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I am a 41 year old woman who was first diagnosed with HPV and moderate dysplasia at age 24. I had a LEEP procedure and never had another abnormal PAP or positive HPV test until this year. I will have a colposcopy tomorrow. At the time I was diagnosed at 24 I had been in 2 relationships, one with my high school love for 7 years who had cheated on me multiple times and a new 6 mo. relationship with my husband who I married. 15 mos. ago my high school love and I reconnected and became intimate again, and now I have tested positive for atypical cells and HPV again. I figure it is probably not a coincidence. He is the love of my life and I need to know if being with him will cause what has been dormant to reoccur over and over? We are still married to other people, unhappily, but am staying with our spouses until our children are older. He does not have a sexual relationship with his wife, and I have intercourse using a condom with my spouse every few months. I am certain my husband has been faithful. I do not want to go into the moral issue of what I am doing as I have no defense. I love my husband, but the other man is my soulmate and true love and has realized the same about me after all these years. I just don't know now how we manage the HPV and still enjoy the intimacy we desire without developing cervical, anal, mouth, vulvar....cancers?? What do we do?
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My partner contracted the genital wart HPV strain 4 years ago and told me about it before we became sexually active due to his scars from wart removal. He explained to me that he can't pass it on since all of his warts have been cleared for years, so being as close as we are we rarely used protection which also resulted in me being 11 weeks pregnant at the moment.. Well, about 3 weeks ago he noticed a familiar, tiny wart right above the start of his penis in the pubic area. He immediately freaked out and contacted his mother who in return said we both needed to seek professional help and get tested to make sure I was clear. The STD testing at our local health department was booked for weeks, so we've been waiting. Well, the other day while washing my body in the shower, I noticed a tiny bump right on the outside of the opening to my vagina. I immediately jumped out of the shower to get a better look and saw exactly what I had seen on my partner's pubic area: a tiny, flesh colored wart. I scanned my vagina with my fingers and hand to see if I could feel any more and I could feel one more tiny bump in my birth canal probably right in the center between my cervix and vagina opening. My question is since I'm obviously infected with HPV and I'm with someone who also has it, is having unprotected sex bad for us? I know it's much more serious in women since it can cause cancer, but he's my husband and this is only our first child, so clearly we're going to keep having unprotected sex if we want to expand our family. I want to know how HPV is going to affect us and our health.
September 23, 2015 - 9:36pmThis Comment
I found out I had HPV shortly after having my son back in Sept of 2010. My doctor said it would go away on it's own, that my immune system will take care of it. 7 months later, when I went back for my pap, I was still HPV positive. I go back again in Jan of 2012 for another test. I have only had unprotected sex with my husband and my ex-boyfriend from several years ago. When my husband was still my boyfriend, we broke up for a short time and I went back to my ex and that was the first time I had unprotected sex. Unfortunately the next day I found out, from him, that he had been the 11th person to have unprotected sex with another girl that week. 1 girl and 11 different guys in one week? And he thought it was cool so he jumped on (literally and figuratively). I was so appalled that I immediately walked the 4 miles back to the guy I had been with (now my husband) and told him what had happened. Neither of us had insurance at the time so I was unable to get tested.
September 2, 2011 - 12:20pmWhen we found out I was pregnant 2 years later and had a pap it came back perfect. All through out my pregnancy it was perfect. It wasn't until after my son was born that my pap came back HPV positive and it through me into a horrible depression for quite a while, then I got used to it, then got tested again and again it came back positive and threw me for a major loop. My only solace was our little miracle baby. Because my husband has epilepsy and has to take anti-seizure medication we all thought he was sterile. We never thought we could have a baby. Our little miracle.
I read through all of the other posts but wasn't sure if I got my answer from them or not so I'm just wondering if my husband and I can keep passing it back and forth, so to speak. My doctor had told me that men can't actually get HPV, can only be 'carriers', unless its the genital warts kind, so he hasn't been tested. Is it possible that he keeps giving it to me or something? It has caused a significant decrease in out sexual activity because I feel like my ex 'ruined' me, like I'm tainted, like as long as this is in my body so is a part of my ex. I hate it. I want it to go away. I NEED it to go away. I need 'HIM' to go away.
How do I make it go away? Do I have to stop having sex with my husband? If it doesn't go away, how long before it turns into cancer? If it turns into cancer will I still be able to have children now that we know we can? I've done so much research and gotten so many mixed answers, it's driving me crazy. My doctor is 200 miles away and I can't just call her and ask her these things and it's been so frustrating for me to just sit here and wait until Jan to ask her. Please, any answers at all would be most appreciated.
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Hi i know its been too long for me to reply. But first thing dont be afraid coz God is there. Second i have read about all of it and it cannot pass back abd forth since your husband and you have the same Hpv if you are both faithful to each other.
October 6, 2015 - 3:51amSecond iif it is genital warts you are at low risk of cancer but the best thng is keep visiting your health care.
