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Original poster

Smear test - is it normal to find leaves and twigs?

535 replies

User748937744 · 01/10/2025 18:18

Ok, clickbait title - for a reason!

I am in my 40s and had my first smear test today. It was so fine and so quick and so painless and so straightforward and I wish I’d been brave enough to go for all the many years I’ve ignored the invitations!

Aibu to tell as many people as I can who might also never have gone to just do it?

I’ll happily go back next time I’m called.

I only went today because I’ve had some symptoms that were concerning.

It was so built up as something embarrassing and possibly painful in my head and it just wasn’t either.

Please, please go. You can always say you’re nervous and would like to be seen by someone really understanding.

OP posts:
MaybeItsTimeForMeNow · 02/10/2025 23:03

Well done OP for your thread it makes people look and think atleast. I had my second smear last year at nearly 40. My first was ok I guess, i only had it because we were on the cusp of deciding to try for a baby - lucky for me it was clear. then I lost my grandma, and aunts from cervical cancer. I lived in absolute fear of having it done, not because of the process, but the result. I ignored the next couple of calls because I then went on to have two more babies ❤️ but after my last bagy the letter came again. I was shaking when I went, and sobbed when the nurse spoke to me. I didn't care about the procedure, I had had a terrible birth with one of my dc so id be pulled and prodded beyond imagining, but I was terrified of the result. The nurse listened and sympathised then put the swab down for quick turn around. Within a couple of days I had a clear result. I was so relieved, but also so proud of myself. I doubt next time will be any easier but I will do it again because I have seen the other side and I want to have the best chance to beat it if I need to.

JonnieSeagull · 02/10/2025 23:03

Catcooper25uk · 02/10/2025 19:31

For those that wont do it because its "painful" it would be 10x worse if you didn't get it done and then died of cancer all for the sake of a "bit of pain and uncomfortableness" yes it can be painful but the alternative is worse and especially if u have kids and family that would miss you if u died.

The classic false dichotomy; having cancer is not ‘the alternative’ to having a smear.

ruethewhirl · 02/10/2025 22:28

Catcooper25uk · 02/10/2025 20:48

Do you know whats even more painful? Dying a slow death from cancer that could have been avoidable. Sorry I sound blunt but ive had many smears in my lifetime some quite painful but id rather that than the alternative.

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I hear you. It was the trivialisation and mocking of other women's pain that I was objecting to.

bluebettyy · 02/10/2025 22:13

I asked for a smaller sized speculum as I find them
really traumatic and the nurse seemed shocked and advised me not to because I had wide hips! She managed the test and said actually the smaller one may have been better as my cervix hadn’t moved much as I hadn’t given birth vaginally. She does several a day. It shows how unsympathetic and ignorant some hcp’s can be.

Octavia64 · 02/10/2025 22:07

I had mine this afternoon.
they gave me two tablets of diazepam to take an hour before.

it still hurt but it was manageable.

Original poster
User748937744 · 02/10/2025 21:56

Beesarestrong · 02/10/2025 19:28

Yes Clickbait for a reason. You're a TIM. Only women have smears. Hope that helps you, now toddle off.

TIM? Tiny immature man? Tremendously irate mother? Terrifically insipid mammal? What?

Yes, only women have smears. Quite agree.

(I’m a woman btw. In every cell of my body. Cervix included 🫣. No idea why you’d think I was a man, but hey ho.)

OP posts:
katepilar · 02/10/2025 21:55

ScorchingEgg · 02/10/2025 01:51

Unfortunately she fails to tell you the other stats, like how the smear test would never be introduced today if it didn’t already exist because it’s statistically ineffective, causes a vast amount of unnecessary procedures and anxiety (as it produces a high level of false positives resulting in further treatment such as punch biopsies which weaken the cervix and can make pregnancy more dangerous), makes women think they are ‘saved’ from cancer when actually cell changes usually go back to normal, and that a nurse performing smears for approx 40 years is likely to only see one to four cases of actual cancer, most of which would already be symptomatic. The lives ‘saved’ since the introduction of the smear test hasn’t actually changed, statistically, from the data pre-screening.

