Has anyone on here had a colposcopy? I had a routine smear test and apparently I have minor abnormalities. As these often go away on their own, I then had a repeat one a few months later. Again it came up with minor abnormalities, so I'm now going to have a colposcopy in a few weeks. This is so that they can have a better look at my cervix. Does anyone know what to expect? I've looked on the internet and I have an NHS leaflet but really I want to know whether it hurts or not! I find that smear tests really hurt, and am really dreading the colposcopy! There are lots of things on the internet, but it's hard to know what's real and what's not. 'Officially' it's not supposed to hurt, but then neither are smear tests... I'm not so worried about results because at this stage it's just minor abnormalities (the scale is: minor, moderate, and severe abnormalities, then carcinoma in situ, then actual cancer. I spoke to the doctor and having minor abnormalities puts me at a slightly higher than average chance of getting cervical cancer in 10 - 20 years, unless I have treatment or they keep an eye on me. But it doesn't necessarily lead to cancer - in fact more likely not to than to - and doesn't necessarily require treatment, whereas with moderate or severe abnormalities treatment is automatic). It's more the procedure that I'm worried about! Anyone ever had one (or performed one??!!!)???!
They're not supposed to hurt, but from an actual video without bullshit it appears that it does actually hurt, sorry if this is offputting but if you're prepared for it then you can brace it much easier. I would suggest demanding to be very heavily medicated.
You'll probably gets lots of different answers to this question. There's really two variables- your tolerance for invasive procedures and how extensive the procedure is. The procedure is relatively quick. The question is more whether your dread of the procedure and the discomfort is worth being groggy for several hours. Very much like dentistry, there are some people who are so tense and apprehensive that they prefer to be sedated to help them to relax and to make the process tolerable. Pain is very subjective- different people tolerate pain in different ways. One woman may say that the speculum was worse than the colposcopy. Another woman may complain that she felt pressure. And another woman may describe it as painful. If you're someone who has a low pain tolerance or is particularly anxious, you may want to request a pre-medication for the night before the procedure and/or immediately before the procedure. If the procedure just involves curettage (a sample taken via scraping of the tissues), then you may feel some discomfort. If the procedure involves more extensive sampling or excision, then you will have some pain with bleeding for a short period thereafter. Your physician should be able to give you more information about how extensive the procedure will be.
