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I had a pap smear today and it was the most painful and excruciating medical exam I've ever had in my life.
I hadn't had one in many years, I'm 30 years old, and haven't had intercourse in six years. The last pap smear I had, although probably more than 8 years ago, I do not remember it being the least bit painful. Felt some pressure, sure, but not pain. Not pain. The penetration itself didn't hurt, it was something the NP inserted after that to keep whatever she put inside first open. That's what hurt. The last part where the scraping of the cervix happens wasn't painful, but one of those tools definitely did something wrong because I have a pretty strong tolerance for discomfort, and this had me crying tears. I'm still crying just thinking about it because when I asked why it was hurting, she wouldn't give me an explanation, so I'm afraid she may have hurt me in some way.
My period just ended a few days ago, and I was completely fine and asymptomatic for anything. I've never been pregnant and never had children. Now I'm still feeling discomfort inside my vagina and it hurts, and I hope that no damage was done because I want to have a healthy pregnancy and children some day. I don't like that I chose to have this pap smear, and now learning that they are obsolete because such an infinitesimal percentage of women ever even are at risk for cervical cancer and that nearly all incidences of HPV clear up on their own. The risks by this procedure seem to outweigh any benefit. I'm never getting this done ever again, feel betrayed by the medical profession, and do not feel comfortable risking getting an infection or god forbid infertility as a result of damage done during a pap smear.
Then the NP referred me to make an appointment with radiology for some other kind of pelvic exam where they're going to blast my perfectly healthy womb with cancer causing radiation. I am not comfortable with all of this.
Has anyone else experienced unusual pain or other problems during and after a pap smear?
I went in for an annual physical. She asked when was my last pap and I said it had been too long so thought it was a good idea to get checked. And I also mentioned I had some tenderness and pain on and around my urethra two weeks ago but with no painful urination, so she said she would check that, too.
A cervical biopsy? It was a pap, what it reads on my visit summary. Afterwards, I looked at the long slender tool with the scraping brush-looking appendage at the tip and it had blood on it and was submerged in a solution. About 20 minutes later, the tool was disposed, and the solution was capped and saved with my identification info on it.
Is there not supposed to be blood on a brush-looking tip of a long, slender tool?
OP, I am so sorry that you had such a terrible experience.
From what you are describing, it sounds like the pain was due to insertion of the speculum. Why was it necessary to insert anything else: "The penetration itself didn't hurt, it was something the NP inserted after that to keep whatever she put inside first open"? That usually happens when the vaginal walls tend to collapse into the opened speculum, which sometimes happens after women have had several children or the patient is unusually obese.
It would be unwise to abandon all future exams on the basis of one bad experience. That would have the potential to harm no one but yourself. Pap smears are not obsolete, though there is a growing trend to replace them with a test for high risk versions of HPV itself for screening, which would mean still needing an exam.
You can rest assured that, despite the pain, the exam will not cause an infection or make you infertile.
Edited to add: blood on the collection brush is very common and nothing to worry about.
What is the name of the additional test that was recommended and what is the reason for it? I can think of none that would "blast" anything with "cancer causing radiation."
Please do not condemn the entire medical profession based on an experience with one NP who appears to have poor technical and communication skills. The first thing you need to do is talk to the physician who supervises her, explain what happened, find out why the exam was so painful for you, and understand what the planned test is and why you should have it.
Edited to add: blood on the collection brush is common and nothing to worry about.
It sounds like the speculum scratched something. I've had a painful speculum experience before a couple of times, it took four or five days to feel better. There's definitely some operator skill involved. If they twist it around much, you are going to be sore afterwards. But it will heal up. If you had any major damage, you'd be bleeding a lot and you'd know something was wrong. If your period is due to start soon, then you're probably more sensitive down there than usual.
I haven't had a cervical biopsy but I've had several endometrial biopsies and that's definitely uncomfortable for a few seconds. Gut-wrenchingly uncomfortable, even when you're prepared for the pain. I have a high pain tolerance but I've fainted after an endometrial biopsy.
I doubt that your lady parts have been caused any long-term damage and I'm sure you're not at risk for infertility or infection from the pap smear. Next time, see a gynecologist instead of having your primary care doctor do the exam, if possible, because they've got more experience and it's less likely to be uncomfortable.
I think part of the reason this exam was so traumatic for you is that you haven't had one in many years and you may have been avoiding it because you were scared. The terms you've used to describe it "penetration", "betrayed", sound like you have some issues about pelvic exams. I think it's normal to be a little uncomfortable with it, especially when you haven't had kids yet. After you've had a baby, so many people have checked you and seen your parts that you lose a lot of the mental discomfort with pelvic exams. It's kind of like, what's one more?
The procedure on the referral she gave me reads US EXAM, PELVIC, COMPLETE for a diagnosis of "Abdominal pain, generalized" and the referral is to radiology. I don't know what exactly that is but sounds like they're going to give me a dose of radiation right at the womb. During the woman's wellness exam, she pressed around my abdominal section and onto where the uterus and bladder are, and there was pain, but only when she applied pressure. I also had the exact same kind of pain two years ago at my last physical when a different doctor pressed the same area - except that doctor said that it may be fibroids, but she didn't look any further into it or think it was anything serious. My periods are typically heavier and longer than most women's.
What is the pelvic exam? The nurse mentioned something about an ultrasound.
The procedure on the referral she gave me reads US EXAM, PELVIC, COMPLETE for a diagnosis of "Abdominal pain, generalized" and the referral is to radiology. I don't know what exactly that is but sounds like they're going to give me a dose of radiation right at the womb. During the woman's wellness exam, she pressed around my abdominal section and onto where the uterus and bladder are, and there was pain, but only when she applied pressure. I also had the exact same kind of pain two years ago at my last physical when a different doctor pressed the same area - except that doctor said that it may be fibroids, but she didn't look any further into it or think it was anything serious. My periods are typically heavier and longer than most women's.
What is the pelvic exam? The nurse mentioned something about an ultrasound.
Pelvic exam is what you had done already, when they put the speculum in and have a look, and put a couple of fingers in and press on your abdomen to check your ovaries.
The ultrasound is not a dose of radiation right at the womb. Ultrasound does not involve any radiation. It uses sound waves. I'm sure you've seen pregnant women getting ultrasounds on tv shows, with the goo on the tummy and then they can see the baby on the screen. A transvaginal ultrasound uses the same technology but instead of being done through the abdomen, it's done through the vagina. The ultrasound tech will use a probe covered with a condom and lubricated with jelly to do the test. The test takes less than ten minutes and it doesn't hurt. It's much less uncomfortable than a speculum exam. They insert the probe, move it in different directions to get the images they need of your different internal organs, and that's it. You should pee before the exam because there can be some pressure on your bladder during the test. The probe is about the thickness of a tampon applicator, but longer. You can google "transvaginal ultrasound probe" to see images of what they will use, if you're worried about it.
The procedure on the referral she gave me reads US EXAM, PELVIC, COMPLETE for a diagnosis of "Abdominal pain, generalized" and the referral is to radiology. I don't know what exactly that is but sounds like they're going to give me a dose of radiation right at the womb. During the woman's wellness exam, she pressed around my abdominal section and onto where the uterus and bladder are, and there was pain, but only when she applied pressure. I also had the exact same kind of pain two years ago at my last physical when a different doctor pressed the same area - except that doctor said that it may be fibroids, but she didn't look any further into it or think it was anything serious. My periods are typically heavier and longer than most women's.
What is the pelvic exam? The nurse mentioned something about an ultrasound.
An ultrasound does not involve any radiation. It uses sound waves and is the same procedure used to look at the fetus during pregnancy. It can diagnose fibroids and other conditions of the uterus and ovaries. It is done in the Radiology department, though most gynecologists also do them in the office.
If it's been a long time since you had sex, things could have tightened up down there - and if she was using a normal sized speculum, that could have been the cause of the pain.
The ultrasound sounds like she may think you have some fibroids or ovarian cysts.
You need to relax and calm down, and then call the doctor and ask to have a discussion about what was wrong and what exactly she's looking for with that ultrasound.
I'm sure it was a terrible experience, but you're freaking out and being really dramatic. I suspect the other stuff going on in your life that you have posted about is causing you a lot of anxiety and this has just amped that up by several levels. I frequently hyper-focus on things that weren't actually major problems in times of high anxiety because the other stuff I"m dealing with is simply too much for me. It's an avoidance thing, and it's something that I try to .... well, avoid doing. You have a laundry list of daunting challenges you are currently dealing with, and those are what you should be focusing on. This gynecological exam is only something to worry about if the test results come back funky.
Gynecological stuff is TERRIFYING to most women. Everyone has heard horror stories. But they're actually the exception rather than the rule - it's best to approach the calmly and realistically. Swearing you're never going to get another pap smear because of this one experience is a huge over-reaction, and following through with it could just cause you some massive health problems, including infertility.
I'm sorry your doctor was a bit of a clod, but you can't let someone's bad beside manner negatively affect your health. Call the office, and ask for an explanation in plain english of what is going on.
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