Smears are one of the biggest farces of modern medicine. Try asking your local practice how much extra they are getting as incentives to push you to have smears. I refuse to act like my body is constantly on the edge of being ‘sick’.

Presumably you’re also demanding scans for brain cancer, since you’re more likely to get that than cervical. No? Why not?

If you want more information, Dr McCartney, a GP who refuses smears herself (and as an aside, as was one of the co-founders of JK Rowling’s rape crisis centres) has a lot of great work and data on smears and screenings generally.

In the spirit of your comments, OP, if my comment makes just one woman critically think about her own health and assess her own risks instead of blinding following along, then I’ll be glad. You seem to fail to realise that medical treatment is a personal choice.

Edited
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Thank you for typing this out, its so refreshing to read.

Askingforafriendtoday · 02/10/2025 21:46

Very helpful post, OP. People put their head in the sand.

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 02/10/2025 21:46

Smear tests can hurt: I agree.

Smear tests are some sort of useless scam: not according to Cancer Research and the NHS, both of whose word I'll take over any number of anonymous strangers on the internet

Calliopespa · 02/10/2025 21:43

Capricornandproud · 01/10/2025 19:14

Mine are AGONY. I’m not having any more unless I’m sedated, and will not be convinced otherwise that if men had to endure smear tests - we’d have made huge advances in fast, painless ways to do them.

that being said, I would encourage anyone who has a cervix to get one - I realise I’m in the minority here re pain and trauma! Well done OP and I’m so glad yours was a breeze!

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Actually I have known someone who was sedated for it. I don't know what kind of sedation - presumably not GA!

Idontpostmuch · 02/10/2025 21:28

Glowingup · 02/10/2025 21:03

Cancer Research UK (and I think they’d know) say 99.8% of cervical cancer is caused by HPV.

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The nurse who does them and posted on this thread said 9%.

Yodeldodeldo · 02/10/2025 21:14

I don't go because I've lost faith.
No help with painful periods since 1994, belittling attitude of midwives during labour.
I've given up on the NHS for help with obs and gynae.

Theresabatinmykitchen · 02/10/2025 21:10

Catcooper25uk · 02/10/2025 20:48

Do you know whats even more painful? Dying a slow death from cancer that could have been avoidable. Sorry I sound blunt but ive had many smears in my lifetime some quite painful but id rather that than the alternative.

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Oh stop with the amateur dramatics, this rhetoric if you don’t have a smear test you will absolutely die an agonisingly painful death from cancer, honestly let women decide for themselves without the hyperbole.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 02/10/2025 21:05

Some posts on this thread are so fucking patronising. It's not just uncomfortable or painful for some of us. The gynaecologist couldn't understand how the nurses at my GP surgery had ever managed to do my smear - the only way was by poking and prodding me around while I cried in pain. Thanks to that lovely gynaecologist I know it doesn't have to be like that but why should I only get treated properly if I go private? If I can't afford to go private I won't be having another one. If the NHS want women to go for testing then they need to treat them like human beings rather than pieces of meat and realise that not everyone is the same.

Sorry for the rant, but it really pisses me off that women are expected to put up and shut up!

Glowingup · 02/10/2025 21:03

Idontpostmuch · 02/10/2025 20:47

But how reliable is that figure? I've heard 0.5%, 1%, 9%, 10%, 5 to15% and 0%.

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Cancer Research UK (and I think they’d know) say 99.8% of cervical cancer is caused by HPV.

NebulousDeadline · 02/10/2025 20:57

I tend to think that mass screening is set up and never properly re-evaluated. Easier to scare women into going to unnecessary procedures.

Catcooper25uk · 02/10/2025 20:48

ruethewhirl · 02/10/2025 20:36

Wow, have you had an empathy bypass or something? Have you actually read what some people's experiences of smears have been on this thread? Probably not, otherwise you might not have found the sarcastic quotes necessary. I mean, I get/agree with your basic message that smears are worth it, but there was absolutely no need to put it in such a nasty way.

