Clearance of HPV

[iGrief]

If we do not clear it within 2 years, does it mean that we will not be cleared forever? Has someone taken 3-4 years or more to clear HPV from their system?

[LightningF]

yeah i would like to know too. You had HPV 7 years ago and you still have genital wart recurrences lately or you never had it anymore? If you never had it anymore, may we know when was your latest outbreak?

[iGrief]

I do some of those activities, jrrobbins. I lift weights 3 times a week, I have some fruits during lunch time or fruit juice. I don't smoke nor drink. But I can't workout lately because I sprained my back and will take some time to rest.

You said 7 years? Does that mean that it is 7 years and you still have HPV?

[jrrobbins]

look into alternative means of building your immune system to at least support the clearance process. For instance, buy a juicer and juice fresh carrot, apple, celery.  Drink freshly grated ginger and make tea.  Buy a nice wholefood multi-vitamin.  Exercise, do yoga.  No drinking or smoking.  Get your diet up to approximately 50% raw foods.  Go for massages.  Meditate.  Get counseling.  Do whatever you have to do to raise your energy, so your body can get back on your side.

Contact a homeopath. I believe Thuja might support the process for wart infection.  Contact a local Chinese herbologist.    

Clean out your blood with real dandelion and burdock root.  Make teas.  They are the best thing for you.    Get plenty of sunshine, rest, and start journaling to relieve some of your anxiety.

I am stuck in the emotional part, but I have completely taken control of the things that I can.  You should too.  I think in some ways that HPV had saved me because I was sleeping around to cope with stress.  It was a negative outlet.  It could have been a lot worse when I think about it.  Now I am just stuck on the disclosure issues and some residual self-esteem, "Walking carrier" stuff.  

And lighting, I share your frustration with the industry.  It really sickens me.  There is something to this whole acceptance/denial thing in the stage of healing.  This ******* nuisance virus forces us to grow in ways that we can't even imagine.  It has challenged me in ways that I could have never done through reading, work, travel, or standard experience.  I don't like this ride at all, but I am going to have to accept it.  

My issue was 7 years ago.  I buried the feelings for a long time to "deal with later". The sooner you can get through it, the better off you'll be.

[IwillbeokC]

So inspiring. Was it low risk you had? I wouldnt think you'd have to disclose after 7 years

[LightningF]

i dont have religion either but im a theist.

I really hope your antibody can clear up the virus man..and i really want to be optimistic, it's been a year now and hopefully i can clear up the virus by myself within 18 months or less...(so 6 months left)

I dont know what to add anymore because basically everything about HPV has been covered. Maybe keeping your penis as dry as possible would do it too, because i think warts grow in more "wet" area, for example your foreskin (if you havent been circumcised yet) or at the top base of your penis shaft (if it has public area in it). Not sure though

[iGrief]

I have to agree with your statement, the reason why condom companies don't say it prevents 100% STD but that "reduce the risk" is because they can get sued if someone uses a condom and get an STD. Thus they said "reduce the risk", they never said that "prevent STD". Words are very terrible things people can use.

To be honest, I'm part-Atheist. But I really do appreciate your kind words. I'll update you guys again when I go for my checkup on Monday, but meanwhile, feel free to discuss as I will be checking this topic of mine regularly and see if we can conclude something.

I don't pray, but I do wish you the best of health so that we can all beat HPV and live a proper life.

[LightningF]

one more talking bout condom and STDs, i never rub my penis on anyone's vagina or anything sort. So yeah im quite sure i got that mild GO even when we used that latex condom (oh the brand was even durex, so i believe it was a proper condom to use)

[LightningF]

@everyone: been to that doctor and he gave me inclovir and glutrop. Sounds a bit BS to me because inclovir is an antiviral drug to treat herpes. Glutrop, however, contains glutamine so yeah he might want to help me boost my antibody. I havent eaten any of these pills though...

