abaya

I searched around for this topic, but all that came up was HPV-related stuff... which sort of relates, but I'm looking for more general abnormal-pap info.

So I had my annual last week and the nurse called me yesterday to tell me that some cells looked abnormal. She said they were going to send the ThinPrep to a hospital for more testing, specifically for HPV. I'm not really freaking out yet, and ktspktsp has been really supportive and calm about all of this so far (even though it probably affects him, too), but I am a little scared.

I'm not going to assume I have HPV, namely because I've only had sex with two guys, one of them being ktspktsp (who was a virgin). However, the first one... well, see the thread on "Stupidest thing you have ever done" for that story. Point being, I may have gotten HPV from that guy and never known it, even though I had a pap about 2 months after that experience and it was clean. Since then I've only been with ktspktsp, so I am puzzled as to how this pap came up abnormal.

So, has anyone else had an abnormal pap? Was it a false positive for anyone? Please give me an idea of what to expect, etc.

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

Sage

Pap smears are funny things- they throw false positives just like home pregnancy tests do. Take a deep breath and calm down! "Abnormal cells" can mean a multitude of things, not just HPV. If the hospital says something you don't like, get a Thin Prep done again. Make sure your doctor knows EXACTLY what's going on before he/she does ANYTHING to treat you.

And remember- we're all here to love and support you!

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veruca

I have had abnormal paps, and do not have HPV. If you have any sort of infection, that you may have not noticed..that can cause an abnormal...or it could be false positive. It is possible to have dysplasia with no hpv..and when you catch it early it is no big deal.
don't freak, you will be fine.

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JustJess

Definitely don't freak yet. I've had lots of abnormal ones, but nothing is ever there upon further investigation. It can be something as silly as your cycle being a little different this month.
As for the HPV... you would probably have noticed an issue (such as something visible) if it's been longer than 6 months, really. And you've had Paps that have been clear since then. So no freaking out yet.

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

Lead543

The great thing about PaP's, is they pick up every little thing. The bad thing is, every little thing they pick up may not necessarily be harmful, that doesn't stop the worrying though. Usually after an abnormal one you're expected to go back every few months for another one, even if nothing was wrong. There's a lot of information on planned parenthood about this too. I wish you all the best.

maleficent

I think I've had more abnormal ones than normal ones, and have never had HPV, though the last one where they thought it might be cancer but they weren't sure can you please come in this afternoon for another test - no really it can't wait, was a little unsettling, especially given my family history.

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abaya

Okay, this is all very reassuring... esp. you Mal, with your "more abnormal than normal" ones!! I had no idea that abnormal paps were so common...

In any case, I will post to this thread again when I hear more news on my 2nd test. Thank you for all your support, it's always much appreciated.

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

amonkie

Been there Abaya - went in 4 times in 6 months for an abnormal that came back with only mild dysplasia, nothing too big if caught early like vercua said - my doctor made my diagnosis as "too much sex". If only he knew..

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

maleficent

I honestly think that they get extra cautious when they do the testing, and will report back anything even mildly abnormal... just to protect themselves from liability. Better safe than sorry...

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abaya

Yeah, my only thing is that I am leaving for 2.5 months on June 12th... so I won't be around for further checkups until September. So I hope this isn't a problem? (amonkie, thinking of your 4 in 6 months thing!)

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

Seeker

Can't do anymore than agree with all the posters so far. I too have had more abnormal come-backs than normal - with nothing ever coming of it from further tests. I got to the stage where they said abnormal and I was just like 'when do I come in for another...'

I'm hoping you will be just fine, but I will be thinking of you.

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raeanna74

I am gonna be totally honest here. I haven't mentioned this before but...
I have been diagnosed with HPV in the past. Ultimately you can carry the virus but they won't know until it starts to cause any clusters of virus in the vagina. Those clusters can be invisible and only show up as abnormal cells in a PAP or they can turn into visible warts. If it is HPV they schedule you for a Colposcopy (make sure you ask for a codine before you go even if you are good with pain - it's so much easier then.) and they swab the vagina and cervix with a particular chemical (forget what it's called) that changes colors when it comes in contact with abnormal cells, then they scrape all those cells off and remove them. They are in effect removing viruses. The body is capable of combating this particular virus - the length of infection can range from 6mo up to about 6 years (I recall.) but is affected by your overall health and immune system health. The only risks are if it is the kind of HPV that does not cause warts and it is not caught and cleaned up somewhat. Then it can cause cervical cancer.

