do i have this right about smear tests?

[tefley]

So, last time I had a smear test, I got a letter saying I was negative for HPV and therefore no further tests were done on the sample like looking at the cells.

I haven't had any sexual contact since my last test, therefore there's no way my HPV status can have changed. So am I correct in saying there's no point in me having a another smear test unless I did have sexual contact?

I'm confused because I tried to explain this to a nurse and the receptionist at my GP clinic, but they were both insistent I come in, and I've been getting multiple texts and letters about it.

My situation is a bit more complicated than most- I have vagnismus which makes these kinds of things genuinely excrutiating. I'm trying to work through it, and I'm worried an unpleasant experience will set me back. The appointment is tomorrow and have been prescribed valium to try to stop the muscle spasms, but it just seems like a lot to go through when (if I've got it right), the sample won't even be tested?

Of course @NameInUseAlreadyAgain and I appreciate any advice people give me, but it's just it is quite common for pain from these kinds of health issues to be minimised which is why I replied.

I would say for most women a smear test is a bit of discomfort, as you said, but I put it my opening post it is genuinely excrutiating for me.

I tell myself every time it can't possibly be as bad as I remember, it's not harming me so the pain can't be real, and then it literally feels like I'm being stabbed! It's honestly baffling and very frustrating (to put it mildly).

I had to have someone else in with me. I would hyperventilate and it would be so painful. I’ve been like this from age 17 to 45. Then she suggested I inserted it myself. Then it was just the pain of the actual taking of the cells which I can just about cope with. I may not be in your league for the pain but it was pain nonetheless. And now it’s much better although if I could have gas and air it would be miles better (childbirth only bearable with that). A ‘tipped back womb’ isn’t much fun

still I’ve only got 3 more left now ;). Phew. Having done every 6 months for 5 years killed me when I was in my 20s. However without smear tests I may possibly actually be dead now. I actively encourage women to go. I was 23 when had pre cancerous cells. Imagine now, not being offered til I was 25. I may not be here to tell this tale …..

I agree with you 100%.

m if you have genuinely informed yourself of the procedure, the risks etc and chosen otherwise it should be respected. Rather than seen as an affront to womanhood or whatever the aggressive typing is about.

I have a friend who is a virgin in their late 50s, not just sex but all sexual contact. Poor soul was hounded into having one, she tried to move GP practice and they wouldn’t let her register without scheduling.

even as she was screaming the place down, the nurse couldn’t understand why it wasn’t working, just absolute nonsense.