I recently had my smear test in England before moving to Spain. The results came saying I have low grade dyskaryosis and 'evidence' of high risk HPV (not sure is that means I have it or I don't?)
Anyway, I need to have a colposcopy, but I won't be in England again until December 21nd and I can't really afford to pay to come back for the treatment/take time from work, nor do I want to pay privately here in Spain. Obviously my health comes first, but do any of you know if, as it's 'low grade' can it wait? Is that safe? What would you suggest?
Also, I'm 24 and I had the smear a day before my period. I don't know why I received my smear appointment before my 25th birthday, but do you think these things could have had any effect on the result?
Any information would be very, very welcome. I'm very anxious about my result and very confused by the medical jargon in the letter!
Thank you.
Hi there,
I totally understand how worrying all this is, and even more complicated with you being in Spain.
First of all, low grade is also known as CIN1 and is one of the earliest stages of cell changes. Having a coplposcopy in December would be fine with no risk to your health. I can say this as I'm waiting for a colposcopy after a smear in July, and due to a backlog of women waiting to be seen it's likely to be November/December before I'm seen. I'm sure they wouldn't be allowed to leave women that long if it was risky. So I hope that reassures you on that score. Personally I'd rather it all dealt with asap, but leaving the cells for a while won't cause a major problem.
Have you been sent a colposcopy appointment yet? If not, when you get the appointment letter, there should be a number for the colpscopy clinic. If it's before December you can speak to them and ask to reschedule the appointment to December. I don't know how long you'll be in England but when you ring they'll be able to tell you if they are doing clinics around Christmas as often NHS services tend to shut down then. Once you have all the info you'll know where you are.
If the clinic is one that likes to take a biposy before treating it could end up being 2 coploscopies several weeks apart. It depends how they manage things in your area.
Hope this helps and I wish you all the best x
Thanks so much for your response!
I almost feel less informed just by being in a different country!
I'll have a window between 20/13 - 6/14...hopefully they can fit it in then!
Really know nothing about how it's done in my area, I just hope they'll agree to letting me move it!
Thanks very much again.
