Nurse saw bleeding during smear test. Prob TMI, sorry, but scared.

[ButIForgetMyself]

Was going to namechange but I haven't got the energy.

I went for my smear test 9 days ago. During it, the nurse said she saw some bleeding up there. She told me not be too worried as it was probably my period returning after giving birth to my DD.

My period hasn't returned since though, and now I'm worried sick.

History: I am 35 and DD is my first child, born in January by CS after failed forceps. Had the lochia until about 8 weeks, then it gradually faded to a white discharge. Have had this ever since, always a stain on knickers at end of day, and DD is now 3 months old. I am BFing so period hasn't yet returned.

Nurse said she couldn't see the discharge but could see bleeding. However, no blood has appeared from me since the lochia finished.

(Three years ago I had to go for 5 smears in the space of 18 months as I kept getting "inadequate cells taken for screening". In the end I had a colposcopy and the gynae said everything was fine.)

I don't understand what the bleeding was? And what this discharge is? Could it be possible I am still bleeding internally over three months later? Or is there maybe something wrong?

I know I should go to the doctor, but they'll just tell me to wait for the results.

Terrified it's something awful. Dreading the results letter coming back. I am really, really scared.

Anyone had anything similar happen?

Please dont worry, the most likely reason is you have a bit of a cervical erosion, nothing to worry about, and very very common, i have one and when i hav a smear, i always bleed a bit

It's probably cervical erosion- especially if the previous tests show inadequate cells- I used to get because of erosion and it usually meant that the cells the nurse had taken had been "contaminated" with blood so couldn't be properly tested...

Try not to be scared- I think we're all a bit freaked out at the moment with the J G*y thing.

You could ask the nurse if it's likely that it's bleeding caused by cervical erosion? Or maybe even, given the difficult birth, that it's still a bit of lochia?

I bled a little at my last smear and the one before that. So have lots of other women on MN, there have been threads about it.
The little scrapy thingy they use to collect the cells can cause bleeding. Are you sure that is not what the nurse meant?

Re the discharge, I have been very dischargy TMI) since having the dc. Had the discharge tested in case it was something that needed treating but it came back as normal.

Nurse said the bleeding during the smear test is normal - although it may sometimes make the test harder to read so it may have to be re-done- and she also commented that I had a lot of discharge but that this was normal too.

Hope that helps.

Please stop worrying. It is very unlikely to be anything worrying.

Please don't worry unduly. As the others have said, it's very common for the smear itself to cause bleeding (always happens to me) - could that be it?

You had a colposcopy three years ago so it is extremely unlikely to be anything too worrying. My gynaecologist said it takes a long time for potentially dodgy cells on the cervix to progress and become serious. After having an op on the most 'advanced' form of pre-cancerous cells (CIN III) five years ago I am back to once-every-three-years smears and he said that's more than enough to check all is well. So I hope that reassures you.

Some people find that their cervix takes a long time to recover after childbirth. At my 6-week check, my cervix was still very clearly inflamed and sore. I then had a smear about 12 weeks after having my ds1 and was really quite offended by the nurse commenting on my discharge (like yours, quite thick and yellowish white), as though it was something to worry about... She took a swab and that confirmed everything was normal (as did the subsequent smear result) - the discharge was just a result of the cervix still being a bit inflamed and sore, but no signs of infection of any sort. So, the probability is that your cervix is just not back to normal after giving birth, maybe bleeding a bit if scraped during the smear, and all will be fine. Having a large baby try to come out of a small hole, and forceps being pushed around inside you is not exactly an untraumatic event for your insides, so try not to worry too much. If you do start to get more symptoms (soreness, pain, abnormal bleeding, smelly discharge, etc), you could always go back and ask for a swab to check for infection.

Thanks you lot. That's helped a lot, actually.

Hi all

I'm scared because my smear test result came back as they were not able to read it because not all of the cells that are needed for an accurate test could be clearly seen.
On checking back in my diary I did have some bleeding the day before my smear, could this of interfered with the result? also they recommend that you wait 3 months to have another one done how dumb is that?!! you COULD have something wrong and that would prelong the any treatment needed. That really winds me up!! x

Yes, the bleeding could have made the smear hard to read, or they may just not have got enough.

As the changes to the cervical cells happen slowly, and are pre cancerous, 3 months onto a normal recall cycle isn't a problem

Hi Thanx for your message, I hope that is the reason and not abnormal cells. I've got another test tommorow coz I don't really wanna wait 3 months as I could be on then.
I'm a little bit re-assured but still scared. x

It takes a little while for the epithelium to regrow, tho' not 3 months, that's one reason. Another is that if sometimes women will end up having tests only a 2-3 weeks apart which makes it more likely the 2nd one will also be inadequate. If you have a 3rd consecutive inad then you'd be referred to colposcopy but if the tests were taken further apart you might not have needed to IYSWIM.
Another reason is if it's due to inflammation getting in the way then the surgery need time to do swabs etc and for treatment for possible infection before a retest is done.
So I do understand you'd like to get it out of the way, but there are reasons for leaving it for probably 6-8 weeks at least.
HTH