LS and HPV
Posted , 7 users are following.
I was diagnosed with LS in 2015. This year i found out that i also have the human papillomavirus (HPV). Both these are on the valva. My specialist told me that HPV is very common and everyone who is sexal active will contract HPV at some time in their lives. It is sometimes called the 'common cold' of sexual activity. HPV infects both men and women. The virus is spread through intimate contact with genital-skin during sexual activity, via tiny breaks in the skin. Usually this happens without anyone ever knowing it or it causing any problems.
Normally your immune system can naturally clear the infection over time. However due to having LS my immune system has been unable to fight it off.
My specalist said it is extremely bad luck to have these together and recommends i get the HPV vacination. In Australia teenagers are provided free vacination for HPV. Adults however need to pay for this. I will get the vacine.
Does anyone else have these two conditions together and can tell me what to expect!!
0 likes, 13 replies
jane08222 teineka
Posted
confused here. What good is the vaccine for HPV if you already have the virus?? LS suppresses the immune system as does HPV....not sure I would be getting the vaccine if it was me!
teineka jane08222
Posted
The specialist told me that the vaccine will slow down the virus.
karen41728 teineka
Posted
the vaccination is of no use now, but i have both, are you post menopausal
teineka karen41728
Posted
Hi Karen,
I am 43 and have not gone through menopause. How long have you had both and what have been the implications of having both?
beverly52803 teineka
Posted
teineka, were you having problematic symptoms or did the doctor decide to test you for HPV? According to what I just read it seems just about anyone who has had sex has it. It was compared to the common cold.
I have never had a gynecologist bring it up and I'm post menopausal.
teineka beverly52803
Posted
Hi Beverly
From what i have read that HPV is not just from having sex it can be also contracted from just genital contact.
I was not having any symtoms other than from the LS. During a routine check up a biopsy was done and i was told i had Vulval intra-epithelial neoplasia (VIN) is a skin condition that can affect the vulva. The term VIN refers to particular changes that can happen in the skin that covers the vulva. With further tests The HPV was diagnosed through a routine biopsy.
beverly52803 teineka
Posted
Does having those other conditions (along with the LS) create complications? Sounds like you weren't aware you had them. The implications of VIN sound variable. When I was in my teens I was told after having a PAP smear that I had precancerous cells on my cervix, had them removed by freezing (I think). It was painless. Can't remember being told it was VIN specifically. It's been over 50 years and many smears since.
I'm a little confused about genital contact without sex re the HPV. Do you mean without actual intercourse?
teineka beverly52803
Posted
There is a lot not known about HPV. ... Condoms do offer some protection against HPV transmission, as well as other sexually transmitted infections. But HPV can be spread through genital contact and that contact can occur outside of the area covered by a condom.
Most people's immune system can fight HPV. Having HPV with LS causes a lot of complications because LS is an auto immune disease and im assuming that my immune system has been unable to fight the virus.
The areas of VIN on my vulva have precancerous cells. I have had one lot of laser on the VIN area and am due to have another operation in the next 3 mths 😦
beverly52803 teineka
Posted
Is the laser treatment like the Mona Lisa procedure? I would imagine the healing process must be extremely itchy!
There seems to be a world of gynecological problems out there most of us were quite unaware of. We've heard about AIDS for so long these other diseases must have gone somewhat ignored. Certainly do wish they would start concentrating on them now.
sarb73328 teineka
Posted
Teineka, I had a 'loop' procedure on my cervix in 2013 after HPV and pre-cancerous cells (VIN) were diagnosed. It would have been the last smear test for me in the UK in my 60th year but now I have to continue to have them. The last smear I had 2 and half years ago showed no sign of HPV, so presumably my immune system had dealt with it. However, my LS problems started soon after having the biopsy in 2013 although my LS wasn't diagnosed until 2017. I have often wondered what the connection is but my GP has said that HPV doesn't 'cause' LS. Strange then that my itching and fusing came after finding I had HPV, I was fine before that.
LS is an auto-immune disease, where the body is working against itself. HPV is a virus that our immune systems can fight off. It still makes no sense to me.
My niece in Australia had the vaccine against HPV but since then has still had VIN and treatment on her cervix, so the vaccine is no guarantee.
Once again I note, all our doctors recommend slightly different things and explain things differently to each of us. No wonder we get so confused. And I still doctors have a casual attitude with little empathy for such a deforming and upsetting disease. Glad we have this forum.
teineka sarb73328
Posted
Thanks Sarb
A week ago i had my second lot of vulva laser to remove abnormal cells. My first laser was Sept 2018. I decided to get the HpV immunisation as my gyno said it will slow down the risk of cervical cancer - fingers crossed. I also am a really bad sleeper (3 hrs a night) so i have started taking magnisium and passionflower to see if it helps. I have also started doing relaxation with the app SMILING MIND. Its a free app developed by a not for profit organisation. i would highly recommend it for people havin trouble sleeping. I am also looking at ways to boost my immune system. i have just purchased an organic IMMUNE BOOST tea from Zee Tea. It seems that its just a lot of trialling 😃
sarb73328 teineka
Posted
Hi Teineka
I am pleased to hear you have got through your second lot of laser treatment. How did you get diagnosed with abnormal cells on the vulva? Was it by biopsy? I have only ever been told I have LS from gynae examining my vulva and dermatologist says there is no need for biopsy unless there are changes.
I am still utterly confused about HPV and LS. One depends on your immune system dealing with it, the other is your immune system working against your body. My last test 3 years ago for HPV was clear (my immune system working properly presumably) and yet my LS had started by then.
Anyone know anything more about these connections?
shioban63152 teineka
Posted
in my case i first contracted hpv (symptomatic, after unprotected sex with new partner. before that all my std tests had been clear. afterwards, not, hpv+, itching and white discoloration on vulva appeared quickly) . i was neglected by docs for almost a year. once i got the hpv diagnosis and learnt about hpv i was sure i had vin and insisted. yet neglected. they took me for an hypochondriac. they said vin is rare ... ok, rare but it happens!!!!!! i went private to ask for a vulvoscopy . biopsy came back vin 1 caused by hpv. some lots of co2 laser treatment. vin reappeared. laser again. vin appeared again. then cream. after cream itching worsened. during cream a new patch appeared. biopsy LS. s*it happens. i am reluctant to use steroids. i am doing nothing but reading about alternative treatments. after my bad experience with cream for vin i dread bad outcomes of any treatment i may apply... i thought about doing the plasma thing, but i read somewhere it may not be convenient when there is an infection... i see no way out.