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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be this anxious over a smear test?

47 replies

Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 17:23

My smear test is overdue. By about a year or so...

I've been having lower back & tummy pains & needing to pass urine frequently so thought I had a UTI.

I went to the clinic last week & saw the nurse who tested urine & said no UTI but booked me in for a smear & pelvic examination on Tuesday.

I haven't slept properly since. This obviously isn't my first smear test - I'm 40 later in the year FGS & a mother of two!

Talk me down please, I'm so anxious at the thought of it. I know it's all for the best & it'll be over in minutes, but I am so worked up I'm almost hyperventilating even though I know I'm just a coward being silly!

AIBU to be anxious at the thought of it?

Anyone else been recently or due one?

OP posts:
user93483098350593850000 · 14/05/2017 17:25

Are you like this with all smear tests or just this one?

Are you afraid of a diagnosis or the test itself?

user93483098350593850000 · 14/05/2017 17:25

Have you had a bad experience on a previous test to trigger this feeling?

Chocolatecake12 · 14/05/2017 17:27

Try to calm down. You know yourself it's only a minute or two of being uncomfortable and then it's over.
The thought of it is worse than the actual test itself!
Think about treating yourself after to a piece of cake or a nice coffee somewhere and focus on that.
Good luck

justdontevenfuckingstart · 14/05/2017 17:30

What is it you are worked up about? The procedure or the results? Take a breath and think about what you are worrying about and then when that is identified you can deal with that.

SadEyedPete · 14/05/2017 17:30

I hate them too, I bled with the last one I still cringe thinking about it. I'm dreading the next one (about 2 years away!)

Original poster
Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 17:31

The prior one I had at the same clinic was with a different nurse & it wasn't great.

I did have one at the hospital when I went for ablation & I hardly felt the gynae do that one.

The one booked for Tuesday is with my doctor who has done it before & knows I get anxious.

I have rescue remedy & will take ibuprofen prior to going.

I haven't even thought about if there will be a 'diagnosis' I just want to get the smear over with.

I remember the last time reciting the alphabet in my head & it was over before I got to Z... so I could do that again.

OP posts:
smu06set · 14/05/2017 17:32

Had mine a few days ago - it was fine! Nurse was lovely, chatty, and if results are ok i have 3 years before another one!

Original poster
Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 17:33

The clinic nurse said the pain I'm complaining could be prolapse so she wanted the doctor to do the smear instead of her as the doctor can do a pelvic examination but the nurse can't.

OP posts:
Original poster
Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 17:34

I can't wait to get it over with smu.

OP posts:
PamplemousseRouge · 14/05/2017 17:34

Please don't worry OP Flowers (I know it's so much easier said than done though!)

As previous posters have asked, what worries you in particular - is it the test itself or the possible results from the test?

I had my first smear test done a couple of weeks ago and felt really nervous about it beforehand. It was over so much faster than I expected though (and, as someone upthread recommended, I distracted myself with thoughts of the coffee and cake I was going to treat myself to afterwards! Grin)

Hope you're okay Flowers

Gunpowder · 14/05/2017 17:35

Did the nurse send your urine to be cultured? This article is interesting and suggests GPs should sometimes treat for utis on the basis of symptoms.

Do you think you are anxious because you are already in pain or is it smears in general or that you are worried something could be seriously wrong?

Gunpowder · 14/05/2017 17:36

Sorry xpost.

user93483098350593850000 · 14/05/2017 17:36

Try and think ahead to when it's over. That's what I do with stuff that scares me. I think "this time tomorrow/next week" I'll be on that night out/planning a holiday/picking new paint for the bedroom. Get your mind off this as much as you can and look past it.

You'll be fine Flowers.

justdontevenfuckingstart · 14/05/2017 17:41

Op, you're a worrier like me. So we're going to churn our guts out over it and not sleep. But we still need to do this. So tomorrow phone up and make the appointment because you need to. And do it on Monday to save yourself two weeks of not sleeping and worrying before you eventually do it.
DO IT!

