CIN 3- what to do? prefer natural

Hi Everyone!

My name is Alison...and I am 26 years old...I'll be 27 in December. I don't have any children yet...but I would like to one day.

I have always had my paps every year, since I am on oral contraceptives. In August, I had my first abnormal pap. I had to wait six weeks for a colposcopy appointment. A few days before the colposcopy appointment, I started to notice symptoms...a lot more discharge than usual...with a little staining. So I know for sure that the condition was at its worst at the colposcopy. The colposcopy HURT like hell. The doctor told me that it looked low grade to her, and I probably wouldn't need further treatment. A few days later she called me to tell me that it was actually CIN 3...but my EEC was clear. She scheduled me for a leep on November 2.

I went for a second opinon at another doctor. This doctor recommended cryotherapy rather than the leep.

Since I found out my diagnosis, I have been eating healthy, (completely eliminated sugar when I have always had 4-5 desserts per day, eating lots of fruits and vegetables) taking vitamins (folic acid, B vitamins, and beta carotene). My discharge is completely normal...so I'm thinking that my body is healing!

I have appointment for Leep and cryotherapy...but I haven't decided which, if any, procedure I am willing to do.

Any input??

Thank you!

Alison

By kalalor
Posted October 20, 2009 at 9:45 pm
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Hi Alison,

It sounds like you are really on a healthy road for your body. Good for you! I've heard mixed reviews about the LEEP vs. cryo...I've heard the cryo has been recommended for women who have not yet had children and hope to have some because it is a less invasive procedure than the LEEP. However, I've heard the new results have also shown that the LEEP is actually more effective long-term at removing any irregular change changes. I know someone will jump in at anytime and clarify what I've begun to explain. I'm still new at this all. I'm having LEEP, but cryo wasn't offered to me and even if it was, I think I'd still go with the LEEP. That's just my own personal opinion for me. Everyone is different. Goodluck with your decision!

Kristi

By ErinB248
Posted October 20, 2009 at 10:25 pm
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Hi Alison,

I just recently went through all of this so I know where you are coming from. I am 27 and haven't had children yet, but definitely want to. I spoke with a few different docs (I'm a med student and have access to lots of doctors and their opionions).

I chose LEEP for a couple of reasons: 1) they actually take the tissue out and biopsy it so you know if they got all of the bad cells and can confirm a diagnosis (my diagnosis actually changed to cervical cancer from dysplasia), 2) there are minimal risks involved with getting pregnant and staying pregnant, unless you have to have multiple LEEP procedures done over time, 3) I was told by a couple of docs that the scar tissue from cryo can invert some cells to make it more difficult to detect bad cells if they come back in the future.

It is great that you are taking folic acid... at least 800 mcg per day. I wish doctors would tell women to take it ALL the time and not just when they are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. My doctor told me I could just take prenatal vitamins since it has plenty of folic acid in it, or continue taking my multi-vitamin plus folic acid supplement (2nd option is cheaper).

Exercise and low stress levels are also very important for maintaining a healthy immune system.

I understand a reluctance to seek treatment, but I think it is important that you don't wait around on this either. The body does have amazing capabilities to heal itself, but I am pretty sure once you have dysplasia, it isn't going to go away on its own and the only choice is to have it removed.

I hope this helped some.

Good luck!
- Erin

By Kiki123
Posted October 20, 2009 at 11:18 pm
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I have had both. Cryotherapy didn't get rid of everything so eventually I needed a LEEP. I would recommend just skipping the cryotherapy and doing the LEEP. There is really no pain associated with it and sounds scarier than what it actually is. My pap smears were normal for almost 5 years after the LEEP and today just found out my cervical dysplasia has returned so going for a colposcopy tomorrow wish me luck!

By corellin
Posted October 21, 2009 at 2:25 am
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Hi Alison --

Here are some statistics for you on CIN3:

The quote is from a paper entitled, "Repeat LEEP conization in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 and positive ectocervical margins"
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 105 (2009) 14–17

"CIN 3 has an estimated spontaneous regression rate of 32% to 47%, but if untreated 12% to 36% of cases of CIN 3 progress to invasive cancer [1]."

[1] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist. ACOG Practice Bulletin number 66, September 2005. Management of abnormal cervical cytology and histology. Obstet Gynecol 2005;106(3):645–64.

