My Dr. just called. My PAP came back abnormal. UPDATE page 5 (04/06)

[skooniebird]

Do I need to be worried yet? What could it be that's not a big deal? I've never had an abnormal PAP before. My stomach is just sick.

99% of the time it's fine. I've had it happen twice. They do an "ofice biopsy" pinch off a little tissue. A little ouch, then it ends up coming back fine. I always get nervous a bit as grandma died of cervical cancer. Oh well, we do what we must, and handle what is dealt us I guess.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Yes, I've been on that Safari. Not fun! I had cryosurgery to remove the abnormal cells. I thought the biopsy hurt more. It's been about 15 years ago and all of my PAPs have been normal.

 

[lecach]

Same thing happened to me. They had to freeze my cervix. The male Dr. told me it wouldnt hurt at all. It DID hurt - although not horrible it was more than I was led to believe. I decided then that I needed a female OB and I have never seen another male OB since then.

Good luck - this happens a lot. And 99.999% of the people I know that have had it have been perfectly fine.

 

[ILUVMYBRIT]

Oh yeah thats a fun one. Had to have one done last year. Thank goodness my gyn is awesome and made me feel really comfortable. Good luck

 

[Tiggeroo]

this is the reason for pap smears. These issues are always very treatable if caught early and they are if you get your pap. If, like me you have a couple abnormal paps they will want you to have them every six months instead of once a year.

 

[nliedel]

My sister in law had a per cancerous cervix. They did several leeps and a cone. She does not have much cervix left but last year had a beautiful baby boy and her most recent pap came back normal (She gets them every couple of months). They had to make her a cervix, more than a cerclage but her little angel is now 8 months old. It all looks like it's going to be fine now and it was pretty scary there for a while.

 

[Martha7]

There's a young female doctor in the practice that I go to, and the last time I went in to get the Pap test, she wouldn't do one, and said that they've found that you don't need to get an annual test any longer. Years ago, I had to have a colposcopy, but I guess all was normal, since no procedure was performed subsequently. Do you all agree that skipping the annual Pap is OK? I'm just a little concerned about it. (I'm 48, and my maternal grandmother died of colorectal cancer.) I can't get a doctor to order a colonoscopy before I'm 50 either. I keep thinking that they must get a hefty bonus check at the end of the year from my insurance company for all of the tests that they don't order!

 

[princess pooh]

Martha7, my gynecologist and family doctor both said to get a pap test every year.

 

[floridafam]

Martha7,

I don't agree with the new Pap guidelines at all. I think you'll find that most Dr.'s won't, either. I'd sure like to know who thought these up.

I go every year and will continue to do so.

MommyPoppins,

I'm glad you are okay.

I had an abnormal Pap a few years ago and a colposcopy. Everything turned out to be fine.

 

[phisigprincess]

MommyPoppins - I dropped you a PM

Martha7- PLEASE go get a pap. Switch doctors if you have to, because the fact that they didn't follow up after the colpo is weird to me. The fact that you needed a colpo at all means there was something wrong and should have been monitored despite the results if only for a short period of time. To not follow up with that and schedule you for a yearly just doesn't seem right. Truthfully, my advice would be to find another doctor within the practice or switch doctors all together.

 

[TheRatPack]

That's a scary statistic.

Isn't it? And yet most of the female population knows nothing about it. There is a vaccine coming out though, and it is said to work best on children ages 11 or so. I know it's controversial but my dd and ds will both be getting it if available.

Even if you abstain your whole life until marriage, who says your partner did? And some of the strains of HPV can be passed through childbirth...so another possibility even if you abstain. There are 100's of different strains, that cause everything from cervical cancer to genital warts. Most people have the first one, no warts and no signs of it and it lies dormant. They don't routinely check for it (not even when checking for all the STD's before child birth). So you wouldn't know you had it until that abnormal pap comes back.

It can cause issues for men too, depending on the strain.....there really needs to be more about this taught when other STDs and Viruses are mentioned.


I wouldn't panic if I were you though. Chances are the abnormal pap will come back okay the second time. I did this off and on for about 3 years before finally having 3 in a row abnormal and having the biopsy and cryo done. Waiting on this months pap so I can tell if the cryo worked

 

[TheRatPack]

Please don't come down hard on her. People "deal" with STDs in different ways. Many of us are innocent victims. Sometimes it's easier to say "It's not a big deal" instead of thinking "My two-timing creep of a BF/DH had his fun and now it might kill me."

I agree, my husband and I have been happily married for 12 years and I won't say that the thought didn't creep in to my mind once or twice but once the dr explained it to me I'm fine with it.

