Had an abnormal pap smear ?

Question

got an abnormal pap smear last two wks and now my doctor wants me to get a colospy done . This is my first abnormal pap and im kind of scared and dont know what to expect. Has anyone been through this and what can i expect as far as the procedure goes.

Answer 1

It's slightly painful.  A lot of like pinches.  You have a little tenderness and some bleeding for about a day.  I was pregnant also so it may have been a little different for me.  

Answer 2

I guess it depends on how unusual the pap was.  I've had an abnormal one, but just got a dose of antibiotics.  I just know that it was something about inflammation, and later the doctor told me it probably would have been fine even without antibiotics.  

The big thing that pap smears test for is hints of cervical cancer and or hpv (human papilloma virus).   When you get the abnormal pap, then they will do the biopsy of your cervix to see what caused the abnormal cells.  In most cases, it is nothing.  Even if it is HPV, most of the time it is a low risk strain that goes away.  A small percentage of HPV can cause warts and even cause cervical cancer.  Again, even cervical cancer is 100% treatable (curable) if caught in the early stages, so be glad for those pap smears, as uncomfortable as they are.  

For the procedure, it will be mildly painful, but only for a moment.  You could have a bit of residual soreness (or cramping, like for your period) afterwards, and a bit of spotting, so will need a pad or two afterwards.  Basically, they just take a tiny snip of tissue from the cervix to send to the lab--so think of it like clipping your cuticles with your nail clippers, and snipping a tiny bit too much.  Yep, hurts, pretty bad for a few seconds but no, it's not unbearable, however, it hurts enough to say "Yow" in surprise.  You squeeze your finger for a few minutes, then forget it even happened.  

Remember, everyone's pain tolerance is different.  Some people may say they only felt pressure or a twinge of pain, while others will say it was a bit sharp.