Have any of you ladies ever had....

[Night Fly]

Dysplasia?

I went to the 'female' doctor this past week and had to have a colposcopy done because of an abnormal pap test. I know that Dysplasia is pretty serious and some types can progress to cause cancer. They usually have to go in a do a loop procedure on your cervix.

I have to tell my mother...and I am scared.

I am scared, too, because what am I going to do if this somehow causes me to become infertile..or to get cervical cancer one day. I am so very scared...I have been crying it seems for the past whole day. Someone please help me deal with this. If you have ever had it...or knew someone who had it...I would appreciate any advice. I am only 21, and couldnt' imagine what it would be like if I were to become infertile or get cervical cancer this early in my life.

 

[luvs2workout]

Hey sweetie..cheer up you shouldnt worry at this stage...I personally dont know but here is a website w/some good info....if you have been going to the dr. regularly then it should have been caught early enough....hang in there girl and if you need to talk - email me, k?

http://www.plainsense.com/Health/Womens/crvcldys.htm

************If you are diagnosed with cervical dysplasia, the treatment depends on the degree of abnormality of the cells. Mild dysplasia may not require treatment because the abnormal cells revert to normal in up to 4 in 10 cases.***********

Removal of the dysplastic cells is usually recommended since the presence of this abnormal tissue seems to increase a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. This is done by cauterization, cryosurgery or laser surgery. Cauterization uses heat, electricity or chemicals to burn the abnormal tissue off the cervix. Cryosurgery freezes the cells and laser surgery destroys the cells with a laser. After treatment, you may have a bloodstained discharge for a few weeks.

 

[KEL]

hang in there sweetie. keep us posted.
good info luvs

kel

 

[big4life]

Night fly, whatever you do, don't try to go through this alone. Tell someone, either your mom a friend, somebody that can be there and go with you to the doctor. Like what has already been said, it is way too early to worry about all the possible problems. Talk to your doctor, and ask any questions that you may have.

Good luck.

 

[Phemomena]

If you are refering to the kind of dysplasia that accompanies HPV, you may be interested to know that it is more common than the common cold.

Why does Ma have to know?

that's what i was thinking...

you're still young... don't stress it... these things are often benign

 

[Temple]

The price I paid for my wild ways.
Stop crying - this isn't a huge deal, know lots of gals who have been in your shoes most women are just not willing to talk about it. I had atypia, the stage before dysplasia 11? years ago and have had normal paps ever since. I also gave birth to a healthy baby girl 8 years ago. My sister also went thru this about 8 years ago and has had the same results. My understanding is that there are more progressive methods of treatment than the loop procedure so you might want to check with another Gyn. On mine they did cryosurgery which is basically just freezing of the cervix so that the bad cells are destroyed and sloughed off. Have a friend go with you as it is not the most pleasant (not bad) experience in the world. Also need to have your current partner checked for HPV as it is sexually transmitted. My Gyn estimated that 85% of all college students have been exposed - only some ever dispay symptoms.

 

[Gladiola]

Yup.

I was 18 & a freshman in college. They called me up & said, "Your pap was abnormal, it might be displaysia, which can be pre-cancerous, you'll have to get a colposcopy, we'll send you info in the mail. BYE"

No BS.... I hung up the phone in a daze

CANCER?
COL---WHAT--OPY??????
the MAIL?!?!

I quickly read up on it to bring myself up to speed as much as possible & calm my crazy horrific over-active imagination!

I had the colposcopy & they found 2 spots to biopsy. They told me it would take about 2 weeks for the results of the biopsy.
I waited 3 WEEKS for those results! Yes, 3 weeks to find out if I had cancer. But they were negative.
"No displasia. The abnormal pap could have been caused by inflamation, which could have been caused by sex. BYE"

That was that. Have a pap annually & never <knock knock> had another abnormal one since. (I think 6 mos after that I had another pap, then that was normal, so it went to annual). That was almost 6 years ago.

Basically what I read was that.. it looked like the worst that could happen to me was what Temple described. I knew it was highly unlikely I had advanced cervical cancer since I'd had a pap the year before that was normal.

I agree, it would be good for you to talk to someone.

