Abnormal pap and testing?

babycompton15 · December 2015

Anyone have this? Colposcopy? I'm so nervous. And slightly stressed now. I can't focus at work and am on verge of tears.

Nerdchild · December 2015

Has your doctor discussed the results with you yet? Not all abnormal paps call for colposcopy (ex: I had an 'abnormal' once that after rechecking my doc asked if I had sex with the 24 hours prior to my first pap. Apparently cervical bruising/damage can result in abnormal cells). Call your doctor, they will best advise on what the abnormal means and what steps need to be taken next.

afrazer521 · December 2015

I had that with my first and honestly I felt the exact same way and it ended up being no big deal. I actually just had a repeat colposcopy and biopsy done right before I found out I was pregnant and everything came back fine. I was literally crying at work and everyone thought something had happened with the baby and I couldn't figure out how to explain my emotions to them. So take a deep breath and know that it will be figured out in time. What matters right now is your health and the health of the munchkin.

lcking82 · December 2015

Yup. Deep breath. Know that even a colpo doesn't necessarily mean a big bad procedure. They take a good close look to see if there is anything to biopsy, and then, if they biopsy, they take teeny tiny pieces.

They won't do anything to harm your baby, but will want to be sure that YOU are healthy, too!

babycompton15 · December 2015

All the nurse said when I talked to her was that it was abnormal and doc wanted me to get a colposcopy. I think I had one maybe 5 years ago and they were worried it was hpv and could turn cancerous but it went away on its own. This is my first pregnancy so anything alarming or off I get emotional. I missed work yesterday bc I cracked a tooth went to dentist and by the time I got home I was so emotional and tired I called out. My hormones/emotions are off the wall

Nerdchild · December 2015

@babycompton15 You are not alone on the hormonal roller coaster, I promise!

Sounds like you've had a rough couple of days (and right before the holidays, which are stressful enough). The nurse may not be able to give you all of the information over the phone, and your doc may just be extra cautious. Try not to let your mind jump to the worst case scenario (easier said than done, I know). 'Abnormal' can mean a lot of things, and 'Colposcopy' is just a more thorough procedure to rule out certain conditions. Keep us updated, though, and I hope everything goes well for you!

afrazer521 · December 2015

They said the same thing to me @babycompton15 , said it might be hpv and it might only be presenting in an abnormal pap since our immune systems are significantly lowered. When I had the colposcopy she did see "something" but wouldn't do the colposcopy because I was pregnant. I was supposed to get it checked on after my son, but honestly I just had it done in October and it came back fine.

Nikko Blue · December 2015

I had an abnormal result, but I was told it was not a cause for concern. I am supposed to have another pap done next year. Usually they wait 3 years (or is it 5 now?) if you had a normal result.

jennyleigh16 · December 2015

I had an abnormal pap and they told me something similar about bruising or "trauma". I had to get another one done 6 months later and it was normal. I was supposed to keep going back every 6 months until I had 3 consecutive normals but my doctor won't do paps if you're pregnant so I have to start all over after the baby is born.

babycompton15 · December 2015

My doc is doing it even though I'm pregnant and I had a pap at my first visit. So I know they do those too when your pregnant. I just worry with it being my first pregnancy and all. I worry a lot more about everything. Food, medicine, activities, doctors visits.

ladythrice · December 2015

@babycompton15, try not to worry. Abnormal paps, and colposcopys, happen all the time. Your OB won't do anything that will be a danger to your pregnancy. If anything, he's likely trying to get a baseline read on the extent of the abnormal cells at the start of your pregnancy in the event that they are still there at your first post-partum pap. Typically, your body will fight off the virus on its own, but when you are pregnant your immune system is compromised, I imagine the doc wants to just track how the cells changes throughout the pregnancy and this colposcopy will allow him to do that.

lcking82 · December 2015

Also---for PAP tests, "abnormal" can mean a lot of things:

"ASCUS"--atypical cells of uncertain significance---mostly will just retest in a year or so, and test for HPV
"LSIL" -- Low grade dysplasia: means you may have virus-infected cells that could either heal themselves or progress to more serious problems. Most docs will want to have a look and biopsy stuff if that's the result.

There's a lot of other categories (ask me if you have a question!), but the two above are pretty common. And both can result from trauma, hormones, inflammation...not just the HPV virus. Think of the PAP test as a nice screening test---they gather as many cells as possible and say, "Hmmmm, some of these don't look quite perfect." Your OB-GYN gets those results and then decides how to proceed based on your history, your pregnancy/post-partum status, and published guidelines.

babycompton15 · January 2016

Well i had my repeat semi-pap (no biopsy or actual pap re-done). Doc said everything looked good and the only reason they would have biopsied is if something looked really off....

Image: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/52/7a/48/527a4867ad8226d7b957c8ddfa4e0659.gif

soapgirl40 · February 2016

Honestly the scared me into one, now I wouldn't have done it so quickly. How many abnormal paps have you had? Don't stress and if you want to wait go with your gut

joleri23 · February 2016

soapgirl40 said:

Honestly the scared me into one, now I wouldn't have done it so quickly. How many abnormal paps have you had? Don't stress and if you want to wait go with your gut

This. I felt pressured into having one (years ago, before I was pregnant) and I never realized I could just wait and see if it went away on its own. I would encourage you to wait unless you've had abnormal after abnormal pap. If this is the very first one, just let it go away on its own.

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