New and very anxious - please support x

Hello , I’m sorry I can’t help with personal experience but I noticed no one had yet popped up to give a reply or words of support. I wanted to wish you luck for tomorrow’s appointment and for any further wait you may have. I am in a waiting period myself but for a different cancer. 

Best wishes

Hey, bless you, I’m so sorry you’ve found something worrying. It’s a bit late for me to advise you to try not to worry since you clearly have been and have your appointment tomorrow.  The trouble with googling is we can all come up with terrible visions of diagnosis. It could be any number of things, that’s what your gynae is there to help with.  Hopefully you have a good consultant who knows what they’re doing. They will make a diagnosis, maybe you’ll need some tests. Once you get a proper diagnosis and a way forward, then you can take each step at a time. If it’s a wart, that can be removed easily, if it does happen to be VIN there are various treatment options.  Please try to relax tonight and put yourself in safe hands tomorrow. I’ve had vin for many years, I’m lucky, it hasn’t caused me too much bother, I’ve had some excisions and I had to have biopsies few weeks back, just waiting on results.  Let’s see what they say and then you take steps forward.

Good luck tomorrow, keeping my fingers crossed for you.  Take care xx

Thank you so much for popping on and replying . The worst part is waiting isn’t it ! Even after tomorrow if I have biopsies it’s still a wait. I’m just hopeful that they may be able to at least assume what it is x

Hi

Thanks soo much for replying I appreciate it so much. I’m so sad to find myself here and I’m natural worrier as it is. Do you mind me asking, with your VIN areas did they grow or change at all before treatment? Where they ‘warty’ like I’m appearance (as my GP named mine!) 

I was rather annoyed at my first appointment as was almost dismissed and just sent to the STD clinic. I’ve had the same partner for over 12 years and never had anything. Although I have calmed down a little after discovering you can have HPV for years and no symptoms. Husband doesn’t have any symptoms so I’m not certain it’s warts, but again maybe he has the virus and no warts. 

ARGHH head spinning! 

Hey - So, for quite a few years I was mis-diagnosed, 8 years I think.  My gp diagnosed me with herpes initially.  I was devastated, similar to you, I've now been with my husband for 33yrs, since I was 20yrs old.  Actually she was quite matter of fact with me on original diagnosis.  I felt sick, embarrassed, horrified...and she showed no kindness towards me.  I basically had two large areas of rawness that were unbearably sore, a lot of redness and some white patches.  It would calm and flare and I had to go on the herpes meds several times. Of course they were useless!  It was only years later that I really began to question as I was never examined after the first diagnosis, just given more meds.  One particular flare up I went back to gp, different one.  I had to ask her to examine me.....  she said yes it looks like herpes.... but perhaps I should go to the GUM clinic.  I took myself straight there, they were absolutely horrified, saying it most definitely was not herpes and within days I was having biopsies.  Then I was referred to a gynae consult who diagnosed the vin. I guess I was lucky that it didn't progress over the 8 odd years of mis-diagnosis.  That's my story, and here I am 17 years later!  HPV is so vey common, even my consultant said I was 99% likely to have it, although all these years later, after a smear I have tested negative.  It lies dormant and can have no effect on your health or it can cause things like warts etc. I  try not to overthink it all or do too much research as it can just cause so much anxiety, but of course I'm years down the line and I'm lucky I have a consultant I trust. I guess in the early stages of issues it makes sense to research, but I think you should do that only once you have diagnosis.  Of course I cannot make any suggestion on diagnosis for you.  All I would say, if it is VIN in my experience most GPs have little or no awareness of VIN, or of what it is.  My GP now is gynae orientated and even she didn't know!  

Please try not to worry.  Quite often health issues are exacerbated by worry and stress.  Of course it's difficult to say don't worry, but once you have a diagnosis then there is a plan for moving forward.  Worrying won't help (easy to say).  Hopefully today you will come away with a better idea of what is going on and your head will stop spinning quite so much.  For as long as I can remember I've had gynae issues of some sort, heavy periods, polyps, abnormal smears, eroded cervix. its gone on really pretty much since I was 17 years old.  I guess I am just 'normalised' to it all.  

Please let me know how you get on.  Whatever the issue, it can be managed some way.  Try to keep smiling xx

PS I think I've probably waffled a bit!  I think I'm having a 'barmy' lockdown day!

Wow you have been through a lot! I feel your frustration about the GUM clinic and it’s so disappointing that led to a lengthy misdiagnosis and wrong treatments for you. 

Thank you for sharing your story and by no means did you waffle, I’m thank for your help. 

I’m just back from my appointment. My gynaecologist was lovely and put me at ease. He only looked at the area briefly and feels certain it is a wart. As it isn’t causing me any bother at all he gave me the option of leaving it or having a biopsy to rule anything out and confirm diagnosis. Due to my concern I opted for the biopsy.

Ouch. I am sore. I think the anaesthetic is just wearing off. I had no stitches but they used silver nitrate. I haven’t been given any advice on keeping the area clean so any advice is well welcomed.

My head is certainly spinning less now a specialist has taken a look. Although I do feel a little deflated about the whole wart thing. I feel bad even questioning if my husband has cheated but it’s in the back of my mind. My gynae did confirm though that you can carry the virus for years and it lay dormant. I guess once a worrier always a worrier ! 

I’ve taken today off work and tomorrow is my non work day anyway so I’m hoping to feel less sore by Monday. I have a 1.5hr commute which I drive each way so I really hope so. 

They warned about possible black discharge following the silver nitrate treatment. I’m nervous to even pee! I shall definitely not be checking out the area anytime soon. My plan is to await my results in hopefully 2 weeks then have a peak and see how it looks. 

As far as follow up plans, he said await his letter with results. If it is VIN or anything with potential to cause concern the area will need removing. If it’s a wart go to GUM clinic and get treated. 

Hi, 

You sound like me, I worry about everything too! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been with my partner for 21 years and have two children. My Vin came out of nowhere. My lesion described as a warty lesion but mine was broken with bleeding points and very sore. I was told that the HPV virus can lay dormant for years too. It was the GUM clinic that diagnosed my condition. Again the GP kept giving me antibiotic creams. This went on for 9 months. This forum has been very helpful. 
No sure about anyone else but I’ve been told not to shave or wax because you can cause trauma to the skin which cause irritation and lead to VIN??? 

Sorry I forgot to say I hope all goes well with your results. Ps pouring water on yourself helps when pee! 

Hi Bunnybear, 

I’ve just been reading your posts which gives me some hope. Do you have any helpful tips of managing the condition? I’m driving myself mental had a wide local excision in March For VIN 3 now using the cream because I have positive margins. Obviously I’m stressing cause the margins are positive. 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated xx

Thanks . I guess if biopsy comes back negative for VIN then I’ll get treatment at the GUM. Thanks for your reassurance though. It’s good to hear that yours and others have come out of nowhere too! Yours sounds much more painful than mine (pre biopsy at least - it hurts now!) and I had no bleeding x