l had an abnormal pap smear January 2006, along with a removal of a vaginal cyst that was caused by an overactive gland. l never went back to the gyno, but l went to a local health department in August 2007 and they said everything was normal. Which l find weird, since l had the cyst again but they did not notice it. It was HUGE.

Well, l went to a new gyno just a few weeks ago and got an exam. He removed my cyst, then called me back yesterday with my pap smear results. l went in and he said l have HPV, but he does not know which type. l go in tomorrow for a coloposy and a biopsy.

What should l expect?
Also, tell me something about HPV, if you have it.
How long does it take to show up on pap smears?
I am trying to figure out where and when l got it.
l did not have sex from August 2007 - August 2008. My boyfriend and l waited 2 months to have sex. So, 2 months ago was when we first had sex... now l have HPV. He has only been with two people.

If we continue to have unprotected sex, would this cause the HPV to never go away??

The colposcopy is pretty much just like a regular pap excpet they spray vinegar in there to see if it reacts. ( l do not know the exactly what it does.) If they find anything abnormal they might do a biopsy, when they did mine it did not hurt at all. HPV can stay dormant in ur body for several years, so there is no real way to know when u got it.

You could have gotten the hpv before ur current boyfriend, or he could have given it to you, there is no way of knowing. Having sex will not prevent the hpv from going away, it is not like u can keep giving it back & forth to each other. Most of the time hpv goes away on it is own.

Once u have a strain of hpv u r immune from getting that same strain again. (there r many strains though)

Go to this site to get more info about hpv:

There is no approved HPV test that tells us what high risk HPV type we carry. We know we tested positive for one or more of these HPV types. Low risk HPV screening is not done. If the virus needs to be treated…it is due to the involvement of tissue mile…moderate or severe.

Low-risk'' types of HPV


There r about 12 types of HPV that r called ''low risk'' because they cannot cause cervical cancer. They can, however, cause genital warts or very minor cell changes on the cervix. These low-risk types of HPV r known by the numbers 6, 11, 40, 42, 43, 44, 53, 54, 61, 72, 73 & 81. Types 6 & 11 – which r linked to about 90 percent of genital warts – r the most common.
''
High-risk'' types of HPV
There r more than a dozen types of ''high-risk'' HPV that can cause abnormal cells to form on the cervix. These abnormal cell changes may gradually develop into cervical cancer if not removed. The 13 types of high-risk HPV that r of most concern r known by the numbers 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 & 68. Types 16 & 18 r the most dangerous, since they cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. In one study, the National Cancer Institute found that about 10 percent of women with HPV type 16 or 18 developed advanced, pre-cancerous cervical disease (CIN 3) within three years (compared to just 4 percent of women with any type of HPV), & 20 percent did so in 10 years (compared to 7 percent).
http://thehpvtest.com/HPV-facts-HPV-types.html
Is there an HPV test for men?
Should u stop having sex with ur partner if she finds out
she has HPV?

There is no need to stop having sexual contact with ur partner if she is tested for the virus & finds out she has HPV. The virus is commonly exchanged between sexual partners, & by the time HPV is detected, it most likely already has been shared between the two of you. And, once a particular type of the virus has been exchanged, there is little risk of a ''ping-pong'' effect – in which u & ur partner keep re-infecting each other with the same type. (In other words, u do not need to worry about passing the same type of HPV back & forth.) However, if u become sexually involved with a different partner, u may pass any types of HPV that r ''active'' in ur body to her, & vice versa.

http://thehpvtest.com/HPV-for-men-FAQ.html#top

l don’t think the cyst r connected to the HPV.

l hope ur doctor will give u more information on this tomorrow

The colposcopy is sorta a longer Pap smear…the use a light to a the cervix better…he will slpach some vinegar down there…no he is not making a salad…when the doc sees anything unusually he will take a punch biopsy….sometime they ask us to cough…it doesn’t seem to hurt when l do this…this punch biopsy will be sent to the lab….this will tell u more about ur HPV,

It can take years for the abnormal cell changes to be seen in ur Pap…and a past Pap could have missed them. It is almost impossible to know where we acquire our HPV type. Some tell us the estimate time for abnormal cell to be seen is a year…could be more than that or less…we just don’t have good . A study was done & it said we most often acquired our first HPV type with our first sexual experience. If u & ur partner share ur HPV type u will not ping pong it back & forth. In most causes u will build immunity to ur shared HPV types. Condoms have lots of skin contact…vulva with base of penis….so u can transmit HPV even when u wear a condoms. Condom do help in the prevention of the virus…but can’t guarantee that the virus won’t be transmitted,

This is complete information on the colposcopy even has some pics so u will understand more of what ur cervix looks like. l hope u can read it before tomorrow.

http://asccp.org/edu/practice/cervix.shtml

This will help with the colposcopy tomorrow & will tell u want treatment may be done…also remember the virus could be mild & the doctor will just want to watch it …..mild HPV can regress…needing no treatment.

Understanding cervical cell changes

http://cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcervicalchanges

Pap Factsheet

http://cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/Pap-test

HPV Fact Sheet

http://cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/HPV

Polyps/cysts

http://women.webmd.com/tc/cervical-polyps-topic-overview

Cysts r different than polyps. Cysts form on the cervix for no clear reasons. There can be one or many cysts. They r filled with mucous from the glands of the cervix. On occasion, they can get big enough to be felt as a soft round lump on the cervix with self exam. There is no need for treatment unless the cysts r large in size. Then a laser or freezing probe may be used for treatment. Often cysts go away without any treatment.

http://baptistonline.org/health/library/wome3254.asp

The hc2 High-Risk HPV DNA Test™ (DNAwithPap™)* using Hybrid