I hope u don't mind me joining here but I was after some advice..
Really quite freaked out right now.
So I have an endometrial polyp that im due to have removed,went to gynea appointment before the op and she noticed a problem with my cervix and it bled..a lot,very easily. Gp already did infection swabs and clear so that's not the cause,no contraception to cause problems either.
So she referred me for an urgent coloscopy and biopsy .. And did a liquid based smear as gp couldn't do normal due to irregular bleeds (my first smear so no previous abnormal)
So I receive a copy of the referral letter a couple days back,states significant erosion to the cervix and blood significantly to touch.
I expected 16 week wait as the hospital website says and it's always a long wait.. I got the letter today.. Appointment for the coloscopy in 2 weeks! That's quick right?
I keep reading about the 2 week rule if they suspect cancer and now I get a very quick appointment..
Now my mind is a whirl and to be honest running away with me!!
I'm scared about the coloscopy and biopsy.. Not sure what to expect at all!
Hi Leanne, I havent experienced exactly the same thing but I wanted to offer a bit of reassurance about the 2 week thing. When I had my smear everything appeared fine (abnormal smears are unusual in girls your age etc.) and jsut under two weeks later I'm getting a call from the Urgent Bookings line at the hospital telling me I have an appointment in exactly a weeks time under the care of a consultant. I . Freaked . Out . it took days for me to get a letter and any more information (and by that point i was so far gone in my head I didn't care what the letter said). However, for any cases where they suspect high grade dysk. (I had moderate which is classed as high, as well as high itself for some lovely confusing reason) they aim to see you in 2 weeks or less. It doesnt necessarily mean they suspect cancer, it just means they want to be a bit more vigilant and check things out quicker so if it is anything nasty the can react and remove without waiting :)
I know it's so much easier said than done from the other side, but try not to panic and think of it that at least, if there is something wrong, you're in the system and being seen as soon as possible. Take someone with you for your colposcopy! That's my best advice lol. Someone who you don't mind seeing you scared and who can listen to everything they tell you (I remember they talked to me for a bit but I couldn't tell you what they said!) and who can hold your hand while you're in there. My other best tip (which I did not practice at my most recent smear and it was horriffic) is try and relax as much as possible in there. Something that worked for me was not holding my belly in. This might sound odd, but I naturally pull my stomach muscles in, and if I actively didnt do this during the colposcopy everything felt better, the speculum didnt feel as weird, my legs relaxed, and it gave me something else to focus on becuase it's instinctive for my to hold my belly in I really had to concentrate on not doing lol.
Also, find something that takes your mind off the wait and totally overuse it (I did A LOT of sudoku - again, it's all about distraction lol) x x x x
Hello I just had my second colposcopy yesterday and it really wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. With regard to the 2 week appointment, when I had my first smear last year (aged 24) I had borderline results with HPV and I was seen in colposcopy in under 2 weeks of my smear. I then moved and this time I've had to wait 6 weeks for colposcopy (mild dyskaryosis and HPV) so it may just depend on the hospital. Please try not to worry xx
Jan 13 - borderline with HPV
Feb 13 - colposcopy - no treatment
Feb 14 - mild dyskaryosis with HPV
Mar 14 - colposcopy - awaiting results of biopsies
I haven't had lletz as I'm waiting on my biopsy results but the colposcopy wasn't painful at all and the staff are so lovely. It's similar to the smear in that you have the speculum and i couldn't even feel the dye when they put it on. I felt the biopsy being taken but they get you to cough which does help - it just feels like period cramping and then the silver nitrate they put on to seal wound stings a bit (bit like lemon juice on a cut) but again it's over so quickly. I just have cramps now and light/medium loss so not too bad at all. The colposcopy is over so quickly though and they talk you through everything and one of the nurses stayed head end talking to me the whole time which was a good distraction. I'm sorry I can't be much help with the lletz procedure though :-( they told me there and then what her opinion is of my cells but did a biopsy in case there were any surprises. It's definitely a good idea to take your partner with you and I know it's easy to say but please try not to worry xx
Jan 13 - borderline with HPV
Feb 13 - colposcopy - no treatment
Feb 14 - mild dyskaryosis with HPV
Mar 14 - colposcopy - awaiting results of biopsies
Hiya, I had my smear the 7th results the 14th colposcopy 24th so all very quick and I have CIN3 I'm booked in for the op under GA next week
I think it really does depend on the NHS trust you're based under on how quickly you get your results, a colposcopy is a bit like a smear except the bed is a whole lot more comfortable then the bed at the GPs office! The only time I got a touch sensitive is when the biopsy was taken again it wasn't painful but i had worked myself up and expected it to be painful and it really wasn't it felt like someone had nipped me inside it was over within seconds the nurses were both lovely and explained everything that was going on whilst the consultant was doing it he never spoke to me though! i can't tell you about the Lletz as I'm having it under general next week due to the area being large. I had my sister with me and she was a god send I felt really shaky for a few hours afterwards.
