(for the girls) abnormal smear test

MummyMiche

When i had my first ever smear it came back abnormal, so i had a colposcopy,which showed that i had an eroding cervix (nothing to worry about)
i was then left for 6 months and then went back for another and was given treatment and now everthing is fine i've not really had many problems just the odd abnormal smear.
It's really nothing at all to worry about and they are usually really nice people.

I would take someone with you if you feel comfortable with that, i took my mum with me which was a great help.

Good luck and i'm sure it'll be fine

1012donna

My first smear was abnormal (9 years ago) and so like many others had colposcopy and laser treatment. I had 6 monthly smears and now they're yearly. As has been said it is slightly uncomfortable and I felt like I was burning up inside but nothing too bad. I can't add anything that hasn't already been said. Don't worry too much about it. You'll be just fine!!!

shelly

I wish my colposcopy was as easy as all you gals posting before me!!

Mine was very painful as she didn't numb an area properly that she took the biopsy from and once she started she couldn't stop :eek: It only hurt though while she was using the loop diathermy (sp?) , once she had the sample it didn't hurt so much but I was in pain for a few days and bled for about a week. Unfortunately my results weren't good but I'm sure you will be fine.

Let us know how you get on.


Also if you want to ask anything else about it please feel free to PM me. I'll be glad to help if I can.

arnie&caseysma!

I have had two colposcopys so far, one in 2005 and one in 2006. I am going for another in November and this time I think I'm going to ask them to do a biopsy for my own peace of mind (first two were 12 months apart and this one is only 6 months). Apart from watching everything on a screen all they did was poke about a bit with a big cotton bud which in itself is not sore, just a little uncomfortable. I always play on it a bit and take the day off work due to a 'womens hospital procedure'....the male bosses don't dare question it!!!

I have not heard of the dyskaryosis but I will have a look on google and find out.....

Carrera74

I had a colposopy 7 years ago due to abnormal bleeding and was diagnosed with an erosion and was advised no treatment was necessary unless it carried on annoying me.

Two years ago it started up again and as my GP couldn't take a smear due to the blood (nice!) I had to go the hospital for another colposcopy. Both experiences were very similiar - you sit in a chair and sit legs akimbo and the Colposcopist has a detailed look with what looks like a pair of big binoculars. They spray your cervix with a solution that I just felt as a cold spray and as Jellyhead says this shows up any possible abnormal areas. I had 3 biopsies without them numbing my cervix and I swear I didn't feel a thing. Afterwards I did feel a bit shaky but this was no doubt cause I'm a panicker and the adrenaline was kicking in. Had period pains for a couple of days afterwards and a bit of a discharge but a couple of paracetamol takes the ache away

When my results came back I still had my erosion and also abnormal cells (dyskaryosis). I was advised that if it was just the abnormal cells they would wait for 6 months as your body usually fixes itself but as the erosion was making me bleed a lot I decided to have the treatment - cold coagulation. This procedure is done in the same department as an outpatient. You sit in the same chair and they apply heat to your cervix for 30 seconds. I took paracetamol before I went and again I didn't feel a thing. It was that painless I didn't believe they had done it!! 6 months later my smear was clear and the bleeding has stopped.

Good luck, let us know how you get on - I'm sure you'll be fine

hazeyj

Hiya, I have a retrograde uterus and find any sort of internal examination very painful. Halfway through my colposcopy I had to beg them to stop. Luckily my husband is a theatre manager in a gynae hospital and told me that I could have treatment under a general. So I did, I had a loop existion too and have been fine ever since. I will always have yearly smears also.

My abnormal cells were "not cancerous currently but would turn cancerous if left".

Noone suggested to me that I can have it done under a general, you have to ask. The male gynae who did my colposcopy was under the illusion that the colposcopy shouldnt hurt as when a tampax is up there that doesnt hurt and its pretty much the same thing. I cant even tolerate a tampax at times. (If my legs hadnt been in stirrups I would have booted him across the room.

Some women can handle having a loop (cone biopsy) under a local but I most certainly couldnt.

I gave myself a nervous breakdown and ended up on prozac because I worried so much about it. I didnt do myself any favours and looking back, it was because of the delays in treatment and the lack of information given to me. I thought I had cancer itself and broke down when speaking to a nurse and she explained the above to me, that I hadnt actualyl got cancer. It helped a lot to know exactly what was going on inside me. The point being...dont worry about it just yet until you get your results and talk to the nurses at your colposcopy clinic.
xx

jazzyjustlaw

HI I have had four abnormal smears the first it was mild had a colposcopy and laser treatment. I was not even 20 then again a few years later it was severe then in 1996 but after a few months it disappered it was not even mild I dont think.

I had an abnormal one a few months ago and have to have a further in November. I bleed in between periods always have so I use that to get an annual smear. I left it two this time as the hospital told me off for having an annual one - typical. (by the way I am bearly 35 so thank goodness for smear tests even tho I hate them)!

hazeyj

Yeah I had my first two after the cone at the hospital and they said I should go back to five yearly ones but I always get a letter telling me to go evry year and will do for many years to come I think.

across

i'm still here to tell the tale so dont worry it is very important you go and have it done i had the laser about twelve years ago and i only remember holding the nurses hand very tight and feeling very hot, after i had lots of smears and that used to upset me more than the colposcopy because i was anxious waiting to see if it was ok everytime but i knew how lucky i was to have regular smears and that they had picked up on the problem and never missed any. since then ive gone on to have two lovely little girls and am now back on 3 (i think!!) yr smears that reminds me i'll be due soon!!:rolleyes:
good luck and dont worry it is no worse than having a filling at the dentist and it needs to be done.

iwanttosave_2

wigginsmum wrote:

I had an abnormal smear about 20 years ago; they adopted a 'wait and see' approach and the repeat smear 6 months later .

I have had this for the last three years, I am still waiting for doc to do something about it. :rolleyes: