Fanjo funny business - referred for colposcopy & terrified.

[Alyosha]

Really need a hand-hold/reassurance!

I'm 25 and had a smear (normal) last year.

For the past 8 weeks I've had really unusual discharge. Started off with a really itchy vagina & unusual white discharge, which went away after about 5 days. After that I had (a lot of) wee/ammonia smelling discharge for about 6 weeks, when I got the itchy/sore/white discharge again. That went away, but now I have the increased wee smelling discharge again!

Not helping my rampant Health Anxiety is the fact that at the end of both sets of the itchy symptoms, my boyfriend and I had sex using a condom, which we don't usually use. I bled slightly both times.

Went to see my GP and she told me my cervix looked "inflamed" and that she would refer me to colposcopy if my cervical swabs came back clear. Absolutely bricking it & having the classic sudden fear and self pity that comes with being a dreadful hypochondriac. Please hand me a grip!

Oh H/A is just the pits isn't it ?

I can only sympathise. I can also say that you'll have something entirely common and treatable and there's a more than very high chance that you're not terminal. I think you just need to concentrate on this tbh.

Repeat to yourself .. ' I have health anxiety and not some rare Incurable, fatal disease ' over and over again and it'll help. The 'sane' side of your brain knows this.

It sounds like a bad attack of thrush.

Have you treated yourself for this with either a pessary or an oral tablet?
Worth trying.

A colposcopy is similar to a smear test. At your age, it is likely to be something minor and easily treatable. I have been there. You are naturally going to worry about the procedure and the diagnosis, so telling you not to would be very silly of me!

Thanks for your kind & understanding words! It is indeed ridiculous - logically I know that I am very likely to be fine. I know that less than 1% of women who present with post-coital bleeding are found to have Cervical Cancer, and I know that in my age group only around ~100 women are diagnosed with Cervical Cancer each year, and of those a fair % will have had symptoms for longer than me.

I'm waiting on the results of the swabs my GP took. From what she said, she would refer me for colcoscopy if they came back clear for Gonnorrhea/Chlamydia (which I am almost 100% certain I don't have - had a STD test earlier in the year as did my boyfriend). Does anyone know if Thrush could cause an inflamed cervix and post-coital bleeding? Would I still be referred if they only found Thrush? I'm lucky to have private health insurance, so hopefully will be able to have a colcoscopy fairly quickly if referred.

Thrush can inflame all the tissues and it's not beyond possibility that it would also make your cervix red. Yes you can bleed after sex if you have thrush because your fanny is very sore! Sometimes thrush if bad causes tiny little pinhead size spots. if you are on the Pill the redness could be a cervical erosion which is one of the most common causes of post-sex bleeding. Do not panic- an erosion also called an ectropion - is nothing to do with cancer but brought on my hormonal changes when they cells inside the cervix gravitate outwards over the cervix. They are delicate and not meant to absorb impact so bleed. Treatment is simple and they often go away on their own. it is possible than an inexperienced dr might not recognise this.

www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/conditions/cervical-erosion/

I get an inflamed vagina when we use condoms with spermicidal lube. Maybe try some condoms without the lube and use water based lube instead if you need it.

Thanks, it did turn out to be Thrush even though my GP said it didn't look like it! I took some Canestan and it actually seems to have sorted it out immediately. No longer bleeding after sex either. Had a telephone consultation with another GP who was very reassuring and told me there was nothing to worry about :)