Are smear tests genuinely meant to be just uncomfortable or are they painful?

[Badum]

I've only had 2 in my life and both were outright painful. Not shout out loud pain but past what I would describe as discomfort.

I keep seeing posts about people not finding them painful, some talking about discomfort etc. Is that genuinely how they feel for others or are they just being stoic?

I generally consider myself to have a good pain tolerance but am worried about the ivf process if Im finding something that's not meant to be painful painful. Its made me wonder if I have a tilted uterus or endo issues that actually i should be thinking about rather than just thinking it's normal

I'm amazed how many women are saying they have a retroverted uterus- i have one and thought it was unusual (its probably shrunk away to nothing now I'm that old)
smears were uncomfortable but not painful. But I had lots of trouble getting a diaphragm fitted and they sent me away with one that was too small and kept slipping, that was painful
mammograms a whole different ball game and I hate them

Completely agree.

Ive read threads on here where women are told, it’s not painful, you’re selfish for not wanting to have it, don’t be vain, they’ve seen it all before.

Mine were completely fine until menopause and then the last one was unbearable. I’m already using topical oestrogen (vagifem) and have been for a couple of years :-(

One post that really stuck out for me was a poster who said that any woman who turns down smears should be denied any NHS treatment if they end up with cervical cancer (and on that note, can we please stop with the 'no smear = death sentence').
She then went to say her own sister had cervical cancer and never had smears. It was awful.

Mine were fine once they used the right size speculum. I had my first one VERY young. I was still at primary school.
Mammogram are fine for me. I do have a very high pain/ discomfort hreshold

this might sound weird but it’s SO much less painful if you put the speculum in yourself! I always tell them il do that part and it never hurts

No not painful, not really uncomfortable apart from being a bit embarrassing I suppose. If it’s painful then speak to your gp

I've had one that was outright painful and the rest have been basically nothing. No idea what the difference was as all done by the same practice nurse! I got recalled annually for a while so have had what feels like zillions of smears.

Exactly the same here. Whilst I don't in any way doubt people find the painful, I find them so far from anything that I actually find that hard to imagine. I don't like the indignity of it but the speculum going in really doesn't bother me in the slightest. So whilst they definitely are painful for some people, I don't think it's right to say they are 'painful or uncomfortable' either. They're just nothingy for me.

I am in my sixties and each smear has either been painful or uncomfortable. Ditto mammogram. I am usually pretty pain tolerant.

No issues with smears here. I think it varies from woman to woman. I didn’t find the MW breaking my waters painful either.

I’ve never found them painful or even uncomfortable really, other than the speculum going in which feels a bit strange it’s been completely fine and I’m a bit of a wimp with pain so definitely not being super brave or anything. I do think it depends on the person who does it & the right size speculum being used, and how scared you are unfortunately because the more tense you are the more uncomfortable it will be. Definitely worth checking speculum size :)

A mixture.
My last one this year was brilliant, it was done in seconds, nothing was cold! And the nurse asked me lots about my history first so she could accommodate anything I might have needed.

I don’t think they did it under a general back when I had it. It was excruciating 😣

whaaat? you had a smear test in primary school?
where was this?

In my 20s and 30s I didn’t find them painful. In my 40s I find they hurt a little. My nurse told me as you approach menopause they can get more painful.

I take a couple of painkillers before a smear and it helps.

At my last smear my nurse told me I have vaginal atrophy and offered me vaginal oestrogen. It was great she was perimenopause aware but that hurt (my pride) 😆

Variable. Mostly uncomfortable verging on painful with a fair amount of rooting around to find my cervix. Everybody feels pain differently though so it's hard to compare and there is no right out wrong answer, just his it feels for you. I think the nurse who did my last one must have been some sort of magic fairy because I hadn't even realised that she'd fully instead the speculum before she was done.

Mine have nearly always been painful. Real pain that has been so bad they’ve either told me off for clenching/making it difficult or I’ve had to make them stop as I couldn’t bear it. Every time I’ve bled. I’ve had more than one nurse make comments a speculum is nothing compared to sex (and one who told me I’d had a vaginal birth so she didn’t believe it was that painful- I had a c section).

I’ve had one time where it didn’t hurt, and that was because I specifically insisted on the smallest speculum and extra lube, and said I was happy to leave with it unfinished if it hurt too much.

I have been putting off mine. I have Lichen Sclerosis on the perinium scar, the smallest virgin child speculum still causes pain and tearing.

I find them unbelievably excruciatingly painful. I cannot bear them. Even with the smallest speculum. When I need a colposcopy, I nearly pass out from the pain. It’s the same every time, painkillers do nothing.
And I bleed for at least a week afterwards.

I’ve had more than one nurse make comments about how I can have sex then a speculum shouldn’t be an issue. And one who tried to claim I’d had a vaginal birth so shouldn’t complain (which isn’t true, I had a c section)

I have seen that posted on here too.
Sex, being aroused etc... totally different to getting your bits out to a total stranger in a totally different capacity.

I have a tilted uterus so they have to have a good old dig about to find my cervix sometimes! Once it was a bit sore and made me bleed, but generally it doesn’t hurt me.

My first was scarily painful. After that I’ve told them that I find them painful and they’ve all been really easy and pain free. God knows what the first nurse did… it felt like she was ripping me open.

Now they’re easy

I find it depends on who does them

I asked one woman to stop as it was painful. She tried to tell me that was normal. I told her I knew what normal felt like and this was not it so she needed to stop. (She did very ungraciously) A guy came in after she left the room and completed it with no pain.

I find them uncomfortable but only a few painful

Ive never had any sort of physical pain or discomfort from a smear in the 20 years ive been having them.