Hi
I got a letter at the beginning of the month after a smear in October telling me I have high level (severe) dyskariosis. I have been on yearly smears for the last three years because they were HPV positive but no abnormal cells.
The letter said I would get an appointment direct from the colposcopy clinic.
At th beginning of this week I still hadn’t heard anything so called the clinic directly - they told me I have an appointment later that week. Still haven’t had a letter about it so it is a good job I called them.
Anyway, the colposcopy is tomorrow morning and, even though I have been fine up to now, I feel absolutely sick with nerves now. I’m nervous about feeling exposed for so long, about how painful it is going to be, and also what they are going to find.
I have no symptoms (although I have had mild lower back pain the last week or so but I am overweight and probably now hyper aware of any niggle) but your brain always thinks the worst, doesn’t it? When the nurse was doing my smear she took 2 samples because she said there was discharge on my cervix. She told me she thought it looked normal and it didn’t mean she thought anything was wrong but since I had my results that has played on my mind too. I’m worried about how quickly it has changed from no abnormal cells to high level changes - everything I read says that they are slow growing?
Anyway, thank you for reading, feels good to get it out somewhere other people will understand - will update tomorrow after the colposcopy x
Hi @LennieBriscoe
It seems like you may have been a victim of the postal strikes could be why you havnt recived the letter yet, we all let our imaginations run away when it comes to the unknown but the colposcopy isnt painful, smears arnt a diagnosis theyre more of an indicator so if they do need to take a biopsy or perform treatment they will numb the area with local anesthetic which is the worst part of it but its only a sharp pinch for a couple of seconds… if they do want to treat if you prefer you can ask them to do it under general some prefer to be asleep or they may be tge ones to offer general instead… cells are generally slow growing but there are some occasions that they dont, mine went from borderline change to CIN3 in just over 12 months
They did some research on those who have yearly smears and looked at their previous smear samples, there is now evidence that a high grade lesion can appear before presenting as a low or moderate grade, but the time of CIN potentially causes CC does stay the same, even CIN3 takes years to progress
I hope it all goes well! xx
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Thank you for taking the time to reply @Tinkerbelle29
Interesting about the study on yearly smears and CIN3 potentially showing up first - has put my mind at rest slightly and I hadn’t seen that before!
Hello @LennieBriscoe im sorry you’re here and going through this.
I had colposcopy and LETZ three weeks ago today. No pain. At all times the three medical staff in the room with me were kind and gentle. Kept me distracted. I had a big sheet over my legs so although I was in stirrups didn’t feel exposed or embarrassed. All very dignified.
Felt bit rough, achey and emotional afterwards but no pain.
Good luck. It’s good that we get offered these checks to keep an eye on things xxx
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I’m sorry you’re going through this. I had my colposcopy & biopsies today, I was super nervous too, but it honestly was bearable, sore but not painful. The staff were lovely & made me feel like I wasn’t exposed. I just wanted to share in the hope of helping your worry. Good luck! Hope all is ok x
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Well it’s done!
Got in and she went through my smear results and said they would usually remove high grade changes. Asked if I was happy for them to do it today so I said yes because I didn’t want to have to go through the nervous wait again!
Asked me to do a pregnancy test which was negative and I hopped onto the bed and put my feet in the stirrups, felt more comfortable than a smear at the doctors with my fists under my bum.
The speculum was a bit uncomfortable going in but once it was in place it was fine. I didn’t feel anything when she put the liquid on. She looked and said it actually didn’t look like there were any high grade changes so I could either choose a biopsy or she was happy to remove the cells anyway. I asked what she thought was best and she said as I am not planning on any more children she would just remove them.
Not going to lie, the local anaesthetic hurt a lot but it was only momentary. It made my heart beat really fast and my legs shake but the nurse just helped me breathe through it and it was fine.
Once that had taken effect there was a bit of pulling and prodding which felt like pressure but it was totally bearable. The smell of burning was a bit weird but apart from that was fine.
The whole appointment lasted about 25 minutes and then they asked me to stay for another 15 while they made sure I was ok. They brought me a cup of tea and some biscuits while I recovered.
So, all in all probably not worth worrying about so much! Not something I would be in a rush to do again but I will be a lot more relaxed if I have to have another one. Now just to wait for the results and hope that she was right and they aren’t high grade changes!
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