Abnormal Smear AIBU

[skippy84]

I know I probably am BU but I had a call from the doctor today to say my smear test results have come back mildly abnormal. There is no immediate need for treatment just a retest in 6 months but I'm really stressing.

A friend has recently died of cervical cancer and I'm just so stressed about having this in
the back of my mind for 6 months. AIBU? I have had a baby since my last smear (normal) could this be the reason? Does anyone have any experience of this?

Yes. Had CIN 3 in my early 20s and had loop and lazer treatment. It can back and now I have CIN 1 (mild like you have) and I have been monitored once a year for the last four years and it has never got any worse. You shouldn't worry, you are a very long way away from cervical cancerM Most abnormalities never develop further and can clear up on their own. If you are being monitored with regular smears or colposcopies it will be fine x

Oh Skippy, you poor thing.

A mildly abnormal test means just that, mildly abnormal, you do not have cancer. I had an abnormal smear about 15 years ago and I was sent for a colproscopy (sp?) exam. I think the smear tests are meant to be more accurate now though, so they probably don't need to do as many colps?

I had no need to go back. I think the vast majority of abnormal smears turn out to be okay and your poor friend was just very very unlucky.

Yes I've had slightly abnormal smear was clear on retest 6 months later.

My DD had abnormal , then abnormal on retest 6 months later. She attended colposcopy clinic, had treatment, last test was clear.

If they have seen "slighlty abnormal" cells this could be due to infection, changes in the cervix etc etc. They have NOT seen cancer cells or they would have had you in for treatment straight away.

I had an abnormal smear and had to go back for follow-ups, but it sorted itself. I wouldn't panic.

from what i know i seem to remember that it can be quite normal to have a mildly abnormal smear after having a baby. i had a smear after having my dd that was mildly abnormal but went back to normal naturally about 6 months later when i had a repeat smear. fwiw i have had more than two operations on my cervix having had abnormal smears, first was about 20 odd years ago and that last was about 3 1/2. i think that both times mine was CIN1 (you can get two higher levels) but my point is, abnormal cervix's that do not revert back to normal can be easily treated (loop incision op, easily done under a local, doesn't hurt). try not to worry but it is very common, just keep an eye on it

Do you happen to have a coil?

Mine came back as abnormal once but I was warned in advance that it could be due to spotting because of the coil.

How old is your baby and when was your previous test?

Don't stress; it's probable that your next test will be fine.

Personally, I can't see the point of this information being given to patients unless retesting takes place a lot earlier than six months' time.

I had abnormal cells removed 2 years ago and when I got the letter from the doctors I was a right mess. Convinced myself I had cancer, kept googling it (massive mistake).

Mine were removed almost immediately though with a LLETZ and since then have had smears every 6 months which have been clear.
The fact that they are happy to wait 6 months says to me that they are very minor changes and not to worry about them. I did go in to chat to our nurse about it as I was so upset and she really put my mind at rest about it. Could you do this with your GP?

Hi skippy. I also got a letter this week indicating my smear showed mild abnormalities for the first time. All previous smears (over about 18 years) have been normal. My letter also says to retest after 6 months. This is because apparently a lot of mild abnormalities clear up by themselves and if they don't they progress very slowly, so a "wait and see" approach seems to be pretty normal.

Under normal circumstances, I would probably just wait for the retest in 6 months. However, the leaflet that accompanied my letter said not to get pregnant until this is all resolved. This is less than ideal as I am 36, have been ttc for ages and am currently pumped full of IVF drugs! So I have decided to see someone privately to get a colposcopy (examination of the cervix under a microscope) and advice as to whether or not I should continue this IVF cycle or wait for the retest. The disadvantage to going straight to colposcopy is that I could end up with treatment I don't need because a lot of mild changes do sort themselves out. I have managed to get a quick consultant appointment tomorrow, so hopefully he will help me figure out the best course of action.

I've had several abnormal results and subsequent treatment. At my last appointment I was told there was a new protocol where they will test for HPV. If negative no further treatment will be offered, since cervical cancer without HPV is very very rare.

There are few things I'm an expert in but panicking over abnormal smears is something I've been perfecting over 10 years now. The science seems to have changed in that time and they are learning to distinguish between normal abnormal smears and abnormal abnormal smears (i.e. which of the odd ones do they really need to worry about).

But a mildly abnormal smear is exactly that and will just need watching to see if it goes back to normal. They are leaving it 6 months because it will probably go back to normal. If it hasn't and is much the same, they will carry on just watching it. If it's changing, they may zap it. Whatever happens, do not worry. They're on the case.

Like tyler80 alot more succinctly.

Everyone has some abnormal cells in their smear test -it's a question of how many they have. There is a testing protocol that if more than 15 in the grid square are abnormal (NB I have no ideas of actual numbers here) then they take Action A. More than 20 abnormals is Action B and more than 50 is Action C. These cells are pre-cancer, not actual cancer cells.

Sounds like you are at the lowest level of being normal and which is good news.

Everyones body makes abnormal cells every day. Cancer is when our body doesn't recognise them, and they "breed" out of control. Most abnormal cells die off themselves or get beated into submission by our immune system.... and things like recent sexual activity or inflammation can make the cells look abnormal, leading to a "failed" smear test.

I can sympathise that you're scared, especially with your friend's history on your mind. But this is fine, you're more at risk of being hit by a bus before you get your next smear done... this is a "just in case" measure, not a "you should be worried" measure.

Sorry, didn't see the don't get pg reply - sounds like you're seeing someone and will be given the best answers from the specialist.

I'm sure the 6 months thing is in case they need to do a procedure in 6months when baby is resting on cervix... so given you're doing IVF you'd want to be sure it was OK to go ahead.

I've had abnormal cells three times - twice they resolved themselves, once I had to have a very straightforward, painless procedure. If I get one now, I find it annoying rather than worrying as it means you have to have yearly smears for ages rather than three-yearly. But this does mean the chances of you actually developing cancer are really, really tiny - they'll catch it before that could happen, in the unlikely event it even would.

Thanks everyone you have really reassured me. My rational brain was saying it's fairly standard but the emotions were screaming CANCER. Guess I'm lucky that I can monitor it now. To the poster that asked my baby is 21 months and last normal smear was 3 yrs ago.
Anyway thanks again, I knew I was being silly really but didn't know of anyone else who went through the process except my friend