Abnormal pap PP? (long paranoia ahead)

wilburpup · February 2012

Let me preface this by saying 1.) I have never in my life had an abnormal pap, and 2.) My mom passed away from cancer at age 42, and my brother was diagnosed with cancer at 19 (thankfully in remission) so I am gunshy!

So I had my PP check at 4w (Jan 18) and just got a call TODAY that there was abnormal cells. The nurse told me the doc ran an extra test to check for HPV which was negative. And since HPV wasn't present he doesn't feel any further follow up is necessary, besides my next annual checkup.

I was fine with waiting at first, but then I got to thinking about my family's track record with the "C" word and started to psych myself out. (ok, bawling in the car to the point where I had to pull over). I promptly called the nurse back and asked her if my family history would raise any alerts or if the absence of HPV negates that concern. She was going to ask him but she did say that the abnormal cells could have been just from a tampon or intercourse.

Obv this was my 4w PP check, so no to both of those, but wouldn't a vaginal delivery have some impact on that then? Wouldn't they have expected anomalies considering the circumstances? I guess I am a bit peeved at the possibility they caused me a freak-out over nothing when they could have predicted the results!

What do you ladies think? Should I pursue more follow up with the doc or chalk it up to "cervical trauma" and return next January? (OB will be calling me back on Mon)

lilwildthing · February 2012

I would definitely follow up with the doc, and I'd be asking for more testing. I don't think this is something that should be assumed one way or another. I'm hoping all is well, and further testing will just ease your mind.

indomesticbliss · February 2012

I had a few abnormal paps (and come from a family wiht a strong history of ovarian cancer) when I was in college. My gyno just had me come back in 6 months for a repeat since they ran an hpv test and it was negative. After the 2nd they did a colposcopy and the cells were "fine", just not normal. It's been 6 years since my last abnormal one...

I would request a repeat in 6 months. Better safe than sorry.

Happily Overwhelmed · February 2012

I too would schedule a follow up. You owe yourself some peace of mind. Things with our bodies right now are crazy...I'm sure it's something besides the "c" word. But don't let yourself question it until it's time for the next pap.

Daniem0828 · February 2012

i had my pap on 2/1 & am still waiting.. i am petrified i will actually get the call.. i need to preface this by saying i was diagnosed with hpv the in 2010 but had a normal pap then so ob wasnt concerned.. im just paranoid about it

rxyb13 · February 2012

My OB doesn't do a pap at the PP checkup because she said there is more of a potential for an abnormal result. She always waits until atleast 3 mo PP to do the pap. Hopefully there is nothing of concern for yours and as you said due to cervical trauma. Good luck!

wilburpup · February 2012

rxyb13:
My OB doesn't do a pap at the PP checkup because she said there is more of a potential for an abnormal result. She always waits until atleast 3 mo PP to do the pap. Hopefully there is nothing of concern for yours and as you said due to cervical trauma. Good luck!

Thanks ladies!! I am glad to know your OB refrains! I should have denied the pap (since I knew my ins wouldn't cover it since it's only been 9 mo since my last one!)

MessyMommy · February 2012

My last 3 paps have been abnormal and have had markers for extremely high risk of HPV ... Ive had biopsies that have come back inconclusive every time but still extremely high risk ..

at my 6 week PP appt my OB said sometimes childbirth can change your cervical cells ... I expected my pap to be abnormal as it was as the beginning of my pregnancy

I was SHOCKED to find out its BACK to NORMAL with ZERO indication of HPV! Woot!

laken256 · February 2012

I would follow up for sure. However, I wouldn't get too worked up. I dealt with abnormal paps with 'c' word cell markers for over 2 years before ds1. I had paps done every 3 months for over 2 years when my first one came back bad. After each abnormal pap, I would get a colposcopy and biopsies. I ended up having 4 biopsies taken at each set, and had 7 sets of biopsies done. When I finally found my ob who delivered my sons (had started hearing bad things about the one I was using), he said the other Dr had taken so many biopsies and had taken such big samples that my cervix looked like 'ground hamburger meat'! So, knowing that I wanted to get pregnant, he told me to try before they did any treatment (previous Dr wouldn't do treatment), bc he was afraid with much more damage, my cervix wouldn't make it through much more AND stay closed during pregnancy. After ds was born, they performed a series of cryo procedures and leep procedures and I finally got my first negative pap at my first appt finding out we were pregnant with number 2! But anyway. Sorry for the rambling. My Dr says that even after cancer markers are present, it takes years to develop into full blown cancer (if ever), so even having yearly paps and not doing it anymore often than that, they could still effectively monitor it bc change happens so slow. Plus its very easy to get a false positive, and I was told at first not to worry unless they kept coming back bad. So for piece of mind, I'd def follow up but try not to worry in the meantime! Good luck!

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