Thankyou .. oh I'm so worried but Thankyou .. nurse wouldn't speak to me , receptionist said don't worry but hey it's not her is it♀️.. I feel dirty and gross but its been years so how did I get it .. I just feel I'm on a time bomb 

I havent been active either..I felt the same..thought has my husband cheated etc etc ..but i was reassured by nurse..its something the can reoccur after years and its only recently they have started to test for it on smear...so honestly just try to put in back of your mind do your 12 months ..

You'll be ok

I've just come across this post.  I've not been sexually active for 10 years but last year I tested positive for hpv but no abnormal cells.  This year I had another smear and again am hpv positive but this time also high grade severe abnormal cells.  Found this out last week and today am going for a colposcopy.  I'm absolutely terrified! I don't understand how it can go from nothing to severe in one year.  I'm not saying this to frighten anyone else but if you are hpv positive don't miss your test each year.  I'm 59 years old.  It was a shock to be hpv positive last year and now this my heads all over the place.  I can't tell my family till I know what's what.  Anyone had the same experience I'm going through? I'm scared of what might happen today.  Sorry for jumping in on this thread x

So sorry to hear this and sincerely hope your colposcopy went OK and that they are or have removed the abnormal cells xx

Hi Sarah I think this new HPV testing is going to throw up at lot of this and all though we're told not to worry it's so difficult not to! 
I've just had the same. I had a smear test recently after not having one for quite a while and came back high risk HPV positive with normal cells. My husband and I have been together for 42 years and neither of us has been with anyone else. So it's been with me for 42 years!

My smear test was done privately and I was able to find out that it wasn't strain 16 or 18 HPV (these two strains cause 70% of all cervical cancers) when I asked. It is worth asking your doctor if they can find out this information for you. 
I feel too that if my body hasn't cleared it by now there ain't no way it's going to clear it in the next couple of years!  I'm fast approaching 64 the age when they stop screening and as no one can assure me that the virus will never start causing me harm I'm going to have this worry in the back of my mind for the rest of my life!

I really don't think they've thought through the worry and anxiety this test is going to bring probably to thousands of women that are going to be in this situation. 

Hi worried41

I've read about the tests they use. There are 14 high risk HPV strains that they all screen for. All of these are known to cause cervical cancer. Some of the tests just screen for hrHPV so any of the 14 strains but some can also say if there is specifically strain 16 or 18 these cause about 70% of the cancers. I asked my doctor if the test they'd used on my sample identified the strain. They hadn't identified it but they were able to say it wasn't 16 or 18 so it maybe worth asking your doctor if they can find this information for you. 

hiya, im 25years old and been having problems down there for years , they wouldnt give me a smear till now, its came back high risk hpv and abnormal cells im so so scared and feel alone. how did yours go? hopefully your okay x

Reading this thread regarding hpv I'm the same. I'm 57 and we were never tested for this. It's probably been dormant for years in my body.  I'm glad I joined this forum. A lot of my initial concerns have been answered. I'm not out the clear yet as biopsies have been taken. A few weeks for results. 

Hope the biopsy comes back ok, I totally agree with what Fiona61 has said, that now they are testing for hpv, although a good thing, it will cause so much worry and anxiety, I am now on my 4th year of worry 3 years of hpv positive smears, had a colposcopy and now a recheck in another year, its been over 20 years since I've been sexually active so can't see it going on its own