Living with HPV in Ireland, Dating?

hpv_probs

Hi all,

About 6 months ago I broke out with genital warts.

I am a 26 year old male and this came as an unsuspected shock. Surprise! Great.

I would like to know if anyone out there knows of any support services for people with HPV? Besides for my condition, I am a happy, active, healthy young man who should be at the peak of his dating life, but I have not even went for a night out or went on a date in over a year.

My symptoms come and go. I treat warts with Apple Cider Vinegar, and after some trial and error I have found out that a 10 minute session with a soaked cotton ball works best, and things usually appear to get worse before they get better. I also have started to drink a shot of the stuff diluted in a glass of water every morning. In fact, I have never been healthier, or more active, or actually just as happy in my life ever. I'm not religious, but this has been a blessing in disguise! This condition has forced me to excel at living healthily, and besides the lack of sex and unattractiveness of the condition, I am doing better than I was at being a decent human being in the past. I am more understanding of peoples problems and more compassionate. I hope I can meet someone who feels the same.

People in Ireland can be so hush-hush about anything sexual, but I want to break that cycle. I have told some of my close friends about my condition with the view they could introduce me to others who have it, but I fear that many people are choosing to remain silent and probably living in denial. So far I have yet to speak with anyone else who is living with HPV, I would love to hear from you.

Both Teams Dublin

I am a 29 year old female who also has HPV and have come to consider it the f***ing bane of my life. I think it's great that you hope to bring more acceptance about it out into the open (especially as it is apparently the most common STI in the country), but I can't help but continue to feel angry and ashamed about it. When I first noticed something and got the diagnosis a few years ago I thought, 'OK, so what can I do to make it go away?' But then I learned that it doesn't go away. That there is no cure. Not for the HPV proper anyway, but only for the warts as a symptom. And even that isn't reliable. I've had cryotherapy, electrocautery and trichloroacetic acid treatments. The warts would always disappear for a while and then after a while reappear. They're not even all that gross in reality, but in theory/imagination they are horrific. Just the words GENITAL WARTS are horrifying. And they're not even the worst part of it -- I am on my way to having serious problems with the health of my cervix as a result of HPV. I had to have a LLETZ procedure last year to try cut out the problem areas but it hasn't made any difference. The HPV is still there. It's a f***ing nightmare. I've been fully honest with my partners and held off having sex until they know the score. They've both since been infected and I feel terribly guilty. Both about them and about who they will go on to infect.

I'm sorry for ranting and being so negative. I know you started this thread perhaps in the hope of starting some HPV-positive dating network or something. And maybe it could happen. But I feel like giving up on ever having a sex life again. There isn't even any form of contraception that can be used to prevent transmission. I'm so fed up with it. So there you go, I have HPV and that's my two cents on it. Sorry again for the rant. I think your approach is very strong and healthy, and I admire you for it. Even though I can't seem to emulate it myself.

Uriel.

hpv_probs wrote: »

Hi all,

About 12 months ago I broke out with genital warts.

I am a 26 year old male and this came as an unsuspected shock. Surprise! Great.

I would like to know if anyone out there knows of any support services for people with HPV? Besides for my condition, I am a happy, active, healthy young man who should be at the peak of his dating life, but I have not even went for a night out or went on a date in over a year.

My symptoms come and go. I treat warts with Apple Cider Vinegar, and after some trial and error I have found out that a 10 minute session with a soaked cotton ball works best, and things usually appear to get worse before they get better. I also have started to drink a shot of the stuff diluted in a glass of water every morning. In fact, I have never been healthier, or more active, or actually just as happy in my life ever. I'm not religious, but this has been a blessing in disguise! This condition has forced me to excel at living healthily, and besides the lack of sex and unattractiveness of the condition, I am doing better than I was at being a decent human being in the past. I am more understanding of peoples problems and more compassionate. I hope I can meet someone who feels the same.

People in Ireland can be so hush-hush about anything sexual, but I want to break that cycle. I have told some of my close friends about my condition with the view they could introduce me to others who have it, but I fear that many people are choosing to remain silent and probably living in denial. So far I have yet to speak with anyone else who is living with HPV, I would love to hear from you.

Have You sought professional treatment? It can and usually does work,but you need to be patient. My understanding is that while you will have HPV for life (almost everyone has at least one of the 120+ strains), you likely won't be having active break outs or be contagious forever especially following proper treatment. The fist while, up to 24 months appear to be the worst and then settles. Everyone is different obviously though.

Having a healthy life style will help immensely, but I would definitely recommend follow up with a GUM specialist (not a gp)

hpv_probs

Thank you both for the fast responses I did not expect that so soon! I have a million questions.

This needs to be a constant conversation in our society and I hope others who are free of this disease are reading and taking notes. To be quite honest, I do not feel like I was adequately educated about the risks associated with STDs in school. I don't want to point the finger, but there is as lot of work and talking that needs to be done and there are people who can be saved from this in the future. I would hate to think that others will be as unfortunate as we have and I hope others can learn from our unluckiness. We might be unlucky, but I hope we can do others a favor.

I am glad to hear from you and to know that I am not alone.

1. Both Teams Dublin - Can I ask you, how long have you been living with it, and have the symptoms become more or less manageable over time, or stayed relatively consistent?

I think a rant now and again is a healthy way to deal with it. I am new to this, but I suspect that many people are living in denial. I'm guilty of it myself from time to time. It's often the first thing I think about everyday, and I try to use it to make sure I live a healthy, enjoyable and stress-free day as much as possible. Our whole culture about sex and hooking up and scoring with this or that person is so over-rated. I never scored around the place to begin with, and I don't think I ever would have really regardless of this. I would love to meet the right girl, now more than ever, so besides for a few inconveniences, like wrapping my dick in vinegary cotton wool now and again, not much has changed really, except if I ever meet the right person I have a feeling it might actually work out even better. That said, the option would be nice, but **** it. It's just a part of life, and we have to accept and move on. What reassures me, is that it could be a lot, lot worse, and I'm sure others around the country would gladly swap if they had the chance.

Have you tried ACV, and in particular have you tried drinking ACV? I also noticed ACV tablets in the health store last week, they were really cheap too, I'm going to buy a bunch of these soon and include them in my daily diet. I will update again in the future. I am delighted this conversation is taking place.

2.Uriel- I have received professional advice and treatment, but that did not work out well.

My situation is a bit complicated. I may have more than HPV, but thankfully I have tested clean 3 times for all of the other STDs. My first symptom was a circular lesion on my foreskin. Whether this is related to HPV, or if it something else ( potentially Lichen Sclerosis, a non-contagious skin condition ) is unknown. After visiting 3 different doctors in Ireland including two dermatologists the second derm. performed a skin biopsy (after several consultations at €140 a pop), which in hindsight was a terrible mistake and has left a scar worse than the lesion. To complicate things further, sometime before the surgery I began producing red-scaly patches on the tip of my foreskin. This is consistent with lichen sclerosis symptoms but whether this is related to the HPV, or anything else is not fully understood, even after the biopsy. The same doctor also prescribed some steroid cream for the red scaly patches, and after using that I broke out in warts. I actually didn't realize it was the cream that caused it until the second time I used it, but after that I threw it in the bin and now I'm quite weary of any professional treatment. Advice, sure.

All doctors have been incredibly unhelpful, many admitting that they have no idea what to say or do and passing the parcel onto someone else, that inevitably ended up in an ugly scar.

My current approach is to take this mess into my own hands and try to heal this internally with healthy eating and living. I am open to the idea of seeing another specialist in the GUM clinic, who my 2nd dermatologist also recommended but I haven't really had any great motivation to go yet. if I have to go I will, when I can afford it again. I currently have some red scaly patches again, but they seem to be fading. Slowly. Does anyone know if HPV + small red scaly patches are related? There is so much mixed information out there. I think its best to get real advice from real people who have treated this themselves.

- As for me, I'm at the peak of my life. I am incredibly healthy and active and I have big plans for the future. Most of the time, I am a very happy person. But the only thing I can't face is going out drinking because A. I dont want to put my health in jeopardy and B. I don't want to meet someone who I can pass this on to. The most action I've gotten over the last while is a Tinder account. I'm chatting with 1 or 2, and just waiting to tell them the great news if we ever met up sometime. Is this my future? For all you non-hpv out there, I promise that I will tell the person if the situation arises, but for now I am avoiding it as best I can.

Has anyone had any luck with any of those positive singles dating sites? :-/

If anyone would like to chat privately about it, I am open to talking to you, male or female. I am straight, and not looking for anything, just a chat with some people in our misunderstood and unfortunate community. Maybe we could create skype accounts and talk, or type anonymously.

Take care.

Rucking_Fetard

Emm, you're getting abit...over worked(?) On being healthy...maybe, reading that. Dont get carried away. Its HPV.

Try this stuff. Over the counter in alot of places. Lloyds Pharmacy etc. Im on phone so this is first link.

http://www.mccabespharmacy.com/health/eskimo-brainsharp-omega-3-ireland.html

LegacyUser

Just wondering do you still have this issue ???

hpv_probs wrote: »

Hi all,

About 6 months ago I broke out with genital warts.

I am a 26 year old male and this came as an unsuspected shock. Surprise! Great.

I would like to know if anyone out there knows of any support services for people with HPV? Besides for my condition, I am a happy, active, healthy young man who should be at the peak of his dating life, but I have not even went for a night out or went on a date in over a year.

My symptoms come and go. I treat wkarts with Apple Cider Vinegar, and after some trial and error I have found out that a 10 minute session with a soaked cotton ball works best, and things usually appear to get worse before they get better. I also have started to drink a shot of the stuff diluted in a glass of water every morning. In fact, I have never been healthier, or more active, or actually just as happy in my life ever. I'm not religious, but this has been a blessing in disguise! This condition has forced me to excel at living healthily, and besides the lack of sex and unattractiveness of the condition, I am doing better than I was at being a decent human being in the past. I am more understanding of peoples problems and more compassionate. I hope I can meet someone who feels the same.

People in Ireland can be so hush-hush about anything sexual, but I want to break that cycle. I have told some of my close friends about my condition with the view they could introduce me to others who have it, but I fear that many people are choosing to remain silent and probably living in denial. So far I have yet to speak with anyone else who is living with HPV, I would love to hear from you.