Oh, I recently went for one. I meant to post about it incase it helped anyone else.
I avoided the letters for 8 or so years but started having problems in that area so was a bit worried. I told my rape crisis counsellor and she offered to come with me.
We actually went to a local sexual health clinic because they offer smear tests and work with people who have experienced sexual abuse. They'll do the test for anyone but I think if people don't have much anxiety around it its easier to go to a GP. My counsellor phoned and explained the situation especially that I didnt want to answer sexual health questions. I'm embarrassed about not being sexually active and also the "how many partners have you had" question as I'm unsure if abuse counts.
We went to the clinic and pretty much everything that could go wrong did. They had no record of my appointment and my counsellor had to discreetly explain in the waiting room where she was from and why it was a sensitive issue. The doctor was still able to see me and she asked me a sex related question where I shot my counsellor a look, she explained again that I didnt want to answer any of these questions. My counsellor would have stayed with me but I said she could leave for the procedure.
She got me to undress and lie on the bed and then couldn't find her speculum. She left the room and sent my counsellor back in (I had a blanket over my knees) to keep me company. I'm very relaxed with her and she makes me laugh and was able to ease my anxiety a bit. The doctor came back and she left again. She used numbing gel so I shouldn't feel anything and a very small speculum (she said it was made for a child which is a bit unsettling). It did hurt a bit but not unbearable and probably because I was anxious. She told me what she was doing as she was doing it and I stared at the ceiling and chatted about work, trying to keep my mind off things.
It didn't take long (but longer than it should have as she couldn't quite find my cervix ?!) and then she told me to get dressed and she tried to have a chat with me again about sexual health. I got very uncomfortable and asked to just leave and she let me. She's concerned that if I am having sex I'm not going to be responsible and go for regular checks. Sex is so not even an issue for me right now.
My counsellor took me back to the train station and told me to meet her at her office in an hour. We had a session and I just got my results back to say everything is clear.
Sorry, that's quite long winded. My advice is to seek out a local NHS sexual health centre and see if they offer this service. You can have someone call on your behalf and go along with you. If they know you're nervous and have a rough idea of the circumstances they can do things like smaller speculum and numbing gel :)
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