HSIL with colposcopy

I am confussed. I had an abnormal pap with HSIL results. my gyn did a colposcopy yesterday said I most likely have mod/severe dysplasia. After reading on this it sounds like something that goes hand in hand with HPV. I have never been diagnosed with HPV and now know it's possible for anyone who has had sex to have hpv. My confussion is that I have never had an abnormal pap and I have been married monogamus with my husband for the past 12 years. I have only had one other partner, and if I have been with the same man 12 yrs why has this not shown up sooner? I have had regular paps. I feel scared and ashamed. Ashamed to tell anyone because of the myths of cervical cancer and being permiscous. Sadly, I was one who believed those same myths until I was disagnosed and I had to become informed on the matter. After my results are in from the colposcopy my dr will advice cryo, leep, or a hysterectomy. I am only 33 I never thought this could happen to me and cant imagine having a hysterectomy. Because of this it has made me more aware and I am really looking into gardasil/equivalent for my 10 yr old daughter. I would never want her to go through this. Is this as scary as it seems to me? All the articles I am finding on line make it sound so routine. What am I missing here?

By flowershoplady
Posted November 7, 2009 at 3:49 pm
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hello, azmom. sorry to hear you're going through this. yes, cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer are caused by hpv, with only rare cervical cancers not related to the hp virus. in the past, while you may have had normal paps, you still may have had an active hpv infection, but they only started testing for hpv recently, and it's only become routine/recommended for women over 30 even more recently. so, yes, you may have had hpv all these years, and just didn't know it. that's the case for most women. for you, though, your body's been unable to clear it, and now dysplasia has developed. why you didn't get an abnormal pap sooner? perhaps you had false negative results, perhaps the dysplasia hadn't developed and has now developed because your immune system isn't as strong as it used to be (due to other illnesses, infections, or even age).

hysterectomy is NOT the standard first treatment for cervical dysplasia, and most probably not necessary. your doctor shouldn't even be mentioning it as a treatment! (in my opinion). as you learn more about hpv, also check out the ACOG (american college of ob/gyns) standards and recommendations for treatments and testing. and, you'll probably learn that leeps have better long term effectiveness than cryotherapy. you may also want to ask your doctor how much cervix he will remove, whether it's a conization, or a more standard leep. and, as you learn more about how prevalent hpv is amongst all of us (80% of women will have an active hpv infection by the time they're 50!), hopefully your feelings of shame will subside. you can make a difference in helping to reduce the stigma.

hope this info is helpful for you. let us know how you're doing!

By azmom76
Posted November 9, 2009 at 1:06 pm
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Thank you for your comment. I am going to keep praying and living healthy. My biggest obstacle is not letting this diagnosis get me down. I will feel better once the results come in from my colposcopy. Thanks again for the support!

By inatizzy
Posted November 9, 2009 at 2:09 pm
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Hi Azmom,

Sorry to hear about your dysplasia. I had my first HSIL pap two years ago and also told it was caused by HPV. I was embarrassed that I was a well-educated, upper middle class female who had NO IDEA that HPV causes dysplasia and cancer. At the time my husband and I had been together for 18 years (now 20!) and the virus cropped up after all that time. He and I decided that there is no sense guessing about how we got it. Knowing about the precancerous cells and getting rid of them is our main focus. :)

The good news is that your dysplasia should be taken care of once you get your LEEP or other treatment. Hang in there. It's a bit of a roller coaster, but you'll do fine. PS. I had a LEEP back in 2008 and it was not at all painful - sometimes you'll read on here about pain, however in my experience, it wasn't bad at all.

By azmom76
Posted November 9, 2009 at 5:01 pm
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Inatizzy, you're words are a great comfort to me. THANK YOU for adding to my post and sharing your story with me. I honestly am grateful to hear from someone in similar shoes as mine. Since you're leep have you been dysplasia free? How did you recover and what level was you're dysplasia? If you dont mind sharing your story, I would love to know more. I feel very scared at this point, especially when my biopsy results are not in and I dont know what stage I am in for sure. I don't know what treatment my dr will suggest and I am just so nervous I hear about people having 2 leeps and then a hysterectomy w/ initial diagnosis being HSIL. I dont know what happens next and I am trying to find answers on-line, all it seems to do is scare me more.

By inatizzy
Posted November 9, 2009 at 9:28 pm
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Hi Azmom,

I am so glad you were able to get a little comfort from my message. Like I said, my husband and I were both blindsided when 18 years into our monogamous relationship (we've been together since I was 20!) we were dealing with HPV.

My first abnormal pap 2007 was HSIL thought to be severe. At my Colpo the Doctor suspected it was probably less severe. In the end it was labeled CIN II/moderate. I think my LEEP would have worked well EXCEPT one of the margins was not clear. So after having two okay Paps after the LEEP I have just had my third come back as ASC-H...atypical cells that cannot rule out HSIL. So back for Colpo I go. And of course this new situation brings out all my anxiety again and is causing me a huge deal of stress...ok, I'll be honest I am terrified even though my new doctor (a GYN/ONC) has told me that this isn't something to panic over. Ugh! Tomorrow I can call to get an appointment for the Colpo.

All that being said, you will most likely have great results with a LEEP. My LEEP was easy and the recovery was very easy too - at the time I had a 4 & 6 year old and I was up and about the next day.

I guess our lesson from here on in is that we have to be very vigilant. Let me know what your results say. It's going to be okay, its the waiting that is the hardest. :)

By azmom76
Posted November 16, 2009 at 6:47 pm
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hi inatizzy, yes I got them on friday it came back as
CIN III. I have a leep sch'd for Dec 17th. I am just trying to be positive as I know this is pretty bad right? But my hopes are the leep will clean everything out and I get good results back on the biopsy of that tissue. I really want to get on with my life but this in the back of my head has been a constant downer.
How about you how are you? and when is your colpo sch'd? Praying for you and hoping everything turns out ok with your colpo, keep me posted ok.

By inatizzy
Posted November 17, 2009 at 8:43 am
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Azmom,

Glad you got your Colpo results. Now you can go ahead and get it treated and move on :) CIN III sounds scary, but it is so, so common.

I am still worrying, although I've been better the last few days. I have my Colpo scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving - next Wednesday. It seems like an eternity. Ugh.

Praying for you too!

Welcome to Inspire!

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