Scared of smear test

[fearofthesmear]

I’m due a smear in next couple of months . I had one three years ago but after being given diazepam and with a GP I trusted rather than the nurse. Took a long time and 4 or 5 attempts and even then she still couldn’t use a proper size speculum , so just took the sample as best she could .

I have vaginismus, vulvodynia, PCOS and endometriosis . I can’t even use tampons without severe pain and have never had sex.

I’ve recently registered with a new surgery and they’ve asked if my smear is up to date, said I’ll get the letter inviting me to make an appointment soon .

It sounds so silly but I’m considering not going . There are quite complicated reasons why I can’t cope with it, including sexual assault, and I don’t feel 100% able to talk to a new GP or nurse about it .

Local family planning clinic won’t do them at all , it’s supposed to be practice nurse that does them .

I don’t know if I should just ask for diazepam and put up with the pain , or just decline to go . I’ve been told I’m at very low risk , but not 100% sure if that’s correct .

Would appreciate any advice st all , it’s playing on my mind with it being on the news so much lately .

Can you take a friend with you for support? Maybe have an appointment before the smear to talk through your worries?
Please go for your smear.

Not silly at all to be scared but it’s in your best interest to be proactive about this. Start by having a conversation with your GP and being honest about your fears and your background. If they are caring they will help you to try to overcome your fears. If they’re not, then do your research and go elsewhere. Smears aren’t fun but they should be done with a medical professional who is willing to work with you to decrease your anxiety.

I'm 52 and have only ever had three smear tests.

I know I should go but........

Maybe you will spur me on op, if you can do it, so can I.

If you have never had sex, you are very low risk. You don’t have to go. It’s a totally valid choice to makez

I would mention to them that you are not sexually active.

I’ve got an appointment on the 12th to see the GP , I’ll maybe try and mention it to her then .

I had lots of appointments and hospital admissions over a few years and wasn’t treated very well . A doctor assaulted me during one of the appointments (I think) and every time I have to be in that position again it comes back . Even if I know the doctor with me or nurse won’t do that , I still can’t control the muscle spasm thing . It feels the same as when you go to get a tooth out and they talk about ‘pressure’ , it’s horribly painful .

I’ll try talking to the doctor . Honestly in terms of friends , I don’t have a close enough friend who’d come . I mentioned to DM but she isn’t comfortable coming with me , she isn’t at all good with medical things so don’t want to push it .

This makes me sad and angry for you, OP. I wonder if there are support groups?

Why do you think you were assaulted?

Could you get in to London at all? There is a clinic called the My Body Back Project that deals with survivors of sexual assault. I had my last two smear tests done there, and they were brilliant and took it completely at my pace. I have endo and tense my muscles too so understand how sore it can be.

mimi

I was being catheterised in an emergency , had 2’litres retention but they couldn’t find a nurse or doctor willing as my urethra isn’t in the right place (further in than it’s meant to be?) and has a stricture. When a doctor came through he kept saying I had a very strange vagina and that he didn’t know what he was doing . Had a medical student with him . When they went to put the catheter in he rubbed local anaesthetic into my clitoris with his finger . I have been catheterised a lot before and that has never been done before or since . I remember the student took over as he was just jabbing my perineum eventually with the catheter, and she kept apologising as he took off .

I did eventually complain on GP’s advice as felt it was assault too - I got a long apology from the NHS but didn’t take it any further . Didn’t seem worth it . When they apologised they said it had been discussed at all staff levels in that department so I suppose they’d know . He might just have made a mistake but seems an odd one .

I’ve had MBB mentkoned before but felt a fraud as I haven’t been raped . I could go to the clinic in Glasgow but would need accommodation for the night . I have family (my dad’s SIL) down that way but don’t feel comfortable asking her/explaining and I don’t think she’d put me up for the night anyway . Unless I book a cheap hotel somewhere maybe .

If you've never had sex or heavy petting or oral sex you're at very low risk of cervical cancer.

TBH, if you have not had any sexual contact with anyone, had screening three years ago, then it might be better for you to find a sympathetic GP (any good ones at your new practice?) and then prioritise your other issues. They are probably more important for you. Once you have a few answers to those, then you may be able to move onto smears and stuff.

You appear to be so low risk, I think that you could probably miss the test. I'm over 60 and I've never had one. I live my life and I don't worry about the risks of any cancer.