Original poster
Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 18:48

@Gunpowder no she did a dip test just & said it was clear.

@justdont it's booked for Tuesday morning. The nurse made the appointment when I was in on Wednesday.

Yes I am just a worrier. Whatever the results are I'll deal with them (but hopefully all will be ok) it's more the thought of the thing going in that needs screwed to open up the neck of the womb. I hate the feeling of pressure. My kids are teens so I'm definitely not new to this, I get like this every time. But yes, I guess as I've pain this time (and some spotting between periods) I'm a tad more anxious than usual.

OP posts:
Original poster
Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 18:49

And thankyou everyone for the kind words & support & not making fun of me.

OP posts:
Gunpowder · 14/05/2017 19:36

I always ask for the small speculum they use for teenagers! It's less scary. I hope you are ok.

If your urine didn't go to the lab and your uti symptoms continue I'd get a GP appointment then and ask for their opinion. UTIs are so horrible. Flowers

KERALA1 · 14/05/2017 19:45

I did this thing during a horrific emergency c section hypno something just imagine a day on your holiday and think through it second by second - went for breakfast, what I ate, sat on the beach, was it warm, what I saw etc. Am not a woo person but this really gets me through unpleasant medical procedures as am squeamish and tend to faint about blood etc

Original poster
Topuptheglass · 14/05/2017 21:38

Thanks Kerala that sounds good.

Yes Gunpowder, I'll get doctor to send it off.

OP posts:
gherkin85 · 14/05/2017 22:17

Hey there
Feel your pain..
After a few normal smears under my belt I thought I would be fine, went Oct 2016 and got a letter saying my result was abnormal, had to go to the hospital for a biopsy, just before Christmas, results came back in Jan! Said non cancerous but I need to have more reg. smears for time being which means I'm going to next week. So that's 3 in 8 months? Gah!
The worst part is I'm not allowed to donate blood until I get a normal result Confused
I hate them too but we just have to be brave Flowers xx

DancingOnMyOwn · 15/05/2017 00:18

I understand how you feel OP.

I had my first smear test 2 weeks ago, and beforehand I was an absolute nervous wreck (I suffer with anxiety anyway but this was another level!) I was hyperventilating, shaking, and was sick 10 mins before I had to leave the house. I went into the room a complete and utter mess.

But you know what? Once I'd had it done, I realised it wasn't that bad after all! I had got myself into such a state for no reason. It was slightly uncomfortable but not painful. I got my results this week, everything looks completely normal, so all that was worth it after all.

Sorry for waffling on..you will be fine honestly!

DramaAlpaca · 15/05/2017 00:22

Hope all goes well OP.

Just a quick tip given to me by our practice nurse - if you put your clenched fists under your bum to raise it up, it makes the angle easier for the speculum to go in & it's much less uncomfortable.

GoldilocksAndTheThreePears · 15/05/2017 00:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AndNoneForGretchenWieners · 15/05/2017 00:35

I am the same OP. I have the fear and when my smear test is due I often put it off and don't make an appointment because I am terrified of the pain. I have a tilted womb and my cervix is incredibly high up; I have had difficulty in the past where I have had to lie with a rolled up blanket under my bum to allow the nurse to reach, and even then it has been hit and miss. The speculum is painful being inserted because I am so anxious I can't relax, and tense up. The last time the nurse had to call the doctor in to help and I felt humiliated and it hurt.

My mum and DH nag for England about the necessity of the test but I could easily blank it all together.

Motoko · 15/05/2017 01:08

It is important to go for smear tests. I kept putting it off, and consequently, my cervical cancer was only diagnosed at stage 3B when my kidneys failed.

Hopefully, your symptoms are nothing serious, but if you have got abnormal cells or cervical cancer, it's better to get it diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

Sort out a treat for yourself for after your appointment.

All the best.