A little history: Last year in January I got an abnormal PAP (first one ever, yikes!). The doctor suggested that I have another PAP the following month, and thank God it was normal again. About 8months to a year before the negative PAP I took my doctor's advice and I got about 3 maybe 4 HPV Gardisil shots, can't really remember how many.
Now I'm not a virgin, but I'm not sexually active at the time. So this is my question: Is it really necessary for me to get a PAP every year since I got the HPV shots, and last year's PAP turned out ok? I haven't had one this year, but I'm not really sure if I should. Just looking for a little advice..thx!
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I didn't realize there was more than one type of HPV...I thought HPV was just HPV.
Thanks for the info.
April 4, 2011 - 4:17pmThis Comment
You can read more about HPV if you are curious, but there are more than a dozen types of strains of HPV: some are "low risk" and some are "high risk".
April 5, 2011 - 8:53amThis Comment
It is recommended that women have a Pap test, along with a pelvic exam, every year until they are the age of 30. You can talk with your doctor about changing your Pap test to every 3 years, once you have a certain number of "normal" pap test results. However, it is still recommended that you see your doctor every year for an annual check-up, with includes the pelvic and breast exams.
Please know Gardasil does not prevent every type of HPV, and if you are sexually active and not using protection (such as a condom), you are still at risk for contracting HPV.
Does this answer all of your questions?
April 3, 2011 - 7:11pmThis Comment