Smear test - is it normal to find leaves and twigs?

[User748937744]

Ok, clickbait title - for a reason!

I am in my 40s and had my first smear test today. It was so fine and so quick and so painless and so straightforward and I wish I’d been brave enough to go for all the many years I’ve ignored the invitations!

Aibu to tell as many people as I can who might also never have gone to just do it?

I’ll happily go back next time I’m called.

I only went today because I’ve had some symptoms that were concerning.

It was so built up as something embarrassing and possibly painful in my head and it just wasn’t either.

Please, please go. You can always say you’re nervous and would like to be seen by someone really understanding.

I’ve had about 3 and am scared of them. I have had 2 kids by c section. Every time they try, they say my pelvic floor is very strong- think say this like it’s a good thing but then it’s accompanied by them having loads of trouble getting the swab. It hurts like hell and they say relax over and over again but I can’t. I can’t bring myself to go back even though I’m overdue by a few years. I have to go back for my coil to be changed next year which is painful for me but much easier than the smear. I’m really not sure what to do. Ive got like a block now- can’t face it. I don’t know if my cervix is weird- I couldn’t give birth naturally because I failed to progress and certain positions hurt during sex. But then no one has mentioned it being weird.

What a weird title to a thread.

I've always found them painful but last time I had a smear at the GP surgery the nurse was awful. I was in agony and decided I wasn't going to have another one. A couple of years later I had pelvic pain and saw a gynaecologist who asked me when my smear was due and when I explained she said she would do it there and then.

The first time I was on the bed and ended up crying in pain but, unlike the bitch of a nurse, she stopped and suggested trying the colposcopy chair. I couldn't believe the difference, it went from agony to discomfort. She explained my cervix is high and over to one side so it was never going to be possible to do it on a bed without causing pain.

A lot depends on your age I think

55

That’s quite a niche story you remembered and I had no intention of attaching any rape connotation to my post.

The official line seems to be that they can be uncomfortable but shouldn’t be painful.

in my experience of doctors when they say discomfort or uncomfortable it means painful.

i’m ten years overdue and I’ve had several all of which were very painful.

can’t find any data on what percentage of women find them painful but I’d guess quite high.

https://www.higgsllp.co.uk/articles/cervical-smear-clear-experts-urge-women-to-overcome-cervical-screening-fears-as-nearly-1-in-3-miss-vital-tests

Well at your age you wouldn’t be thrown into early menopause etc. so it doesn’t sound like a terrible idea. I m not a medic, but it may be worth asking your medical advisor /s .

I think any surgery is best avoided, other things being equal, but with your issues that’s not the case. I’m a bit older than you and I would probably consider it.

Is it more or less painful then a sweep (or whatever that thing is called where they try and encourage the baby to come out)?

I had lots of sweeps- baby didn't budge- so could withstand the pain if it was similar.

I'm not sure if it is called a sweep or I made it up🤔

But I am a woman who has got to beyond 40 and hasn’t yet been for a smear test. Not because I couldn’t be bothered. For SO MANY reasons. One of those reasons was hearing scare stories and being put off. But there were many other reasons over the years.

Again, if ONE PERSON is encouraged by my experience today, better educated about what to ask for to provide reassurance and is screened, I’ll be delighted.

“For 90% of people takes less than 5 mins and is no big deal.“

thank you. This is great to hear from a nurse who does these tests all the time!!

I’ve never found it painful and don’t understand why so many people are happy to have a penis up there but not a speculum?!

I’ve had several sweeps. The smear test was not painful at all. Vaguely uncomfortable in a “this is weird and new” way. But not painful. Nothing like a sweep (which for me was extremely uncomfortable!)

I am not happy to have a penis up there either.

My first smear was agony and the nurse gave up in the end and referred me to the doctor as she couldn't see my cervix. It really winds me up when people make out that women who avoid them are just being silly or embarrassed. For some people they are painful. That's not to say you shouldn't go but some understanding from the NHS that you might actually need some support or pain relief would be helpful.

Jesus. How many penises have you had in your cervix? Your comment is breathtakingly ignorant.

OP my experience is horrible but I still go and would strongly encourage any woman to do the same. Well done for bringing up that it’s a breeze for some. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for putting any woman off.

It’s not enough though. You’re not looking at your actual cervix whilst doing the self testing. Yes it’s ok for HPV checks but it’s not as good or as thorough as seeing a nurse

I've given birth to three children with no medication, and I honestly don't find labour painful.

