Anyone have experience with molluscum and GW?
This is both a long rant and a question.
Background:
- I, 26F, was diagnosed with GW in June of this year (previously unvaccinated. Started the series in August). I started Aldara and saw no improvement after 10 weeks. I saw a new doctor at the 10 wk mark who told me to stop Aldara as she didn’t think I had GW. She scheduled a biopsy for the one lesion that was big enough to biopsy. It was a skin colored, raised, firm, round-ish bump with a rough texture to it in the hair-bearing part of my pubic region. My lesions seemed to slowly grow slightly larger after stopping Aldara.
I went for the biopsy 1 month after that appointment, and this time the doctor suddenly says she is 99% sure all of my lesions are warts but she’ll move forward with the biopsy because it’s already scheduled. Not sure what suddenly changed her mind as the lesions looked pretty much the same. Anyway, biopsy results revealed molluscum contagiosum, not GW. Doctor says she can’t treat that and has to refer me to a dermatologist.
I know googling can send one down a rabbit hole, but I feel as though I’m almost an expert at this point as I’ve searched for pictures of GW and all related conditions COUNTLESS times since my diagnosis 4 months ago. I have a few flatter lesions in my pubic hair-bearing area that look like possible molluscum, but I also have wart-like lesions (finger-like protrusions) in my labia minora. I also have small bumps that appear in a perfectly straight line leading up to my vagina. They are sore and itchy.
The biopsied area did not really match the physical description of molluscum I read online and my doctor told me she was 99% sure that lesion was a wart while doing the biopsy. Almost all of my lesions are extremely itchy, but especially those in the labia minor and the bumps I have at the base of my vagina. Doctor did not want to biopsy the lesion in my labia minora as it is too close to the clitoris. I declined biopsy of the lesions outside my vagina due to fear of pain, but now I wish I had gotten the biopsy.
Questions:
-Has anyone had both molluscum and GW at the same time? Anyone have knowledge of atypical presentation of molloscum? If the one area biopsied is molluscum, is it likely that’s what all my lesions are or is it common to have GW in addition to this? And the biopsy can’t be wrong… right? Btw it’s been 3 weeks since biopsy and the growth hasn’t returned.
-Finally, is it common to receive treatment from a derm for these conditions? The idea of showing my genitals to a doctor outside of my gyn seems horrifying to me.
Rant:
-Thanks to whoever tolerated this long post! I am really just fed up at this point. I’ve seen 3 gynecologists this year and have been dealing with symptoms since February. Nobody seems capable of giving me a clear answer or clear treatment path, and it’s like I’m fighting for my life just to get the doctor to return my calls. It took them almost 3 weeks to call with my biopsy results, even though results were ready within 2 days in my portal. I just couldn’t read them until the doctor reviewed them. Nobody seems to care i deal with constant itching and discomfort, not to mention the massive toll this whole thing has taken on my mental health. I just want answers.
Posted Nov 2, 2023, 1:31 AM UTC