I'm looking for a bit of advice as I'm driving myself insane with worry. I'm 35 and had my last smear 3 years ago June. All was fine.
But a feww months ago my periods started getting very heavy, where I'm leaking through all the time and the back ache is painful. But I've constant pains on and off in my abdomen and lower back for a while. More recently though I've started spotting in between my periods, and after intercourse with my husband. It's not a spot there is quite a lot there and it's bright red. Also after sex a few times, I've had terrible cramping. I know my body, and I know something isn't right. I've never had this before. My periods are as regular as clock work and are every 28 days. That's until this month, I've came on 5 days earle with painful back pains. I had swobs taken at the docs and they've all come back clear, but they won't do a smear at moment as I'm bleeding. I'm not sleeping as I'm worrying myself sick, but I know I'm not imagining the symptoms as my husband has seen it for himself. I was really hoping the doctor would come back and say I've got some sort of virus and I could take a course of antibiotics, but that's not the case now, so I'm worried all the more. I'd really appreciate a bit of advice please ladies if you don't mind? Thank you, xxx
Thank you for taking time out to answer me. No, I haven't got private healthcare through my employer. I'm in on Monday to see my doctor again and I'm not going to move until they do a smear test. I'm due one in June anyway. They wanted to do swobs to rule out a STD which I told them I wouldn't have as I've been with my husband for 10 years. And I was proven right as all swobs were clear.
It's just the waiting game now till Monday and it's driving me mad. Thank you again for your reply.
I think Libby's right that they might send you straight for a colposcopy. It seems that even if GPs do a smear early, the lab refuses to look at it. How frustrating would that be?!
You may well have nothing to worry about. If you look at all the threads on this forum you will see lots of people who were driving themselves insane with worry who ended up with not much to worry about at all. Some of them had the kind of symptoms that, if you put them into a Google search, came back with a very gloomy picture. (Stay away from Google!) Your GP is on the case so you don't need to do any more thinking for the moment. Try to distract yourself if you start to brood. Let us know how you get on. :)
I just wanted to add that I found around my mid-thirties that even though my periods had always been a walk in the park, they were slowly becoming a lot less pleasant. In my case at that stage it turned out to be only gazillions of microscopic fibroids in my womb, so please try not to imagine that everything has to be cervical cancer. As Libby and Kirsty so rightly say, your doctor is on the case so just sit tight and wait to see what happens next.
Thank you all so much for the replies, I very much appreciate it.
Any way I managed to get in to see my doctor yesterday at short notice, and all swobs were definitely clear. He's not going t do a smear but sent a urgent referral to see a gyno. He's said they may do a MRI or biopsy? Is this right? I had a lap last year, so I know I don't have polyps or endo. I think that's why he's done the referral. When I said to him about I'd prefer a smear he explained that the smear is just for screening and he prefers me to go straight to gyno.
Now I'm getting myself more worked up, as he's not doing one. So, thinking does he know something I don't know.
He said I will hear within the week, but can't promise the appointment will be as quick even though he's put it as urgent.
I'm off next week for half term, so going to busy myself doing stuff with my son. Also, my dad get's his results from his biopsy to see if he has Prostate cancer. Praying all going to be ok.
Sounds to me like you are getting properly checked out which is a good thing. A smear test is more like reading the list of ingredients on the packet whereas a biopsy or MRI are more like actually nibbling one of the biscuits inside the packet so it's a much better test. Especially, as Kirsty says, sometimes the lab refuses to analyse a smear whereas nobody ever turns away a biopsy or an MRI. I think your doctor is just getting you to the front of the queue.
