Hi Rogue..

Thank you SOOOO much for your reply. It was very encouraging. I am going in on Wed morning for my colcoscopy. I will have a list of questions to ask my doctor but you have given me hope.

I hope you continue to get better and better!!!! I pray that my system fights this off.

I will post again if I have questions.

Thank you again. As you can imagine, getting this call today from my doctor has consumed my entire day. I don't know if the easily available info is a blessing or a curse. I've read so much. Thank God I had dinner plans with friends so I was required to leave my computer for at least a few hours.

Take care!!

Hey...not a problem! Glad I could help give a piece of mind. I know how it goes. Very good that you've already got a list of questions for your dr. I wish I had invested more into researching this when I was originally diagnosed. If so, I probably would've been less freaked out as I had been recently...when I started thinking more and more about it. Why it took me a year, I dunno.

Goodluck with your immune system. You might want to look at taking some vitamins like Vitamin C, Multi vitamin, etc.. If you're a smoker, quit now. I've read that smoking greatly hinders your chances at fighting this off, and healing your cervix. Mainly a lifestyle change is in order, if you're not living pretty healthy already. I'm not saying I'm the picture of health. lol! Far from it. A matter of eating better, and trying to exercise more. Even if it's just starting to walk. Then of course there's your mental health. Stress is another one that can be so unhelpful, I hear. In fact, hoping my bought of stress from this past month hasn't set me back. It's good you made plans with your friends for dinner. I know what you mean about reading SO much. That's all I've done for the past month and a half. Prompting me all kinds of concerns and stress. Course brought my various questions here and another HPV board.

It's so insane to read so much on this stuff, and everyone has a slightly different "story"/"opinion" on it. I kept freaking out thinking I had warts on my cervix, because some places insisted if I had CIN 1, aka mild dysplasia, that it was automatically low risk hpv. Which is what I personally don't want. It took breaking down in my dr's office, and a few posts on hpv boards, to realize that's not necessarily true. Dysplasia doesn't automatically mean warts. Once I finally had my last visit a week ago, a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I made myself try not to visit hpv sites too much anymore. I mean, I would spend hours after work, and my entire weekends reading anything and everything. Freaking myself out one minute, and convincing myself I'm fine the next. Ping-ponging back and forth. Thank goodness for my NP last week. I'm still a tad paranoid (I'm actually naturally that way, long before HPV..lol!), but nothing like I had been. I'm trying to stick with the boards mainly.

Goodluck with the colposcopy! Let us know how it goes!

It's so insane to read so much on this stuff, and everyone has a slightly different "story"/"opinion" on it. I kept freaking out thinking I had warts on my cervix, because some places insisted if I had CIN 1, aka mild dysplasia, that it was automatically low risk hpv. Which is what I personally don't want. It took breaking down in my dr's office, and a few posts on hpv boards, to realize that's not necessarily true. Dysplasia doesn't automatically mean warts

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Rogue....can you explain more about this stuff to me? What is CIN 1? Also, you say you don't want low risk HPV. Wouldn't that be a better thing than high risk? Also, when my dr called today she said I had "mild dysplasia". What does this imply? Or is this different for different people depending on their body? If you have any suggestions for questions I should ask my dr since you've been through it, please post them for me.

It's so insane to read so much on this stuff, and everyone has a slightly different "story"/"opinion" on it. I kept freaking out thinking I had warts on my cervix, because some places insisted if I had CIN 1, aka mild dysplasia, that it was automatically low risk hpv. Which is what I personally don't want. It took breaking down in my dr's office, and a few posts on hpv boards, to realize that's not necessarily true. Dysplasia doesn't automatically mean warts

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Rogue....can you explain more about this stuff to me? What is CIN 1? Also, you say you don't want low risk HPV. Wouldn't that be a better thing than high risk? Also, when my dr called today she said I had "mild dysplasia". What does this imply? Or is this different for different people depending on their body? If you have any suggestions for questions I should ask my dr since you've been through it, please post them for me.

