Firstly, thank goodness for this group and forum, it' kept me semi positive, however some advice or reassurance would be most grateful. I have suffered from heavy periods all my adult life, had regular smears which have always been clear. In 2013 I had ablation to stop the heavy bleeding and have been period free since.....until 6 months ago. Each month the bleeding has become worse (not as bad as my previous periods) and full of yuck - clots etc. I went to Dr 2 weeks ago with headache and she diagnosed viral infection (I had been off colour with cold symptoms) but I also took the opportunity to discuss my bleeding. She refered me for various blood tests and suggested a double appointment for an internal. My appointment was Fri 17th Nov, at this appointment she confirmed bloods were all good and carried out the internal, this is where it starts to go wrong. She told me that she could see two leisons on my cervix and that she really wasn't happy and wanted me to see a gynocologist ASAP (within 2 weeks) she took a smear and told me that the leisons were at 9 and 3 o'cock. She asked if I wanted to phone my husband or if I wanted to get a cup of tea, her reaction had scared me. I said I was okay and that id go see my husband straight away, she then told me that if I wanted to go back with him, just to call at anytime. I then received a call from the hospital at 9am on Monday morning, offering me an appointment at the hospital on Monday 27th Nov. She arranged for a CA125 blood test (it came back normal today) but im so sacred by her reaction and although really pleased at the efficency of the hospital also worried why it is so quick. Could she have seen something to make her so worried? is her reaction normal? On a plus she said my cervix was soft but due to my obvious discomfort didn' want to go up into the womb. I' so scared as I lost my best friend 7 years ago to cervical cancer, her symptoms were bleeding post sex and pain, neither of which I have. However I do get severally bloated, I'm just a mess at the moment
OK. Well, you are in the right place to get information and support from plenty of people who have been in your position. Take a deep breath and try not to panic. This happened to me too and I remember wanting that appointment as fast as possible. The feeling of being so out of control, but also being at the beginning of a roller coaster ride that hasn't started yet but you can't get off now, was overwhelming and at times, sickening to me - but it does get better with the more you know. You'll need to pace yourself because there'll probably be more waiting for results after that appointment too and the possibility of scans.
First of all, your GP has done exactly the right thing. She's not a gynae expert, but she's probably seen enough of women's bits to 'pattern match' when something is out of the ordinary. The two week urgent referral thing is standard protocol when that happens. It's not that she thinks it's terrible, it's because she's obliged to follow the referral guidelines made by the NHS and based on international best practice. It's designed to either rule out problems or fast track you into diagnostic & treatment protocols as fast as possible to get you the best outcome.
At your appointment, you will almost certainly have another vaginal/ cervical examination and probably a repeat cervical smear. It is also possible that you might have a trans vaginal ultrasound scan which involves a lot of lubricating jelly and is little undignifying but shouldn't hurt. They will probably examine your abdomen and also take a detailed medical history from you - again! I don't know if this helps you, but the first thing I did at that appointment was burst into tears and say that I was terrified & convinced that I had cancer. I doubt if I was the first or last to do that. (For what it's worth I did, but here I am a year later, out the other side of treatment and tremendously relieved that I had that emergency appointment. Without it, I would have been very seriously ill by now.)
So, try to remind yourself that this is the best position for you to be in right now. Your GP took you seriously, followed the protocol and you are already on track to get this sorted out. The alternative is that you didn't go to your GP, or that she fobbed you off or told you there was no problem, and you could have been walking around without worrying but a small problem getting slowly worse until it becomes a bigger problem with much less that can be done about it.
Try to stay off Google until you have some clearer idea of what you are dealing with, and even then it's often more of a worry than a help. Lots of the statistics are at least five years out of date and treatment moves forward all the time. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, that must have been an awful time for all of you. However, you are not a google statistic nor are you your friend. You are uniquely you and right now you have more questions than answers, so, one step at a time eh?
Try to be kind to yourself. I'll be thinking of you on the 27th. x
Thank you Cheery1, it's such a rollercoaster,I need tomorrow but also don' won't it to come. This forum is such a help and I truley appreciate your response im scared and just someone taking the time to respond means the world. I wish you all the best with your journey xx
