I am 25 years of age and in November of this year I had my first Cervical Smear, I was called into the doctors upon the arrival of my results and told that I had abnormalities. This news was a bit of shock as I immediately thought of invasive techniques and needles but the nurse explained about the colposcopy process and I felt better about it. I attended my colposcopy appointment on 23rd December of this year and was told I had fallen into the high grade of abnormality and therefore they wanted to proceed with the loop excision of abnormal cells and a screening done to diagnose the abnormal cells. I was never told by my doctor that I fell into the high grade category and I didn't expect to have to deal with my needle phoebia as abruptly as I did, it was very distressing. I gritted my teeth however and thought about all the women who had to have the same crappy news dumped on them and maybe how much braver they were than me so therefore I should really get a grip. I switched off during my consult because of everything I was trying to process and deal with and now a few days on I can't really recall much of the info the nurse relayed to me about what my high grade meant and what was going to happen etc... All I know it seems is that I won't know anything for 3-4 weeks - I'm quite practical usually and trying to get on with Christmas but I'm annoyed that I'm having to drag the wait into the new year - am I being silly about all of this? One minute I'm feeling fine as much as one can but the next when I'm on my own I struggle.
Any advice appreciated.
hello there, i had my abnormal smear end oct and 2nd dec went for my colposcopy and am still waiting for biopsy results so i am still none the wiser as to what they saw really or if anything will be needed to be done about it which is annoying.....the good if thats the right word is that they treated you there and then and from what i can tell from the forum you tend to find out quite quick the results but call the clinic that you had it done and they may be able to help xx
Hi, thanks for your reply. It's a time of uncertainty and that's hard, I want to tell myself it'll be fine but I can't because the reality of it is I can't make myself any promises of 'certainty'. I hope you get your results soon so that you're able to get on with treatment if necessary. X
I hope you get some certainty soon. i know all to well the waiting process of an abnormal smear, although things move quickly in the term weeks, it's feels like a lifetime, it's like knowing how long the piece of string is.
be brave and try your best to keep smiling, positive thoughts and all that fluff. But the main thing is that you had your smear and now they know something wrong it can be fixed xx
My doctor's nurse is so sweet and kind and she always calls with my results whether they're good or bad. She always tells me when I'm allowed to start freaking out (except for this last smear when she wasn't the one who called!) so the nurses and doctors are going to take care of you. Please don't freak out! The only needle you need to worry about during a Loop excision is the one you can't see or feel anyway when the local anesthetic goes into your cervix. I felt nothing, and I mean nothing, when I had my LEEP(I live in the US) in June. The only disconcerting thing is the smell of the burned cells as the loop cauterizes the cells. THAT'S IT.
Remember: Though you may have a high-grade abnormality, you DO NOT HAVE CANCER. These are pre-cancerous cells that the doctors will remove so they cannot get to cancer.
You will be fine!
Thanks to everyone for the support and reassuring words, it's greatly appreciated. I can't wait until I'm fully up and running again, I've been told because I've had stupidly heavy bleeding that I can't exercise or ride and it's having the effect of a lead balloon on me!!... The post LLETZ period is rubbish and I'm sick and tired of spending a small fortune on sanitary pads - they are extortionate!! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and are in good faith that the New Year will bring you a dousing of marvellous moments :) Natalie x
