12 Ways I Think My Marriage Will Be Even Better in My Thirties
5 Reasons Why I Hesitated to Take My Husbands Last Name
I Am Not the 60 Percent: On Not Letting the Second Divorce Statistic Become Your Statistic
A Characteristic I Am Thankful My Spouse Has
12 Sweet and Simple Ways to Show Your Spouse Gratitude
7 Reasons You Should Say Yes to a Quickie (aka a short date!) With Your Spouse
10 of the Most Disgusting Things I Do for Love
Were You Disappointed by the Way Your Spouse Proposed?
Sweetest Day Is Coming: 5 Simple Ways to Show Your Spouse You Care
10 Things Every Married Person Should Know About Their Spouse
10 Dating Do's and Don'ts We Can Steal from the Disney Princesses
5 Fun and Frightful Ideas for a Spooky Date Night
Survey Reveals the Most Difficult Year of Marriage
How Love Is Like the Seasons
So I’ve been grappling over posting this for the last few days. Ever since I found out quite frankly. But I have written the tough stuff before and so I decided to write this as well. Hopefully someone can learn something from me putting this here.
I am a careful girl. I visit my girly doctor and have my lady parts checked out every year like clockwork. I even get tested above and beyond that. I use birth control and protection. And if I choose not to use protection, I make sure there is an honest conversation about the safety of that decision. I never choose to go without birth control. I monitor my own health and call someone if something is odd. You get the picture. I take care of myself.
So it came as a total surprise when this year, after said lady part examination, I got a letter from the doctor. Letters from the girly doctor are never good. If everything is okay, they don’t bother to talk to you again until next year. Letters only come when something isn’t okay.
So here’s the bottom line: I am HPV positive. Don’t panic it says. Everything else is normal, it says. But, you know, except for the HPV thing.
Here’s some fun information. HPV won’t show on any STD screenings. (In fact, it’s an infection, not a disease.) In men, there is flat out no way to detect it reliably. In women it can only be caught with your regular exam and only if your girly doctor screens for it which all of them don’t. Even those who do may only screen certain age groups. It’s not something they will immediately treat. It is something 50% of Americans have. There are 100s of kinds and no quick and easy way to tell which you have in most cases.
I have been in the age group for a while. My girly doctor just found it this year. That narrows my field for who could have passed that little gem on. To two people really… Big and LC. Furthermore, based on timing and general riskiness, all signs point to Big. Unfortunately, I can’t say for sure that’s the source. HPV can be latent for a period of time. People can get it and not present with symptoms. There is no way to be sure.
Of course, I had to tell them both. I told Big I thought he was the source. I also told him regardless of who the source was, he and all of his partners are now at risk. For him, it means not much. There are minimal risks for men. For them, it means a lot.
I don’t know if the HPV I have is low risk (may not do any damage at all) or high risk (may cause cancer). I don’t know if I have more than one kind. I don’t know how long I’ll have it. I don’t know if LC is infected now. I may never know these answers. Or I may find some of them out with time. But time is basically the only way to tell.
Here’s the PSA part of today’s program. The vaccine for HPV came out too late to help me. I was already too old. But it’s not too late to help our daughters. We can ensure they never have to go through what I’m going through right now. They don’t have to find this out and wonder. They don’t have to feel dirty. They don’t have to be at risk for cancer. Spare them from this and get them vaccinated. Give them one less thing to worry about in life.
Back to me. All I know right now is that I am HPV positive. I will have to tell doctors about this until I die. And I will have to ensure I am screened at least yearly for at least as long as it takes to go away.
And based on general symptoms and stuff, I am 95% certain this is the only thing Big ever gave me. He needs to shop at better stores.
5 Reasons Why I Hesitated to Take My Husbands Last Name
I Am Not the 60 Percent: On Not Letting the Second Divorce Statistic Become Your Statistic
A Characteristic I Am Thankful My Spouse Has
12 Sweet and Simple Ways to Show Your Spouse Gratitude
7 Reasons You Should Say Yes to a Quickie (aka a short date!) With Your Spouse
10 of the Most Disgusting Things I Do for Love
Were You Disappointed by the Way Your Spouse Proposed?
Sweetest Day Is Coming: 5 Simple Ways to Show Your Spouse You Care
10 Things Every Married Person Should Know About Their Spouse
10 Dating Do's and Don'ts We Can Steal from the Disney Princesses
5 Fun and Frightful Ideas for a Spooky Date Night
Survey Reveals the Most Difficult Year of Marriage
How Love Is Like the Seasons
So I’ve been grappling over posting this for the last few days. Ever since I found out quite frankly. But I have written the tough stuff before and so I decided to write this as well. Hopefully someone can learn something from me putting this here.
I am a careful girl. I visit my girly doctor and have my lady parts checked out every year like clockwork. I even get tested above and beyond that. I use birth control and protection. And if I choose not to use protection, I make sure there is an honest conversation about the safety of that decision. I never choose to go without birth control. I monitor my own health and call someone if something is odd. You get the picture. I take care of myself.
So it came as a total surprise when this year, after said lady part examination, I got a letter from the doctor. Letters from the girly doctor are never good. If everything is okay, they don’t bother to talk to you again until next year. Letters only come when something isn’t okay.
So here’s the bottom line: I am HPV positive. Don’t panic it says. Everything else is normal, it says. But, you know, except for the HPV thing.
Here’s some fun information. HPV won’t show on any STD screenings. (In fact, it’s an infection, not a disease.) In men, there is flat out no way to detect it reliably. In women it can only be caught with your regular exam and only if your girly doctor screens for it which all of them don’t. Even those who do may only screen certain age groups. It’s not something they will immediately treat. It is something 50% of Americans have. There are 100s of kinds and no quick and easy way to tell which you have in most cases.
I have been in the age group for a while. My girly doctor just found it this year. That narrows my field for who could have passed that little gem on. To two people really… Big and LC. Furthermore, based on timing and general riskiness, all signs point to Big. Unfortunately, I can’t say for sure that’s the source. HPV can be latent for a period of time. People can get it and not present with symptoms. There is no way to be sure.
Of course, I had to tell them both. I told Big I thought he was the source. I also told him regardless of who the source was, he and all of his partners are now at risk. For him, it means not much. There are minimal risks for men. For them, it means a lot.
I don’t know if the HPV I have is low risk (may not do any damage at all) or high risk (may cause cancer). I don’t know if I have more than one kind. I don’t know how long I’ll have it. I don’t know if LC is infected now. I may never know these answers. Or I may find some of them out with time. But time is basically the only way to tell.
Here’s the PSA part of today’s program. The vaccine for HPV came out too late to help me. I was already too old. But it’s not too late to help our daughters. We can ensure they never have to go through what I’m going through right now. They don’t have to find this out and wonder. They don’t have to feel dirty. They don’t have to be at risk for cancer. Spare them from this and get them vaccinated. Give them one less thing to worry about in life.
Back to me. All I know right now is that I am HPV positive. I will have to tell doctors about this until I die. And I will have to ensure I am screened at least yearly for at least as long as it takes to go away.
And based on general symptoms and stuff, I am 95% certain this is the only thing Big ever gave me. He needs to shop at better stores.