October 16, 2013
On Tuesday 28 February, Emmanuel Macron announced the generalization of vaccination campaigns against papillomavirus in all French colleges, hoping to reach 80% vaccination coverage by 2023. This virus is sexually transmitted and can be responsible for cervical cancer.
I am 23 years old, my favorite color is pastel turquoise and I had papillomavirus last year. I learned this after having a routine swab done by my regular gynecologist (I’ve also known since then that some gynecologists, including mine, haven’t swabbed for 25 years).
Normally, I get results at home when I have nothing and I don’t get results when I have something. I haven’t had the results for a month and a half.
At first I thought to myself, Well, that’s not a big deal, it’s December and it must be the holidays for everyone “. Actually not at all. two months later having had my duct plugged with a cotton ball my stain, I received a letter telling me there were suspicious cells on my cervix.
Papillomavirus, also called HPV, is a virus that has a large number of types that can be divided into two main categories:
- viruses affecting the skin (plantar warts, on the hands, which are benign)
- viruses that affect mucous membranes, such as the cervix. sexually transmitted, these infections often remain mild but can develop into precancerous lesions which, if left untreated, can develop into cervical cancer. However, the degree of oncogenicity varies between cell types and in most cases the body ends up eliminating the oncogenic virus. However, it’s not because most viruses won’t be harmful that they should be taken lightly. It is important to consult regularly, check.
To notice : young women are more likely to develop HPV infection, hence the importance of not ignoring visits to the gynecologist and smears. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s vital.
Read more about this item: I want to understand the papillomavirus.
My first exams
I don’t tend to dramatize everything: I’m young, I knew it couldn’t be terrible. I told myself there was little chance I would know I was terminally ill.
The letter was accompanied by a note from my gynecologist advising me that I needed to make another visit, to another gynecologist who does what is called a colposcopy.
We push you in and with alcohol, the gynecologist reacts the area around the cervix. Then map out what it sees, the areas that react the most, and the areas that react the least. Then, if necessary, he takes fragments of the cervix (let’s say he is doing a biopsy) and then places them between two coverslips to do analyzes on these areas which react more or less well to this alcohol.
Finally, send it to another lab to study your file.
I didn’t know what to expect before doing this exam: I found out on the spot that they were going to do a biopsy. But I assure you: in fact, for those who often go to the dentist, it represents little in the way of pain.
I felt like there was too much happening inside me for me to feel the exact sensations. When the practitioner scratched, I felt things – and it was no cakewalk – but I wouldn’t say it felt like a pain.
It was unpleasant, that’s all. He explained to me just before what he was going to do to me, but it was fast enough so you shouldn’t worry too much!
How I found out I had HPV
About three weeks later, I received a paper from this gynecologist who had the results. He had prepared an envelope with a note for a surgeon because I had to be operated on. The results were also indoors.
I’m lucky enough to have an immunologist friend who was able to explain them to me, because concretely when you don’t know the terms it means nothing at all. So I learned it I had an oncogenic papillomavirus — Oncogenes are a class of genes that promote cancer. Mine was quite powerful in oncogenization.
Yet I never worried…
Above all, my advice at this stage of the story is NOT to go see what people are saying about it on the internet (just listen to them, a stuffy nose is a brain attack). Trust only health professionals, legitimate people to inform you.
So I knew I had to have surgery. Knowing that human papillomavirus doesn’t have any symptoms, it was frustrating enough to tell me I was going to pass on the pool table for something I didn’t feel.
My HPV operation
I was not interned for this operation: I was treated in a clinic where all the other people came for pregnancies, and waiting to be called, surrounded by pregnant women!
It is a laser operation, without anesthesia, because these operations are too short (in some cases, this laser treatment is accompanied by local anesthesia). In all it lasted about ten minutes. Previously, I had met the surgeon for the first time to discuss what he was going to do to me. Well, in my case, he was an asshole, so I didn’t get any answers to the questions I asked, but I was still able to glean some information.
So I got to the hospital, AND I was put in a gorgeous light dress with my butt showing.
I lay down on the table, the guy took his laser which he put inside me after walking away. And there, it is necessary to say what it is: it is the most terrible pain on Earth that has come at this moment. It’s worse than a tattoo, really, and the problem is that you don’t forget that pain. It hurt like I was having fifty painful periods at once. And then again, it’s visceral, internal: psychologically, it’s hard to bear.
He had me lasered areas and then went home. Then, on the way back, I remember it amazed me a little, but very little indeed. I could have run, played sports, anything.
On the other hand, where the problem is that you can’t have penetrative sex for a month, the time it really heals, except through the anus.
I however, had been in so much pain at the time that it was enough to kill all libido for a while. We could have put Alexander Skarsgard naked and available in front of me that I could have said no.
Recovery after the operation
After, it takes four to five months for the uterus to fully recover. And really, the operation didn’t change anything in my life! Afterwards, I had to redo a smear to verify that the problem was indeed gone and so it was. In fact, it was just a slightly annoying mishap.
So there you have it, I want to reassure all the people who are going to have to go through this: it’s just really painful at the time. It lasted ten minutes, but at the time I was under the impression that it had lasted eight hours. And once it’s over, live your life as normal.
In this case my papillomavirus was really strong and disappeared on the first try. It didn’t traumatize me at all. And then, after I had surgery, I realized from talking about it that half of my friends had already had one, internal or external.
Defuse the papillomavirus
In my case, it was like a very dull cold in the cervix, but that’s it! No symptoms and no pain other than this very short operation… Only duress, sexual restrictions for a month.
Another important aspect: you have to check that your sexual partners don’t have it too! Suddenly, it’s mandatory to use condoms until everyone checks that they don’t have them (or no longer have them). Because as long as you still have it, you give it back to you, your partner gives it back to you, and it is a circle that never ends. You really have to be serious about this. Because it can have very negative effects to have it multiple times!
But you really need to play down: it really is, in my eyes and to my lips one of the least dramatic sexually transmitted diseases. This does not prevent us from taking this topic seriously and consulting regularly! But in my opinion, taking something seriously doesn’t have to mean worrying too much about it.
Photo credit: Pexels/Cottonbro
To testify about Madmoizelle, write to us at:
[email protected]
We can’t wait to read from you!
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