@vandykd3: mate, condom is not very effective in preventing skin-to-skin STD like herpes/HPV because HPV might lie dormant behind scrotum (like in mine) or at the very top base of your penis (which might not be totally covered by condom after you do penetration). I would tell you that HPV wasnt my only problem. I had sex with prostitutes like once every few months before I got HPV and one time (i used condom) and i got this GO (gonorrhea). Not sure how i got it but yeah i got it basically and yeah I am 100% sure the condom wasnt broken. The GO wasn't acute though, i barely felt anything, just felt "uncomfortable" inside the penis within few days so i decided to get all STDs testing by then...(so it wasnt like GO you can see on the net, i didnt have any puss coming out of my penis or anything sort...the doctor told me it was just a mild GO so i barely felt anything but feeling uncomfortable inside the penis as if something hitting me inside but very mild)

Also if you check on websites, they never tell you whether condom is 100% safe or not, they keep telling you "condom can reduce the risk of STDs bla bla bla", only reducing but not 100% safe. So im quite sure condom is not that effective. Of course i wont lie to you that I DID NOT use condom when I got this genital wart. And yeah, using condom is 100x better than not using it but I have a lesson to learn that abstaining from sex is the only option to be sure about our health condition.

As of now i just want to be totally cured from HPV like most doctors promised. I have been living with this for a year and without knowing exactly about my HPV condition is really annoying. I hope we all wont get another outbreak in the next few months :( especially you iGrief, i know it's such a burden to live with it for 2 years already. I will pray for you although tbh i dont have religion and not a good believer :(

[IwillbeokC]

Any update

[iGrief]

I didn't clear it because I still have it. I just went for liquid nitrogen treatment 2 Mondays ago, my next appointment with the STD clinic would be next Monday. They're giving a 2 weeks period for the oral warts to heal, and also to check my progress on my genital wart as I have one on the shaft of my penis.

I had it for 2 years, since 2009 or late 2008. So I'm already past 2 years in for HPV. I had it from my ex, as I didn't had sex with anyone before her. She, on the other hand, had 3 sexual partners (4 including me) and one of them gave it to her. I don't know who.

[SkaterDave]

igrief, how do you know you aren't cleared yet.  I checked your posts and didn't find any statements concerning your story, i might have missed it though.  

Here's my take.  If you have warts you should wait six months after your last outbreak/treatment before you can consider yourself cleared of the virus.  That most likely means you've suppressed it and are not contagious.  If you have high-risk HPV then you won't know and you really need to wait two years before you can say your don't have it beyond a shadow of a doubt.  If you had sex with someone that you believe might have it that is.  

In reality.  You gotta buck up and go for it.  We only have one life and to be paralyzed by things that we can't prove or foresee isn't good.  You put it in the best perspective you can, minimize to negate the risks and get out there and live life.  I'm about to enter my sixth month after treatment wart free and I'm not going to talk about HPV with my partners because it's a non-issue now.  On the flip side, I did not have sex with anyone for ten months because of warts when I did have them.  

[IwillbeokC]

Your response is inspiring. Did they ever come back

[iGrief]

Then how do we determine if we eliminated the virus or not and how can they measure the antibodies that is needed to destroy HPV? This is really vexing...I'm about 2 years or so, but I'm already in the 2nd year, and this virus isn't cleared yet. I'm wondering if my heart condition has anything to do with it or what might be causing it.

Scientists aren't doing enough to help us or that they believe, in another forum that I've read, they are more towards trying to find a cure for cancer caused by HPV as there is more money / glory for a cancer cure than a cure for warts...

[jrrobbins]

"There is currently no FDA-approved test to detect HPV in men. That is because an effective, reliable way to collect a sample of male genital skin cells, which would allow detection of HPV, has yet to be developed. In October 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did approve the use of the first HPV vaccine (marketed as Gardasil®) for boys or men age 9 through 26 for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11."

This is right off of Digene's FAQ page for men.  See how quickly they segue into a plug for Merck.  They don't provide any reasonable explanation about any efforts for the development of reliable methods for me.  Does anyone know if there are companies out there who are trying to produce a blood or DNA test for the detection of HPV in men??  

[jrrobbins]

the problem we have here is that the western, allopathic model is largely influenced by pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers.  For every bit of pure research, there will be antagonists reinterpreting the data to perpetuate the demand for product. This STI is the perfect market.  You can't stop teens and young adults from having sex.  As long as there is sex, there will be transmission of HPV.  As long as HPV is stigmatized and kept into a female study groups and hypothesized about the 80% and high risk asymptomatic men don't know their true carrier status, HPV will always remain stigmatized and perpetuated.  