I would be worried about not treating CIN3, but here's a link to Tori Hudson's book "Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine" -- and she has a big section on dysplasia (both trying to clear it naturally as well as tips for healing after a LEEP, if a person opts for that).

http://books.google.com/books?id=tWigMWakSmcC&pg=PT72&lpg=PT72&dq=naturopat h+cin&source=bl&ots=xKVQthNQUv&sig=NXIEe3Cyq8J6yZUK9GOqLK4nnrM&hl=en&ei=F6j eSt2CE4WotgPzgK3mDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA0Q6AEwADg y#v=onepage&q=&f=false

I would choose a LEEP over cryotherapy for the reasons mentioned above, but also because it's more effective at ridding you of the active HPV infection, which should be the goal of a procedure (along with removal of the dysplasia).

By CowgirlCaz
Posted October 21, 2009 at 9:08 am
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I too had a leep - 5 weeks ago today. Although I wasn't given a choice between leep and cryotherapy - I am actually glad that I did have the leep as really there was nothing to the procedure itself, and really with a leep they take a much larger sample of tissue (of which is sent in and further tested). I was also optimistic with the leep over other methods because of it's statistical success rate of actually removing entire lesions - which in turn would allow the patient to carry on with her life without needing any further treatment. In my case however that was not so true - I had a larger lesion ... and after it was all said and done the leep biopsy upgraded me from CIN III to microinvasive cancer - and I am now looking at having a hysterectomy.

Personally, I would go for the leep - as not only does it have the chance of removing more of the diseased tissue - but it can also get a more definitive diagnosis on your condition (i.e. CIN II vs. CIN III vs. cancer). As KiKi mentioned in her post, she had the cryotherapy and it didn't remove it all. In my eyes, why put your body through even more stress in having to go through 2 or more procedures when 1 procedure could very well "skip" all that. I agree with KiKi of course - I would take that bull by the horns and head straight for the leep hon.

By marsha123
Posted October 21, 2009 at 12:24 pm
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Your body will dictate what you should do. In my case, I had the cystoscopy, a Leep, a Cone Leep and an eventual hysterectomy. You are doing all you can to help your body fight off the virus, but understand, that your body is in charge here. Don't feel that you have all the power and control to make decisions about your treatment. You're not going to do anything "naturally" unless your autoimmune system concurs. This is not to say that you shouldn't be trying to live healthfully. I'm just suggesting that you have to give this virus the respect it demands. It's brutal and in my case, was unrelenting. Do whatever you can do to stay well, and be HPV-free.

By ashbar
Posted October 21, 2009 at 1:17 pm
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If you're considering treating your CIN 3 naturally, I would consult with a naturopath. Be sure to find one who has successfully treated CIN 3 before. It sounds like you're on a good path with your diet & vitamins, but there is usually more involved than I think most people can do on their own, especially with advanced CIN. An ND can be a big help with the right supplement amounts, diet recommendations/restrictions, herbal tinctures, escharotics, and sometimes even other treatments like acupuncture.

There are a few people on this site who have treated CIN 3 with success that you might contact for advice. You might also check out this site: http://www.sisterzeus.com/dysplasia.html (she used Tori Hudson's protocol with the guidance of an ND & has been HPV/CIN-free for over 8 years).

As correlin said, I wouldn't let CIN 3 go untreated, but certainly checking out all your options is a good idea!

Best wishes!

By AlisonFaith1212
Posted October 21, 2009 at 1:44 pm
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Thanks for all the advice everyone....I'm really glad I joined this site.

Still not sure what I want to do...but I'm definitely looking into all the options.

By Dragonfly23
Posted October 21, 2009 at 4:11 pm
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I'm glad to see you are taking a proactive approach to your care.

As for LEEP versus cryo, studies have shown that there is an increased risk of recurrence with cryo so if it were my choice I would opt for the LEEP instead.

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/gyn.1986.2.163

http://lib-sh.lsuhsc.edu/fammed/atlases/cryo.html

By AlisonFaith1212
Posted October 26, 2009 at 6:13 pm
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Hi Everyone! I ended up choosing cryo. My doctor told met hat due to the large size of my lesion, if I choose the LEEP I would be looking at a high risk pregnancy in the future. Since my EEC was clear, the doctor seemed confident that cryo could clear up all the surface cells. I had the cryo done today. I was sooo nervous, but it was seriously a piece of cake. My doctor gave me some medicine to take for the cramping, and that worked wonders. I felt a few very mild cramps, and it was all over in 5 minutes. I have some discharge now, but no bleeding. I feel very good...and I have a follow up pap in 4 months to make sure they got all the bad cells. :-)

Welcome to Inspire!

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