20 weeks pregnant and Colposcopy- reassurance required!

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Hi all, posted earlier in health but had no response. I am currently 20 weeks pregnant and last July, had my latest smear. In October (around the same time I found out I was pregnant) I received my smear results which were positive for high risk HPV and abnormal cell changes and was referred to colposcopy.

Finally had my colposcopy yesterday- the Dr was great but not the chattiest and I didn't feel overly reassured (not her fault as busy doing her job- I know!) She said the changes were noted on my smear result as borderline. At colposcopy, she said at first the cervix looked fine, but then on putting in the chemical which allows her to see the changes, identified the area of abnormal cells which had been picked up on the smear. She said she could take a biopsy as I was 20 weeks pregnant and she had been tipped towards that decision to take it because it was in a location easy enough for her to take and because pregnancy can make things look a bit different. Results could take up to 12 weeks- treatment if required may be deferred until baby is born. I asked if there had been anything absolutely horrific if she would have seen it- she said she obviously couldn't be certain until results came back (I know she can't commit to saying absolutely nothing to worry about) but likely next steps could wait until birth of baby (or I may be asked to come back before birth for a check depending on results of biopsy.

I thought I felt ok about all of this- however, I really don't. I have woken up this morning with terrible anxiety and a headache and have hardly been able to think of anything else. Would she have seen if there was anything really urgent to worry about which required immediate treatment?

I know from my reading on MN that it seems like a fairly common procedure- is it? Have you had one? I would be really grateful to hear from anyone who has had to have the same and any positive experiences for some reassurance! I'm really trying to remain calm about this and focus on my pregnancy but I am having a terrible day.

Thank you so much in advance!

I wasn't pregnant at the time but I had the same experience. Abnormal smear. Biopsy taken. All fine. Just needed a smear test repeating 6 months later (then again 6 months after that I think). I can't remember it taking as long as 12 weeks for the results to come back but all was fine. Had a smear 3 years later and all come back normal. This was about 7/8 years ago.

Thank you- that's really reassuring for me to hear!

Hello! I went through something similar (although I was not pregnant) and spent tons of time worrying and reading so I wanted to share my experience to reassure you :-)

I also had an abnormal smear 2 years ago (high risk HPV + cell changes), followed by a colposcopy, and a biopsy which showed 'borderline' changes. I had to repeat the colposcopy 6 months later which showed the same again, so my doctor suggested to do a Lletz procedure to remove the abnormal cells.

The procedure wasn't painful but the recovery was a bit annoying (basically quite a lot of bleeding for several weeks), and showed that I actually had some CIN1 which is the lowest level of cell changes. But all was removed.

After that, I had a 6 months colposcopy as a follow up, with a smear test, which was all clear, and now HPV anymore. I had another follow up last summer when we started TTC to be on the safe side which was all clear too.

Between my first 'bad' smear and the actual procedure, almost a year happened, because the check-ups were every 6 months. My doctor told me that these cells take years (10-20 years) to develop into something really bad, so even if you did need treatment, I am sure that waiting until the end of your pregnancy would be fine :-)

And treatment doesn't mean cancer, it is a preventive process, and we're so lucky to have this available to us!

Something I learnt during this process is that not everything is black (= I am going to die) or white (=there is nothing), there are tons of shades of grey in between, and most of them are a bit annoying but not serious.

Good luck, and relax, I am sure you will be fine!

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain your experience it's really appreciated and helping me not to jump immediately to the worst possible conclusion! X