To be slightly embarrassed because I know the lady who will give me a smear?

[Themasterandmargaritas]

I am having a long overdue smear tomorrow. The GP who will do it is known to me, but I don't know her terribly well, as it is my dh who is very friendly with hers. To add insult to injury they are coming to dinner on Friday! Should I feel embarrassed or will she have seen it all before?

[expatinscotland]

It's no different from going to the GP about anything else.

I mean, mine know all about my ante-natal depression and pregnancy piles and DH's vasectomy request.

They're professional and competent.

That's all that matters in the end!

[HRHMamazon]

she will have seen it all before and i am sure it wont phase her at all. its a bit like a plumber coming out to fix a blocked lav.

But i can totallyunderstand why you may feel a little embarrassed. i think if i had known in advance i would have booked with a different GP

[imananny]

i can understand it can be embarassing having a friend do your smear

if you dont want the male gp to do it, or not possible to have a nurse, then you are going to have to swallow your embarassment and have your friend to do it

please DO have your smear - I have always gone for 3yrls smears and I have had 3 lots of dodgy cells and one lot was in stage one of cervival cancer, and had cells lasered off my cervix and a cone biopsy removed the cancerous cells - i now have smears every 6mths, doctors keep a beady eye on me (thank god for our nhs)

plus have a interesting shaped cervix from where it has been cut and lasered and now some doctors when they do my smears, ask me if students can look up my twat and see what a cone bio cervix look like

what the hell, they have to learn somehow

good luck xx

[Themasterandmargaritas]

So smear update is thus:

a) dh was asleep when I went to bed (phew!)
b) I took my socks off after playing tennis
c) gave myself a good clean with a non sparkly flannel
d) got my 'traffic is terrible in Nairobi at the moment, isn't it' chat theme lined up
e) I was looking forward to finding out if I really did have a chicane in my uterus and how best to utilise it

When I turn up to find....................

She wasn't even there I was so disappointed as I was looking forward to getting to know her better.

So I saw her colleague, a very lovely Kenyan lady who was gentleness personified. I hardly felt a thing.

I won't bore you all with the fact it 2 blardy hours from start to finish...ah the joys of Africa.

[DrNortherner]

I was at the theatre once with a mate when she introduced me to a pal of hers who just happenned to be my GP who does my smears! Not sure if she clocked who I was but I very nearly bellowed "Oh I know you - you did my smear test last week"

But I refrained.

[DesperateHousewifeToo]

Well donr themasterandmargaritas, glad it was a bit of an anti-climax in the end.

(note to self - book my smear )

[onebatmother]

Oh good.
Yes, blimey, must book one myself.

[imananny]

least you can get know her better on friday over drinks/meal rather than between your legs

well done for going, shame about the non sparkly flannel,and anyone else on here who needs one PLEASE book now

[imananny]

least you can get know her better on friday over drinks/meal rather than between your legs

well done for going, shame about the non sparkly flannel,and anyone else on here who needs one PLEASE book now

[imananny]

least you can get know her better on friday over drinks/meal rather than between your legs

well done for going, shame about the non sparkly flannel,and anyone else on here who needs one PLEASE book now

[imananny]

oops

know its important, but didnt mean to repeat

[expatinscotland]

good on you for going, master!

[theicepopqueen]

I once had a smear performed by my newish GP whop suggested that I lie on my side as it would be more comfortable as I have a retroverted uterus - and it was. However, no sooner had a I felt the cold metal of the speculum on my skin he started a coversation about one of his consultant friends I had recently started working with, who had made a pass at me that day. A "beam me up Scotty" moment if ever there was one!

[philpot]

Urgh. I once had one from a nurse, who:
a. Was listening to the radio as I came in, a homosexual was mentioned. Immediately launched into a diatribe about gay men, saying all men like their bum touched, that does not make them gay, gay is wrong.
b. Bade me undress in the corner. There was no screen. She watched with a sneer on her face.
c. When I got on the couch she 'pah!'d at my feet and told me to remove my socks because she didn't like looking down and seeing socks. Honestly. The earlier stuff about sock etiquette does seem to matter to some health professionals...
d. By this time I was flustered. By way of conversation I asked if this was the new smear test that included a chlamydia test (leaflets on them in the waiting room). She glared at me and said 'do you have an std? You would know!'.

Oh, and she rubbed the slide with her thumb, as if CLEANING it, before testing me. The results were inconclusive. Should have reported her and never did. Still riles me. If I ever feel uncomfortable in any clinical situation again I will leave, I don't care how embarrassed I feel, a lot of us end up in horrible situations because we feel it would be rude to back out.

[noonki]

When I was a teenager I met my boyfriend's mum in the waiting room of the Family Planning CLinic - we pretended not to know each other !

[debzmb62]

we lived in married quaters and my next door neighbour was an assistant when i had my baby so he seen all my bits and wobbly bits omg worse still he lived in the flat below and his wife and me were good friends and i often heard him talking about people on the operating table things like gosh i did,nt realizse she was that big etc luckalie not me he was talking about someone else well i hope it was !!

[Wade]

I took my pop socks off!! It would have just looked too stupid!

[nowwearefour]

my mw friend did a sweep for me almost every day ahead of dd2s arrival and was the one to ell me i was in labour and the first to feel dd2s head! i wasnt embarrassed at all. totally normal to her. i was just grateful someone would do it for me!

[kiddiz]

Before we got married I moved in with my DH and his family while we looked for a house. My MIL registered me with the gp practice where she worked as a nurse. I arrive to have a smear to find that I had been booked in with my MIL !! Really awkward situation. I didn't really know her that well at the time and certainly didn't want her doing my smear but also didn't want to offend her by asking for someone else.

[AramintaAlice]

I read the whole thread from start to finish and was cringing for you - so glad about how it worked out.

The alternative was far worse than your friend though - am I the only person in the world who has always felt deeply suspicious of any man who picks gynaecology to specialise in?

There, I've said it! Politically incorrect to voice that view but I'd never go anywhere a near a male gynae, for precisely that reason - life threatening situations excepted. I always ask for a female doctor and any male midwife who ever tried to come near me was told in no uncertain terms where to go .

[AphroditeInHerNightie]

I used to meet the doctor who fitted my coil on a daily basis in the school playground.
I'd finally got used to that when I went to a school mum's christmas dinner, and guess who was sat on the same table right opposite me?
A few wines later and I couldn't give a stuff!

[imananny]

AramintaAlice - agree - wouldnt want a male doctor giving me smear

anymore than hubby would want female doctor looking at his bits if he needed it

[pigleto]

I know my midwife quite well. She has seen me poo . I am sure she would never bring it up socially though.

[expatinscotland]

so you'd rather die than have a male doctor looking at your bits?

my dad had prostate cancer. cancer.

he had a female oncourologist.

he just couldn't be bothered waiting round for a male one because the clock was ticking on his life.

he wanted the one most qualified to get rid of that tumour and do his/her best to preserve his urinary and sexual continence as well.

if i'm dying or in pain or getting screened for something that save my life so i can be around for my kids, i fail to see what role gender plays in that.

[Themasterandmargaritas]

Now she has cancelled dinner with us too Not only does she not want to see my fanjo, she doesn't want to eat my food either.

Kiddiz, the MIL doing my smear is just not something I could ever contemplate. But AA I have no problem with a male gynae, I have had a few in the past.