Went for my first smear test in 7 years and got my results on Monday, letter says that HPV was found and also cell changes were seen so now awaiting an appointment for a Colposcopy. After reading the information leaflet I realised that I’d actually been having symptoms for a good few years, the spotting between periods I’d just put down to age and possible menopause symptoms, and always thought that pain during sex and spotting after was just normal for me, but now worrying about Colposcopy and possible results, especially as I already have several health issues including a few auto immune conditions , any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you
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I received the exact same letter and I was really upset. I’m quite an anxious person anyway but the letter is horrible. Nobody wants to read the words high risk and changes and it’s vague enough to let your imagination run riot. If you contact your GP they should be able to give you more details around what grade your changes are….low, moderate or severe. Mine were classed as low grade changes although I’m now waiting on the results from my colposcopy to confirm this. Depending on the results they will decide if I need treatment or not. I’m 42 though and given how long I’ve been married I suspect I must have had HPV unknowingly for a long time. This worries me as it looks like I’m one of the unlucky ones that won’t clear it so I would rather have some form of treatment than the wait and see approach.
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Thank you very much for your reply, going to phone my GP this morning and see if I can get a phone consultation. I’m 45 and for as long as I can remember I’ve always had gynae and bowel issues , I’ve only ever had 3 smear tests as every time it’s been agony, the nurse had trouble finding my cervix as it kept disappearing, but totally agree it’s not really the kind of news you want to receive in a letter.
The letters are just crap aren’t they. Very scary but the vast majority of the time they are just catching things early and preventing anything worse down the line.
Try not to overthink your symptoms. There are so many things that can cause the issues you’ve described, and on top of that, presumably your last smear was fine, even if it was 7 years ago. Hopefully your GP can give you some good information.
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I’m pretty sure it must have been fine, I can’t actually remember getting the results, but presumably if it wasn’t okay then I would have heard something over the years. Doctor wasn’t very helpful, according to her notes it just said moderate dyskaryosis, and was advised not to worry and just wait for colposcopy appointment, I’ve looked at information on this site and Google as had no idea what dyskaryosis was, so feeling a bit better, it’s just knowing that it’s at least 7 weeks to wait for appointment letter, then the wait for actual appointment, thank you for your reply 
