Hi all,
Just sharing my current situation at the moment and I’ll be sure to update as I go along in the hope that it may help someone. I had my first abnormal smear in November aged 29, cell changes alongside the shocking diagnoses of HPV. This absolutely floored me.
I couldn’t understand what this meant or how it has happened to me. I’m with my partner 5 years and of course we have both had our life’s before each other ( as everyone does ) but I still couldn’t get my head around it all.
It’s not something that’s discussed in day to day life so I initially felt ashamed and dirty. I know that’s crazy but it’s just how I felt. I done a lot of research to try understand this, I am such an over anxious person and I genuinely worry about everything so this put me into total overdrive. I had been googling at any chance I could get, trying to get as much information as I could. Trying to find out the worst case scenario and trying to find a way to process this.
I had been referred to have a colposcopy, again I’ve been having sleepless nights, nightmares and just long days due to constant worry and over thinking. My appointment is this coming Monday so I have only two more nights of waiting. I am genuinely terrified but I am trying to look on the bright side and be grateful that this was noticed when it was. My doctor had called me in December and I was lucky enough to be offered a cancellation appointment for my colposcopy in such a short period of time. I don’t think I could go through waiting any longer than this.
I will be sure to update here once I have my colposcopy and what the outcome was.
Hoping this may ease someone else’s mind if they are a worrier like me, to know you’re not alone and it’s natural to worry.
I Feel The Same So Youre Definitely Not Alone…I Feel So Dirty…& As Much As I Know Theres Absolutely No Sort Of Control Over It Cause Its Extremely Common, I Feel So Disappointed & Disgusted. I Still Cant Wrap My Head Around Being HPV Positive & Having Abnormal Cell Changes…Im In Overdrive Since Dec 27th…Not Eating Not Sleeping Losing Weight…But I Doo Hope You Get Positive Results From Your Colposcopy…All The Best
I Have An Upcoming One Early Fed…Go With God
Hi both
I totally understand how you feel. I had my smear last July and was told low grade cells so was booked in for a colcoscopy in August. Had this and it was much better than I had expected,they made me feel at ease and then had to wait for the results. These then came back from low grade to high grade cgin so I was then booked in for a lletz which again wasn’t as bad as I thought. I then had to wait another 8 weeks for the results which came back clear margins so rest assured ladies that whatever is ahead, you will deal with it and this forum has the best support you need and we are all here for each other so keep us posted and fingers crossed all goes well for you both xx
I had the same reaction as you when I got my abnormal Pap smear + high-risk HPV results. I was so relieved once I got my colposcopy results—CIN1, come back in a year for a repeat Pap. Most of the time, an abnormal smear will require no additional treatment. They just want to watch it to make sure they catch it in case it develops into something worse.
I’m HPV 16 and 18 positive this year and last year, and had borderline cells on my pap test, and am finding it hard to handle even though my biopsy result last week was negative.
The consultant that did my biopsies said that HPV is as common as a cold - so please don’t feel bad about it. Have you spoken to the Jo’s Trust helpline, about how you feel, because I found that taking to them helped me a lot.
As I Stated Before Go With God, Pray For Strength, Healing & Most Of All A Peace Of Mind…Ive Read Up On The AHCC Also But Ive Just Got Some Immune Boosters From BOOTS Which Has 24 Micro Nutrients & Im Trying To Do The Veges Thing. I Wish You The Best…Dont Forget To Update Us.
I’m afraid it will be another wait after a biopsy, but sometimes the colposcopist can say what they see.
Tell the colposcopist how worried you are right at the start - they do go out of their way to help you then x
Hello all,
Just an update after my long awaited Colposcopy appointment. It went as well as could be expected. I really believe that reading all of the sections in the forum really helped me to prepare. I spoke with the nurse before we began & she had a diagram showing the area of concern and explained why we were doing this.
I felt really at ease and knew what was happened.
I wore a dress so I didn’t have to undress as much, they popped a gown on me & I got onto the bed / chair.
