smear tests

emjem_3

Nobody enjoys going for a smear test, but that's not an excuse not to go. I was first told about them when I went to the Dr's for the Pill. I was told that as soon as you are sexually active you should start having smears.

As a society we are far too quick to blame everyone else without taking any responsibility for ourselves. As a previous poster stated the system is not perfect so be pro-active.

I get so fustrated with women who say they are too embarrassed to have one - do they not realise what the alternative is?

I currently have smears every year and they do get easier/less embarrassing so PLEASE, PLEASE go for one!

melancholly

i actually thought fay's comment was quite funny - and perhaps what the thread needed to distract from the 'personal' comments.

i always seem to have to go back again and again for my smear - they never get a 'good' sample from me so it takes 2, 3 or even 4 goes (apparently it happens to about 10% of tests, so i must just be very 'special' to have it almost every time!). and you have to wait a few months for the cells to grow back after the first scraping! got my letter this week to remind me that i need to go back - and it had a leaflet in it with lots of info. i think quite a few people who have said they got the letters should have a read of it as it really does explain how the system works. the information really is there on a plate!

the screening programme has changed a lot in the last few years - i was called at 18 as a start age (declined as not sexually active!), then at 21 as a start age and now it's 25. that can be confusing, but the nhs direct website does have all the info for anyone who really does want to find out! i agree completely with emjem - people really should be proactive about it and take more personal responsibility for our own health. a reminder is always helpful, but i think the earlier analogy with a car is a fair one - you wouldn't wait for a reminder on a material possession, so why on earth do that with your own body? i can't remember when i have them so i stick the letters in my file with all my bank statements. then i can periodically check whether or not i'm due. it only takes thinking about once a year or so (when i open the folder and suddenly remember!) but doesn't require too much planning.

Shona_3

beachbeth wrote: »

But surely the smaller the better for everyone? Or do the bigger ones make for a more reliable result? Why can't they all be quite small no matter who we are?

Because a small one in a woman who needed a 'big' one would get you no where near the target! Some cervixes are high, some are low, some face forwards, some face back. Some vaginas have been stretched by childbirth, some haven't. A small speculum is useful for a small vagina.

Also, if you are not sexually active you can be excluded from the register.

If you want to discuss your smears with a doctor what is stopping you making an appt? Fair enough at the actual smear appt it is a bit annoying to have a 10 min disc of the pros and cons, but if you are not sure you want one, make an ordinary GP appt where you set the agenda and decide what is discussed.
Obviously there are health benefits to having smears but no-one can force you.

I am a GP by the way.

beachbeth

Shona wrote: »

Because a small one in a woman who needed a 'big' one would get you no where near the target! Some cervixes are high, some are low, some face forwards, some face back. Some vaginas have been stretched by childbirth, some haven't. A small speculum is useful for a small vagina.

How on earth can you tell who has a small vagina and who's are larger!!! Im a petite lady, only 5' tall and yet the doctor said "I'll use a smaller one" when I said I was nervous. On what basis was he using a larger one??? I may have had children but that doesn't mean Im as large 'down there' as the next woman.

Im sorry to complain about something that is for your health but I just hate and dread these things and think they could be made much better. I look forward to the day when they can use other methods to test for cervical cancer (give me a blood test any day!).

Savvy_Sue

melancholly wrote: »

a reminder is always helpful, but i think the earlier analogy with a car is a fair one - you wouldn't wait for a reminder on a material possession, so why on earth do that with your own body?

But please tell me I'm not the only person who's ever got the reminder about taxing their car and realised the MOT ran out a few months earlier ...

Insurance is fine, because they send a reminder; tax is fine, because they send a reminder, but if your MOT gets out of phase with your tax (if you couldn't afford to tax it for a whole year, for example) it's easily done!

In fact I haven't done this since the invention of the calendar alarm on the mobile phone, but whereas when I change my phone I go through and transfer all the reminders for the current 12 months to the new phone, I wouldn't necessarily find them all for 2 or 3 or 5 years ahead.

Gmail calendar it is then ...

mum2one

SPANIEL36 wrote: »

i know how frustrated you must feel with this as it is a worry. The only other side i can see to it is that there are thousands of women in your area's health authority and when things change it takes a hell of alot of time to adjust and update everybody's file and needs for things. Please be aware that they have recently changed the way they take the sample too, no longer a spatluar thing but a brush thats swept across the area

i've had to have 3 smear tests last year plus a colcosopy and biopsy taken. Last january, febuary and september, each test came back as abnormal. The last test i had to chase up as it was taking over 12 weeks to come back. My doctor assured to me that if there was any concern they would've contacted the surgery and me sooner....obvously they didnt. I had to wait a futher 2 weeks then get the surgery to chase it up. 2 days later i had the results and a letter stating i would be refered to the gynaecologist. I would have an appointment within 3-4 weeks. 2 days later i had an appointment for the next week....on christmas eve of all days.