NOW - I have had numerous abnormal PAP's that are a result of general inflammation. Any kind of inflammation can cause abnormal cells. Anything from sex the day before to yeast infection to BV (which can be a-symptomatic), to HPV, to recent tampon use, can cause inflammation.

When you get your tests back you may want to ask if they tested for BV. That is unless they DO find another cause. If they find no cause you should ask about BV. They can give you oral antibiotics, vaginal 7 day antibacterial cream or 3 day cream. I keep the 3 day cream on hand because my body is prone to BV infections and I am able to treat promptly when I see symptoms (mine is not a-symptomatic). The 3 day cream is less irritating than the 7 or 1 day kinds. These creams are not the same as an antifungal cream for yeast infections.

Now that I've bared my soul on this post. I hope that that information was helpful. Dont' freak out about the abnormal PAP. My Dr asked me to come back 6 mo after the first abnormal one and the colposcopy, when I was diagnosed with HPV, because it usually takes that long for anything new to develop enough for them to find it.

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amonkie

Abaya - the four were 1) normal yearly annual, 2) second pap to confirm mild dysplasia (inflammation) 3) Colposcopy 4) 6 wk post colposcopy Pap check. I was not lucky enough to know to ask for codine, and was told it would be "minimal" pain - I've had the run of the mill severe cramps, but this was like somebody scraping a sharp metal rake up and down your insides - STRONGLY reccomend the codine!!! Not something you want to tough out, I had tears comin down my face, it HURT.

The best thing I can reccomend is that you get a second pap if your doctor wants to confirm results. If you don't trust your doctor, seek a second opinion. It's YOUR body, you want to make sure they're listening to YOU. I'm actually changing doctors because he cannot seem to let me come in without making some sort of unprofessional comment about my name (see my past journal if you want details). It took me six months to get over the whole thing mostly because my doctor was either booked or on vacation, a big pain. If it was done in a more timely manner, might only take 3 months tops to go through the cycle.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

abaya

Wow, thank you everyone, again... especially Raeanna, for your honesty and the advice (esp for the codeine tip... do I just ask them for that the day before or something?).

I hope that the test turns out normal in the end, though of course one never knows. But all the information here is VERY helpful, and it's what the TFP is best at. I will keep you all updated!

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

UrbanAngel

Hi Abaya

I recently also had my first abnormal pap. Mine came back as mild dysplasia, which, unfortunately, means I do have HPV (which is what causes dysplasia in 99% of cases.) If yours just came back as slightly abnormal (classified ASCUS), it could be caused by other factors, though, tampon-use, dryness, really any kind of irritation could cause it to come back with very mild abnormalities. Even if you do test positive for HPV though, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Most people are surprised to learn that 80% of the sexually active population picks up a strain of HPV at some point in their life, but most peoples immune systems get on top of the virus before it has a chance to get picked up by your pap smear, or cause external symptoms. And the type of HPV that causes cervical cell changes is not the same strain that causes warts, so there aren't any external symptoms for those strains. You just have to be careful to keep up with all your appointments if you have the "high-risk" (cell-changing) variety of HPV, so it doesn't have a chance to develop into something dangerous.

Like I said though, I really wouldn't worry about it for now. It could be caused by lots of different things, not just HPV - It's REALLY common for women to have an abnormal test at some point.

raeanna74

I had the same pattern of treatment as amonkie. Pap, with abnormal results, second Pap with still abnormal results, THEN colposcopy. The second Pap is to confirm the results of the first because it's easy to get abnormal results when there's nothing wrong.

IF you end up with a colposcopy:
Ask them for the codine when they ask to you to make an appointment for the colposcopy. My Dr called it in to my pharmacy and gave me like 4 pills (which I appreciated for the cramping. They recommend that you take it 30min-1hr before your appointment. Mine recommended that I take 4 advil as well.

Take a pad with you too as the stuff they swab you with will drain out later and it's black and purplish - don't want that spotting your clothes.

One note of consolation. I had two colposcopies but during the second one I had fewer abnormal cells and it wasn't nearly as bad because they only scrape where they see any abnormal cells.

p.s. HPV for me lasted just over a year from the time they found it to the time I was declared clear. My last Dr said that it's so extremely common and that some women even contract it and get over it before they realize they've even had it.

