The new smear tests

[NicoleWatterson]

So I duly went for my smear this morning. I do firmly believe in their importance, so despite them being unpleasant I've always gone.

I was encouraged by seeing the new implement on this morning, a little soft brush that takes the cells. Is that what they used on me, is it fuck it's a point jabby thing with a cutting device that cuts a circle out your cervix.
It was bloody awful! What happened to the soft tickly brush?!?

There's a high chance I'm going to get a recall as I had to ask her to stop. Is there a way I can ask for the old one? Or even that lovely brush I saw on this morning.

Yes, make a dr's apt with the most kindly lady gp in your practice. Explain to her and ask for advice. Hopefully she will do it for you. In my experience GPs are much better at taking them than nurses, whatever the mantra about them doing it more often, etc. Drs also in my experience are less likely to make inappropriate comments about your sex life, cervix, etc.

I had a smear test a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't painful. Was quicker and less uncomfortable than ones I've had before tbh

Thanks belle. Yes, the nurse did mine previously and made inappropriate comments about my giving birth and sex life. I had a c-section fgs...and if she'd read my notes she'd have seen that!

I really want to get over this but I'm scared that a one-off bad experience won't psychologically hamper it for me the next time .

I had my smear test on Friday. No pain at all, but did have one occurrence of spotting afterwards. It was long overdue and I'm glad I had it done. Now just worrying about the results!

Nurses definetly do hysteroscopies and don't send any images to a consultant. thats what happens at my local hospital, nurses do the diagnosing.

www.nursingtimes.net/the-benefits-of-setting-up-a-nurse-hysteroscopy-service/200152.article

well, all I can say is that given the choice between a highly qualified consultant gynae, FRCOG, and a nurse, I know who I'd rather looked at the images of my uterus. This is clearly a money-saving exercise and not one I think is good. Think about the other possibilities- radiographers doing mammograms and reading the images rather than a breast surgeon- no thanks.

Brilliant so because of your one bad experience you have now probably put of gods knows how many people off a smear! We all know it's never going to be pleasant, having a procedure like that is never going to be, we didn't need the details! I can tell you for personal experience what is worse than a smear, try a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, internal radiotherapy, external radiotherapy and the menopause at 30 and my chance to have another child taken away all because I was stupid enough to listen to someone's tale of a smear and let it put me off!!
Now I'm dying of cervical cancer, think I'd rather be poked a bit to be honest!!!!!

Are you- really? Or is this to make posters think?

Yes really!!!!!! I would never lie about something so serious X

Perhaps what we as women should be doing is calmly joining forces to improve the care of all and resist the dumbing down of the health service. It is increasingly important to ask people providing healthcare services what their qualifications are and what their experience is. Primary healthcare worker is meaningless. I want to know who I am dealing with and I want it to be transparent. Patients shouldn't have to ask. Dr means do tor, nurse means nurse, psychologist means psychologist, physician, surgeon, etc. I don't want to be told to make an appointment with the nurse to find out when I get there that I'm seeing an HCP who is not a nurse. If I could meet the nurse for a few routine things and build up a relationship I might begin to trust them enough to let them take a smear test. When the term nurse is used as an umbrella term to cover those who aren't qualified, I start losing trust in the doctors and the service as a whole.

If the service were better overall there would be fewer scary stories is what I also meant to say.

Mine hurt so much last time that I haven't been since and probably should.

It felt like she really jabbed at it. Horrible. I'm going to ring the surgery and ask if they use a brushy thing or not now. If it's the jabby thing I can't face it.

ooh she says they use the brush now - but she wasn't 100% sure - I asked if this had come in in the last few years and she said she thought so.

Hmm. Is it worth the risk? I shall be annoyed if I turn up having organised childcare and it's the stabby thing.

The brush has been in use for around 10 years or longer- private hospitals and clinic used it before the NHS.

It is like a cone shaped bottle brush. It needs to be used to get cells from the os- that's the cervical opening- not just the cells around the perimeter of the cervix, which is what the old wooden spatulas did.

Basically, the pointy bit of the brush is put into the cervix and then twiddled. I've had this done many times and sometimes it's a bit ouchy and other times it was ok. Whichever, it's all over in 2 minutes at the most so it's hardly anything to get overly worked up about.

