I am just looking for some advice and support as i have nowhere else to turn. The past 6 months or so my periods have got progressively heavier and longer teamed with crippling cramps and constant bloating. I havent had a smear in 10 years but i started to bleed with very severe pains in my abdomen so i went for a smear due to these concerns. This was on august 3rd and during the oast few weeks i hage been spotting fresh pink/red when i wipe and very sore hollow ache all the time. I rang my GP to chase up the results to be told the wait time. IS 12 WEEKS! Was shunned off the phone and told to await my results in the post. I was gobsmacked. Thisnis affecting my work and my mental health i already suffer from anxiety and depression from losing my 4 week old baby due to a medical mistake in 2015. I just dont know where to turn
I’m not sure if you advised the gp of your symptoms or just booked a smear test? Please arrange a gp appointment for symptom investigation rather than waiting for smear test results.
The smear test is a screening test, not a diagnostic test, and it looks like you really need investigation of your symptoms as a priority. Please don’t be fobbed off and told to wait for your smear results-you need for this to be dealt with now, not potentially in 3 months. The smear test is looking for hpv, and potentially from that an investigation of cells, and you need to be properly investigated for significant symptoms.
I’m so sorry to read what you went through with your baby, and no wonder you are anxious and depressed. Please try and get a gp appointment so that you can be referred if necessary to a specialist. x
Thanks for your reply. Yes i informed them it was due to having some worrying symptoms, at first the nurse had trouble locating my cervix it was quite traumatic to be honest. Anyway… i rang my gp today said i was having symptoms more frequent and more painful and also now bleeding. I went down and she said oh im not too worried your cervix “was fine” yet it took the nurse 15 minutes to locate my cervix and actually perform the smear and the abdominal CT scan i had at the hospital wasnt showing anything worrying, but yet the pain was enough for me to go to A&E with the crippling pains. So today she put me on the mini pill (i have a coil in) she said it would regulate my hormones and hopefully help with the bleeding but would take 3-6 months to work and just to await potentially another 5 weeks (its already been 7 weeks) i feel absolutely let down and not being listened to at all. Cannot believe the 12 week wait time here in northern ireland its shocking.
Gosh, @Lou-lynn, I find that absolutely shocking, and feel really sorry for you. Waiting weeks for a smear result and then months for something to “hopefully” help with bleeding is unacceptable. No-one has actually diagnosed what is wrong yet and you’ve already had 6 months of symptoms!
It seems that the focus is on a smear being the answer to everything, when it’s not, and that’s very unhelpful for you. I’d be trying to see another doctor I think, or a gynaecologist. x
Hi @Lou-lynn, sorry to hear you are having such a tough, worrying time. I wanted to reinforce what you have been told regarding the turnaround times for smear results in N. Ireland. I had my smear on the 7th April and his year, and only received results on 18th July, some 14 + weeks after! In fact I didn’t actually receive the results in the post until a few weeks after that - I simply received a phone call from the hospital booking department looking to book me in to the colposcopy clinic, which came as a total shock. Your symptoms do sound worrying and clearly something isn’t right. However, it might be something completely different to the worst case scenario you may have built up in your head. Hopefully your doctor has nailed it on the head and the pill will rectify your issues. If however you don’t feel confident that the doctor assessed you correctly please do go and get a second opinion - nobody knows your body better than you. Quite often in these situations us ladies have to fight our way forward unfortunately.
