Should I travel after a loop excision (LLETZ) for CIN3 or severe dyskaryosis?

[singlechildfamily]

Hi, any advice and reassurance would be so welcome....loads of you must have had this LLETZ treatment after a bad colposcopy result. I'm booked in for the procedure next week but we are supposed to be spending June in the US taking our baby to see lots of family and friends etc.

This doesn't feel like a massive operation (although of course might end up with massive consequences) but I'm not sure whether to go or not.

Pros include getting a great holiday after a year of babycare, and ticking off various overdue family visits.

Cons include not being able to enjoy the holiday as much if I'm not feeling great; not being able to swim; being annoyed by awful in laws' unhelpful comments and not being able to shout 'I've just had an operation for pre cancer you fucking fucks'. Also - more importantly - not being at home for when the results arrive and being away if there are any complications (I rang the insurer and spoke to someone who said she'd add 'dyskaryosis' to my policy and that I'd be covered if I needed to see someone, but she didn't have a clue about any of the terms I mentioned and said it would be ok because i was having treatment for something that had already been found, rather than this being the investigation, which of course is not the full story).

Arguably we could go to the US in September, just we'll put loads of noses out of joint and I want to be properly back at work then.

As it happens we haven't bought flights as are trying to exchange on a house first (any day now....) and were going to buy the flights as soon as we had.

So we'd be travelling two weeks after the operation. I've ignored post surgery advice before and will live with the pain from that forever it seems (ok, three yrs so far).

It's one of those things where I have to make the call myself which feels very hard. Sorry this is so bloody long.

Any advice? Thank you X

I had this treatment about two years ago. Can you hold of making firm plans until after your appointment next week? When I had mine done they were able to give me a pretty good idea at the appointment about what she had seen. Practically-wise I would have been fine to travel. I did bleed for about five weeks afterwards and I had to use sanitary towels rather than tampons which might not be great on holiday, but I didn't feel any discomfort just emotionally
a bit fragile waiting for the results to come through. If I was you going away can you get someone to check your post while you are gone just in case you do get a letter that needs a quick response?

Oh and it's not really surgery or an operation, more like a fancy smear test with a camera and a bit more rummaging about.

I had exactly the same thing and was fine - it was just like a smear test with a bit more discomfort and bleeding afterwards. I had one day off work and was fine. I would go on the holiday like a shot. Good luck.

OP It's fine really. I had quite a few treatments it's not really much more than a smear.
It's not an operation, just a quick removal. Don't drive yourself if it's your first one tho and take some paracetamol after.
AND IMPORTANTLY if you're not comfortable during then say so! Good luck.

Thank you all so much! Yeah I'm not thinking of it as an op really, only that's what the letter said and what others have called it. My partner said we should just wait until after the appt next week as we've waited so long to book flights because of sodding house move anyway. Just long drives in heat to meet random family and stay in different places, and not being able to join in the swimming etc makes me a bit uncertain about blowing all the cash and being a grumpy uncomfortable cow...guess I'll have a clearer opinion after next week. That said at colposcopy the nurse said she couldn't see anything (after applying fluid which is supposed to show up abnormal cells) but then it came back CIN3 anyway.

I was fine. We went out for tea afterwards. When the local anaesthetic wore off I took 2 paracetemol as I had a bit of a stingy twinge. They told me to leave the large tampon thing in and take it out at bedtime. There was nothing on it apart from a little bit of light brown blood. That was that - end of blood, end of pain. Flew to USA a week later for a month. I have had worse smear tests.