ask: i HAVE HPV AND MARRIED, HAVE NOT BEEN CURRIED YET AFTER 2 TRYS?

I am curious what your doctor has told you about HPV?

I will do some more research on this, but from my understanding the LEEP procedure is done to remove abnormal or precancerous cells, but is not a "cure". Some of the lower risk strains of HPV are eventually suppressed by your immune system. However, other types of viruses (like the higher risk strains of HPV) never completely leave your system, and there is no "cure" for HPV (similar to Herpes). These viruses can be treated, symptoms can be suppressed and minimized, but you may always have HPV.

Your husband may also be infected with HPV, so yes, theoretically you two may be re-infecting each other (and/or becoming symptomatic) if you do not use barrier contraception (condoms).

Let me do some more research, to see if there is any new information that I may be missing. I am surprised that your doctor did not tell you more about the virus, and I'm wondering if you were told that the LEEP and Cryo were CURES or just to REMOVE abnormal cells (to prevent cancer...not to get rid of HPV).

I'm sorry about the frustration in your relationship, too, and we can talk more about this once I double-check my facts and research any new information related to HPV.

Hi and thanks for your question.

First off I want to tell you about how viruses work. Once you are infected with a virus your body makes antibodies to fight the virus and keep it from being active in your body. Those antibodies are always ready in case that virus, which isn't gone just inactive, should decide to become active again. Therefore, once you are infected with a virus, you cannot be reinfected with that same virus.

With regard to the HPV virus, there are many different strains and the high risk strains are the ones that are more concerning for women because they are associated with cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer. If you and your partner have had unprotected intercourse it is likely that you both have the same strains of HPV. At this point you are not reinfecting one another. If you were to become sexually active with another partner, you could become infected with a different strain of HPV that you have not already been exposed to.

At this point you need to do things to help your body and your immune system get the virus in control. The top two things that you can do are to not smoke and not use oral contraceptives.

The risk factors for developing HPV related cervical dysplasia are:
Smoking
Oral contraceptive use
Early onset of sexual intercourse (before age 16)
Multiple sexual partners
Unprotected sex and condom use (condoms are only 70% effective against HPV exposure)
Uncircumcised males
Multiple pregnancies
HIV
Chlamydia infection
Herpes infection
Obesity
Low socioeconomic status
Diet
Screening Pap smears (lack of)

I want to give you some information about birth control and HPV.

There is emerging evidence in the literature regarding the correlation between hormonal contraception and cervical dysplasia.

The risk for developing cervical cancer with less than 5 years of hormonal contraceptive use is 10%
With 5-9 years of use the risk increases to 60%
With 10 years of use the risk increases to 120%

The risk declines after discontinuing hormonal contraception and by 10 or more years the risk returns to that of someone who has never used hormonal contraception.
Bottom line is that with increased use of hormonal contraception there is statistically significant risk of developing cervical cancer.

One of the ways in which hormonal contraception impacts HPV and cervical cancer is by increasing estrogen receptor expression in the tissues. HPV 18, one of the strains correlated with cervical dysplasia and cancer, has been shown to directly interact with estrogen receptors whether estrogen was present or not. Also, an in-vitro study showed that estrogen stimulates the growth of HPV positive cervical cancer cells.

Hi Alison,

That is a good question.

Having unprotected sex or not using a barrier method is a risk factor for exposure to HPV. If you use condoms, they are 70% effective in protecting you from contracting HPV. So in the sense that women who use oral contraception are less likely to use a barrier method, oral contraceptive use would be an indirect risk factor in HPV exposure.

However only a small percent of women who are exposed to HPV will develop cervical cancer and a large percent of women who present with mild dysplasia will clear the virus without any treatment.

The emerging research is suggesting that oral contraceptives, due to their hormonal influence, contribute to the progression of cervical dysplasia to cervical cancer. As I stated in my last post, this is thought to be due to the way the HPV interacts with estrogen receptors and estrogen's influence on the virus.

So in a sense, oral contraceptive use has a two fold risk. It can indirectly increase your risk for contracting the virus and directly increase your risk for disease progression if you have HPV related cervical dysplasia.

Hope this helps clarify things for you.

Thank you so much for everything.............my dr realy didnt clearly explain to me what it is i have and i thought by me having HPV and getting these procedures done is for it to go away.NOw i know that this virus goes away on its own, and the only reason i got the cryo and leep done was because of the cervical dysplasia that was forming in my cervical area. sO I CAN STILL HAVE A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HUSBAND AND THE VIRUS CAN STILL COME ABOUT EVEN IF I USE PROTECTION?

wELL I WENT TO THE DR THIS FRIDAY AND, THE PIECES OF TISSUE THAT THEY TOOK OUT AND SENT TO BE TESTED CAME BACK FINE. THEY COULDNT FIND ANY SIGNS OF CANCER OR ABNORMAL CELLS. I THOUGHT THIS WULD BE GOOD BUT MY DR SAID ITS NOT GOOD AND NOT BAD, MAY BE I DIDNT TAKE OUT WHERE THE AREA WAS INFECTED. BUT HE PUT A DYE ON THE AREAD THATS INFECTED AND A DIFFERENT COLOR APPEARS AND U TAKE THAT PIECE OUT AND SEND OFF AND THEY FIND NOTHING TO ME ITS A START. SO HE SAID WE CAN REPAP YOU OR FREEZE OR TAKE MORE TISSUE OUT....AND I SAID FREEZE ME PLEASE. SO WHAT DO U THINK, COULD THIS BE GOOD NEWS OR NOT?

Hi Anon,

Like your doctor said, it could be that the virus is no longer active in the cervical tissue or that the biopsy that was taken missed where the abnormal cells are coming from. It is important for you to get follow up pap smears to make sure things are resolving. If you are over 30 years old, it is also recommended that you get tested for the HPV DNA, which is a more reliable way of determining if the virus is actively being expressed in your cervical tissue.

Take care of yourself and keep us posted.

I have hpv virus 18. Im 22 years old. I just got diagnosed not to long ago. Does anyone know if there is any science behind always being tired and feeling weak due to hpv? please help.