Hi all,
Apologies in advance for a long post…I’m just wondering if anyone else has been through a similar situation if there is any kind of advice anyone can offer as I feel very lost. I had my first colposcopy and results came back showing nothing so I had to have a second colposcopy due to the discrepancy between these results and the smear results.
This was a surprise as none of the letters regarding this appointment mentioned it would be another colposcopy which caused me to have an anxiety attack. During this appointment a new colposcopist said again that it did not look so bad and that because of my age(28) it’s likely they won’t offer treatment and will postpone it for as long as possible due to the risks associated with this. In my opinion the lesions looked worse than in the first colposcopy. She suggested it should be monitored instead by having a colposcopy done every 6 months. Second biopsy results now confirmed both CIN2 and CIN1 present.
After 1 month they have had their team meeting and discussed my case and they’ve booked me for a colposcopy 6 months from now, no explanation or anything, no other consultation offered prior. So I am assuming they have decided to offer me a conservative management plan after I’ve expressed how anxious I feel about this process and how it’s been affecting me mentally as this has been going on for 6 months already and that I would like to be able to choose to have the treatment instead depending on the findings. The other issue is that I don’t have specific details about absolutely anything not even the strain of hpv!
It is insane to me how a decision can just be made for the patient without the patient participating in the conversation?! I feel that my case is being undermined due to “being young” as this was constantly repeated to me for the sake of avoiding LLETZ risks associated with mainly childbirth as I have not had any children yet. I’m not even sure if I can have children so I would rather not prioritise that over my own health.
I feel that I’m not in control of my own body which is making me more and more mentally ill which is not good for my health either so it is not helping the situation. Although I’m being healthy, taking supplements, quit smoking etc I’m very concerned and anxious that it’s still going to get worse and I will need to have the even more invasive treatment than LLETZ and I am tired of having to constantly advocate for myself to literally every medical practitioner and never be listened to. I don’t feel great about having a colposcopy every 6 months for the next 2 years and be in the dark constantly waiting for results each time…especially as there is basically very limited communication from the medical practitioners, no advice no anything, everything that I know is based on my own research from studies and statistics I have found online.
Is it crazy to prefer to have the LLETZ treatment instead?
Is this medical behaviour normal or am I overreacting?
Is there a chance they will actually take my feelings and opinion into consideration?
Has anyone else been through this and how did you manage?
Thank you if you’ve made it this far x