At the colcoscopy, they saw an area of concern and took away tissue, i've now got a further 4 weeks to wait for the results....whatever they will be

i have to go for 6 monthly smears now for a year and then yearly ones for the next 5 years.

I went through the same procedures as I had pre cancerous cells, (2000) luckly they managed to laser them whilst I had the colcoscopy, was meant to of had the 3 x 6 monthly smears, /only mamaged 2 as I had my daughter in 2002, restarted the yearly smears 2002, Im still beong called yearly.


what the girl said was right, its really out of her personal hands, its down to the Depatment of Health

Good luck with it all, x

bandraoi

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

But please tell me I'm not the only person who's ever got the reminder about taxing their car and realised the MOT ran out a few months earlier ...

Insurance is fine, because they send a reminder; tax is fine, because they send a reminder, but if your MOT gets out of phase with your tax (if you couldn't afford to tax it for a whole year, for example) it's easily done!

In fact I haven't done this since the invention of the calendar alarm on the mobile phone, but whereas when I change my phone I go through and transfer all the reminders for the current 12 months to the new phone, I wouldn't necessarily find them all for 2 or 3 or 5 years ahead.

Gmail calendar it is then ...

You're not I'm sure, but when it ran out did you think it was your own fault or did you think it was the MOT services fault for not reminding you?

Shona_3

beachbeth wrote: »

How on earth can you tell who has a small vagina and who's are larger!!! Im a petite lady, only 5' tall and yet the doctor said "I'll use a smaller one" when I said I was nervous. On what basis was he using a larger one??? I may have had children but that doesn't mean Im as large 'down there' as the next woman.

You can tell when you get down there! The average speculum is the one all nurses and GPs would start with and this is comfortable and appropriate for most women. If you get down there and realise it will be too large you switch to a smaller, likewise if a woman has found it painful in the past or is v anxious it is fine to offer to use a smaller one but if this turns out not to reach the cervix then you have to reach for a larger one.
You are right that you can't tell by looking. Most women do need the standard speculum and it is more about length than width. Being short does not equate to a short vagina I am afraid (of which I am sure many men are grateful).

patchwork_cat

Talking about the size of the speculum as someone said - how on earth can they tell how big to use. In all my smears I have never had them say - oh I'll just use a bigger/smaller one. I don't think they care - some have hurt and some haven't some have given me period like pain and some haven't. I have had what feels like a pinching pain with the speculum presumably they were using one too big.

This time I went to the FPC and although I felt that I was in the wrong place with the reecptionist, it was relatively painless- little cramping after. The first thing she asked was - have you had a letter! I said they make you feel you shouldn't have come if you haven't had a letter.

If you have had a painful smear I would recommend the FPC.

Post crossed Shona thanks for this - in the past though the average must have been too big and they didn't realise - no pinching now though - thanks to my kids!!

Although I think mine must have been about width as the pinching was on the side. I think I may have been quite narrow, but that is another private tale!

Shona_3

patchwork_cat wrote: »

.

Post crossed Shona thanks for this - in the past though the average must have been too big and they didn't realise - no pinching now though - thanks to my kids!!

Although I think mine must have been about width as the pinching was on the side. I think I may have been quite narrow, but that is another private tale!

Pinching can occur with even the smallest speculum as it is caused by the speculum closing as you withdraw it. A good smear taker (or user of speculums for whatever reason) will keep the speculum slightly open as it is pulled out, this causes a slight up/down stretch but stops the sides of the vagina being pinched ( which is v uncomfortable, I know).

The problem with width/ length is that the thinner speculums are shorter so needing the length to reach the cervix automatically means the base is wider. The smallest speculums are about the size of your little finger, and used for examining virgins/children ( not for smears obviously) then they go up in grades from there.
There is also the fact that they need to be wide enough to pass up the smear 'broom' which is nearly an inch across.

Tell your smear takers that they have been uncomfortable in the past. Some nurses and doctors are going along never knowing that they are causing discomfort. I always ask and hope I get honest answers but speak up women!