HPV and CIN3

[honeybooboo29]

Hi so just to give a bit of background - I’m 24 years old and went for my first smear test a couple of months ago. I got my result and was told I was HPV positive and mild changes to cervix. I went in for the colposcopy and the doctor told me he can see mild changes but he would take a biopsy because it looks likes it’s in a few places - just to confirm.

around this time I also found out I was pregnant and my decision was difficult already as I have a few health issues so I was very undecided.

anyway, when I went in for my follow up consultation I was expecting the doctor to just confirm what he has seen. But he said they found severe changes to cervix - CIN3. He told me if I was to continue my pregnancy I would have to wait 3 months after giving birth to be treated or if I was to terminate id have to wait at least 6 weeks. I was veryyy shocked with this and felt it was too much to take in.

so I made the decision to terminate the pregnancy as it seemed too risky to me to continue with the pregnancy when there is over 45% chance of it progressing. Anyway so now I have to wait 6 weeks min to be treated. I’m super worried that this is something that I’m going to suffer with my whole life.

I was wondering if any of you have any experience in this and any guidance or help. And also, once the cells are treated if there is anything I can do to boost my immunity and hopefully the HPV will leave my body.

thank you :)

Sorry to hear this. Its horrible news to recieve at the best of times.

I was diagnosed with CIN3 when I was 17. Treatment was successful. I then was diagnosed with CIN1 when I was 21. Again treatment to remove was successful. I had 6 monthly smears for the next 3 yrs, then moved to 3 yearly.

I have had clear smears ever since. I'm now 38.

No advice on anything that can boost immunity. But I can tell you that this isn't something I have had to live my whole life. I am now HPV negative. HPV wasn't tested back when I had my treatments but I did have symptoms of HPV when i was first diagnosed. I'm unsure how long I have been HPV free.

I don't have advice, sorry, but I am watching this thread with interest as I am currently awaiting the results of a biopsy, after moderate cell changes were observed at smear and colposcopy. Have had HPV for several years running now so have been recalled for annual smear tests. Have only just today heard of the idea of looking at gut health and immunity to help HPV clear up so would be very interested to find out more.

My heart goes out to you about the timing of your pregnancy and the difficult decisions and stress you went through. I wonder why specifically you expect the HPV to be a life-long problem? Perhaps I am overly optimistic but I believe in most cases HPV clears up by itself, and I was told by the colposcopist that even in the case of moderate changes having taken place, it still clears up by itself in over 40% of cases. That being said, treatment is obviously hugely beneficial where changes are severe, and it seems to me like a miraculous way of interfering with 'fate' to prevent cancer from developing. Just amazing!

It's possible that you will have HPV long term, but it's also very possible that after treatment it will go away and never return. Fingers crossed for us both!

Yeah both my smear and colposcopy showed mild changes but my biopsy came back and showed severe changes it was very shocking to me I was not expecting that at allll.

the reason I think HPV is something I’ll suffer with is because from the age of 13 I’ve had some spots on my leg that are HPV(they’re harmless ones) and they haven’t gone so I have a feeling my body doesn’t seem to recognise that HPV is bad!

also my doctor said to me that he doesn’t want to think of how things usually would happen with other people because he said that it’s clear that what’s happening with me is not how things ‘normally’ work so tbh I’m just very pessimistic of everything rn it seems like when it comes to HPV my body wants to be different haha.

also, as you said there’s no cure for HPV but it’s how your immune system responds to it. And I haven’t exactly lived the healthiest life e.g., eating fast food constantly drinking fizzy drinks no water, no excise and used to be a heavy smoker. From the limited reading I’ve done vitamins would be good eating steamed vegetables maybe broccoli and abstaining from harmful things will boost your immune system. And even if it doesn’t get rid of the HPV at least it motivates to be healthier

That's how I'm treating it op
That I'm not sure if I can shift it but being healthier can't hurt
I had cin2 removed in 2010 and currently have cin1 as it flared up again 3 year ago after pregnancy
So I know exactly what you mean about it causing issues in the long run

A healthy body is always a good place to start.

that’s super interesting because I’ve heard that once you have a child it kinda clears your system. Apparently once giving birth it could guest rid of up to 70% or bad cells but I also read that during pregnancy cell changes happen a lot faster. Tbh it was the main reason I decided to terminate the pregnancy of the doctor had told me I had mild or moderate changes I think I would have kept the baby but because I was so worried that it could progress and there would be nothing I could do until 3 months after birth I felt kind of stuck. But I’m really regretting my decision now all I do is cry every 10 mins about it thinking about what baby I could have had.

