Smear Test Result - WTF

[ErrorInHumanForm]

Name change for this one.

Smear test 5 years ago - all fine

Smear test result this time, HPV positive but no abnormality. Next smear in a year.

I’m now all over the place!!

Has DH cheated on me? Have I / we had it for years and now its just suddenly popped up?

No other sexual partner (certainly in my case) for over 10 years. I do genuinely believe DH would never be unfaithful.

I have read so many conflicting things - it can lay dormant ‘for many years’ (nhs site) but your system clears it in 2 years. (Also nhs site?!) ..

I also read they sometimes didn’t check for that before 2020 but I’ve been able to read my result from 5 years ago and it said no HPV.

Does that mean I got it in the last 2 years, have I had it for a long time? Have I been exposed to it recently, what happens if I’ve still got it next year.. Are we going to just pass this back and forth?

Ive not had a single symptom and I was in disbelief when I opened my letter yesterday.

The thing about HPV tests and proving infidelity is that they really can't. You see, they discovered that HPV acts a bit like Herpes where you go in and out of remission. You're not really negative when you're negative, you just have a low viral load at that point. At any time, your viral load can rise and then you will become detectable again.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666679023000150

@LoftyRobin thank you so much for this. I just can’t understand how I’m supposed to wait another year before the next smear knowing I have this virus and it might turn into cancerous cells , it’s all I’ve thought about since yesterday and been on the brink of tears constantly !

You and DH could have had a symptomless strain of it that basically comes and goes. So the test certainly doesn't prove it even make infidelity likely. Apparently 80% of sexually active people will have had it or come into contact with it at some point. And it can kind of come back whenever.

It probably won't. Be aware of symptoms in the meantime but most people don't go on to develop cancer. As you found out, the way they test for HPV on smears has changed so many people are now aware of a positive status when they weren't before

Cervical cancer is usually very slow growing and if there is no abnormality at present then 12 months is standard. I had CIN 1 so abnormal and precancerous cells and I was on a 12 month recall as well. It never progressed and it resolved itself. It is alarming the first time it happens but it's really common and nothing to worry about. Just make sure you keep to any schedule they put in place and you will be fine. I have had CIN1 twice to date and have been in a monogamous relationship for 26 years. We all carry the virus.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3532821/

HPV is common, really common and it can go undetectable and then become active (detectable) again. Having HPV means they'll actively check your next smear for precancerous cells but the chances of developing cancer remain very very low.

Any spotting or bleeding in between periods, or after sex, any unusual discharge or abdominal pain get checked out in the meantime. Also recurrent UTIs. But also know these symptoms can often be due to non cancerous issues so don't panic if they do happen. See it as a positive that you are now on their radar and can deal with anything that arises (which is unlikely)

Hi @ErrorInHumanForm - sending you a handhold. The HPV virus that has been found will usually completely completely resolve in people that have a normal immune system. The changes that they look for in the cells are not cancerous changes but pre-cancerous changes (cervical intraepitelial neoplasia or cin ) - and it can take 5-10 years for the most aggressive of these changes to become cancer. You don’t have any changes in your cells at the moment so a smear test in a year is completely reasonable.

I know it’s scary but actually it’s so good that we have access to such a great screening programme that picks up things well before things get serious. Don’t worry about it and just make sure you go to the smear in a year. And as others have said prescence of HPV when previously negative doesn’t mean infidelity.

OP- I was in your shoes this time last year-
HPV present, no abnormal cells found. Waiting for call back to another smear at the hospital as that’s what the specialist wanted.
if I’m still HPV + and no abnormal cells again- I’ll be called back in a year etc.
I had HPV + in 2016 and CIN3 so have LLeTZ. The article above is interesting to read-

as a closing note- just because they have found HPV does not mean you have cervical cancer- it takes around 10 years for cells to develop in to cancer, and, you’re in the system which is a good thing!

so many women don’t have smears because they’re embarrassed about having them.

good luck

Thanks all. I have young DC and I feel like the world stopping spinning yesterday, but I am trying to remind myself HPV doesn’t automatically mean cancer. I just feel so worried about everything. It also doesn’t show on anything else, I’ve had multiple bloods and procedures etc over the last 5 years but it doesn’t show on anything other than a smear test.

Thank you for all these replies. So grateful for our NHS.

Just to clarify incase it’s worth noting - this was my third one, the one in 2020 shows all clear but the GP couldn’t find a record for the one in 2015 when I was 25, but we did move to another city after that and of course new GP surgery etc.

Does anyone think it’s worth paying for private one in the meantime, a year sounds like a really long time (even though I’ve potentially had this years but of course what we don’t know doesn’t bother us!)

I had hpv detected with no cell changes a couple of years ago and then the year after it had cleared. Ive been with dh since I was 19 (now 52) so it could have been coming and going but only detected since they started testing for hpv.

There's no point getting another test so soon as your body needs time to clear it.

I can't quite remeber when the new testing method came in, but I do know that some areas had the "HPV first" method as part of the trial/roll out and so have been doing it for some time. Not as far back as 2015 though. That's why you don't have a HPV result for then as they only tested people who showed cell changes. Now they test for HPV and look for cell changes in the positive people.

I don't think you need to go privately for anything. A year is standard waiting time for this.

You won’t be able to have another one for (I think) 3 months OP.
just wait a year- if there was no abnormal cells found it’s likely to clear itself by the time you go back for your next one.
i know easier said than done, but please don’t panic.

Op I work in cervical screening.

Personally I wouldn’t pay for a private test it probably won’t show anything different from the one you’ve just had.

HPV takes a long time to cause cellular changes. In women with high grade changes only a tiny (~10%) ever develop cancer and if you attend regular smears you can have it treated before it ever does.

In the kindest way OP HPV is really really common, cervical cancer is not. Please please don’t worry

It’s awful isn’t it op
but as pp say very very common
I had precancerous cells removed when I was 25 then had no issues and negative results once they started testing for it and then after pregnancy it flared up again and I’m now 5 years HPV+ and it’s a constant worry . I have another smear tomorrow .

when they say you can ‘clear’ it, what they really mean is it becomes undetectable again . There is actually no way for anyone to know if it’s truly cleared or if it will flare up again. I know it’s hard but you just need to wait till next year. There’s no point paying for another one right now and it will just show the same result.

@fedup078 good luck for tomorrow praying you get the all clear this time xx