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Help - first smear test did not go too well

Posted , 2 users are following.

colleen81
colleen81

Hi,

I am a 27 year old female and i went for my first smear this morning and it went horribly wrong.

Firstly i know i should have had this done years ago and as much as i was dreading it i just wanted to go and get it done.

The nurse inserted the speculum and said she was having difficulties getting to my cervix as i was very tense, i tried to relax and she said she could see half of it but could not get the other half?

Anyway after a couple of minutes, and a few huffs and puffs and heavy sighs from her she said it was no good and that i was too tense and she could not do it.

i apologised and explained that i was nervous and asked if she could maybe try again or give me a few minutes and try again (was it unreasonable to ask this?), she said no, there was no point and suggested that i came back next week.

So i have an appointment for next week to try again and see another nurse - i requested to see someone different as i told her i did not think she had much patience.

My question is, are the nurses that normally complete this procedure normally so cold? She was very cold, kept looking at her watch and seemed that she could not wait to get rid of me.

Also now i am worried the same will happen next week - i am going to try and focus on being relaxed as much as possible but i am scarred that that may make me even more tense, if that makes sense - is there anything i can take to relax me? i know this may seem stupid and far fetched but i have got myself into a bit of a state with it and feel really abnormal.

Thanks

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. Best thing to do it take long deep slow breaths, push the arch of you back into the bed, and practice really letting everything go loose down there (like pelvic floor muscle when you tense then relax). Practise these things at home before you go. There are things you can buy from the chemists like St John warts, where you put a few drops on your tongue and helps releave anxiety.

    Explain to the next nurse how you are feeling, and I am sure she will help you and give you some tips. Your previous nurse sounds rare and horrific. I would complain to your surgury as an experience like that will give people phobias and prevent people from going back. She has a responsibilty and she was not doing her job.

    Do all these things, but most of all make sure you go back and just get the thing done, don't be beaten. It is vry important you get checkd out and in the bigger picture of life this is nothing.

    Be brave hun, good luck xxx

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi, The very same thing has just happened to me although the nurse couldn't have been nicer about it. I've just come home and cried, I feel so stupid and upset about it.... I am booked in for next week. It took so much to pluck the courage up and I kept thinking it'll all be over with by the end of today, no such luck though....

    Hope you get on better next time...

  • colleen81
    colleen81

    Posted

    Lel - Thank you for your advice, my boyfriend also suggested writing a letter of complaint, to be honest i just want to get the whole thing over with

    Lou100 - I hope that your second appointment was successful and that you had your smear done.

    Right, an update of where i am; i have had thrush for a few weeks so had to cancel my last appointment as the doctor said i was too sore 'down there' to have the smear done. So i got the thrush treated and had my 2nd smear appointment this morning. An hour before my appointment i took 2 x 5mg of valium (diazepam) which was prescribed to me by my doctor (which in my opinion is a godsend) which relaxed me alot. Unfortunately the smear did not happen AGAIN, but the nurse said it was nothing to do with me being tense and not relaxed, and actually said i done quite well considering she tried to do the smear 4 times and it did not really hurt - the problem is that she could not get to my cervix and seems to think that i have a retroverted uterus, she suggested that i book an appointment as close to my next period as possible as the cervix moves during your cycle - so i have an appointment booked for a couple of weeks and i am hoping it is a case of third time lucky!!!!

    As frustrating as this is, i feel better knowing that its not something i am or not doing and i intend to persevere until i get this bloody thing done.

    One thing i would suggest to anyone who is having problems with being nervous and a little bit tense (i.e. tight) is get yourself some Diazepam from your doctor - i think if the nurse could have located my cervix today, it would have been a breeze, as the Diazepam helps with anxiety and is a muscle relaxant, it did not hurt that much - just don't drive on it!

    I will keep you posted and let you know when i have eventually got this ordeal over with.

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