Painful Colposcopy

Just completed my colposcopy and biopsy and my goodness I’m in a world of pain :sob: I literally screamed throughout, it was excruciating. Happy its over and will have results in a week. The gynae who did it told me that cervical cancer has no pain and I will be one in a million if I end up having cervical cancer because of my pain. I just nodded along. She also said she couldn’t see anything wrong w my cervix. If the biopsy results come back clear then I will give up this fight.

Hi Jemma,
That sounds awful. Was it the biopsy that was excruciating? Everyone is different and everyone seems to have different experiences. Everyone has different pain thresholds too. I wonder also does it depend who is doing the colposcopy as it’s a bit like a smear test some people can do them painlessly while other times I’ve felt pain.

I had my first colposcopy last December as I had a “suspicious cervix” when I went for my smear test which couldn’t proceed as my cervix was inflamed. Having never had children the colposcopy was a bit daunting for me putting your legs up on stirrups etc. The actual examination was fine, for me it wasn’t much different to a smear test but maybe a bit longer as they put two solutions on the cervix to highlight abnormal areas. That part was pain free, just a bit cold. I had a biopsy taken and for me it felt like a quick little pinch. I didn’t have any needles or local anaesthetic. Later on that day it was a bit painful sitting down but I didn’t need to take pain relief. As scary as it was it is so important to relax, it’s more painful when everything is tensed up.

I had CIN3 changes and I opted to have them treated using Cold Coagulation instead of Lletz. I am going back soon for my 6 month check up post treatment and I really hope I don’t need more treatment.

I hope you are ok and fingers crossed for good news with the biopsy results so you don’t have to go back there.

Yes it was definitely the biopsy that was the painful part, I’m used to the whole procedure of legs up and speculum in lol but the biopsy I was definitely not prepared for. I’m glad your treatment was successful and I hope you won’t have to have any more going forward as well. I’m quite anxious about my results as I’ve been having worrying symptoms and been told constantly by doctors that I can’t possibly have cervical cancer because I’m too young despite having all these issues. It’s a bit frustrating but I do hope the biopsy gives some answers. All the best w your check up xx

Jemma,

I’m glad your colposcopy is over now, although it is definitely not a pleasant experience! A number of us who have had cervical cancer will confirm what the doctors are telling you - that the pains in your back, pelvis, legs and even knees you have described in other posts are not commensurate with cancer. Cervical cancer does not manifest as shooting pains. If your colposcopy is clear, which I hope for your sake it will be, please open your mind to other possibilities and find out what is going on with your back and pelvis. You could well have a trapped nerve or some other issue, and it deserves attention. But if you are clear, please try to put the cervical cancer possibility to one side. I don’t know what things are like in South Korea (where I believe you are) but you should be able to ask for a referral to an osteopath or at least a physiotherapist to find out why these pains are getting worse - also the bleeding, which I think you’ve reported - there are lots of other reasons than cancer as to why you may have excessive bleeding, and someone obviously needs to be able to help you, as you are feeling wretched with worry. You were on antibiotics for endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease, I believe? These are much more likely to explain your symptoms. Being away from your family at this time must be really adding to your stress, and I hope your situation can be sorted out quickly.

2 Likes

Jemma,

I’m new to the forum, so I’m not entirely sure of the nature of your worrying symptoms, but I saw another user reply and mention pains in your back, pelvis, legs - obviously everyone’s situation is so different and I’m not any kind of medical expert, but I just wanted to say that separate to going through my own abnormal smear, I’ve been in physio for back issues and at times because of my anxiety, I’ve convinced myself it’s something sinister or even when my smear came back abnormal, that it’s somehow connected or a bad sign.

But I’ve also had reassurance that cervical cancer doesn’t come with pain as a symptom and through physio, I’ve had such an eye-opener about how various things can affect your body. This probably sounds odd, but at first I didn’t even know I had back issues because my first symptoms were, ok, some aching in my back, but mostly shooting pains in my arms and legs and some pins and needles and numbness. I made the terrible mistake of searching online and convinced myself I had everything awful, but I’ve since learned that tension in my back is causing referred nerve pain elsewhere and the cause is probably part mechanical from having a desk job with long hours and part stress, probably caused by work and life and exacerbated by Covid and lockdowns etc.

Your issue may be something else, but I know how worrying it is to have symptoms and not know why, so I just wanted to say I hope you get to the bottom of it and I hope my situation shows it can turn out to be something you didn’t realise and which is entirely fixable.

3 Likes

Hi :slight_smile: thank you, I really appreciate you saying this, I am definitely going to look into seeing a Physio after I get my results. It’s been a struggle just walking around my home because of this pain so it definitely needs to be dealt with ASAP.

Yes I definitely will have to! I just needed to have that peace of mind that it’s not that before I continued with other investigations into my symptoms. I do think I’ve let my anxiety get the better of me as well but it’s been hard to think clearly because of the pain :confused: