smear test

melting_snow · 14-03-2015, 11:24 PM

I was "invited" for a smear test in april last year. They kept sending me "invites" until my GP brought it up in an appt and I said I didn't want one. I recently told her about the abuse I experienced as a child and I am wondering now what support she could offer around me having a smear? I know I need to have one because my mum died of cervical cancer age 41.

thanks

MissAnonymous · 17-03-2015, 01:31 PM

I am so sorry to hear of both your bereavement and awful experiances of abuse as a child. It was incredibly brave to have told your GP what happened to you and understandably you need and deserve to have support around both the smear test itself and the feelings it may or may not evoke afterwards.

Is there anyone you trust to have in the room with you whilst you have the smear test or do you feel you trust your GP to do the smear test herself perhaps if that were possible?

Would it be helpful to have some councelling or therapy beforehand/ set up already?

Maybe you could book a double appointment with your GP and have a longer chat with her about some of these issues above.

Well done for being so brave and opening up to her xxx

OrchestraSystem · 21-03-2015, 01:39 AM

I'm very sorry for your loss and what you went through.

I don't have any advice, but I am curious to see if there will be more responses here. We have had many smear test invites and keep having to awkwardly decline and explain why.

So I'll be watching this to see if there's some useful advice we could use.

Nik

melting_snow · 24-03-2015, 11:34 PM

Thank you all for the hugs & replies. I had forgotten about this thread!

I am going to see my GP in a couple of weeks as I will run out of meds and I'll bring up the smear test. I would feel more comfortable with her doing it rather than a nurse. I feel my GP knows me quite well. When I told her about the abuse, she'd rang me on her lunch break and then told me go down to the surgery when it was closed. I will mention whether or not its possible for her to do it.

Everyone keeps telling me it is over within a few minutes but I'm not sure I could even cope with that. I had an internal ultrasound about 5 years ago and was traumatised for days afterwards.

But thank you very much. I'm going to speak to my GP when I next see her and see if she has any wise suggestions. She's very understanding and lovely, so I'm hoping she will get where I am coming from.

If anyone can PM me with smear test experiences after SA, it would be very much appreciated :)

random.swirls · 25-03-2015, 05:33 PM

Definitely speak to your GP about it as she may be able to help and it sounds very important for you to have a smear.

What do you think would make it easier or what worries you about it? Eg if it provokes lots of anxiety could they do it then and their of could you be prescribed some diazapam. If it's flashbacks or distress after could you have a longer appointment so you can talk it through after etc

Lindsey · 05-04-2015, 06:31 PM

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 :)