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

Suzz04

Just my side story with abnormal paps. I always hate hearing that word now. I'm not saying that your problem will be the same or not, but this is just what I experienced with them.

For a year, I had to do paps every 3 months due to 2 coming back abnormal in a row. Now in my state of Virginia, the local health department is required to do repeat paps every 3 months til you have a normal pap. Unfortunately for me that wasn't the case. I was sent to a ob-gyn after 4 came back abnormal.

Turns out I had a infection on my cervix that wasn't clearing up. What kind? They never told me and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. I was recommended for the cryo surgery. It's a out-patient surgery that they freeze the infection to kill it. And believe me, don't listen to them if anyone does this. You can feel the cold of the freezing process and it will not take that long for it to unfreeze and leak out. I drove 15 minutes and walked into Walmart to get pads for the coming event and didn't make it. Well... whoops! I felt like I had peed on myself with ice water.

Now mind you, this was almost 2 years ago. I've had two yeast infections since then due to taking antibotics for illness. The only difference I have now is that since I changed to using Lavendar and Camile baby bath and aloe vera baby bath, I don't have any problems. Though I notice now that if I use any other soaps, like dove or anything, I tend to get highly dry and irratated. Side effect ? Dunno, but I like feeling soft anyways!

Elphaba

Ladies, I hope you don't mind, but I invited Koochy to read this thread. He and his SO are also very concerned about an abnormal pap. (Sexuality Forum)

abaya

GOOD NEWS!! I saw my women's health nurse at uni today and she said the lab results came back negative. YAYYY!!! She does want me to come back in for another Pap (goody) in September, as you all gave me the heads-up on, but that's fine with me.

Since the OP and all the replies you wonderful ladies sent, I was able to calm down last week and just wait for the news. I prepared myself to hear anything -- a confirmation of HPV or a false positive -- and today I was very glad to hear the latter. Thank you all for helping me see the bigger picture, though, and being so honest with your own experience. I know I can always come to the TFP for help.

May I also say that it helps a LOT to have a very supportive bf through all this... ktspktsp has really been amazing. Guys who may be reading this, if your gf comes back w/an abnormal pap, support her completely and don't say or do anything that might contribute to the stress... even if you think you might have HPV, too. Support is very important in these situations.

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

ShaniFaye

YAY, Im so glad it was good news.....(I've never had a "bad" report so I didnt have anything to contribute but I was sending prayers up for you....hope that doesnt offend you)

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JustJess

I think you should have some sex to celebrate.

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

abaya

Thanks, Shani!! No, it certainly doesn't offend me. Honored, actually.

Jess... the sex hasn't stopped at any point in the process!! I spent the last week at ktspktsp's after my finals week (we're usually long-distance) and we had LOTS of fun. Even on the day that I posted the OP, we had crazy-good sex that night. He didn't hesitate at ALL about going down on me, which made me feel SOO much better and helped me relax about the possibility of HPV (hell, he'd already have had it by then anyway, so it was irrelevant). It helped me feel normal, beautiful, and loved, despite the news, and strengthened our relationship even more. Now, that's love...

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

snowy

I'm happy to hear everything turned out fine, abaya. There's enough worry in the world without having to worry about an abnormal pap or HPV on top of everything else. And you've got a good man

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Sugar&Spice

I have never had an abnormal pap before. However, I noticed a few small red bumps near my vagina and didn't really think anything of it. This first started maybe 3 weeks ago. So today I noticed there seemed to be more appearing so I made an appointment to see the doctor. She believes they are genital warts from HPV. I won't know for sure until Tuesday, but if she says she thinks that is what they are then she is probably right.

I am in shock right now. I feel gross and dirty even though I have had sex with only 3 people. She said I may have had it for 5 years and never showed any symptoms. Hopefully on Tuesday I will get the medicine I need to get them to go away and hopefully have very few more outbreaks.

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abaya

Oh wow, Sugar... I know how it feels. I was scared I felt just having an abnormal pap, even if it turned out to be nothing. I have only been with 2 people, and yet I know there is still a risk in the future if it's not manifesting right now.

On the other hand, I know some people who have gotten bumps, and their doctor told them it was HPV... and they turned out to be wrong (something from just shaving & having ingrown hairs, in the end). So let's see how it turns out on Tuesday... the good part is, as Raeanna described, it's not something that's untreatable. And as statistics go, most people have HPV... so it is very common.

Keep us updated, girl! We're here for you.

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