[jrrobbins]

I think the test is exactly what's needed.  It's the only way to bring awareness to this issue, and to get more money into research.  I want an answer to this elimination or cured question.  It's reprehensible to me that millions of men suffer because the medical community can't get it together or they don't want to cause a ruckus. I believe that men finding out they have it would balance the stigma and make it more acceptable.  

[SkaterDave]

Well, I agree with you on industry BS.  There's a lot of that around.  But I think that if we started testing all men today there would be some serious freak out at least until we all got used to it as a nation that we all have it and it's not a big deal.  

I also want to point out that condoms are very effective at preventing HPV.  It's all the other behavior around there use that are the problem.  What good is a condom if you rub your erection all over her lips?  I can see the whole point about the area below where the condom covers.  That's a little hard to avoid.  But I got pretty effective at reducing risk myself.  I would leave my underwear on.  I'd masturbate with her but not touch her or perhaps with the knuckles of the outside of my hand.  My junk never touches anyone during foreplay except for hands and then it's with an understanding that she doesn't touch herself next.  It's not foolproof but it's pretty reponsible I think.  Everyone's different though.  

Looking forward to this famous doctors opinions you talk about.

[LightningF]

and to iGrief, if by 2 years your body hasnt cleared up the virus yet, it doesnt mean you are going to have it forever. You might need another year or two but one day it would stop. It might be 6 years or 10 years though but very unlikely. I really hope you and I can stop this nasty virus in upcoming months. :(

[LightningF]

@vandykd3: mate, tbh that doctor reason (about most men would freak out knowing they have HPV) is totally BS. let me see it this way...

if most people know they have HPV, they won't freak out. Why? Because everyone else ALSO has it. It's like "hey i'm short...but HEY everybody around me is short either". How if you are short and everyone around you is tall, sometimes you would feel discouraged/intimitated. You get what i mean?

Now because most people dont know they have HPV, they (at times) do discriminate people who have it. Like when you have a GF and you tells her you ever had this disease in the past, even when you have cleared it up by yourself, probably your GF would leave you because she believes most people DO NOT have HPV. This is the BS i really hate about health industry.

Another thing, if most people know they have HPV and they must wait 1-2 years before they clear it up and have sex again (and even then it's unsure whether they can still pass it or not), i believe a lot of industries would lose a lot of money, not kidding. Condom factories would lose their earning a bit considering most people would have known that condoms cant really protect them. Prostitution places would lose their earning a bit too considering most people afraid of getting another HPV strain and wait for another 1-2 years...and of course health industry itself would lose a bit of their earning because everyone would get pap smear test and nobody would get cervical cancer.

Sorry if i keep hitting up all of these health industry BS but for me it seems they care about money the most...i would meet this famous STD doctor and i will let you guys know what his opinion about all these...even though he agreed about HPV antibody, according to my friend, but lets see what he knows/thinks about the rest of the HPV issues (he's not even a specialist, his title is just a doctor and not MD/dermatologist or something like that, but his clinic always full, and i only hear satisfaction stories from there)

[LightningF]

i have been living with warts for a year already. I have had total 6 outbreaks but i have made good progress in terms of interval between each outbreak

basically here's my stats:
1st outbreak (initial infection): late June/early July, got treated (electrocauterization) at 5th July 2010. I had a lot of warts and it spreaded quickly everywhere, prob i had more than 12 warts, which each of them were really small, like white dots/grain of salt

2nd outbreak - 2 weeks later - 3rd week of July: My doctor gave me aldara or something similar, basically an ointment. I had probably 8-9 warts by this time but that ointment really did wonder to me

3rd outbreak - 1 month later - late August: I had 6 warts and treated them with ACV

4th outbreak - 2 months and 2 weeks later - mid November: I had only 2 warts and treated them with ACV again

5th outbreak - 3 months later - mid February: I had only 2 warts and treated them with ACV

6th outbreak - 4 months later - late June (yeah i just had it a week ago) - i had 7 warts and yes again i treated them with ACV. Not sure if i really burnt all of them, maybe still have 1-3 invisible warts because i didnt treat my upper side of penis, but i think i would leave them to my doctor. I am in europe atm but as soon as i go back home will meet this famous STD doctor in my country, whom my friend refers me to. He said that this doctor has a bit different opinion on genital warts with most doctors but he's very famous...so im gonna meet him and get treated by this 30 June.

