Hi all,
I am looking for some advice/reassurance or similar experiences with my situation, I am very very nervous so please be kind! :-)
I had my first baby when I was just 25 so had not had any smear tests beforehand.
During one of my follow up appointments with a midwife following my LO's birth she told me not to have a smear test for at least 12 months as it would almost certainly come back as abnormal. I have now been told that this information is inaccurate which I am very annoyed about :-/
Anyway, I went for my first smear and the results came back inadequate, unable to test the sample. So I booked for a second smear, again, inadequate.
I went for a third smear and the nurse read some notes that the lab tech testing my samples had put on the system. The notes said that there were a high number of polymorph cells present in the sample which meant they were unable to get an accurate result.
She explained she was going to do a cervical clean! To try and get a better sample. So fast forward a week, and I have just received the results in the post today, INADEQUATE!
The letter explained I would receive an appointment for a colposcopy in the next five days and I am absolutely terrified :-(
So my questions are, has anyone else had a similar experience? Does the high number of polymorph cells mean I am at a higher risk of cervical cancer? What do polymorph cells even mean?
Thank you all in advance xxx
Hi. How unkind of them to send you away without any explanation other than that adjective. I don’t know what it means either. But it seems that they can’t get a sample to analyse from you so are going with the best and safest option, which is a colposcopy. The gyn will be able to see your cervix magnified and do all sorts of tests if needed. And he should be able to answer your questions. If you can’t wait until then and nobody here knows about these cells, then you could book a gp appointment to ask for their thoughts on it. Good luck.
Hello! I googled it and a previous Jo's Trust forum thread came up: http://www.jostrust.org.uk/node/7733 - sounds like 'polymorphs' are just white blood cells, which might be fighting a minor infection or something. Certainly does NOT sound like a sign of anything bad. Some women do seem to have trouble having an adequate smear taken; one of my friends had that problem and so had a colposcopy to check everything was okay - and it was! Colposcopy is just an automatic referral if they keep getting inadequates. It doesn't mean they suspect anything; just that they need an alternative way to check everything's okay :)
Colposcopies really aren't that bad; not much more to them than a smear test really. Even having punch biopsies taken has not been painful or unpleasant in my experience, even though it sounds like it should be! I must admit I've had diazepam for both of mine but I am a rather nervous soul and I think it was 'fear of the unknown' more than anything!
xxx
Hi Ladies,
I wanted to thank the two lovelies that replied to my post and made me feel much better and also give you a quick update.
So I had the colposcopy today and the Dr was really lovely. She explained that she would be doing a repeat smear and having a look at my cervix.
It turns out I have an ectopy, which is where the inner cervix is outside the cervix so looks like a red ring.
At this point I was shaking conviced that it was bad news. But she explained that it's quite common and doesn't normally require treatment.
However if this smear is also inadequate then they will treat the ectopy first and then do another smear.
So I'm still not any further really, on a positive she said everything looks healthy, so now another 4-6 weeks of waiting.
Thanks