HPV is rarely tested for unless you show signs of it (genital warts or abnormal paps...etc). It can lie dormant for years, and there isn't a test at all to see if a man is a carrier. So if you're husband had another partner or two before you, he could give it to you and it not show up for years upon years.

Doesn't mean he cheated on you at all. Oh and just because you are tested for STDs before giving birth, doesn't mean a thing. HPV is not one of those routine test. And it's not a STDisease, it's a VIRUS. So it's believed that you can overcome it with a normal immune system and suppress it again.

It does make sense to have the vaccine though, for your children or someone who is yet to become s*xu*lly active, since it can wreak havoc on your reproductive system and it can also become a huge issue if you have the strain that causes warts. It can get in an unborn babies system and cause them problems for the rest of their lives.....just smart to take all precautions.

Oh and for those of you thinking "c*nd*ms for protection".... it doesn't work They say it just takes skin contact to skin so all that other area that isn't covered could just as easily infect you.

Scary huh?

 

[Martha7]

Thanks to the posters who replied to my question. I think you're right, and I'll call and get the name of a different doctor to do the test. We should always remember that we're consumers of health care, just as we are consumers of any other service we buy! I appreciate your thoughts, guys! Thanks also to the OP for starting the thread! I hope everything works out fine for you, too!

 

[wdwmom2]

I had an abnormal Pap one time. They did a colposcopy and said I had HPV. Then they did a DNA test to determine what type of HPV I had. Some kinds cause no problems and some kinds do. When the results came back, they said that no HPV had been detected. I have had many normal Paps since then. Who knows, maybe I did have it and it went away ?!?

 

[MommyPoppins]

I got a call back today about the biopsy. Just thought I'd let everyone know that they did find something and I am sceduled for a LEEP on March 24th, to get rid of the bad area. Now we just have to hope that our insurance doesn't get canceled before then.

DH's boss is changing insurance, you know so HE can save money, and we don't know anything about the new insurance yet.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hoping all goes well, Amanda.

 

[nana2tots]

 

[mcnuss]

MommyPoppins - I dropped you a PM

Martha7- PLEASE go get a pap. Switch doctors if you have to, because the fact that they didn't follow up after the colpo is weird to me. The fact that you needed a colpo at all means there was something wrong and should have been monitored despite the results if only for a short period of time. To not follow up with that and schedule you for a yearly just doesn't seem right. Truthfully, my advice would be to find another doctor within the practice or switch doctors all together.

A lot of doctors are now following the new guidelines. Just bc someone else's doctor is not does not make the guidelines wrong. If Martha7's colpo came back normal, there would be no reason for follow up. I could not tell from her post if she has had one since the colpo which she said was "years ago". Unless you're a doctor yourself, you shouldn't be second-guessing anyone else's...and even if you are, think how you'd feel if one of your patients came into your office tomorrow to tell you that she wants to change doctors because of some advice she got from an anonymous stranger on a message board. You'd be pretty upset, I'd venture.

Martha7, if you feel like you need to see a new doctor, by all means, do it. You should feel comfortable with your doctor; that's the bottom line. My doctor also told me that after a certain age, you can choose not to have a yearly PAP, esp if you've had the new test and know you do not have HPV and are in a committed relationship. I've made the decision to go every other year now - I've been tortured enough! I had 5 years of abnormal paps in my early 30's, had colpo and LEEP and the great pleasure of a pap every 3 months for those 5 years. I trust my doctor and her advice and did my homework. I am not going to change docs bc some that I don't even know don't agree with her.

To the OP I want to say "good luck" - as you can see from this thread, you are not alone in going thru this. Take care of yourself and by all means ask your doc for a valium which is what I did and apparently - I have no memory of this - I was the life of the party during my LEEP. Supposedly, I told quite a few Bill Clinton jokes.

 

[RachelEllen]

I got a call back today about the biopsy. Just thought I'd let everyone know that they did find something and I am sceduled for a LEEP on March 24th, to get rid of the bad area. Now we just have to hope that our insurance doesn't get canceled before then.

DH's boss is changing insurance, you know so HE can save money, and we don't know anything about the new insurance yet.

Best of luck. I honestly found my LEEP less uncomfortable than the colpo and biopsy. Again, it took me a while to get to this point, but eventually I really felt lucky that I lived in a time when these things could be found early and taken care of. Let us know how it goes!!

 

[nliedel]

I am thinking of you. Thank you for keeping us updated. I will hope and pray your insurance remains intact. Hugs.