I think for you the best course of action would be just try build up your immunity there’s vitamins you can take and cut out drinking and smoking if you do that

I'm so sorry op
I'm not sure what I would have done in that situation
Tbh having hpv again has made me think about further children even though I'm 40 and I've since divorced since having my baby
So many reasons why I shouldn't have another child with my new partner but feel like the hpv and current dodgey cells have taken that decision away from me
I was pretty shocked that mine came back after so many years but after doing a lot of reading it seems quite common for it to happen as pregnancy really messes with your immune system
I've genuinely spent hundreds of £ on vitamins and supplements lately as I'll try anything but I don't hold out much hope
However , I have 2 veruccas,, one I've had for at least 10 years and recently tried getting rid of them without success . But lately they seem a lot less noticeable than they did. I didn't even know verrucas were hpv until recently 🤷‍♀️
I hope everything goes ok for you op and that they remove them and that's the end of it for you x

Yeah I can totally understand what you mean about your choice being taken away from you. It’s really not fair.
ive read some conflicting research that says abnormal cell growth will accelerate during pregnancy but I’ve also read that when you give birth it actually gets rid of 70% of the bad cells 🤷‍♀️
man’s what I’ve read and been told from the vitamins and diet aspect is that vitamin b1, b12 and folate are good at building immunity. I’m severely deficient in folate and has made me anaemic so I’m already taking those - it’s actually very common for most people to be deficient in it and they’re great for your energy I’m already noticing a difference and if you’re planning on having a baby you should definitely take it. Low folate has also been linked to Both low grade and high grade.
vitamin d helps regress - one study shows 84.6% of women regressed while taking vitamin d compared to 53.8% but this was with CIN1 - but I’m thinking of these for when I do the leltz and will hopefully get rid of all cells and only have HPV to deal with.
vitamic C - which were all low of in the UK 🤣 a study showed that a lower intake of vit c increased risk of HPV sticking around. In a bigger study they found that people who consumed more vitamin c had lower risk of cervical problems.
vitamin e - it’s been good to protect cells from damages by ROS which can lead to DNA problems and CC. This helps prevent the non harmful (wart causing HPV which I also have) but not really the harmful one (cancer causing).
ployphenols - recent studies have shown it can slow down the growth of hpv infected cells by causing them to die off, stopping them from multiplying, interfering with DNA replications and changing how they work within the cell.
more in the foods:
papaya - rich in vitamin c and a when eaten more than once a week lowered chances of persistent HPV. The more eaten the lower risk of developing cervical cell changes
vegetables and fruit - dark green, dark yellow and orange vegetables along with broccoli and cauliflower one study showed 54% lower risk of persistent HPV. One study showed vegetables like onions and legumes (beans and lentils) had lower risk of CIN2. Helps prevent against development. Also the amount you eat: the less you eat the more chance of developing CIN2/3 (I eat 0 vegetables haha)
fruits - Mediterranean diet lowers risk of HPV sticking in body. One study shown eating oranges at least once a week had lower risk of developing early cervical changes. Basically same as vegetables.
so summarised, different vitamins play different roles in preventing and stopping persistent HPV and cervical cell changes. The more antioxidants fruits and vegs have the more they will help. The development of CC can also be accelerated by smoking, diet, contraceptive use smoking in particular is really bad.

sorry for writing so much but I feel like from you said you would value this info. Also with your varuca I had loads of HPV. Wart on my leg since I was 13 and have had them zapped off twice now. It’s hard to catch the little ones. But if it makes you feel better when HPV actually shows up as warts it usually means it’s the harmless type. What have you tried to get rid of them ?

I'm really sorry as it sounds sad and stressful.

Do they think your body didn't create antibodies to the vaccine maybe because of your low immunity?

Did you find out why you are low in folates? Perhaps you have a treatable condition that might also boost your immune system once sorted eg celiac?

@honeybooboo29 yeah I think we read the same paper by the looks of it
I've literally spent hundreds on supplements and got most of my information from there . Fingers crossed .
I'm also taking AHCC but I don't hold out much hope .
What I struggle to understand is if folic acid and folate are different things and if so where to get actual folate ?

Even if it doesn't sort my hpv I'm at least hoping to avoid another damn cold this year as I've been ill with one thing or another all year

For folate supplements you want methylfolate.