Good morning.

Unfortunately, I don't have too much time this morning to answer. I'm hoping Fredo will see this post, and pop on with some info that maybe helpful. If he doesn't, I'll see what I can find, tonight, reading material wise that you can look over. If you want, you can also do a search online using any of these keywords: "CIN" "CIN 1" "mild dysplasia" or "mild cervical dysplasia". You can also do a search on this board from previous posts. They have a search function up above there. It'll pull up every post that has those words in it. Just a matter of weeding through, and finding posts that may answer your questions...or cause you to have a few more to ask your dr.

As for high vs low, for me personally, I'd rather have high-risk. When I was first diagnosed, the DR and NP were great about keeping me calm (even though I wasn't upset...I was more stunned then anything at first). They gave me a lot of reassurance that it's rare that this progresses to cancer. Just a matter of keeping an eye on it, and if it does get worse, we'll take care of it via LEEP or one of the other procedures.

For me, warts would be visual reminder that I have the virus. I don't want to deal with the hassle (not to mention the extra costs) of treatment for those little buggers. Having them grow in hard to care for areas, etc...and those are just a couple of the many reasons why I don't want low-risk. Everyone is different, though. I've often heard many woman with low-risk comment that they're glad they don't have the cervical changing kind. Understandably, of course. Then again, I think if any of us had a choice, we'd rather not have this damn thing at all! lol!

Good questions!

The terminology used with HPV and Pap smear interpretation can be confusing, even more so due to differences in systems used by labs to classify Pap results. This brief glossary defines common terms.

CIN: Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia. Another system for classifying the tissue changes indicated by abnormal Pap test results, CIN refers to abnormal cervical cell changes that are usually indicative of HPV, especially in younger women. CIN is classified as 1, 2, or 3 depending on the size and severity of lesions. CIN 1 is a viral infection. CIN 2 and CIN 3 are considered cancer precursors in the US. CIN 2 is considered an extension of CIN 1 in many European systems.

Squamous Epithelium: comprised of a layer (or layers) of tough, flat cells, squamous epithelium is a type of tissue that protects organs by covering and lining them. The vagina, for example, is lined with squamous epithelial cells. The area of the cervix where these cells overlap with the more delicate, mucous-producing glandular cells of the uterus is known as the transformation zone, an area of great cell turnover making it susceptible to abnormal cell growth. Carcinomas are cancers that occur in many types of cells including epithelial cells.

ASC-US: Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance. This means atypical cells are present, but it isn’t clear what may be the cause. ASC-US has been defined to be based on how the cells appear; and not confused with other vaginal infections or cellular repair from tampon use or intercourse. To help sort through possibilities a Pap test may be repeated in a few months, HPV DNA testing may be done or, a colposcopy performed.

SIL: Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion. A classification system for Pap test results that refers to abnormal cell growth of the cervix. SIL is further classified as “low-grade” (LSIL, can equate to CIN 1) or “high-grade” (HSIL, can equate to CIN 2 or 3).

Let me know if this is Too Much Information, or just confuses the matter more!

Fredo

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ASHA Moderator

Hello again. So, if my dr is unable to detect warts now even though I have HPV, I have the risk of developing them later? And what are the chances?

Well if you don't have the low-risk HPV, chances are you will not develop warts. Unless you DO have low-risk, then there's always a chance. Hard to say. Many people never develop symptoms...whether it be dysplasia and/or warts. Ever. Then there are people who've had it forever, and down the road something pops up due to changes in your body, major stress, etc.. Really no one positive answer I can give you. If you only have high risk, then chances are you won't develop any. Again, I don't think the warts associated with high-risk are as common. That's the vibe I'm getting from Fredo and others.

Also, if you don't have low-risk hpv now, there's always a chance you can come in contact with it later with another partner. You can have more then one strain of the virus at any time. Sorry I can't give you a more solid answer then that.