Im not sure why in the 6th outbreak I finally had more than 7 warts again but I think it's simply because my overall body condition has been dropping. Ever since i entered Stockholm (sweden) i think my body condition has not been in its best shape (it was raining all the time). Now it's way better of course but i need to go back to my country to get all the best diet/exercise/weather again. I hope after going back to the old routine, i wont have another outbreak or prob only one another outbreak..

I have a friend who had 6 outbreaks within just 6 months but after going to this doctor whom im going to meet (not sure what he did) he never had another outbreak and now he's been wart-free for 9 months. I asked him of course and he said the doctor basically told the same thing about HPV antibody must develop by itself but the same doctor tells something about keeping your penis as dry as possible (and get circumcised if you haven't) and also give you 2-3 injection shot in your waist. Well i'm circumcised so obviously that recommendation wont work but let's see about the another thing (about injection etc.)

[SkaterDave]

I agree that the lack of testing is a bit strange.  But as Doctor Handsfield puts it: "If there were testing for men there would suddenly be mass hysteria because half or more of all men would discover they have HPV."  This could be true as many of us are probably carrying around high-risk HPV and don't even know it.  

As far as HPV clearance times by the body goes, scientific studies have shown that you are generally done with the virus by right around one year.  It's more or less for some but if you also include a six months waiting period where you have no wart outbreaks just to be sure that you have entered the all clear period, the time allotted to dealing with HPV jumps to about a year and a half for most people.  If you google scholar HPV studies you find this info with a little digging.  Here are some results:

RESULTS: Eighty‐one percent of evaluable women were HPV DNA positive at treatment or enrollment. One year later, seven women (9%) remained positive for the same HPV type. Most women had cleared the HPV infection diagnosed at treatment within 3 months. The cryotherapy group had lower CIN grades, was younger, and had a slower HPV clearance rate (P < .002). Only four couples had HPV DNA of the same type detected.

Results. Of the 431 women, 50% experienced a total of 414 incident anal HPV infections, reported at ⩾1 clinic visits from baseline through a follow-up period of average duration of 1.2 years. Of these infections, 58% cleared during follow-up. The clearance rate for a high-risk anal infection was 9.2 per 100 woman-months (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.9-11.9 per 100 woman-months), with a median duration of 150 days (95% CI, 132-243 days). The slowest clearing high-risk HPV types were HPV-59 (median clearance time, 350 days) and HPV-58 (median clearance time, 252 days). The median clearance times for HPV-16 and HPV-18, the predominant types associated with anal cancer, were 132 days and 212 days, respectively. Nonviral factors that delayed clearance of anal HPV included douching, long-term tobacco smoking, and anal sex.


We studied the natural course of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cytological regression in women referred for colposcopy because of abnormal cervical smears. We found that high-risk HPV clearance preceded regression of cervical lesions by an average of 3 months. The cumulative 1-year rate of cytological regression was similar in women with mild and moderate dyskaryotic cervical smears. Thus, retesting of high-risk HPV after 6 months in women with mild to moderate dyskaryosis predicts cytological regression.

[iGrief]

I agree with you! That's some really logical BS Science made up! Could I ask about your HPV history and how long you have had 'em or if you are cleared? I'm 2 years already, ugh. But I read of people who had it for 6 years and more. The thing I'm unsure of would be, if I don't clear it now since it is 2 years already, does it mean I'm going to have 'em forever?

[LightningF]

They tell you something about 2 years and they dont even have anything to really measure your HPV antibody. Well they say they have the machine but it's not for public. Sounds BS to me.

But according to my logic, it all totally depends on the person and the HPV strain itself. Yes a lot of people take 3-4 years to clear HPV from their system or even longer, or even forever. There's no definitive answer on this