Kind of a dumb question about HPV...

So... my doctor said that 80% of women will contract the HPV virus at one point or another in their lives and that the majority of cases of the virus disappear on their own within two years.
My question is this: Not only do I have any idea how long I've had the virus (I hadn't had a pap in 6 years) but if I've had a hysterectomy and am no longer having paps, how do I know when the virus is GONE????

You don't know when the virus is gone. Thats the nature of HPV. Most women fight off the virus, others are innoculous carriers of the virus and it lies dormant in the body, and others, such as myself, get cervical cancer.

Did the surgeon take your cervix when you had your hysterectomy? And, because you are HPV positive you still need to continue with vaginal vault smears. HPV can vaginal cancer which can be detected in a vaginal smear.

Hi Lisa

I had HPV lie dormant for quite a while in my body (we think it was over 20 years) before it led to an abnormal pap for me a few years ago. I was diagnosed with VaIN 1, which indicates a low-level change to some of the cells, and I had HPV markers on my cervix. By the time of my hysterectomy, a year later, my cervix showed absolutely no signs of HPV or any cellular changes. I will continue to get paps of the vaginal cuff for the rest of my life, though, because I have HPV and I will never assume it's completely gone.

My first post-op pap was completely clear but I have to continue to be vigilant.

You may want to talk with your own doctor about whether you should have paps to reassure yourself every year.

I would continue getting annual paps if I were you. I'm not be HPV positive, but now that my doc found extreme endo and cyst that is making me concerned for other things that could happen, so I'm going to go every six months just to make sure. Better safe than sorry.

Yes, my cervix is gone.
I was wondering about what type of testing would be done... When my surgeon and I discussed having the surgery (a month and a half ago now seems like forever!), I seem to remember her mentioning something about having a test for at least the first 5 years but I don't remember what test it was, I'm assuming that vaginal vault smear (sorry, I haven't researched any of this yet, I'm really not a dummy!). I had my 2week post-op appointment today and once she showed me the photos of my endometrial implants from surgery I was so awestruck that all the questions I had for her completely went out the window. Luckily she's a great doctor and I can call her whenever I want!
Thanks, ladies. I was really confused about this!
Vaginal cancer? Geesh! Another thing to worry about!

HPV is known to cause cellular changes that can lead to the following cancers:

cervical
vaginal
vulvar
anal
oral/throat
penile