The colposcopy itself wasn’t painful for me thankfully. It was a little uncomfortable but the ladies really made sure I was ok. I think the main thing is to try to remember to take deep breaths throughout. This really helped me manage my nerves and kept my body relaxed so they could do their job. I was conscious if I was tensed my body that my examination would take longer if the nurse couldn’t see what she needed.
She seen low grade changes & took a biopsy of the area as she wasn’t sure if it was CIN1 or CIN2. I’ll get my results in a few weeks but I’m just glad that I know it’s going to be monitored.
I had a local anaesthetic for the biopsy & I only felt a little funny sensation but nothing excruciating thankfully.
I’m 4+ hours past the colposcopy / biopsy & so far I have no cramping / pain but I’m unsure if it’s the anaesthetic still doing it’s job so I’ll know in the morning.
Curled up in bed now with a hot water bottle and hoping for the best.
@Majesteigh i wish you the best of luck for Saturday & please let us know how you get on. Don’t forget to really try to relax ( hard, I know) you will be at ease once it’s over with. Be kind to yourself over the coming days & know that you are not alone. If you have any questions please just let me know & if I can help, I will.
Xx
I’m in a similar, but I guess really lucky position. Appt for a Copolscopy came through before I even got my smear test result in the post! And it’s booked for a week today. I called the GP to understand why and they confirmed I tested positive for HPV and they can only assume the hospital had a cancellation next week and booked me into it. So feeling grateful I don’t have too long to wait and be anxious.
This is my first abnormal smear in 10 years or however long I’ve been having them (35years old). My added concert though is I took myself off the pill last January (after going on it around age 17 and never having any breaks) and my periods 12 months on still aren’t regular or much beyond a bit of breakthrough bleeding. So these two things combined has now got me quite worried! But not sure if they can at all be related or just consequence?
Hope that the pain for you never did come after the anaesthetic wore off and that the hot water bottle and rest did the trick
Good luck, will be keeping everything crossed for you. I am in a similar situation. I’ve been married 12 years, previous smears have been ball clear, and I was shocked when I had a result last year saying I have abnormal cell changes and HPV. Like you I felt dirty and ashamed - my husband and I have been totally faithful, therefore I can’t understand where the HPV came from. I was called in for a colposcopy and after speaking to the doctor about my anxiety opted for a general anaesthetic and I’m so glad I did. During the colposcopy I had lletz to remove abnormal cells but, apart from a small bit of bleeding and pain on the day, I felt fine. I’m now waiting for results of the biopsy, however I received a copy of a letter the doctor sent to my GP, which mentioned visual signs of high grade pre-cancer. As you can imagine that gave me the frighteners! No doubt though once the biopsy results are in I’ll hear if I need any more treatment. I keep telling myself that it’s good news that the smear picked all this up in the first place however distressing it is because the cells can then be caught before they actually turn cancerous.
Hi all. You are all Inspirational. I had a worrying smear test in 2021, I was told to come back a year later, then this 2nd smear test last year was still worrying and showed HPV. I went for a colposcopy in September 2022 and they confirmed there were abnormal cells so they performed a lleitz straight away while I was there. I was stunned for the next few days as I wasn’t expecting that. After 7 weeks I hadnt heard anything, thinking no news was good news I phoned them to find out what the results were. Not good news. The sample they took showed no margins of good cells so I had to go back for another lleitz. A little more prepared this time but still worried. The nurses were amazing, cannot fault them at all. Had the procedure a few days before Christmas. Unfortunately when I spoke with them a couple of weeks ago, the 2nd lleitz sample was still showing the abnormal cells and they don’t think they can cut anymore away. The medical team have met and at my request, have agreed a full hysterectomy is the best way forward now. I am waiting to meet with the consultant now to decide which of the 3 possible types of procedures is best. I just want to get it done asap. Can’t believe it’s all happening.
Hi there this sounds very similar to my experience, I went on the wait list today for hysterectomy having had 2 failed LLETZ. No idea how long the wait is the doc couldn’t tell me. I’m in West Yorkshire… hope you get appointment soon