Uncomfortable, yes, bur definitely not painful.

Also it took me between 20-45 minutes for each child.

I hope other women reading this will realise they should stop listening to scare stories about childbirth hurting.

...or maybe people are different. Just a thought

IMO it's also not a bad idea to raise awareness of the fact that smears are painful for some women. Yes smears are essential, but imo if someone's not had one before, it's better to be prepared for the fact that they might experience more than the 'mild discomfort' people wang on about, and may need to make the clinician aware of this so they can help.

I have vaginismus, most likely as a result of sexual abuse I went through as a child. I'm 40 and have been to two smear tests in my life, both were horrendous and neither were successful in getting a sample. Worse still, the staff conducting them were painfully ill equipped to deal with the trauma wounds re-opened for me and there was nothing in the way of follow up care.

So it really pisses me off when I see other women going 'oh, every woman should do it, it's so easy and painless, I promise!" I know your intentions are good, but your experience is not going to be the same as someone with sexual trauma, so a bit of sensitivity needs to be applied.

I think what really upsets me is that no NHS staff I've spoken to about this are willing to give me an honest answer on whether or not I need smear tests, and nobody at my GP surgery is willing to take me off the system for alerts. I don't have penetrative sex, I think I've tried two or three times in my life (in my twenties) and it's never happened for me. So I'm pretty sure the risk of HPV is vanishingly tiny, yet every year like clockwork despite me repeatedly telling them not to contact me, I'll start getting texts urging me to book an appointment.

I'm 63 and decided after the last attempt to have a test that it wasn't worth the trauma . More like sexual assault than a medical procedure. That was about seven years ago. It's basically the same method as it was 70 years ago. Sister is a couple of years younger and has pulled out too. We aren't offered even the minimal sedation that you'd have at the dentist. It's not uncomfortable post-menopause, it's absolute tearing agony. There ought to be proper research into why women in my cohort are stopping, after decades of trotting along to the surgery quite happily. But all we get is the utter patronising bilge of Don't Fear the Smear.

Not always as easy as that, OP. I'm currently finding myself in the middle of a farcical situation that's left me feeling like like someone who wants to show medical professionals their private parts for nefarious purposes.

I'm a wheelchair user. I cannot stand or walk. I can side-along transfer or alternatively I am hoisted when side-along isnt possible (this is relevant). For a side-along transfer to be successful I need to be transferring at the same height as my wheelchair (this is also relevant). If the heights arent roughly the same then it becomes a huge risk. The dedicated 'gynae room' at my GP surgery is upstairs (This is also relevant). And they dont have a lift. What they do have are downstairs rooms with height adjustable couches.

So I ring to book my latest smear. 'OK Miss Lights Out, that's all booked and you'll be in Room 1 upstairs'

Me. I'm a wheelchair user. I cant do steps or stairs. Can you please book one of the downstairs rooms with a height adjustable couch

Surgery (with much sucking in of air between teeth): We do all female appointments in the dedicated room upstairs. Sorry but we can't prebook one of the downstairs rooms.

So this goes back and forth a few times. At one point a suggestion is made that a nurse comes to my house to do it. Absolutely no way is this happening. After more back and forth, the GP surgery end up referring me to gynaecology at the hospital who unsurprisingly refuse the referral saying this is an issue for primary care.

Much more sucking in of air between teeth and get the practice manager involved in the end who after even more huffing and puffing reluctantly agrees to book the downstairs room with the height adjustable bed 'even though this isnt something we usually do but we will make an exception just this once'. Now I'm really feeling like some kind of pervert.

Turn up for the appointment and do their sign in screen thing. Guess where the appointment is? Yep, room f***g one. I felt like saying that a smear was undignified enough as it was, but crawling up 2 flights of stairs would just top it off. I didnt though. Surely I cant be the only fanny-owning, wheelchair user on the books of my GP surgery.

I'm now in the position of having to pay privately for a DIY hpv test because my GP surgery dont seem to give a damn.

It’s not the speculum that’s the painful part for me though, I have no issue with that. It’s the scraping of the cervix with the brush that makes me double up. I have always described it as how I think men must feel if they’re kicked in the balls, a deep ache that remains for hours.

Come on. I don’t think many (any) women would suggest that a smear test is comparable to giving birth. Everyone will have a different experience.

In my case, someone sees it every 5 years to put a coil in. If HPV were to spontaneously appear I’d go for another physical check but no need due to coil fittings. I’m happy with this, now NHS no longer look at cells.