HPV that are found in the genital areas are usually passed on during sexual contact (sexually transmitted). HPV types that cause warts on the hands or feet do not cause genital warts or cervical cell changes, nor do genital HPV types generally spread outside the genital area."

Their section on myths and misconceptions was also a good read:

http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_hpv_myths.cfm


sweetpea

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