[Bonita--]

I have some questions about HPV and abnormal pap smears. I search online but I find all kinds of different answers and I end up more confused. So in early 2006 I was diagnosed with cervical dysplasia and I was treated with cyrotherapy in September 2006. I went back every 6 months for pap smears and they were all normal until August 2008. In August 2008 I had an abnormal pap smear, and was told to return in 6 months for another. I went back in February 2009 and my test was abnormal again but the gynecologist said that the changes were very small and it wasn't enough to treat so he wanted me to come back again in 6 months. I went back in August 2009 and my pap was normal. I decided that I wanted to go back in 6 months just to be safe, and my pap was showing a small amount of a typical cells again. Now I'm confused as to what's going on.

Does this mean that my immune system can't fight off the hpv? Or does it mean that the strand of hpv is really bad and that's why it keeps returning? I can't figure out why it's returning. I take multi-vitamins to help my immune system and I drink lots of water with antioxidants in it, I don't smoke, I don't sleep around but yet my body still can't fight this off. I've had this problem since early 2006 so it's been four years now and my body still won't get rid of it. What are some possible reasons it keeps returning?

[cdad]

This link is from the CDC.
Your still within the range of an infection. As it can take years sometimes. And they are descibing the same things - remission and continued infection and remission. So its an ongoing cycle until it ends. The good news is that your doing right by yourself in seeking treatment.

Ref:

STD Facts - Human papillomavirus (HPV)

[Bonita--]

Thank you for replying. So basically it's going to keep coming and going until my body fights it off or it gets bad enough that it needs treated again? And the fact that it's taking so long do you think it's because of my immune system being weak or is it possible that the strand of hpv is very strong and it's making it harder on my body? Sorry for all the questions I'm just so worried now it's been four years of this, I'm only 20 years old and I don't want to deal with this anymore.

[cdad]

Im not a doctor so I can't really answer to the extent you want to hear. But you have to keep in mind that your body experiences highs and lows all the time. Lets say your busy fighting a cold or flu. That may take away resources that your body has to fight other things. In the CDC website they mention 40 different strains. And no real way of telling. So your on the right track. At 20 the stress alone in your life can effect the immune system. Your talking about blossoming out of the teen years. Yeah that's stress. The main concern you should discuss with your doctor is if you plan to have children and how this might effect the pregnancy. As far as fighting it it sounds like your doing what you can. In most cases of "cancer" your not considered cured until 10 years beyond your last treatment. So with all the changes you have been experiencing its no wonder its tough. So keep on track with what your doing and follow recommendations and Im sure you will have the winning hand. When battling anything its attitude that carries you through and gets the best results.

[Bonita--]

Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm not really worried about getting cancer though because I get paps every 6 months and I always will just to be safe, and according to the doctor there was only a small amount of a typical cells and they want to see if it will go away on it's own within the next 6 months. The thing that worries me the most is that I will have to go through this for the rest of my life if my body can't fight it off. My pap smears were normal for two years after treatment so I thought my body had gotten rid of it but then it started coming back so I thought maybe it was my immune system and it wasn't strong enough to fight it off. I started doing things to help make my immune system stronger but it seems that it can't quiet fight it off. Which leads me to wonder why it keeps coming back. I don't know if it's because my immune system isn't strong enough or if it's because the specific strand is just really bad. Either way the only thing I can do right now is try to build up my immune system to fight it off.

Something I thought of is that my dad is a heavy smoker, we live in a small apartment and I get a lottt of second hand smoke. I'm going to get two air purifiers, one for the living room and one for my room to help eliminate the smoke. I read online that smoking is one of the worst things for your immune system. Do you any other ways I can help boost my immune system?

[cdad]

There is a lot out there. But 2 things you might look at is anti oxidents and vitamin C intake. The vitamin C is important because its usually lacking in smokers. So if your fear is exposure to 2nd hand smoke then look at your daily intake of that.

Ref:

Dr. Pinkus Super C22 - OP - $34.95

[Bonita--]

Thanks. I'll be going to the mall tomorrow to get some.

[Eliz52]

At 20 you shouldn't be having pap tests, they don't help, but produce lots of false positives that result in lots of fear, worry and unnecessary procedures, some that can harm you. Cervical damage caused by LEEP and cone biopsies (and other treatments) can lead to infertility, miscarriages, cervical incompetence, high risk pregnancy (requiring cervical cerclage) and premature babies & cervical stenosis (sometimes requiring surgery after the cervix is scarred shut, preventing the release of menstrual fluid - this can cause infections, pain and endometriosis)

"No country has ever reported a decline in the incidence of and the mortality from cervical cancer in women under 30, irrespective of cervical screening. Many countries do not perform cervical screening on women under 30." (Taken from, "Cervical cancer screening" pull-out feature in "Australian Doctor" 2006 by Associate Professor Margaret Davy, Director, Gyn-Oncology, Royal Adelaide Hospital and Dr Shorne, GP - on line)

Finland has the lowest rates of cc in the world and just as importantly with this inaccurate test, sends the fewest women for colposcopy/biopsies. The referral rate is still high at 35%-55% lifetime risk, but a lot better than 95% in the States and 77% in Australia. Almost all referrals are caused by false positives.
Cervical cancer is rare, always was and was in decline before screening started...

Women under 25 - 1 in 3 tests WILL be abnormal even though the cancer is VERY rare in that age group (and rare in all age groups) - the abnormal results are false positives caused by normal changes in the maturing cervix or harmless and transient HPV infections.

False positives can be caused by inflammation caused by condoms or tampons, infection, hormonal changes (pregnancy. Menopause), trauma (childbirth) and perfectly normal changes in young women and older women.

If you were English, Dutch or Finnish, you would have been protected from this testing. The evidence of harm for no benefit in your age group has been known for many years.

As a low risk woman, I declined pap tests almost 30 years ago - my risk of this cancer is near zero, while testing carried a 77% risk of referral - far too much risk for me!
Lifetime risk of this cancer is 0.65% while 0.45% benefit from smears (at most)...
Look at your risk profile before agreeing to testing or you'll end up having unnecessary and potentially harmful procedures/treatments and lots of pointless worry.
If you choose to have testing, 5 yearly from age 30 provides you with some protection from false positives, which are a far greater risk than rare cervical cancer.
Dr Joel Sherman's medical privacy forum under women's privacy issues has some great references - in the side bar, see research by Angela Raffle, Richard DeMay and others.

[JudyKayTee]

I realize you are posting on threads about pap smears - but this is almost two years old and the OP has not been back since then.