Real People Stories – Carla

Scraping during colposcopy – does it hurt? My experiences and the result of HPV type 12

Greetings to all!

Recently, during a gynaecological examination, I received quite a handful of diagnoses. Firstly, I was diagnosed with oophoritis, which is inflammation of the ovary. This condition required treatment with antibiotics.

Nine months ago, during my previous examination, we didn’t observe the polyp, and the erosion’s status was uncertain due to recent childbirth. We initially planned a colposcopy but postponed it until after I finished breastfeeding, and my cycle returned to normal.

During the recent colposcopy, we detected erosion and a small polyp. We prescribed treatment, performed cytology, and recommended undergoing testing for HPV.

While I understand that there’s no cure and it’s prevalent in two-thirds of the population, I agreed with the doctor’s recommendation to ensure I didn’t have the oncogenic types 16 and 18. Women’s oncological diseases are often asymptomatic, and it’s better to err on the side of caution.

In addition to these concerns, I also noticed pimples on my skin, prompting me to seek further analysis.

During the colposcopy, they scraped the tissue for analysis, and I didn’t find the procedure or the scraping painful. Later, they sent the sample for analysis to a paid laboratory.

Waiting time: 5 days

At first, they promised that it would take 2 days. I took the exam on Tuesday and received the result on Saturday. It’s good that they inform you via SMS, and you can view the result online in your account on the laboratory’s website.

I was very worried while I was waiting for the result. However, the doctor warned that even the presence of types 16 and 18 is not a death sentence at all, and there is nothing terrible about it. You will need to undergo a course of treatment to improve your immunity. But I’m a coward… these days were like on pins and needles.

The analysis was good. There was nothing. I could breathe a sigh of relief. I needed to continue treating the erosion and consider removing the polyp.

Should everyone do this exam?

I don’t know; you need to rely on your GP. Mine said that if this exam were done for free in state laboratories, he would prescribe it to many women. After all, it is better to prevent a disease than to treat it later.

Tamara

Getting checked every year. If you have no complaints, the gynaecologist still recommends a Lab.

Hello, everyone. I want to share my health diary. My gynaecologist recommends that every woman undergo a specific STD test every six months. Gynaecologists prescribe this procedure to check for redness in the cervix, inflammation, or abnormalities and to rule out HPV if necessary. This exam can be taken for a fee or for free. I chose to pay for the test to expedite the process.

There are more than 10 oncogenic types of the virus. My HPV DNA testing was for 14 types – 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68 + scraping of epithelial cells of the urogenital tract.

I heard that in a free hospital, they only take 2 types, the most dangerous, but again, this needs to be clarified where you will do it.

Preparing for the study:

-My doctor told me that it is necessary to avoid taking antibiotics and medications a week before the exam.

-Before taking it, you need to wash yourself very carefully so as not to wash away the microflora and bacteria from the vagina.

– Avoid sexual intercourse for 2 days.

-And take the test strictly on days 5-6 of the cycle.

The results were ready in a few days and arrived by mail, which is very convenient. There was no detection of HPV.

The procedure itself is like a regular appointment with a gynaecologist. They take the material from you, and you’re done in a minute.

Mariana

We came up with an idea and wrote it.

This discovery caught me completely off guard, sending me into a panic. I rushed to buy all sorts of antiviral medications and self-treated for two months.

Surprisingly, there was no discomfort during the analysis. It was swiftly administered, and the results were available shortly afterwards. Following each treatment, I diligently underwent analysis, with another round conducted approximately six months later.

The antiviral drugs were quite expensive for me. I was prescribed both vaginal suppositories and oral tablets. It’s worth noting that while the antiviral vaginal suppositories aimed to boost immunity, I, unfortunately, experienced bouts of ARVI and acute respiratory infections post-treatment, despite the drug’s purported immune-boosting effects. Interestingly, antibiotics, typically used for bacterial infections, seemed to provide some level of protection against COVID-19 and STDs, according to the research.

My first STD Lab test yielded a positive result, leaving me disheartened by the doctor’s prognosis of its incurability. However, after a few years, I sought another doctor’s second opinion, and the results returned negative.

Returning to the same clinic years later, I underwent another checkup, which also returned a negative result. What caused this change? Following treatment with the initial doctor, I somewhat disregarded the issue. Whenever I fell ill with a cold, I resorted to antibiotics and remarkably stopped getting sick altogether.

While the oncological implications of the process require further clarification, one thing is certain: unexpected outcomes can arise when harmful infections take hold.

Michael

Would he say I have the disease?

Hello everybody! For a long time, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about this. Maybe sexual education is still a kind of taboo, but I’m here to talk about my story with HPV.

When I had my first boyfriend, I was a very shy girl. He asked me not to use a condom, and I wanted to please him. At that time, I had never heard about sexually transmitted diseases. So, my only fear about not using a condom was whether I might get pregnant.

After a few years, a type of wart appeared on my pubic area. Initially, I ignored it, as I thought it was just signs or scars left over from shaving pimples. Over time, I studied more sexual education and read that warts in the pubic area could be a sign of types 6 and 11.

Appointment

I honestly panicked. What if I have an STD? Of course, many people live a normal life despite being infected. It may seem selfish of me. But it would be a shame for me if I got infected. I made an appointment with my GP. Until the day of the appointment, I spent 24/7 thinking about it. Searching for more articles. Reading about Papilloma. I was going crazy.

When the day of the appointment with the GP arrived, I felt so nervous. Would he say I have it? At the appointment, he checked what I had in the pubic area and immediately said, “This is not a sign of infection. These are just signs”. You have no idea how relieved I felt then as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. He checked my whole pubic area and even my uterus and I remember him using an expression that I found very funny, “Your uterus is very beautiful”. He took a sample to test for HPV anyway so that he could give me peace of mind.

Today, I know that I am STI-negative. I think sex education is VERY important. It is crucial for people when they enter their sexual life to be aware of what care they should take.