23 and HPV +

I'm sure you can all relate to that nauseous feeling I got when my doctor told me what that suspicious looking bump was. I think I actually jsut started to cry. I mean I knew already--you just know it's wierd--but still, and I sat there crying for at least 15 minutes. But that was 2 years ago. And after the TCA didn't work--actually it made it worse-she recommended Aldara. Which was expensive and at this point I didn't believe anything would help. Long story short, it did. I've been symptom free for well, 2 years in the spring. It's really encouraging to hear that it's possible for your own body to fight it off....eventually. I find myself flinching with every irritation, dreading every pap test....you know how it is. But in the grand scheme of things, it's really not the beginning of the end that I thought it would be. Yeah, I have become a major committment phobe--meaning my relationships end before they become intimate because I'm not at a stage yet where I'm comfortable telling anyone--any advice on this would be great--. But I have learned that it's going to be okay and that it is sooooo common.

Comments:

11/25/2003 1:41:16 AM - Maggie
I'm glad you found the silver lining
and that you are feeling positive. I
don't have any advice on how to tell
someone you want to be intimate with. I
haven't gone down that road yet, but
there are many people on this site that
have continued to be successful in
finding a mate. Just be honest. Good
luck in the future

11/25/2003 2:39:55 AM -
You know I'd been rushed to a hospital
after an attempted suicide last
November then was just recovering when
I was diagnosed with HPV the following
April. I think it's a miracle I didn't
jump out the window.

11/25/2003 10:53:51 AM -
I have some advice: Tell the next person you
wanna sleep with that you had a wart(s) and it/
they were removed and how long ago it was.
Educate yourself, then if they have questions,
answer them honestly. I
do not think it is appropriate to believe that if
you sleep with them, that they will get warts
too (though as many on this board would
preach - it is possible). People risk picking up
STDs every time the

11/25/2003 10:55:45 AM -
...continued
People risk picking up STDs every time they
have sex - including you. The only way you
will know your level of contagiousness is to
have safe responsible informed and
unashamed sex.

11/25/2003 11:08:27 AM -
One more thing. You have NO idea how
someone will react before you tell them.
Believe me. I think you really need to come to
terms with a stoopid wart first. It is your
confidence in your informed talk to your
potential partner that will determine whether
or not they wanna have sex. If you act uneasy
and diseased, they will not wanna fuck with
you.

11/25/2003 4:10:42 PM - Craig
Why tell them? Hey you beat the
virus, end of story. Get on with your
life.

11/25/2003 4:29:36 PM - Charles
Good story and glad to hear you're wart
free now!! The bottom line is this
doesn't haunt most people forever. I
felt completely suicidal myself after
finding out...if it was something worse
I definitely would have gone through
with it...it's sad to think. But I'm
alright for the most part now...but
unhappily single at the
moment...haven't taken the relationship
step yet.

12/1/2003 7:10:57 PM -
how long did it take with Aldara...I've
been using it for 8 months now and no
improvement....any advice?

12/13/2003 11:24:10 PM - Sarah
Ask for another treatment! 8 months is
long enough, I think.

12/15/2003 1:45:32 PM - Sarah
My comment was to the person above me,
not to the poster, BTW.

Return to Personal Experiences

General Site Information: