Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

does anyone know what they test for in routine vaginal swabs and urine tests?

38 replies

arggg · 11/02/2008 08:19

had both lately and was just wondering.

OP posts:
dutchmam · 12/02/2008 20:14

Hope tomorrow is definitely better for you lucyellensmum!
Was just seeing how arggg's appointment went...

arggg · 13/02/2008 08:19

the appointment went ok. i bawled through the whole thing of course. but I didn't chicken out. i asked the hard questions. going for tests today. fuck.
i also opened up to my best friend about it. that helped a lot. things that have been inside me for too long came out. i wish i could talk to DH like that.
(i think i finally get the whole BF thing now. never thought i needed one before. guess i just never had the right one!)
so anyway, results come back next week. until then i shall live in fear. and pray a lot.
thank you again for this both of you. i really does mean a lot!

OP posts:
arggg · 13/02/2008 08:20

oh lucyellensmum! i hope today is better. it will be better. cause i said so.
xx

OP posts:
lucyellensmum · 14/02/2008 09:39

what tests are you having arrgh?? Are they sorting out your anxiety?

arggg · 14/02/2008 15:44

funnily enough even though i was in tears the whole time and was obviously quite anxious the dr didn't seem that bothered.
i've bit the bullet and am being tested for everything. and a blood test to check my thyroid (at my request, not his)
i have to wait until next week to find out. so now i am flip flopping between relief and utter terror.
my friend hit the nail on the head and said that i have really low self esteem. it's true. and a lot of this comes down to feeling unworthy of everything i have and being terrified of losing it.
the first step is admitting it, right?

i saw that you're having a bad week too. hope you are feeling a bit better. (i'm a regular btw but obviously too embarassed to not namechange!)

OP posts:
lucyellensmum · 14/02/2008 15:54

would be better if it wasnt for this tummy bug

Im surprised at your doctor, and a bit cross to be honest, mine saw stright through me and raised the issues of anxiety. Funnily enough one of my underlying issues is very low self esteem, its like you feel you deserve bad things to happen so why wouldnt it?

It might be as well, when you get the tests back to say how much this worry is affecting you and to ask for some counselling.

Yes you are right, admitting there is a problem, is a very big step.

Take a look at this website..I dont have the link, but i think its called Moodgym.com there is a questionaire about anxiety and depression - it is well recognised one, also, Bluepages.com has a similar test - do the test, print it out and take it to your doctor.

If you have no joy, see another doctor, i really feel it is your anxiety that is making you ill, not the other way around

arggg · 15/02/2008 09:45

sorry about the tummy bug! at least you have an excuse to veg out for a bit.

Can i ask what treatment you got for your anxiety? was it just meds or was there councelling as well?
i went for cbt for my pnd but the psych nurse and i didn't work well together (which is the nice way of saying she wasn't very good at her job!) and i would leave feeling a million times worse than when i arrived. finances are very tight so i dont know tht i could afford anyhting private, but, i know i need to deal with this and if that;s what we have to do then we'll figure out a way.

(wallowing moment now, bear with me) i just keep thinking 'what if'.
he tells me he loves me and i wonder if he'll still feel the same next week? i'm soaking up his love like a sponge just in case it's the last i'll ever get.

OP posts:
lucyellensmum · 15/02/2008 12:16

arrrghh, you really do need to go back to your doctor - you could be me!!!

I am on anti depressants, i take citalopram 40mg, which is the same family of drugs as prozac and is meant to be most effective for people with anxiety related depression. It does help with the anxiety - it doesnt stop the worrying thoughts completely, i still check my breasts at least three times a DAY! but it means i can shut them out of my mind long enough to get on with things and they dont completely cripple me. I had counselling but it was a waste of time, six sessions available on the NHS! Really useful that!! We to have money problems and that rules out CBT for me because it is basically not available on the NHS in this area, although im going to try and push my doctor for it again, it basically means a full on psychiatric refferal, but in for a penny in for a pound

Sometimes i think it is a case of finding a sympathetic doctor, my doctor didnt push the ADs on me as i was very unsure to start with, but i know that without them i would have destroyed my relationship, my DP was ready to walk away.