If you google it there are pictures of that but far more pictures of a silicon-type looking brush. I think the bottle brush one looks a bit harsh tbh. I hope they use the silicon one at our surgery.

I would outright refuse the hpv only test, as I have had CIN111 and lletz procedures twice resulting in 1/3 of my cervix being removed, and if left to its own devices my cervix would have reached full blown cervical cancer, yet I have always tested negative for hpv, so, had I relied on that test alone, I'd be on my way to being dead now. (If not already)

OK, had my smear test tonight. Read this thread as I was waiting. Blurted out as soon as I say down that I had a letter, etc., had had bad experiences, etc.. The doctor said "you know, sometimes we take a view if you've only had one partner and no abnormal smears that on balance it just isn't worth it.". Totally put me at my ease - let me mewl a bit and said "you know, if you don't want to do this, we can't make you". Gave it a go having explained cervix was tucked away, awful experiences, etc..

She used a plastic thingy and agreed it was very very posterior and said she was glad I had told her. All the while she talked to me and said it's a bit tucked back, you alright, want to stop, etc., you OK. Locating the cervix was the worst bit but IT DIDN'T HURT and the bit of discomfort was fear rather than hurting. It was a plastic thingy and there was a brush thingy which I was dreading after reading this thread. I DIDN'T ACTUALLY FEEL ANYTHING WHEN SHE USED THE BRUSH THINGY.

It was all over quiTE quickly and the doctor was extremely kind and gentle and understanding. Let me let rip a bit about previous experiences. Very empathetic. She even told me my cervix looked lovely and healthy :) pending results of course. We even had a giggle when I looked at my tights and said "ugh, there's nothing so disgusting as putting a pair of dirty tights back on". I looked at her bin and she said "handbag, the cleaners tell me off"

Really OK; really brilliant doctor. Have made an appointment for my 16 year old to see her about her painful periods and am confident 16 year old will have a very reassuring experience.

AT EASE.

Glad it went well for you in the end. I had mine done recently and I wasn't even aware what sort of contraption the nurse was using, but she was very kind and very down to earth, chatting about life in general and even admitting that as a nurse, she thinks nothing of doing smears but feels differently when it's time to get her own done. All while she was ahem busy.

Anyway, I think it helped that she was friendly and not so formal and clinical iyswim.

On the hystroscopy front - I also had one recently and it didn't hurt at all. No local no GA or anything just a couple of paracetamol and ibuprofen taken an hour before at home.

They used saline water to during the procedure rather than gas and the only thing I remember being bit odd is the sensation of the water flowing over my bits during - odd but certainly not painful in anyway.
They did a biopsy too which I did not feel.
I'm not some super brave sort either so just wanted to give another positive story to ease the nerves of those who might need one soon - I know I was nervous before procedure but really didn't need to be.

Smear at beginning of year was fine too apart from funny little office the nurse has at my docs surgery!!

Not sure that this thread is still alive but if you're reading, Beaufort, that doctor sounds brilliant. Glad it went well.

And Raeray, thank you - I have a hysteroscopy booked and am not looking forward to it one bit. Good to hear you didn't have any pain, though I still suspect mine won't be pleasant. Years of endo (much in the news right now, and a jolly good thing too) have snarled everything up inside me, I suspect. Actually I know, I was told I had extensive adhesions after an exploratory laparotomy. Which is probably why normal smear-tests just feel like agony, even though I explain beforehand that I have a retroverted womb, always find it massively painful, etc etc. It honestly feels as though I'm being stabbed repeatedly, and I lie there gripping the sides of the couch in white-knuckled terror

I haven't read through all the comments but can anyone tell me what the actual procedure for a smear is? I'm 22 so haven't been asked to go for one yet but after reading some of this I bloody well won't be going I thought it was a cotton bud type thing they wipe around your cirvix?? Obviously I'm massively mistaken ha!!

Coco please don't be put off by some of the comments. The procedure in my experience involved get in undressed fro the waist down, the nurse provides a sheet of tissue paper for you to cover the front pubic area when you're lying down, she then inserts a tube in you and from there uses a swab to take a sample of the cervical cells.
I barely felt anything last time I had it done which was only a couple of weeks ago.

Yes, should add that this is MY personal experience. That's all. Before endo I didn't find smear tests painful. So Coco and anyone who hasn't had a smear before shouldn't assume it will be a problem for them, it's painless for the majority.