Definitely agree with the others - colposcopy isn't 'painful' and I definitely found it much more comfortable and bearable than my smear (these guys insert speculums all day every day so they're good at it) I was a bit surprised when I was asked to cough (which lightened the mood!) and I had to cough three of four times becuse you need to give it a good one... When the dye went on I felt a bit...cold/tingly? inside but it wasn't painful... kind of like when you get nail varnish remover on you and it makes your skin feel really cold. Then I had LLETZ right away. I thought I had injections but my mum thought I had some anaesthetic gel - either way I didnt feel anything apart from a weird warm sensation (this may have something to do with me thinking a distraction might help, so I dug my nails into my hands like there was no tomorrow). Then they stick a bit gel pad to your thigh to conduct the electricity (this might get warm during the procedure - don't panic lol) and my little and ring fingers tingled from the anaesthetic (but I didnt get shaky legs or a racing heart - I think everyone's different) then the actual LLETZ took a couple of minutes - definitely no more than 5. then I had to sit legs akimbo, speculum in for a few minutes while the cauterisation set. Then I was free to sit up and compose myself (this took a while. Mainly becuase 1) I didn't know if I was going to pass out and 2) I couldn't stop crying. But I got loads of time to get myself together and get dressed, and then they fetched me a cuppa with lots of sugar :) I didnt feel any pain during the procedure but fairly soon after I got period like cramps (much worse than my usual ones, but I'm on the pill and they're nothing compared to what I used to get when I wasnt on the pill) and generally felt sorry for myself (and v.spaced out) for a couple of days.
I asked my nurse colposcopist how it looked when the solution was on, becuase everything had gone very quiet! And she said she couldn't really say anything for certain, but it looked better than she was expecting, which reassured me a bit, but you can't know for sure until the resutls.
It's going to be a rough time until your appointment and your results and there's no way to get round that, but try and find something that takes your mind off things :) and make sure you eat and sleep (as much as you can!) and definitely don't think you're alone or you're overreacting or anything - come on Jos!! x
I feel so much better now,I was in a right panic about the actual procedure.. I can just about deal with a smear and everything is so tender at the minute!
Feeling much more relaxed about it now.
I phoned the hospital about smear results, there's a back log on the smears so I have about another week to wait for them,said I shouldn't panic as I'm in for the coloscopy anyway so the smear results are not that important but will ring as soon as in and the consultant has looked at them...so I wait!
Going to try and push it to the back of my mind for a couple weeks :)
Best of luck to all of u and thanks so much for your help :)
Still no smear results.. Phoned hospital yesterday as they said 2/3 weeks and it's now 3,they said there's a back log,no idea how long :(
I'm assuming as she referred me for colposcopy without the smear results there not that fussed about smear results, she saw something so knows already something not right.
I read a story of some one with very similar symptoms to me, bleeding raw eroded cervix with pain and bleeding (postcoitial) also significant bleeding to the cervix on touch.. The girl said she expected the smear to show cin3/cis... Because of her symptoms.. It did show it..
It got me thinking, should I realistically be preparing myself for bad news? Or is that silly to do?
These symptoms have been going on over a year (i thought related to the womb problems I'm having too) smear a year overdue, I did try to get it done at gps but too much blood so gynea did it when she saw something in my cervix.
The fact she can see a large raw patch doesn't sound good to me..
My head is a mess,I just want these smear results before colposcopy so I know what I'm facing!!