Order a HPV test online? An easy less invasive swab you do yourself at home. Negates the need for smears.

I’d echo the recommendation for MBB, I’ve used their clinic in Glasgow and they were fantastic. You don’t need to have been raped, you mention sexual assault which is enough but frankly they don’t need you to specify what happened to you.

For various reasons smear tests are very traumatic for me - they let to go at your pace, have loads of time and two experienced, specially trained staff in the room with you. I’m fairly local but if I wasn’t, I’d happily do the overnight if it meant not having a 10 minute session with my practice nurse telling me “it’s five minutes out of your life, you’ll be fine”.

Honestly, I avoided it for ages but would go back to MBB if/whenni need to.

I was dreading my smear as I'd never had a successful smear test carried out.
But I needed a smear as I was getting a lot of breakthrough bleeding.

I spoke to my gp & she prescribed 5mg of diazepam to take 2hours before she did the smear herself.

I also took 2 paracetamol & 2 ibuprofen with the diazepam so I felt really relaxed.
Also the dr used the smallest speculum.
It was still a bit uncomfortable but was over really quickly.

So I recommend speaking to a (female) gp about your fears & asking for some diazepam.
And definitely make sure they use a small speculum, whether it's the nurse or a dr who does it.

Always important to have a Smear but at my surgery they have only one size of speculum which when cranked fully open fully is quite painful.
Take paracetamol and ibuprofen beforehand which helps as well promising myself a coffee shop visit later.

It isn’t “always important to have a smear”. Some women make a reasoned decision based on being very low risk that it’s not worth the risk of overtreating abnormalities that would have returned to normal.

I'm in the same boat. I can't get an appointment at MBB though. I can't tolerate smears or invasive tests for a number of reasons. Doesn't help that the nurse was horrible last time!

I plan to do it in the next few months- and to be honest will probably neck half a bottle of vodka outside the GP surgery to relax. Possibly not the best idea, but I think that would be the only way to get through.

afineexample that’s partly why I can’t/won’t see nurses , the last one I saw shouted at me for crying and said if I was old enough to need a vaginal swab I was old enough to put up with the pain and needed to grow up .

I started having internals at age 8, I remember being held down for swabs at that age due to recurring thrush (there’s a huge amount of crap that’s just sort of accumulated in to the way things are now) . Those memories stick with you .

I know the vast majority of nurses aren’t like that and I’m an adult and in control but I just can’t cope with it at all .

Will definitely ring MBB tomorrow and see what they say . I could in theory travel to Glasgow and see if my aunty will let me sleep over at hers . She might be offended though if I explain why , I think she’s quite a private person .

OP-If you were my patient (trainee Dr, currently in GP and starting GP training in August) I would sit down with you and have a discussion with you. I often remind my patients that I am not here to force anything on someone -tablets,investigations, examinations. I will simply give the information- risks and benefits to allow them to make their own decision based on their life,wishes,thoughts.

Can you find a nice newly qualified GP you could trust? Or a trainee? We often have more time with patients and can bring patients back multiple times easier.

Missphonic you sound brilliant 💐 if only I could see you ! There is a female GP at the practice (very rural, small so just 2 doctors), I’ll try to speak to her and see what her thoughts are . I’ve never had any counselling to deal with any of it and it would be good to talk to someone . My self confidence is totally shot at the moment for a variety of reasons and I think that isn’t helping at all .

I will also ring MBB, I’ve had a look at their website , there’s a lot of info on there that helps .

I am in Australia, so forgive me if I'm giving you dud information.
I haven't had a smear test for over 20 yrs (sexual abuse survivor). I think I could say genuinely I have a phobia of speculums.. ugh. Anyway:
I have a new regular GP and decided to bite the bullet and raise the subject.
He sent me home with a kit I could do myself. He told me it was a "second best" option that became available quite recently.
I have no idea if it's available in the UK??
It was still an uncomfortable, stressful experience for me. But no speculum, nobody else involved. And I was just able to drop the kit back at the surgery to be sent off.
I just thought I'd post as it could be worth enquiring about. And my new GP was wonderful btw. So glad I plucked up the courage. He was so supportive and not at all impatient with me. Good luck

P.S. when he said it was "second best" I think he meant more that there's a risk the user doesn't follow the instructions 100%, not that it's a poor substitute in itself. I took 24 hrs before I did it and made sure I memorised exactly what I had to do. It was very quick to do.