HPV Support

Daisyjoy · H-ero! Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 777

HEY EVERYONE! Long time no see. Well I haven't been on here for almost a year now, there were a bunch of users who were spewing religious and political propaganda and I just didn't want to be part of that. Anyways a year later and I am pap free and wart free (and have been for a year now), so have hope. Also, my boyfriend has no visible signs of HPV (and knows about my past infection), and although there is no test for him, he has no visible symptoms. So have hope, this WILL go away eventually, it may take some time, so just be patient. Peace out.

Pearl · H-ercules Poster Joined: 05 Feb 2005 Posts: 275

Hello Daisyjoy! So good to see you back on the site! I peek in every now and again as well, to offer advice and consolation to scared newbies Wink

SO glad to hear you are clear! Keep up the good fight, and keep in touch!

panda17 · H-elper Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 18

thanx daisyjoy! that gives the rest of us hope. evetually we will all be free of it too hopefully! Very Happy

goodguy · H-elps alot! Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 31

I'm curious who the author of the faq's is.

Most of the medical sites that I have seen state that getting hpv from oral sex is can happen rather easily.

bflwc · Super H-ero! Joined: 24 Mar 2006 Posts: 1574

Everything that I've read said that oral HPV is rare.

At the very top of the post, it says the info on who the author is:

Here is a nice FAQ, these answers are from Dr. Hunter Handsfield:

(Dr. Handsfield is Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and Visiting Scientist at the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he is an internationally acclaimed expert in clinical aspects and prevention of STDs. He is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and during his 30-year career has been president of the American STD Association; authored or co-authored more than 200 STD-related research papers, review articles, textbook chapters and a book, Color Atlas and Synopsis of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, published by McGraw-Hill; and for 25 years directed the STD Control Program for Public Health - Seattle & King County).

goodguy · H-elps alot! Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 31

sorry, guess I missed the author.

I will look for the links I saw this afternoon... I think one NIH and another government site. They were very doom and gloom about the transmission to mouth.

Will also ask my derm tomorrow.

Thanks!

Allesah · H-elper Joined: 30 May 2007 Posts: 15

wow! i feel i should have read this before i posted now. i thank you so much for sharing this information. i am crying at the bit of relief i feel after so many years of not knowing some of the things you shared. it feels so much better to know some of this, after feeling so bad about myself for so long, for having this.

duhnor · H-elper Joined: 28 Jun 2007 Posts: 21

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I've had GW for 25 years. I've done everything and tried everything. I"ve only seen one post on this forum by someone who has actually been visibly clear for more than 2 years. I would appreciate it, and it would be helpful for me if someone could provide links to other posts from people who have been clear for 2 years or more. On the other hand, I'm pretty convinced now that I'm going to have to live with it forever. Fortunately I have a great wife and she seems to be immune from getting visible symptoms for the last 15 years. I've decided that I'm just going to have to go to my doctor every 6 months or so and have him freeze them off.

Bell · H-ero! Joined: 19 Sep 2005 Posts: 708

Damn it, I just wrote a long reply to this and it didn't work.

Anyhoo here's the short version.

1. I've been here for almost two years now. Most people clear the infection and move on with their lives and don't come back to post.

2. There are posts, many in fact of people who have been clear for years... it's time consuming to sift through and you will probably just have to do that to find them.

3. This forum is full of worst case scenarios... bad outbreaks, lifetime infections etc etc... people who didn't see it as a big deal in the first place and never see it again tend not to come to these forums... although there are some.

4. I know 3 people personally who had this virus, were treated, and never had it again. One includes a dear friend of mine who has been symptom free for 10 years now.

5. I think anything is possible with HPV... but this FAQ addresses mainly the typical scenario... Dr HHH does admit that not ALL people clear the infection within two years or longer. Unfortunately words like "most" and "usually" are as exact as it gets with HPV, and people, such as myself, shouldn't feel wrong for believing them.

Clarisa · H-elper Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

Thank you...as someone who was just recently diagnosed with high-risk type HPV after an abnormal pap showing low-grade lesions (mild dysplasia), this did help. It was more optimistic than most other things I've read.

According to this Q&A, it may be unnecessary to inform partners. My question is, if I have the high-risk type (does not cause warts, but can lead to cervical cancer), what are my moral/ethical obligations to my boyfriend. Would telling him just cause him unneccesary worrying (from what I understand this type is really not a cause for concern for males). We've been having unprotected sex, so I'm sure he probably has it by now unfortunately. Or do I have a moral obligation to tell him. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one (even though I don't like it). Just curious as to other people's thoughts....

[i]A. My practical take-home message is that after several months with no wart recurrence normal pap, the person can consider him/herself cured; this is practically true if not always biologically true. Such persons probably transmit HPV to future partners rarely, if ever. Accordingly, I do not consider it ethically mandatory, or even recommended, that every person who ever has had HPV must henceforth and forever tell future partners they once were infected. My personal judgment is that you should inform partners in the next 3-4 months after your warts have disappeared, but if after then you have had no recurrences, you can safely assume your immune system has cleared the HPV infection and no longer need inform partners.

rubyjungle · New User Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 9

I think you should tell him. It probably won't really register or make much difference to him, since the high-risk strain is really much more relevant to women. I am pretty sure most guys' reaction would just be to be concerned about you. But I would think you should mention it to him and especially if you guys happen to break up later on, he should encourage future partners to get regular pap smears and/or the vaccine, as he will likely be a carrier.

duhnor · H-elper Joined: 28 Jun 2007 Posts: 21

I agree that there's not point in NOT telling him, because he's already got it if he's gonna get it. If you're having lots of unprotected sex, then I think that the seal has been broken, so to speak <smile>.

