To think gas and air should be made available for smear tests?

[Strawberrytallcake]

or do I just need to man up?

YANBU. I've recently had to endure several different doctors doing several different cervical smears. They were horrendous. Especially the last one, as they had to open me up even further due to there being visible pus on my cervix...

They are AWFUL.

Coil insertion, good grief yes to G&A! I had one put in prior to children. Ouch! Wasn't so bad after kids, when I had another put in but it still smarted

G&A for a smear? It's never been too bad from the 3 or 4 I've had so far so that's a YAB a little U there

Wow, smears have never bothered me at all, and neither have the several ensuing colposcopies. Do I just have no shame and/or a very insensitive cervix?

I always hated them...had one when I was 10, so maybe that's something to do with it.
Then needed them every six months after ds was born as results were unclear.
I confessed to one nurse how I hated them, to the point of vomiting beforehand, and she used a different sized speculum..I am very tall and she said this might help..and it dd.
Still don't like them, but feel more comfortable now.

Smears are agony if you've got a retroverted cervix like me! A good tip to know is request a long speculum, it saves 10 minutes of painful rummaging!

OP, yep, woman up :)
TheBigKahuna yy, abso-bloody-lutely.

Valium would be good, I had that a couple of times for dentistry and it was lush, the world was all pink and fluffy. However it does last a bit longer than G&A which is a up downside

Yanbu

Would encourage me to go, I fear them and hate them and get very very upset and haven't had one for ten years which is crap really.

I've changed my mind.

I think if it would get more women in to have smears, then it should be available.

My coil insertion never hurt a bit. Nor do smears. I sometimes wonder if ive lost all sensation down 'there'! Mind you one smear I had after my first child (who tore my front wall with her nails when coming out) was like utter torture I screamed and nearly hit the nurse whilst the nurse looked at me like I was a total simpleton

oooh gas & air.

They should let you take a bottle home with you, I tell you. I've never been so happy as when I was sucking on that.

They actually had to wrestle it from me when it came time to push.

I was a bit out of it, but I think it took two of them.

For those of you who find it so painful, what is it that hurts, the insertion/stretching of the speculum or the actual bit up at your cervix when they take the sample? Or just all of it? How about dosing up on paracetamol first, or am I being unrealistic about the level of pain you're experiencing since I don't find it painful? I am really to see how many people dread this.

For me it's uncomfortable when the stick reaches the cervix and they take the sample.

Hell yes! You are so NOT BU!

Yanbu, last time I had one he managed to get the jaws of the speculum stuck around my cervix. And then tried to pull it out. I was less than impressed.

I've never found it to be painful or particularly uncomfortable. I did find internals during labour excruciating though.

God, that would be wonderful. I find smears agony. And I adore gas and air.

LoveinaCold - I have an awkwardly positioned cervix and there is masses of rummaging about and prodding. When they actually 'scrape' it also feels like an extremely sharp stabbing pain. I don't think paracetamol would help. When I had an attempted sweep with DD2, I found the pain so awful I was holding back tears. Although obviously over much quicker, the pain was worse than the labour itself (with no pain relief).

Yes yes yes! I loathe smears and internals so much. I could never have a coil. To those of you who find it painless and don't get why anyone would make a fuss, you have no idea how lucky you are. I even dread pregnancy scans on the off chance they need to do an internal.

Have had a good few smears over the years and while I could think of nicer things to experience, they weren't that bad. However my recent post-menopausal smear was excruciatingly painful; I was screaming and my poor doctor (very experienced and had done a number of my previous smears) was apologising. A stiff G&T would have been welcome.

Can I ask, what are they actually doing during a smear? i mean, are they physically looking at somehing or are they just taking swabs? If just swabs then why cant i just do that at home and send it in??

I take a valium before mine. I am a total wreck. I am not embarrassed and I know it doesnt hurt but I just freak like a total idiot so Benzos are the only way to go.

Hypnobirthing techniques and breathing stuff helps a bit.

yanbu. I used to hate them and would cry all the way through. I never missed one though.

FWIW I preferred my colposcopies as the nurses were gentler than the GP's who did the smears. I had valium for my first colposcopy, after that I realised they weren't too bad.

they shove a plastic thing right up you and use something that looks oddly like a mascara wand to scrape a bit round your cervix. Then they send off the mascara wand and the lab checks for abnormal cells.

I remember the old metal instrument of torture.

It always made this really loud slurping noise as the nurse pulled it out. I'm sure they could hear it in the waiting room

oh, and cold. cold cold cold.

I've warmed it up.

bollocks have you, you fucking liar. the surgery still has an imprint of my head on the ceiling.