HPV positive but no abnormal cells

[Mummmmyof2]

I have had hpv and abnormal cells back in 2016...after biopsies and removals using lletz I got retested and everything came back negative and i went back to 3 yearly check ups...fast forward to last month I had my smear nurse said it looked healthy no redness etc...got results back today and I'm hpv positive but I have no abnormal cell changes...so I now have to go back in a year for a re test. I am terrified that something will get worse in a year..has anyone been through the same or similar? I've asked for nurse to call me to discuss results as she said in the letter she will talk if needed but that will be sometime next week. I've had a few recurring utis this year so I dont know if that can trigger hpv to return or if it's not related at all. I'm 33 with 2 kids and hoping to try for another in the next year so now I'm scared I wont be able to

Hi, I'm similar to you, I had to have severe abnormal cells removed but the first time I was negative for HPV, retested after a year and all normal, at the next one I had no abnormal but HPV, this last one I've just had I have no HPV and no abnormal

I've basically had every combination possible of HPV and abnormal or just abnormal or just HPV

I'm always terrified when my smear comes around, I always convince myself that there's going to be something terrible there

But what I have been told by the nurse and have come to trust is that these abnormal cells may never even turn into cancer whether you have them treated or not, I used to look at it as wow I only just dodged cancer but that is not the case, it's just they COULD turn into cancer, so as a precaution are removed, and they are slow growing which is why we are able to go a year or 3 in between smears safely, basically the way I justify it to myself when I'm panicking is it would be nearly impossible if your smear was normal last year or even 3 years ago for something really sinister to have developed, grown and become deadly in that time, that's how I reassure myself anyway!

You have my sympathy though it's very difficult to not imagine something terrible!

With regards to the children I don't see why this should affect it, for your own peace of mind though I would suggest trying to judge it so you're not pregnant for your next smear, although i think if you explained the situation and spoke to a nurse they can retest a little early if there's a good reason, Ie trying for a baby. I got mine about 3 months early once because I was panicking so much about it

Sorry to hear you have had to deal with it all. I'm speaking to nurse next week to get info from her too as the letter seems to be just a basic letter that's sent out. I just got worried incase anything changed sinister within a year but from what I've read on here a year doesn't seem too long. And yeah I'm going to mention to nurse about ttc as I'm not wanting to wait long as I'm 33 now. But hpv seems to be more common than I thought. Was just hoping it wouldn't come back ! Hopefully there's no cell changes in the next year. My immune system needs to kick in

For my last 2 smears I have had no abnormal cells and no hpv so it's very likely this could happen for you, after it happened to me I spoke to a lot of women including my mum who had had abnormal cells and biopsy's and stuff and then been totally normal for the rest of their smears

I try and look at it as a good thing that we're getting them and they're thorough

That's what I'm trying to do speak to women that have had hpv and hear their stories as so far I dont know any women that have. I'm just worried how much damage it could do in a year to my cervix and have to go through the removals and biopsies again or worse. Bit on other side I think they must not be too concerned as they are leaving it a year and least I get another test in a year instead of leaving it 3 years. I have severe health anxiety from my PTSD so it makes my worrying so much worse. And I hate it as I feel people think I'm over reacting on purpose

I had this at my last smear - no abnormal cells but HPV detected. I have to go back in a year (well four months now). I’m trying not to think about it too much.

@StarlingsInSummer from reading on here I've seen it's a fairly common thing now as they have changed their testing in recent years so more women are finding out they have it. But yeah it's still worrying. I had severe changes last time in 2016 and had lletz procedure and that cleared everything up, but I'm preparing myself again for it in case it happens. But from what I've read on here a year is perfectly safe to wait and see if any changes have happened and if it clears up on it's own. Stay positive and try not to worry

80% of all sexually active women will have HPV at some point. Sometimes it clears, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s more likely not to if you’ve had sex with the same partner since then (as obviously you just pass it back and forth to each other).

I had abnormal cells probably 12 years ago. HPV has never cleared as far as I know, but never had any abnormal cells again. It’s most likely to be fine. It’s a good sign your body is probably dealing with it.

@mindutopia I'm in a new relationship since my last abnormal smear (me and current partner have been together since September 2018). Last time I had severe changes to cells but this time none so far....(although I've had an inbox off a woman just now telling me to get tested in 6 months as a year could cause some severe damage!!! Safe to say she's now scared me as she says she used to work in that type of field) ...my nurse is calling me back next week to talk through any questions I have so I'll ignore what that other woman just said and listen to what my nurse says. I didn't realise how common it was until reading up on it last night