Yes, smears can save lives. They can also be excruciatingly painful, way beyond "a bit of pain and uncomfortableness", or even in worst case scenarios impossible (have you never heard of vaginal atrophy?) so get down off your high horse and think yourself lucky if yours aren't problematic.

Show quote history

Do you know whats even more painful? Dying a slow death from cancer that could have been avoidable. Sorry I sound blunt but ive had many smears in my lifetime some quite painful but id rather that than the alternative.

Idontpostmuch · 02/10/2025 20:47

Glowingup · 02/10/2025 20:33

Less than 1% of cervical cancer is non-HPV. If you don’t have HPV your risk of cancer is vanishingly small and you risk doing more damage by having cells removed unnecessarily.

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But how reliable is that figure? I've heard 0.5%, 1%, 9%, 10%, 5 to15% and 0%.

DontStopMeNowGoodTime · 02/10/2025 20:43

Deeprug · 01/10/2025 19:12

They have started being so fucking rude to me the last few times. Commenting how they can tell I've never given birth, asking if I'm sexually active, asking for the virgin speculum or whatever piece it is. Its just so shit. Just insinuating that they can't get it in. Ive just started crying through them now and lo and behold I'm now 6 months overdue as I can't figure out how to do it all again. I mean, I will, but probably need to get shagging first, hey?

This is so inappropriate. You should speak to the practice manager.

ruethewhirl · 02/10/2025 20:42

Jayne35 · 02/10/2025 19:42

It is minimal though, a few seconds of discomfort and absolutely worth it. I have two friends currently having treatment for cervical cancer picked up by smear tests.

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Worth it yes, but for some people it absolutely is not minimal and is not mere discomfort. The reality of women's experiences with smears is way more varied than that. I do get why you're speaking up for having the test done, though, and I hope your friends make a full recovery.

ruethewhirl · 02/10/2025 20:37

Glowingup · 02/10/2025 20:31

No she kept going back to the doctor and being fobbed off. I think the media wanted a narrative that here was an idiot who hasn’t had smear tests and if only she had, she wouldn’t have died. But she did have them and by the age of 27 when she was diagnosed, she’d had abnormal cells removed several times.

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Ah OK, that's interesting (and also very sad) to read, I didn't know that. I think the media did slant it that way.

ruethewhirl · 02/10/2025 20:36

Catcooper25uk · 02/10/2025 19:31

For those that wont do it because its "painful" it would be 10x worse if you didn't get it done and then died of cancer all for the sake of a "bit of pain and uncomfortableness" yes it can be painful but the alternative is worse and especially if u have kids and family that would miss you if u died.

Wow, have you had an empathy bypass or something? Have you actually read what some people's experiences of smears have been on this thread? Probably not, otherwise you might not have found the sarcastic quotes necessary. I mean, I get/agree with your basic message that smears are worth it, but there was absolutely no need to put it in such a nasty way.

Yes, smears can save lives. They can also be excruciatingly painful, way beyond "a bit of pain and uncomfortableness", or even in worst case scenarios impossible (have you never heard of vaginal atrophy?) so get down off your high horse and think yourself lucky if yours aren't problematic.

AgnesX · 02/10/2025 20:36

Nope, nothing will convince me that it's nothing less than nasty.

I know things have improved with plastic speculums etc but last time I thought she was having quite a rummage!

Nbo · 02/10/2025 20:35

OttersAreMySpiritAnimal · 01/10/2025 19:07

Thanks for the tip @cordeliabuffy I might try that if I ever go for another. Mine are painful and I'm about a year overdue for the latest one. I'm just not sure it's worth the pain now it's just a HPV check and not looking for abnormal cells anymore. I haven't tested positive for HPV any of the previous times so can't understand why they think it would change when I'm in a long term monogamous relationship.

I had my first smear at 22 always all negative and clear until last year age 40 I tested positive for hpv. I myself have only had 3 partners over the last 20 years: Apparently can lie dormant for years or even decades

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