I was told there WAS no test for HPV... I was told if you had it, there wasn't anything you could do anyway - you would simply always have it. I was horrified at this thought of being eternally diseased... could I get married & not ever be able to have sex with my husband without a condom for fear of infecting him??? I voiced my concerns to the nurse practicioner [this was at age 18] & was actually MOCKED.

Can you tell I'm not so fond of docs? I had to learn the hard way that you must always look into things yourself & learn as much as you can, b/c you are ultimately responsible for what happens to your body

 

[thebabydoc]

OK; chill out. Ask Clint to e-mail me or PM me your results and I'll talk you through it and make sure you're getting the right treatment.

Nothing to be afraid of. Nothing to be ashamed of.

From a low grade dysplasia, it can take from 3-7 years to develop cancer
1) IF it progresses (1 out of 3)
2) IF nothing is done about it.

In almost 10 years, I have NEVER seen a colposcopy/biopsy for low grade dysplasia return positive for cancer. This is even less likely if you have had regular yearly exams.

There are more than 60 types of HPV.
Only 3 are pretty aggressive and will EVENTUALLY progress to cancer if untreated. You can test for them but it is of no real use; the only thing of concern is how the cervix reponds to the virus.
1 of 3 women/men carries HPV. Some cause warts, some cause cancer, most do nothing.
Yes, because it is a virus there is no cure. But you don't need to treat the virus, just its effects on the cervix.
It has no effect on fertility or even a fetus you might be carrying.
Even the worst dysplasia can almost always be treated (and cured) in the office.
Colposcopy is virtually painless, more like a really long Pap smear.

Hope this helps. Like I said, PM me or get my e-mail from Clint.

thebabydoc

oh yes, and now for the good news....
We've been working on a vaccine and results are quite promising...

 

[Night Fly]

Okay...first of all...thank you all SO VERY MUCH for all your info and your help. Thanks for taking the time to explain this to me. I have been very scared and haven't really known how to deal with it. I will try to address everyone's answers. If I don't get to this morning, it is because I have clinical in 45 minutes...so I"ll hurry.

Luvs---thank you for that website. I will have to check it out. I think I would like the cryo thing better than the Loop procedure. Either way...they both seem really uncomfortable.

KEL---thank you! I will respond to your pm as soon as I get a chance!

Big4Life---Thank you. I will not be going through this alone because I have someone with whom I talk to about everything. It's just that neither one of us know much about it...so it is a bit scary to both of us.

Spatterson---I wasn't going to say that, but yes, I am. Of course, you never know how it happens and even being the most careful...people can still get it. I am not going to keep this thread up for long because I don't really want people knowing that much about me. Thanks for that info, though...it's good to know. Why does mom have to know? Well, she will be getting the bill for the doc appt. because I filed it with our insurance. I don't have the 300 dollars it costs for the colposcopy. She will wonder what it is, and if I lie to her...well, I can't do that. She is my mother and she always finds out.

Temple---thank you, also. I hope that if they have to do anything...that it is not the Loop procedure. We will see.

Gladiola---I know exactly where you are coming from. I felt the same way. It wasn't my regular OB/GYN doc who did the procedure either. She was out of the office that day. The other lady really seemed hesitant to ask questions...I don't know...the whole process was really a degrading experience...and it was like she made no point to help with that. Sometimes I don't like docs either, but only the ones who aren't friendly.

Thebabydoc---I appreciate your help. I really really do. You don't understand how good that makes me feel. I will be sure to tell him that, too...cause we were both a bit confused...which I think you can agree is understandable. I will be sure to come to you when I get my results...as I want to get the best treatment possible.

Thank you all again for the help. Does anyone have any idea how I might be able to approach my mother about this?

 

[Gladiola]

Only 3 are pretty aggressive and will EVENTUALLY progress to cancer if untreated. You can test for them but it is of no real use; the only thing of concern is how the cervix reponds to the virus.

I'm confused... I was told by several different docs that you can NOT test for HPV.

And why would there be no point? What about the concern of INFECTING others? I wouldn't want to know or even suspect that I had HPV and subsequently infect my boyfriend.

Or if a strain of HPV does not cause warts or dysplasia in a women, then it won't cause a man problems either so it doesn't matter? What if the woman is more resistant... isn't it possible for some individuals to respond differently to a virus than others?

Night Fly,
As for telling Mom, you could always focus on how at least you are OK & you're not dealing with a terminal illness & it's something a lot of women deal with.