To cancel my smear test today - do you go for yours?

[Wheresmyappetite]

I feel panicky and sweaty with fear at the thought. I have two days of hospital appointments this week and just don't think I can face another one today. It was due at the start of the year, so thinking about rescheduling in a couple of months.

I do have vaginismus which means penetration really fucking hurts unless I'm aroused and enthusiastic, which obviously is the complete opposite of feelings you have during a smear.

Do you go for yours bang on when it's due? Is it pathetic of me to cancel?

“Do you go for yours?” Yes. Mine’s was due while I was pregnant and I made an appointment to it done 12 weeks post-natally and felt relieved once all done. I dislike getting quite a few medical things done: bloods and vaccinations and even dental appointments as I have a lot of anxiety around health and contamination so needles etc are bit of a problem for me but I make sure I get everything booked and just try to power through telling myself they’re important and not to dwell. It’s not increased pain issue like yours, but it is difficult for me for my own reasons. I am friends with a few doctors and they all attach a great deal of value to smear tests.

Don’t cancel

Poor you. I would be well pissed off! Not impressed with the nurse's interpretation of vaginsmus .

What you need is someone who knows what they are doing - would lay this on thick with the surgery if you venture there again.

For what its worth, I had a shit first mammogram and the next time I took 2 paracetamol an hour before and 2 nurophen plus (ibuprofen +codeine) half an hour before and I was bombproof . I did the same when I got the recall and had to have multiple squishes at awkward angles. The mammographer (who was a hundred million times better than that first one) was well impressed.

Having to be drugged up for a routine screening thing seems to be a bit of a bad thing though - they need a better way.

One thing that can work in this case is to have sex not long before the appointment in order to "loosen" things up. It sounds gross but as long as you have a cleanup, no harm no foul

@PurpleDaisies
I am not infantising any one. If you read it that way that is your choice. Truth is, many people do believe social media is all fact.

@soveryfeckless You can choose what stats you want to believe. I'll go with NHS Choices 2018

"Since the screening programme was introduced in the 1980s, the number of cervical cancer cases has decreased by about 7% each year."

Would rather be in that 7% than not.

And, yes I do work for the NHS.

And, yes I do work for the NHS.

As a doctor? I doubt it.

Oh, and I know several people where pre cancerous cells were detected and treated (not with fair dust) who are being tested more frequently now. They support it, too. But, it's a personal choice. 5 mins discomfort every 3 yrs versus potential for cancer to unknowingly develop. My choice, my opinion - based on current facts

OP, what a fiasco, I'm so sorry you had to endure that, at the hands of an incompetent nurse. Maybe next time, like a poster up thread, you can get a hospital appointment, and have gas and air, to help relax you.
Have some wine, you were very brave. 🍷🍷🍷

Also, you could ask for them to use a plastic speculum. And make sure it's a small size. Plastic
Ones are definitely not as uncomfortable for me as metal ones are. Of course this maybe isn't the case for everyone.

Would it also help to take a friend with you? They could wait in the waiting room or go in with you if you prefer? Just a bit of distraction may take you mind off it a little. And then you could maybe go for coffee and cake after as a well done treat?

Good luck!

FWIW, OP, I think you were very brave. Get the meds to make it more comfortable next time.

But, it's a personal choice. 5 mins discomfort every 3 yrs versus potential for cancer to unknowingly develop. My choice, my opinion - based on current facts

Current facts support not treating CIN below grade 3 because almost all grade 1 and about 60% of grade 2 will resolve spontaneously within two years.

For women to make an informed choice, they need to be aware of the facts. How does this fit with your view that it is irresponsible to state on a public forum that precancerous changes can resolve themselves with no need for treatment?

I've just rebooked mine, thanks to the people posting here. I went in last time expecting it to be uncomfortable but was willing to deal with it. Instead the pain was intolerable and she had to stop. Absolutely terrifying. Wish me luck for my next appointment!

@Tistheseason the point is, the link I posted, NHS Choices and all the other info and stats out there offer women the opportunity to weigh up the facts and make a decision.

I am certainly not saying that women shouldn't go for screening, but they shouldn't be made to feel guilty or pressured if they decide it's not what they want to do, if they have based that decision on the evidence available and their own risk factors.

@Kescilly
Good luck - and do tell the clinician that you had a tough time last time.

Btw - sometimes it is super difficult to visualise the cervix which is not your fault.

Hope it goes well!

www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b2968

The conclusion of the above study:
"Conclusions Cervical screening in women aged 20-24 has little or no impact on rates of invasive cervical cancer up to age 30. Some uncertainly still exists regarding its impact on advanced stage tumours in women under age 30. By contrast, screening older women leads to a substantial reduction in incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer"

It's not as simple as pp are trying to make out- sure, smears below 30 don't seem to have a benefit, but smears when women are 30 and above appear to be very beneficial indeed.

So glad you went.

I've always kept my smears up to date but today have been referred to hospital as my cervix is inflamed.

I'm really worried about it but I am trying to make myself feel better knowing that I've always had routine smears.

Although I must admit all this 'smear tests mean nothing' talk has made me wish I hadn't bothered

@catweasel44

Hope your follow goes ok x

• follow up

It is a tad embarrassing

However my friend had pelvic exenteration last week due in to cervical cancer

That’s her bladder and bowels, vagina and anus and rectum gone.
She had a full hysterectomy previously

Don’t delay

Anyone citing their medical knowledge for the lament of It Could Be You and Don’t Risk Your Children Being Left Orphans - presumably advise anyone going to Italy to take a full course of anti malarials. And to douse themselves with DEET at every turn. And to avoid lakes and ponds. And to use bednets and wear full-length clothing from early evening each day.

No? But but but, there’s been a malaria fatality in Italy recently. www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-malaria/italy-investigates-malaria-death-of-child-who-had-not-been-abroad-idUSKCN1BG1TU And you can’t be too careful...

As ever, an understanding of risk is key.

My understanding from what the experienced nurse said was, that the cervix can be easier to find at other times in the cycle? Do I have that right?

It is not about embarrassment or body issues in the least, I used to be a life model for art students and couldn't care less about who sees what. The pain is the problem, and I have high hopes that if I go at a different point in my cycle, plus take a small amount of diazepam, then it might work.

Should point out I've had 2 of these before. First with a nurse I knew well, which helped, second with a nurse I didn't know but who just seemed very good. Once the initial pain from the speculum was under control, they had no problem doing the actual scraping and getting the sample.

Not being able to find my cervix is a new complication.

They use plastic speculums, all individually wrapped. I wasted three of them today

To be quite candid I'm just after ovulating so I think my vaginal mucous was part of the problem, ffs. I just thought mid cycle was the best time to go hence booking it for now. But other weeks might make things far clearer to the nurse.

To everyone saying they find smears painful... I always did in the UK. Now I live in the US and have a named OB/GYN who does them. Never ever painful. We should def be grateful for the NHS but I can’t help thinking that better trained nurses with a kinder manner would result in fewer people finding them uncomfortable. And the irony is, because I now don’t expect them to hurt, I relax more and it’s easier.

My best friend had hers 4/5 weeks ago. She starts her radio and chemo therapy next week. The tumour they found is too involved to remove surgically.

I know you have more than the usual reasons to not want this done but I cannot stress enough just how important it is to find a solution. Take all the drugs the GP can give you, look into hypnotherapy, take a trusted friend - anything. Whatever it takes to get you on that couch.

It's not an easy thing to do even without added complications like you op so I really feel for you but I'd implore you to find a way