I have no idea what happens to bad cells on giving birth in reality but if you've ever watched the comedy series 'catastrophe' then they actually cover this situation and I remember it being mentioned and wondering if it were true .
I'll probably not have any more children anyway as I'm too old but I would have liked that to have been my decision not this bloody virus rearing it's ugly head again after so many years
I really did believe I was done with it after 2010

to be honest around that age I was in good health - still eating all the food my mum would make. I just think I was the small % that the vaccine didn’t work for which happens with all vaccine 🤷‍♀️
and no my GP is so useless they just have me prescribed vitamins to take daily 5mg and then after 3 months check

I've seen a lot of hpv threads and seen quite a few comments from those who have had the vaccine but have still ended up with abnormal cells
I think there is a lot of misinformation regarding hpv
I've seen so many posts from people saying they have been with the same man for years and after testing negative they won't have another smear again but in reality it can lie dormant for decades and I'm living proof of that .

Hahaha same there’s no harm if living a more healthy conscious life

Yeah part of the unlucky few who it didn’t work for.
I don’t know if HPV works the same as other virus where once your body realises it’s bad it will have antibodies to protect. But I don’t think so because I’ve read loads of people who it’s come back with.
and re the people who say they’ve been with the same person for years - I would never ever put my health in the hands of someone else. For what I have in control I keep track off. I’ve been in a relationship for almost 3 years but still regularly get std check up and as soon as I was invited for smear I went

And how long have you been taking the vitamins for? Because even with my deficiency they told me I should take the tablets for at least 4 months. I’m just assuming my maybe you would have to take the for longer in the case of HPV

I'm not sure to be honest
I kept giving them a go then forgetting take them on and off for the 3 years I've had the virus again
Maybe been a couple months of taking them religiously now
Next smear due next May , and in all honesty if it's still there and I have to have cells removed again I will stop wasting my money

My friend was in a right flap last year
She'd tested negative maybe a year or so after getting with her current partner then 3 years later tested positive and was asking me if that meant he had cheated
I put her mind to rest obviously.

I have found I need to take them all the time. It's not as such my diet, it's probably an absorption problem, although I have tested negative for celiac via blood sample.

Well unless I don't get a cold between now and May . Then I may consider still taking them

The vaccine doesn't protect against every harmful form of HPV, so it might just be not one of the more common types.

To offer a bit of hope, I'm on a pretty heavy-duty immunopressant drug and considered extremely vulnerable to covid etc etc so when I found out I had HPV and CIN2 I thought I'd never be cured. However, last smear test was negative and the CIN regressed by itself.

Especially at 24, it's likely your body can handle this with a bit of help.

Hey @honeybooboo29. I can’t imagine the stress you must have gone through and are still going through. It made me sad to read that you are crying thinking about the baby you could have had. I suppose nobody has a crystal ball so who knows how things could have turned out if you’d carried on with the pregnancy. I imagine you made the decision to not carry on with the pregnancy because the severe nature of the cell changes meant you needed treatment asap. I’m not sure about 70% of the cells going away after giving birth but it’s definitely true that cell changes usually accelerate during pregnancy. I probably would have made the same decision as you in your shoes for what it’s worth. This doesn’t mean the decision wasn’t a really tough one to make. My sincere condolences.

I wanted to chime in to tell you about my (admittedly anecdotal) experience with HPV. I had HPV for three years and was really worried. I reduced my alcohol intake and started taking Actimel everyday (that yoghurt shot with the good bacteria) as well as a daily Berocca. Lo and behold! My HPV went away by my next test. They had been wanting to biopsy me if it wasn’t negative by my fourth test so I was lucky to turn negative just as they were starting to get concerned.

Additionally, I’ve had a friend who had cervical cancer from HPV and had to have a hysterectomy. So she’ll never have the son she dreamed of. I’m sorry if this remark is too on the nose or insensitive but what if your termination has paved the way to you having treatment that will enable you to avoid cancer and a hysterectomy? At least then you will be able to have children in the future. I am really sorry you had to have a termination but I guess imagine having a hysterectomy and having the worry that the cancer may have spread and might rear its head one day in another place? That could be a possible outcome without treatment.

I wish you all the best; it’s definitely possible to fight HPV very well as long as you get treatment and make lifestyle changes as soon as possible. Good luck.

I think @Feliciacat is right
There's no reason that you won't have children in the future and that the cin3 will be successfully removed with no further complications
You might just need a stitch in further pregnancies which is a common occurrence after lletz

The most upsetting thread I ever read on mn was a woman who hadn't had a smear for about 15 years and ended up having a really late termination as she had developed cancer . I still think about that awful story from time to time .

Going back to vitamins etc
I found Lidl's Skin , hair and nails tablets to be a good starting point for the vitamins we have discussed
I then bought extras of the stuff they were low in or don't contain
Such as iron as I'm pretty sure I'm very low on that
Also my hair started falling out a few months ago and now that seems to have stabilised