Hi, my name is Heather and I had a Pap smear for the first time in a few years a few months ago. The pap, like every other I’ve ever had, was normal, but because of my age (37) and symptoms (pain during sex, pink discharge, irregular periods, pelvic pain) they also tested for hpv. That came back positive. So I was scheduled for a colposcopy, which I had 10 days ago. The nurse who performed it noted a lot of abnormalities and took 5 biopsies. 3 of them I found out yesterday showed high grade cervical dysplasia (CIN3) and 2 showed moderate changes. My ecc was negative though.
Now I’m waiting for an appt with an actual dr, which is on the 12th of February, to see what the plan is from here. I’ve done some looking and can’t find anything about people who had normal smears but high-grade dysplasia on colposcopies. I’m a little confused and concerned because in the past, just like this recent time on Halloween, my paps/smears have always been normal but apparently I’ve been exposed to HPV a long time ago and the only reason that’s been identified is because of my age/symptoms.
I read that there are no symptoms with cervical dysplasia, so it doesn’t explain the pain and discharge I’ve regularly been experiencing for at least 8 months.
So my question I guess is, did anyone else have normal paps but a concerning colposcopy? And how can they tell if it’s just pre-cancerous cells versus cancer from that biopsy?
Hi Heather,
My PAP wasn't normal, but the results came back as ASCUS. Which is atypical cells of undetermined significance, ( but probably of benign origin). Meaning my cells weren't abnormal but didn't look normal either. It's one level up from a "normal" pap. My doctor assured me that it was probably nothing and it's a very common result. He sent me for a colposcopy just to be safe...and I ended up having CIN 3. I understand how shocking it can be to end up with severe abnormalities when the PAP indicated that there was nothing sinister going on!
Chances are, you'll be given a LEEP (LLETZ). They will send that tissue off to pathlogy as well just to confirm the level of CIN and to ensure they got it all. Sometime the LEEP comes back with a different CIN grading than the colposcopy biospy but it's a very effective treatment for CIN and the vast majority of women won't need any further treatment after the LEEP.
Thank you for responding Marie! I hope that everything is okay once they do another procedure. Another question I have, either for you or anyone else who might know, is if I can just get a hysterectomy instead of a LEEP? I already have 4 kids and my SO had had a vasectomy, so I’m not looking to preserve fertility. But if I can get them to do a hysterectomy, can they still do biopsies in the tissues?
i still am having pink or brown discharge every day, and I’ve had a bladder infection that’s not responded to antibiotics for over a year. Im hopeful that the discharge is just related to the UTI but I would like to remove all of the non-essential organs. Can they go straight to a complete hysterectomy or do you have to get a cone biopsy first?
