1st smear

[sendhelp22]

I have got my first ever smear this week. I'm so nervous so any tips would be appreciated...

Women have lots of different experiences. My own, FWIW, is that they are a bit uncomfortable but not painful. But this is not a universal truth; plus some women find them distressing for other reasons (for instance, if they've been victims of sexual assault).

A few things that may or may not help:

1. The nurse/doctor taking the smear is experienced and does this for their job. They've seen it all before. So you don't need to fell self-conscious about how your bits look, getting nervous, etc.
2. In my experience, the nurse/doctor will talk to you throughout the procedure - explain what will happen, let you know when they're about to touch you, etc. They should also tell you that if at any stage it hurts or you need a break, to let them know.
3. The actual procedure is fairly quick - a minute or two. How long it takes can depend on how visible your cervix is (sometimes they hide) and whether you're getting any other tests done (e.g. for STIs).
4. I've had a couple of smear tests recently, and it occurred to me that I was basically in reclined cobblers pose (if you're into yoga). So I also took the opportunity to relax through breath - breathing slowly and focusing on relaxing in my pelvic region.
5. You get the results a few weeks later. Should your smear be abnormal the response is very conservative, by which I mean that they will monitor you if you have HPV infection and get a further test done if there are any early cellular changes. Lots of these changes resolve of their own accord. An abnormal smear test is a quite common result and not anything to panic about.

One final piece of advice you didn't ask for - if you haven't already done so get the HPV vaccine (e.g. Gardisil). It's been a game changer for cervicial cancer rates!

Good luck and let us know how it goes