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The important issue not mentioned in this thread is viral loads. You can end up with an increased viral load from your partnr which could result in your immune system being overwhelmed and thus the virus becomes active. This is the other part of using condosm that rarely gets mentioned.
July 29, 2011 - 4:16pmThe male "pap" as it is referred to is an HPV test for men and while it is hard to find a doctor to perform one (truly unfortunate in this day and age) there are doctors who will perform an anal pap which is also important for women who have had cervical involvement as there is a 37% increased risk of anal dysplasia/cancer is you have had CIN previously. Most doctors never inform their patients of this nor do they perform an anal pap. That area should alwasy be examined during colposcopy along with the vulva and vagina. Unfortunately the Gardasil commercials did a lot of harm in leading people to believe HPV only affected the cervix which it doesn't and is now known to cause oral cancers as well, prdominantly in men. The two existing oral tests are not very reliable. Aside from the mouth HPV has been found in the urine, seminal fluid, moisture droplets from women's underwear and even in breast milk.
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if the male only has a anal pap to get checked, then how do they know the hpv is in the urine and seminal fluid? wouldn't men and women should be checked for hpv in breast milk, urine, seminal fluid, etc too along with the anal and cervical paps? if men cant get checked right for it then how do they really know its been transmitted sexually? is it always transmittable sexually, can it be hereditary? my mother had cervical cancer. im married for 7yrs and just got diagnosed with hpv on my cervix but i would like to have kids someday. my ultrasound was good they said though. is it possible to have kids with this hpv if it hasnt spread? i would love to talk to my doctor bout this but seems like she doesnt like me asking a bunch of ?s about it. is hpv still new to some doctors? sorry for all the questions...
August 17, 2012 - 6:12pmThis Comment
Anon - I appreciate your frustration. When two people know they have both had the same HPV strains, once they are treated, even if the strains are dormant in the body, they can't give it to each other again. The issue comes in with having another partner. Here is what Planned Parenthood specifically recommends for those who are with a different partner.
If you choose to have vaginal or anal intercourse, use condoms every time. They can reduce the risk of HPV. They are not as effective against HPV as they are against other infections such as chlamydia and HIV. But they greatly reduce the risk of HPV infection. You can use condoms, Sheer Glyde dams, dental dams, or plastic wrap during oral sex to further reduce the risk.
I too would welcome advice from others on this topic.
July 21, 2010 - 8:54pmThis Comment
Hi lauradonna0 - Thank you for writing and seeking information to safeguard your health. While many people think of HPV as one virus, there are actually more than 100 types of HPV strains. The HPV test that you took is the HPV test as they are not available to measure HPV in the mouth, anus, vulva, etc. Sometimes there are no physical signs HPV is present and with other strains there are genital warts which are visible indicators.
It is impossible to know whether your current HPV status stems from a dormant strain that you previously acquired or whether it stems from a strain that was acquired recently. It really doesn't matter. What is important is to educate yourself on living with the virus, the preventive measures you can take, and to maintain regular testing.
We have a long thread on HPV (112 comments) which provides a lot of helpful information. You can find it at https://www.empowher.com/community/ask/can-hpv-go-away-its-own
Planned Parenthood provides good information on HPV basics and safe sex techniques at this link:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/stds-hiv-safer-sex/hpv-4272.htm
The HPV test was developed to test for the strains that can lead to cervical cancer. You can learn more about the test at this (sponsored) link: https://www.empowher.com/providers/qiagen-digene-hpv-test There is no HPV test available for men at this time, and you will have to decide whether to advise your partners of your status.
Please let us know if you have additional questions, and we hope your colposcopy procedure went well.
July 21, 2010 - 6:01pmTake care,
Pat
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I have read all of the postings and links, along with all of the information on the internet that I can find as I did back in 1993 when first diagnosed. It does not seem that there are any definitive answers for living with HPV except to be vigilant in screenings. Am I missing something? With so many people effected I assume most are going about sex as usual, with or without condoms. I was hoping someone could tell me if it mattered at this point since I already have whatever strains my partners have if it matters if we continue to have vaginal and oral sex as usual at this point and our bodies will adjust to it, or if it will continue to "reignite" the virus? If a male partner's virus is not dormant can it reignite the virus to be active in me? If you already have the strains in one place are they all over your body or just in certain areas ie; if you have them in your cervix are they also already in your mouth or can you infect that area with subsequent contact? Both of my partners are aware of HPV and have been for 18 yrs. They both know about my current HPV status. One gave it to me as my first partner and the other was 34 when we met and had a long hx. of girlfriends so most likely had it already too. I am just trying to be smart here and don't feel like there are any definittive answers besides abstinence which I know most of the population is not doing. Any additional help anyone can share?
July 21, 2010 - 7:20pmThis Comment
I would guess having sex with two men puts you in a higher risk group, but if those two men are monogomous to you and all of you already have the same HPV strains maybe your immune system will adjust? You are in a difficult situation-do you refrain from the love of your life for your health?
July 20, 2010 - 8:48pmThis Comment