I finally got my colposcopy yesterday after getting a second opinion on my symptoms (thanks for the advice Tivoli ;-) )
the consultant said that he could see an area he wanted to do diathermy on and he wanted to take a biopsy. Is this the same as Lletz treatment?
well after it was all over (I fainted halfway through lol what a wimp I am!) I was given a leaflet on Diathermy treatment and told to wait 6weeks for the results of the biopsy and the smear he had taken from further up my cervix than normal.
Today I have no bleeding at all (only slightly yesterday afterwards) but I am experiencing a massive amount of clear liquid which is constantly coming out almost like I am wetting myself but it is not urine, no smell just a slight yellowish tinge to it. Is this normal as I am soaking a pad with this stuff every hour and more comes out everytime i move???
That does sound rather like lymph, you know, if you graze yourself but not badly enough for it to bleed you just get that sort of clear juice? Well that's lymph. But I've never heard of anyone shedding it in such copious quantities as you describe. Might be worth a call to 111 for real medical advice.
No, biopsy is not the same as LLETZ treatment. Biopsy is just taking away a little sample to test in a lab whereas LLETZ takes a much larger slice and then sends it off to the lab for testing. The focus is the other way around.
You are not a wimp for fainting. Did you choose to faint? No, it's something that happens to you, like old ladies 'have a fall' whereas little children fall over. I used to faint all over the place, especially if I was too hot. Are you quite tall? What's your blood pressure like? Lowish? Just wondering.
Many thanks for your reply. Well tbh I don't really know what went on I was given a local anaesthetic injection then a sticky pad was put on my thigh (didn't ask why-any ideas what that was for?) Then he was using heat on the area and taking the biopsy. I think I fainted cause I was so anxious about the whole thing and I found it really uncomfortable and painful at times :-( yeah I'm a prolific fainter since a child, mostly when I'm nervous, hot, thought of needles etc I think it all just got a bit too much lol! And yeah my blood pressure is mostly on the lower side and I'm fairly tall and a bit in the thin side too I really struggle to put weight on.
Thanks for the advice regarding the lymph that makes sense. Yes I think I will give them a call if it hasn't settled by this evening as its really irritating!
I hope you get some advice re the liquid if it doesn't settle. I've had a watery dischatge after LLETZ although not to the degree that you've described.
Diathermy (or loop diathermy) is another way to describe LLETZ, it does sound like that's what you had. The patch is to help 'keep you grounded' as they use an electric current with the LLETZ treatment. They'll send the sample to be looked at the in the lab, hence the term 'biopsy' probably.
Don't worry about fainitng, I'm sure you won't be the first (or last). It's an unpleasant and stressful thing to go through. I've been known to start crying as soon as see the colposcopy chair....
Hope things calm down for you soon and that all turns out well. Take care.
So with it being most likely what I've seen as Lletz treatment on this site, would he have seen some CIN cells in order to want to remove them or merely just a patch of cells to "treat" on my cervix? Because it wasn't mentioned at the time as I was all stressed out he just said to me there's an area I want to treat and I'll do a biopsy is that ok, I said yes and then was given the local and then had the patch stuck on then he started doing something but I was too busy flaking out lol! I wish I would've asked as I'm sure that when ladies have abnormal smears then they have colposcopies then get told CIN 1/2/or 3 then have them removed via Lletz and wait for results to confirm? Sorry I'm just confused as I had a clear smear 18 months ago and only went for the colp due to symptoms.
Bless you it sounds like you've been through a lot I'm not surprised the tears come when you see the colp room :-( I was shocked at my own reaction with how stressful and uncomfortable I found it as from what I've read on here most ladies are far braver at it than me!!!
Many thanks again and best wishes for your follow up colp,
With LLETZ/diathermy they remove the abnormal area plus some healthy tissue. They look to get clear margins, so in the lab they check for the grade of the cells (CIN 1, 2, 3 etc) and that the edges of the removed tissue have no abnormal cells in them.
It's understandable that you were thrown in that situation. I think it's the shock as much as anything and we're all different. Maybe it wasn't explained as well as it could have been, some docotrs are better at that than others. Forgetting to ask questions is normal (but also I think you don't know what questions to ask). 'See and treat' clinics are common nowadays (where the do the LLETZ there and then, which is good in some ways but also doesn't give you time to prepare yourself. They give a shot of adrenaline too, that can make you feel strange. I felt like my heart as going to jump out my chest.
I just wanted to say that there are some advantages to being a bit tallish and a bit thinnish and it being a bit of a struggle to putting weight on even if one drawback is a tendency to faint all over the place :-) Hope the fluid issue is resolved by now.
Many thanks for the info, its a lot clearer now thankyou. Yes the adrenaline sounds about right too as I was sick a few times after I had fainted, must've been that perhaps as the nurse said it can make you feel a bit weird.
Xx
Hi Tivoli,
Yes I think you are right lol :-)
Xx
Fluid issue has slowed down which is good news, still crampy pain in the abdomen though but guess that comes with the territory..
And I'm all too aware that I have just jumped on the waiting for results train, hopefully won't be as long as 6 weeks.....
Can I just say at the risk of sounding soppy lol but you ladies on here don't realise how much you affect peoples lives in such a positive way, just by sitting down and replying to people with kind words of support and advice you make people like me feel better going to sleep at night knowing that someone cares enough to respond and that I am not alone in the way I am feeling, and I honestly can't thank you enough. All the ladies on Jo's are wonderful and its people like you all that deserve MBE's and awards as you are genuinely making a difference to people lives.
Well after that dramatic thankyou I best scuttle and hide in a corner lol!
Thanks for your comments, that's really sweet of you.
The waiting is far from easy but I hope you'll get good news with your results. Most women are successfully treated with LLETZ so hopefully this will soon be all behind you.
Yes, thank you for that little speech, worthy of the Oscars :-) But the only reason that we are here, all of us, is that we know exactly how it feels to be scared and how comforting it is to have somebody hold your hand.
Hi Shell, Thanks for posting this as I am experiencing something similar (the clear liquid). I have had no blood whatsoever since the colp/biopsy.
I was a mess during my colp too....really shaking from the anaesthetic and felt sick. Definitely couldnt have done it without the 2 nurses holding my hand!!
I have no idea what if any treatment i had but like you I had the cold pad put on my thigh to 'ground me' due to using heat. I have no idea what the heat was....could it be for the biopsy? Or could i have had some sort of treatment and not been told?
I am quite worried about the discharge as there is an awful lot and i need to change pad every hour or so but hopefully it will settle down.
Just a 4 week wait for results now as I know nothing about what was done apart from the biopsy.....
it is scary but reading the lovely comments on here help!