Regarding Bell's and Dr. HHH belief that it can go away permanently, I still so no conclusive proof. I'm sure that Bell and Dr. HHH are right, but I don't think we can say that there's any proof. I have "thought" that I was clear for many years, but I realize now, looking back, that I was just in denial. During that time, I told many close friends and family that I was clear, but in reality I didn't know any better.

If it really can go away, then I think there would be better awareness within the medical community, and therefore I wouldn't have had over a dozen doctors over the last 25 years, all of whom were naive about the disease. Every one of my doctors insisted that THEY could get rid of it, but all of them were full of themselves. I know that those same doctors are still telling people that they've "never seen a case they couldn't treat," when all of my warts continued coming back within a few years. Doctors are human too, and they love to think they're special. However, I haven't found a doctor yet that openly acknowledges the disease may not be treatable, nor have I met a doctor with conclusive proof that it can be eliminated.

Bell · H-ero! Joined: 19 Sep 2005 Posts: 708

You don't think the studies they've done showing people to be DNA negative for HPV is solid evidence enough that many people do clear it? I think that evidence doesn't get more solid than that. This combined with the stories of people who have cleared it for many many years (not just 2 years, like me... but people who have cleared it for over 10 years. There's one lady on these boards who has not seen a wart for 18 years).

I think it's like this. If you overlook the scientific evidence and only look at experiences then I would say for every story I've heard like yours, I've heard two stories of people who never saw a wart again in their lives. So at this very basic level I feel confident in saying that SOME people get recurring warts for many years and SOME people don't ever see them again in their lives.

I was also talking this over with my Mum. She likened these forums to a poll you would do in the newspaper (like an opinion poll)... my mum is a statistician. She said that polls in newspapers are statistically insignificant, because you have a biased sample. She said that this forum is also statistically insignificant... because the people who are more likely to sign up are people who have been battling HPV for a long time, or have massive outbreaks, or have ongoing anxiety issues with the virus (I fall into this last category). Very few people here are the "best case" scenario. At best you get plenty of people who have just been diagnosed who dissapear after treatment and get on with their lives.

I'm not denying that people do have lifelong battles with HPV. I'm just simply pointing out that people also never see warts after their initial treatments. And to be quite honest, for me the story of my 10 year clear friend is worth more to me than your story. Because I know her in person, and I don't know you from a bar of soap - so to speak. So what I'm simply saying is I don't think it's fair to predict everyone's outcome of having this virus by a few unfortunate incidences where people like yourself have had this for a long time.

I think that the proof comes from these experiences. Well, it's proof enough for me. Throw in the fact that getting a few bumps down there is not really a big deal, health wise then I'm happy to believe that there's a good chance I won't see one again, and if I do I'll be OK. That being said regarding medical community awareness - I've been to see many doctors about my HPV... about 4 or so now. They all give me the runaround with HPV and give me a different story regarding how contagious I'd be now. But the one thing they all agreed on, the only thing in fact, is that it's unlikely I will see warts again. Not impossible, just unlikely. Now one thing I know about these doctors I've seen, is that they don't play guessing games. My regular doctor refuses to tell me how likely I am to give my boyfriend HPV... absolutely refuses to predict it. But he was happy to sit there and tell me it's unlikely that *I* will get warts again.

I also think that half the problem is that not enough research has gone into the longevity of HPV infections and transmission... they have this whiz bang new vaccine now so for people in the future it's mainly a non-issue. Which sucks for us, because it's too late for us to get vaccinated against the strain we already got! So we really are running blind a lot of the time.

For me though, the biggest issue is not whether I get some little bumps down there again. The issue for me is whether or not I can be with someone who will accept the fact that I caught this STD and will overlook the stigma. I'm with someone like that now, but it's a new relationship so the scary thing for me is the reality that one day I might have to start again with someone new and tell them about it and have them not care about the HPV. This is regardless of whether I get outbreaks again or not. This emotional aspect of it has been the source of my anxiety, not the actual bumps themselves.

Whew anyway sorry for that long rant... I don't mean to argue with anyone or convince anyone of the way I see things. I just simply think it's not fair to judge everyone's experience on a few bad scenarios. People need hope when they first get diagnosed, and it's not fair to take that from them especially unnecessarily. Also I mentioned in another post and I don't know if you read it, that Dr HHH also believes that people's immune systems can still kick in to fight the virus after many years. I'm going to right now see if I can find that post for everyone to see. It's definitely food for thought.
_________________
Diagnosed low risk July '05.

No symptoms since September '05 - Touch wood!

rubyjungle · New User Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 9

another great resource is an article I found in American Family Physician. After reading this article, I knew more than my doctor did LOL...sad but true.

I'm pasting a link below but in case it doesn't work, you can google "american family physician" and then from their website search for genital warts *. The title of the article is "Management of genital warts *", published 12/15/04. This is a professional journal so it is not a dumbed-down 'fact sheet' where everything is oversimplified, but actual hard science.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20041215/2335.html

duhnor · H-elper Joined: 28 Jun 2007 Posts: 21

I appreciate Bell's message of hope and optimism. We need lots of that in our community.

However, consider whether or not it would be better for young, sexually active men to understand that they may NEVER get rid of this disease. Wouldn't it be better for the women of the world if all men ASSUME they will have it forever? Wouldn't those men be more considerate then before they engage in unprotected sex with unwitting women?

Many of my naive doctors told me that I was clear after only a few months. I took this as a "free pass" to go screw anyone and everyone I wanted. Wouldn't it be better if doctors were more cautious about this, and if the realities of the situation were made clear by doctors, and on forums like this?

I respect the more-optimistic and hopeful viewpoint on this, but I think that we also have a responsibility to be sure that the optimistic view is reasonable, rational, and based on scientific evidence.