abnormal smear - so worried!

[m4rylou]

Hey, so i recently had my second smear test (I’ve just turned 26) as my first ever smear was just HPV+ no abnormal cells found. Came back a-bit longer than the yearly recall as i was pregnant and have had my 3rd child in April this year so had to wait 3months PP before having the due smear. Results have just come back Hpv+ but with some mild (low grade) cell changes this time.

I honestly have never felt anxiety like it - i think after having children my fear of dying (morbid i know) has just become ridiculous. I have a tendency to think the worst and am so worried at the colposcopy it’s going to be way worse than the original smear results. I also quite nervous about the colposcopy itself & the wait for any results after is going to be a real struggle.

I’ve seen quite a lot of horror stories & dr google definitely isn’t helping atm. I wondered if there was any lady’s out there who had any advice/positive story’s who have been in the same or similar situations that they could share to help make this quite scary time a little easier. Also if during the actual colposcopy does the specialist give an indication as to what they think they can see/what grade etc.

Thanks🙂

Oh love, please don't worry. I've had an abnormal smear, the colposcopy showed I had the highest grade of change (CIN3?) covering a large portion of my cervix and I had it all zapped a few weeks later.
All clear since, no pain, no issues.
The doctor described it to me as "kind of like a mole on your cervix", ie. it has more potential than the rest of your skin to become cancerous, but still unlikely statistically.
Please don't worry yourself about this, I remember how worried I was and I needn't have been. X

Hello my dm had higher grade cell changes and a colposcopy. It was honestly absolutely fine. They can’t see any individual cell changes but they zapped some dodgy patches-they can use a harmless chemical to show them up. It was honestly absolutely fine.

Oh and yeah, during the colposcopy they put a chemical up there which made the patches turn white so they were very visible (they have it up on a tv screen for them to see, you don't have to watch, I just said I wanted to see!). They will have a really clear indication from that. X

This is really common @m4rylou. Most people with HPV will show cell changes at some stage. It’s highly likely that by the time you have the colposcopy, the abnormal cells will be gone.
If they see any abnormal cells they may biopsy them to be on the safe side but at low grade it will all be very easy to remove if needed.

Over the last 20 years I have had several grades of cell changes and several biopsies but never needed treatment. Tell your gyno you are nervous and they will help you to get through it with as little fuss as possible.

Wow thank you so much for all the responses - definitely a nice thing to wake up too. I honestly had no idea that getting abnormal results was as common as it actually is, i thought it was just me😭

@eandz13 it’s so reassuring to know that they can remove anything harmful if needed. What was the colposcopy like itself pain/uncomfortable wise? i presume very similar to a smear but just slightly longer. Didn’t know you could see on the screen what was going on - and great that you will get an idea of the extent of the changes during the appointment.

@Over40Overdating Thank you this is really good to know, It’s crazy how many will have HPV at some point in their life - sometimes without even knowing. I think i was very clueless with anything regarding smears so now i’ve been doing far too much googling. Did the biopsy’s hurt at all? That’s so great to hear that you’ve never needed treatment despite having some abnormal results, thank you for taking the time to comment - definitely very reassuring.

@Haggisfish3 This again is really reassuring to know. And so so grateful that we have these tests available to monitor/take action if needed before anything sinister could/does happen. So pleased they zapped any dodgy patches - did they do this in the same appointment or did you have to go back?

With regards to any results or biopsy’s how long do these tend to take? i think the overall waiting is definitely the worst part!

Again thanks so much for anyone taking the time to respond - so so reassuring hearing of others story’s who have been in similar positions .

Soooooooooo common

You’re welcome @m4rylou !

Re the colposcopy itself - It takes longer than a smear as they do a visual examination, then add the liquid that will show any anormal cells up more clearly and then a biopsy if needed. I’ve known people to have laser straight away when needed too. Your cervix gets a bit crampy afterwards from being hoisted open for longer than usual!

The biopsies were like pinches really - not ideal but over very quickly. I had a very thorough biopsy at my last colposcopy because I’ve had HPV for longer than usual and cell changes on and off and that was like period cramps for a couple of days. The anticipation of it has always been worse than the actual experience.

Not sure whereabouts you are but in my borough the results come back within 2 weeks as a letter to me and GP.

Hi OP,

I went through the exact same thing this time last year so know how worrying it is.
I had abnormal cells (CIN3) which like a previous poster said, is the highest grade of changes.

