Negative HPV after 2 years of being positive but...

[Whitefluffyslipper]

Do I need to get my borderline abnormal cells checked again?

My smear test in 2022 came back positive for HPV but with no cell changes. Result in 2023 was positive for HPV again and with some borderline cell changes. Went for a colposcopy and they said changes very very minor and they would check them again in a year.
Result in 2024 is negative for HPV (hurray) and apparently that's it, no more check on the cells!! I I'm pleased the HpV has gone but can't help feeling a bit uncertain about it as what if they had changed further in that year? Has anyone else experienced this? Do I need to be pushing for another colposcopy?

Get a private HPV test. The NHS cervical screening only confirms if you test positive for high-risk HPV strains. If you have low-risk HPV, it will come back negative when actually you’re still HPV positive.

Your body has most likely cleared the infection but I wouldn’t trust the NHS result. Best to double check, imo.

What do you do with the result of the private HPV test?

What is the difference between high risk and low risk HPV?

I’ve not found a medical professional who can answer this for me. About 15 years ago I was positive for high risk HPV. More recently, with the NHS testing I’ve been negative but I want to know if that previous infection could have caused cell changes which are now not being looked at due to the negative test.

I had similar after lletz procedure. I paid for a private smear test, where they check the cells also. I think it was a few hundred pounds. It was reassuring for that to come back normal. I haven’t been able to afford to have it repeated but I will do when I can.

Thanks all, I will investigate a private test. I kinda feel like the NHS should do this though if you've previously had cell changes just the year before!

@Whitefluffyslipper i know, despite having grade 3 abnormal cells and surgery to remove them, they only tested for HPV at my next one and because it was negative they didn’t look at the cells and put me on 3 years smears. I wasn’t happy at all because who knows if they’d got all of the cells? What if others hadn’t changed before surgery but did afterwards? Which is why I went private.

I am in the exact same situation as you @Whitefluffyslipper @OchAyeTheN00

Positive NHS May 22- cells fine
Negative NHS April 23- cells not checked
Dec 23- positive on Superdrug test negative private test- cells fine
Nov 24 private test- negative but occasional borderline changes

I'm repeating the private smear in 6 months but am concerned like you are I'm out of the NHS system for 3 years. I wouldn't have known about the borderline changes unless I had gone private.

Surely this is major nhs loophole?

In addition, if borderline changes are found privately, how do we get back in the nhs system? An nhs result of borderline would have resulted in a colposcopy