The drugs are not a miracle cure, i still have bad days, really bad days, but they are fewer and far between and i feel more in control, instead of my anxiety controlling me.

I think you are very brave to have the tests by the way - i remember once having a blood test because i was having tummy/back pain and feeling sick. It came back with raised liver enzymes, my doctor said re test in a few weeks - well, i convinced myself i had hepatitis B and let it rule my life for ages. Honestly, i didnt apply for a brilliant job once because i knew they wanted to do a medical and found out they did routine blood screening . Then years later my midwife did a hep B test without my permission (it was a mix up) and it came back negative!! All that worry for nothing, waiting for it to manifest itself, i managed to bury it most of the time, but then sometimes i would do things like, not plant seeds and bulbs because i would convince myself i woudlnt be alive to see them grow. How mad is that - now i CAN do these things and it is amazing when i watch these things sprout out of the ground, confirmation that im still alive - bloody hell, i sound like a fruit loop dont i. So anyway, i never got the bloods followed up, and then after my baby was born i found out the reason for it - i didnt have hepatitis, i didnt have cancer, i had gallstones!! Shit in itself, more pain than i have ever experienced in my life and it ruined the first few months with DD because i was so ill, but i had them removed and all was well - IF i had chased up the blood test from 5 years ago, (it was them that caused it)i would have probably had a scan and had them whipped out, no problem. OF course i still bury my head in the sand when i probably should go to the doctor and break their door down over innocuous rubbish.

I dont mean to turn this into me me me, but reading this back i recognise just how irrational my behaviour can be sometimes. I am always convinced my partner is going to leave me, if his phone runs out of battery i think he has switched it off and i have even been known to go looking for him and panicking when i cant find him. Its mad mad mad.

The tablets help me control all of this. Its still there, but i am in control (just).

If this sounds anything like you - get thee to a physician

arggg · 15/02/2008 12:24

i'm really freaked out now. i really think we are the same person!!
what you were saying about the blood tests... i didn't have a cervical smeaer done for YEARS because of this. at my first urine test when i was pregnant i was just about beside myself with fear.
i completely internalize it though, 99% of the time my DH doesn't have a clue that anything is wrong. which probably isn't good either.
once (if) this is all over i'm making a promise to be completely open with DH. no more hiding. no more worrying needlessly. (she says..haha)
right, going to do more housework before i start freaking out again and roll up into a ball and cry for the rest of the day!!

OP posts:
lucyellensmum · 15/02/2008 16:41

It will be over, because now you recognise that there is a problem, you can solve it. Its a bit like diabetes or back problems they dont go by themselves, they need treatment and management, it is an ILLNESS in itself. I took my DP along with me to see my doctor as he was struggling to understand - he was worried about the ADs and wanted to know if i could get better by myself. The doctor said it was unlikely but not impossible, but i didnt want to get worse. For me ADs were the best decision.

arggg · 18/02/2008 09:47

hi. had a really nice day yesterday with DH and DS. but couldn't help feeling like it would be the last one.
thank you for helping me with this.
i've startred to get really really scared. barely slept at all last night.
i think i've changed my mind. i don't want to know. i don't think i can do it.

OP posts:
arggg · 22/02/2008 08:58

going to phone for results in a few minutes.
i feel sick.

OP posts:
arggg · 22/02/2008 09:15

i'm ok.
I'M OK!!!!

just collapsed on the floor with relief.

i think you're right though, LEM. I need to get help with this. (which i realized as they were telling me everything was negative and i kept thinking 'what if they are wrong' ffs)
thank you so much for helping me with this. for the first time in a very very long time i may sleep well tonight. (yeah right!)

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread