How did you cope with getting high-risk HPV from a long-term partner’s past?
I recently found out that I have high-risk HPV and abnormal cervical cell changes I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years, and I was a virgin before we got together, so I know the HPV must have come from one of his previous partners.
I understand that HPV is incredibly common, that he didn’t knowingly give it to me and that neither of us has done anything wrong. Emotionally, though, I’m really struggling with the fact that something from his past is now affecting my body and health. I’m the one having to attend appointments, worry about the abnormal cells and go for a colposcopy. It keeps triggering feelings of anger and resentment toward him and his past.
He has been supportive, but I still find myself thinking that if he hadn’t contracted HPV from a previous partner, I wouldn’t now be going through all of this. I know that thought might not be completely fair, but it’s honestly how I feel at the moment.
Has anyone else experienced these feelings after being diagnosed? How did you cope with the resentment, stop connecting the diagnosis to your partner’s sexual past and manage the anxiety surrounding the appointments?