I’m 33 and I’ve never had a smear test

[Spacehopp]

I’ve got a 3 year old son, but I had a c-section with him that I chose to have as I’m so scared of things being put inside me (I don’t mean a penis obviously, but ‘instruments’)

I refused all internal examinations while I was pregnant too.

So apart from sex and my mooncup I use every month when I’m on my period, I’ve not had anything put inside me or had a medical professional’s fingers etc in there.
The thought makes me feel physically ill.

I keep getting letters about the smear and just throwing them in the bin. I feel embarrassed about it. But I also think if men had to go through this kind of invasive procedure, they would have come up with something else by now.

Yeah they changed the smear test a few years ago. It’s basically just an invasive HPV test now.

If you have cervical cancer without having HPV then it simply will not be picked up in a smear test now.

@MariosMagicMushrooms that's crazy - why have they done that? I had stage 2 with starting of spread and zero symptoms. I would have probably died if that was now.....why has it gone so backwards??

I am confused at you having a Caesarean to avoid internal exams - why not just not have internal exams? I've had 3 vaginal births and no internal exams were forced on me.

Also, mooncup is far more invasive than a speculum in my experience, especially now they use plastic ones. Just seems so stupid/selfish not to take advantage of being so bloody lucky as to be offered smear tests rather than taking pot luck at spotting symptoms of cervical cancer early enough to have the brutal treatment needed to treat it.

Honestly, it's not fun, but it really is only about 30s in the doing. Done by really nice nurses usually. As others have said, try talking to the nurse at your surgery about it.

Cost, i expect.

Sure yes, I have difficult and painful ones. I've also had countless biopsies. All very painful and sore, always a miserable experience. And never have I ever felt anything but extremely grateful to the NHS for providing me with these services.

Would you rather have cancer?

Why would I put myself through a very painful and invasive test when I can just take order a home HPV test kit and take the swabs myself?

@MariosMagicMushrooms well, do that then? Who is forcing you to have a smear?!

I had my first smear 3 years ago aged 30. Never been sexually active so i do not have HPV, which is what they test for first, if you're negative for it they don't even look at your cells. 98% of all cervical cancers are caused by HPV. Worth looking into if there is another way to be tested for HPV, instead of having a smear?

It really wasn't that bad, i didn't want the first person poking around down there to be a stranger i wasn't emotionally intimate with, but in the end figured a 2 minute uncomfortable experience was preferable to missingn early signs of a cancer. It's how i found out i have cervical ectropion.

@safetyfirsr I also had no symptoms and was picked up on a smear. I was HPV positive though.

Going forward I will no longer have smears as they will always come back "dodgy" due to the radiation damage.

I'm told I'm symptom led from now on.

Which as I had none last time and it had spread out of the area that a hysterectomy would take care of, is a little worrying.

I also still have HPV last time I tested.

Since menopause fifteen years ago mine have been agonising and I am on vaginal HRT. So I haven't had one for at least five years. An unsympathetic nurse didn't help. Why they can't administer gas, like dentists do, seems to be a mystery that no one is interested in solving.

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