a bit worried about smear!

[maldives]

Ok at my appointment today i mentioned to the Dr that I had a smear test 6 weeks after delivery and it came back slighlty abnormal. (the Dr who performed the test wasn't worried and said it's common to get such a result, but she asked me to do it again in a months time. I didn't as I thought it's too early). I asked about it here in the forum and some suggested it be done 6 months after delivery which I agree with..so today when I told the Dr I got this result she freaked out!!! and wanted to do one I said no I'll wait another 2 months as I had my baby recently and i think it's better to wait.! she then told me with an alarming tone (do u know what this could be????) I freaked out but controled my self saying yeah I do but it's degree 1 so nothing to worry about. ! although she was soo nice but she kind of freaked me out should i be worried?!

 

[Donna's here]

Oh hun, I dont know. Could you not talk to someone else like a midwife or nhs direct or something and see what they say. What ever way, make sure you have it done when you hit 3 months. I had an abnormal one a few years ago and had to have a biopsy (sp?) done, was nasty but everything was ok, but its best to get checked hun.

 

[maldives]

Thanx donna, 3 months have past since birth if that's what u mean. I don't live in the UK so no NHS direct or so.
ok now if it does turn out abnormal again. are the going to do a biopsy while I am pregnant???

 

[Tasha20]

Im not sure if they will do anything while your preg, they certainly avoid it over here

 

[maldives]

Thanx Tasha. I am confused really. as if i do one now and get an abnormal result they won't be able to do anything i guess coz i am pregnant and all what it will do is make me worry!
I will consult another Dr and see what she says.

 

[Tasha20]

I am pretty sure they wont do anything as its a big risk for the pregnancy, they proberly will do something quickly after the birth thoug, let us know what the doc says.

Hope it goes ok

 

[buddabun]

I have heard they avoid doing smears in the first trimester. I got an abnormal one back in May and need another this month (6 months later) but am pregnant. I'm a bit worried about leaving it a whole 9+ months as it was abnormal but I'd rather risk my health than the baby's...

I'm sure the abnormal cells were just due to your pregnancy hon. Try not to worry about it.

 

[jellyk]

I had an abnormal smear this year (severe dyskaryosis/CIN3) and had to have a colposcopy to examine them, and then treatment to remove them.

I had to still attend a check up this week and found that they hadn't removed all of the cells. They still performed the colposcopy (legs up, look up you with binoculars on sticks and paint cervix with a solution to look for abnormal cells). I was informed that if there were a lot of abnormal cells they may treat me in my final trimester. Luckily she decided to wait until after the birth (3 months) till I have further treatment. She did offer to do a smear to get a further idea of what was there (she was sure there was no risk with me being pg), but as I wasn't going to have treatment until after the birth I decided it was something extra for me to worry about. You have to decide for yourself what you are comfortable with.

I saw my cervix on camera each time - in April there were bright white patches all over my cervix and now there is a faint white bit just around the whole.

It all depends on the severity of the abnormal cells. Mine were the most severe but if you have CIN1 they would probably just leave it and keep an eye on it. I think they only tend to treat when it is CIN2 and 3.

I am glad i'm pregnant now and although I am a bit concerned about waiting, I would have to be extremely unlucky for it to turn into cancer (takes years apparently). I know someone at work who had CIN3 picked up at smear but fell pregnant straight after. They didn't treat her till 4 months after the birth and she was and is fine.

You can still have a colposcopy when pregnant which would give you a better idea of how severe it is ( but without scraping your cervix!), or just make sure you get it looked at before gettign pregnant again.

 

[jellyk]

sorry, i'm tired - i meant hole not whole!

 

[maldives]

Thanx every one
JellyK. Thanx alot for ur information. I feel better now. It was a CIN1 and Dr wasn't too worried but wanted to do another one straight ahead.
I think I will go back to the same Dr. and ask for her opinion. although I prefer to wait a bit as it's a CIN1! and I don't want to risk my pregnancy especially at the 1st tri.

 

[buddabun]

LOL 'hole'

Thanks for that jellyk - helpful info. I have no idea what CIN I was but I assume it's not life threatening or they wouldn't have said to come back in 6 months right? It would have been sooner?

Maldives I think I would do just the same as you. Best of luck with it

 

[maldives]

Thanx buddabun. CIN1 means slightly abnormal and she told me it could be nothing! it could be something wrong went with the test it self or maybe because i was only 6 weeks post natal and things down there sometimes are not normal for a while!
so many factors there but still I want to do the right thing. and I don't want to risk my health as well as I need to be healthy to take care of my kids.

 

[buddabun]

i know what you mean. I dont want to risk my health either but I figured a 6m wait means it's not that serious (how long were you advised to wait for a CIN1?) so I'd rather wait and have the small risk to my health over the risk to my baby... I know it's not technically a baby yet but still

 

[jellyk]

Here's some info I found about it online. It also says that CIN1 often gets better on its own.

Abnormal smear results
Abnormal smears can be reported in two different ways. If you have abnormal cells you may be told you have

* Mild or slight cell changes (mild dyskaryosis)
* Moderate cell changes (moderate dyskaryosis)
* Severe cell changes (severe dyskaryosis)

Your smear test result may say CIN 1, CIN 2, or CIN 3 instead of mild, moderate or severe. CIN stands for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. This just means cervical cell changes. This classification is not strictly accurate as CIN can only really be diagnosed with a biopsy. But the smear results do indicate that you probably have

* CIN 1 if you have mild cell changes
* CIN 2 if you have moderate cell changes
* CIN 3 if you have severe cell changes

The three grades of CIN relate to the thickness of the skin covering the cervix that is affected. CIN 1 means one third of the thickness of the skin covering the cervix has abnormal cells. CIN 3 means the full thickness of the skin covering the cervix has abnormal cells. Both the level of cell abnormality (mild, moderate or severe) and the CIN level will be taken into account when deciding whether you need treatment.

All these results mean that cells have been found on your smear that were pre-cancerous. This does not mean you have cervical cancer. It means that some of the cells were slightly abnormal and that if they were left untreated, they COULD go on to develop into cervical cancer some time later.

 

[buddabun]

well my problem has been solved for me: no more pregnancy means as soon as I stop bleeding from this m/c I can go and get a smear done. at least there is one good thing to come out of this weekend.

 

[maldives]

oh buddabun I am so sorry to hear this!!
hope things are ok hun.
jellyk thanks for the research u did! it really means alot