Smear test please advise

ellay864

Just to clear up as I realise it may have looked like I was giving OP a bit of a lecture! I really wasn't intending to do that, and must admit that I hadn't taken into account the fact they raised the age of doing smears from when I was first having them. Put it down to my old age

Jei70

melancholly wrote: »

every time i've been they've said something about 'discharge'.... mortifying the first time - although it seems it's just me and nothing 'wrong'!

This is a personal bugbear of mine. Smear tests are scheduled for the middle of a woman's cycle, which is usually around the time of ovulation. For many women, ovulation = creamy or egg-white cervical mucus, which is COMPLETELY natural, normal and not a "discharge"! For more info, see "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Tony Weschler.

Having said that, a smear can also show thrush before you've actually noticed any symptoms yourself (happened to me once!).

HannahIOW

I feel for you smee, well done for going through with it. I have to book my first ever one in a couple of weeks and am terrified about it - not cos of embarrassment etc as I've been poked about there before, but because I have found a small bump on my cervix... didn't pay much attention to it until the recent hollyoaks storyline where steph has got cervical cancer and so of course I am now in a right panic. Been reading online and supposedly could be a 'polyp' or a 'nabothian cyst' but of course what if it isn't?

I'm not 25 just yet but soon as I am I'll be booking an appointment...

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Had mine yesterday morning. As usual, I bled. From my memory (I'm single now), I would bleed after sex sometimes (usually when it was - shall we say - enthusiastic [ahem]). I usually went straight back to the GPs and got another smear and/or every swab available, just as I always did after the end of a relationship. They always came back clear.

Other than one smear which came back borderline. The repeats I had every year after that for 5 years were all normal and it was most likely that the smear sample had been contaminated by some cells from the removal of a contraceptive coil just seconds beforehand. The local hospital changed their procedures soon afterwards and refused to accept smears taken at the same time as coil removal and instructed that swabs were taken afterwards.

They're just a minor annoyance in life, slightly undignified, but nothing to worry about. If you had put it off, you would be so much worse.

As I am sure you all appreciate, the likelihood of anything unpleasant for someone so young is incredibly small. So don't worry yourself unecessarily.

And Hannah, you don't have to wait for your 25th if you have something that is already causing you concern. Make an appointment at your GPs (usually with the practice nurse) and they can have a look and will probably take the smear there and then for you.

BeenieCat

HannahIOW wrote: »

I feel for you smee, well done for going through with it. I have to book my first ever one in a couple of weeks and am terrified about it - not cos of embarrassment etc as I've been poked about there before, but because I have found a small bump on my cervix... didn't pay much attention to it until the recent hollyoaks storyline where steph has got cervical cancer and so of course I am now in a right panic. Been reading online and supposedly could be a 'polyp' or a 'nabothian cyst' but of course what if it isn't?

I'm not 25 just yet but soon as I am I'll be booking an appointment...

I've just turned 25 and had my first smear (even though i've already had 2 kids). I have always had a small lump on my cervix and was half heartedly worried about what it could be. I discovered it when checking coil threads after my 7yo was born, and never mentioned it to anyone.

Anyway my results came back normal so i guess i don't have cancer after all Don't worry, it's probably normal to have lumps and bumps on there. Lots of nurses and docs have seen my cervix (due to childbirth, coil, an STD test) and none have ever mentioned it/

ka7e

Sometimes you just wish these nurses would just bite their tongue and wait for ther results to come back instead of scaremongering!

DD visited our surgery when she was 17 with suspected thrush and cystitis. The nurse told her she "probably had chlamydia" and took a swab. DD was devastated as she had had the same (only) bf since she was 13 and the implication was that he had been unfaithful. DD had to insist a urine sample was sent off to be tested as well - result - confirmation of rampant bladder infection. The swab was "Nothing Abnormal Detected".

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If that had been me and my DD, Ka7e, I would have complained to the practice manager about the lack of interpersonal skills, especially if she would have told an older woman 'oh, it's probably just a bit of thrush. Let's take a swab just to be sure'.

Despite the campaigns and press articles that suggest otherwise, teenaged girls are not all disease riddled slappers sharing their infected carcasses with anyone for half a bag of chips and a swig of Diamond White.

And some people need reminding of this.

steph123steph

like others have said, try your best not to worry about it. The woman who done your test is trained to spot any POSSIBLE problems, so its only natural thats she hightlights them. I dont think you are the only woman in the world to have heavy discharge or occasional bleeding betwen periods, i can promise you that. Youve had the test and pretty soon you will receive piece of mind for yourself xx

BungleGirl

I just wanted to mention something about discharge...

BV - Bacterial Vaginosis - is very common and a symptom of that it a creamy discharge. I found out that I had this when I was pregnant (10 years ago) and recently found out that I had it again. It is a not an STI but is more common in women who are sexually active. I get tested at the local GUI clinic and they tell you the results at the same time and give you the anti-biotics which clear it up. I was asked the last time I went if I wash my hair in the bath (I do this all the time) and they said that is the likely cause of it - since then I have washed my hair over the bath once I have got out of the bath and it hasn't come back. It really is very, very common and easily tested and treated - it might be worth getting it checked out. It is to do with an imbalance of the 'normal flora' and it seems that all the nasties in harsh toiletries (apparently shampoo is much smore powerful that shower gel/bubble bath) can bring it on.

Also, even if your smear comes back abnormal don't panic. This happened to me and I had to go to the hospital for a colposcopy (?). I got myself into a right panic but it was all fine and I just had to have spears every six months for a couple of years and every year and now I'm back to the normal cycle (every three years I think).

Perdi

Just to add to the stories.
I was also on the similar pill and started having breakthrough bleeding and occasional bleeding after sex in the last 18months I was taking it. I freaked a bit the first time it happened but luckily I was about to go for a smear that week so I phoned the nurse and she reassured me and checked me over when I had the test. Apparently the pill can cause 'raw' spots near the cervix and it's those that bleed. Neither the nurse or the GP were worried about them. I have also been told several times in the past that I had discharge and was inflamed and raw and it was always down to a bad bout of thrush.

If you have been getting the breakthrough bleeding etc a fair bit you need to talk to the nurse / GP about it on your next pill check up as they may want to change the pill you're on.