Had LLETZ treatment a few weeks later to get rid, and everything has been absolutely fine ever since.

I'm sure everything will be fine for you too, but appreciate that the waiting around is bloody awful and your mind goes to all of the worse case scenarios!

Take care of yourself, and good luck xx

I currently have CIN1 which they aren't going to treat until next year
Feels weird that I potentially knowingly have cancer forming and I just have to wait it out
Had CIN 2 removed in 2010

No pain at all during colposcopy. Sensation is a little strange I suppose but nothing bad at all, I was pleasantly surprised as I'd expected pain/discomfort.
They could see really clearly on mine where/what the issue was so they performed the LLETZ right away, which was also absolutely fine, really straightforward and pain free, the nurses and I chatted all the way through and it only took about 5 minutes. I hope your feeling less anxious today knowing how common this is x

@Over40Overdating thanks for all the info regarding the colposcopy- this may sound like a daft question but the camera/microscope doesn’t actually go inside you does it?😂 Yes i agree there i feel like the anticipation is going to be way worse than any physical thing that happens. Results didn’t take too long to come through then - unlike actual smear results sometimes thank goodness.

@roldog thank you so much for sharing your positive story - so pleased everything has been fine for you since! Yes i’m a sucker for thinking the absolute worse case scenario - will be so glad once the colposcopy’s over just to know a little more what’s actually going on.

@solice84 Thank you for sharing -What was your initial smear results if you wouldn’t mind sharing? i didn’t realise with CIN1 (which i’m guessing is the lowest grade of changes?) that you wait out a year. I’m guessing that it’s likely that the cells will regress back to normal - but the wait for me would be horrible like you said being aware of something that could possibly change for the worse.

@eandz13 Oh that’s really positive to know - definitely think all the overthinking will be way worse than the actual colposcopy and/or any treatment needed. Honestly yesterday i felt like i was completely alone - it seems as thought no-one ever talks about getting any kind of abnormal smear results. So posting on here and having all these responses has had made me feel so much less anxious.

Will be so glad to have my colposcopy in a couple of weeks - just to get a clearer picture🙂 going to try and distract myself as much as possible from thinking about it and just think off all these positive stories/outcomes that i’ve now heard about instead of the horrible things you read on google.

I had 3 HPV + with no changes but then at the colposcopy after the third one they spotted the cin1

I believe my flare up was caused by pregnancy

I have 0 faith this will go away on its own for me considering it didn't the last time I had this issue .

My DIL has had this a few times over the years finally got lasered touch wood been fine since then

@solice84 i read on another - older thread someone say they thought it had flared up cause of pregnancy aswell! fingers crossed it either clears up or you get treatment for it next time! After having the Cin 2 removed previously did you have more regular smears or did you go to 3 yearly?

@justasking111 ahh so glad she’s not had any problems since. Sounds so much more than common than i thought it was. Thanks for sharing - can’t wait for the wait to be over!

It went to 3 years eventually . Not sure long it took . Then the few before my positive one were fine and negative

Just wanted to add a lil update as someone who has been trawling through threads on here it’s so good to see how people’s story’s ended.

I had my colposcopy today - uncomfortable can’t lie but no worse than a smear just slighty longer. She explained everything before - how if she found any changes/ abnormalities she would biopsy etc. After no more than 5mins she was lowering the chair back down - and told me everything is absolutely fine down there, she couldn’t see anything she was worried about. I asked about 8times due to my anxiety but she reassured me she couldn’t see any abnormalities- and that she couldn’t just magic them up🤣 she said she would get me back in for another smear in 6months to check that everything was still clear and then i would return back to normal smears.

Thanks. I had hpv positive smear so am hoping my next one is clear. 🤞

Hi ladies, bit of a tough one. Wanting to see if anyone have you been through the same or similar.

So last year went for my smear, and it came back positive, fast forward to this year and once again my smear came back positive for hpv plus abnormal cells were found. So im waiting for my appointmwnt which is september for the colposcopy.
However in the last couple of weeks, ive had extremely painful whats like period pains though im not on, sex is painful and my bofy doesnt seem to get excited for it anymore and usually im very easy to get going and love sex. I pee constantly, im extremelt legarthic and tired and nausous. So i went to the gp and they found a white lesion on my cervix. And so theyre writing to hospital to see me sooner.

Has anyone else had this thats been fine or its turned out to be nothing as right now i cant shake the feeling that there is something serioualy wrong.