Women's health.

[HinchythetwattyGrinchy]

So I had another blood test two weeks ago and the doctor called me last night. My follicular levels are low. I’ve still not had a period since February. I am booked in for another blood test next week and will also be referred to a gynaecologist at the hospital. Hopefully this is the start of cracking down what is wrong with me. I just can’t help googling things now.... there is even mention of early menopause? I am only 24 and it’s really made me feel shit.

 

[Gertrude]

Physically and mentally intolerable. I have Vaginisimus.

I know this isn't financially possible for everyone. But I'd highly recommend going to a private clinic to get one done, if you can. I'd get extremely anxious and even after discussing how traumatic I found the experience with the nurse, I'd still find the whole thing horrible as the nurse wouldn't always be too empathetic ( I understand they're super busy and under pressure, but still)

I've found the experience of getting it done at my local private clinic so so much better. I still dread getting it done, but it's far more tolerable. x

 

[Phil Anne Throw Pee]

I had the scan yesterday. I’d say most of it was a waste of time due to the fact on the letter it stated I need to fast for 6 hours prior to my appointment - so of course, I went in with an empty stomach and a full bladder as stated. Turns out I needed to eat but I did let them know the letter said I shouldn’t Anyway, they couldn’t see everything clearly because I didn’t eat anything, they could see one ovary and could see clearly that it was on the larger side than ‘normal’. They couldn’t make out the other one so I am being booked in for a re scan. It’s extremely frustrating as I am still having these awful pains every day and have been for 8 weeks now. My period is late again this month, as stated in my first post, this is unusual for me. Hopefully in my next scan, they can give me a proper diagnosis and we can start looking into things. Thank you for asking x

I've never heard of having to eat beforehand, when I had an ultrasound I had to make sure my bladder was very full, but no mention of food.

 

[Phil Anne Throw Pee]

Thanks, I might look into it. x

 

[bongsandstuff]

update - got my appointment through the post today! worrying over nothing as per usual. it's for monday which is quite quick so i think i got lucky with a cancellation. it also said they'll do a normal pelvis ultrasound first too so i've probably stressed over the internal scan for no reason as well

Based on experience I found that an abdominal scan was the normal over the tummy one and the pelvis one was internal

 

[BettyCrockerr]

I know this thread hasn’t been posted in for a while but wasn’t sure where else to ask this!
has anyone had hpv show up 3 times (over 3 years)? Rang the doctors yesterday as had been waiting 7 weeks for my smear results and the receptionist told me I need a colposcopy but can’t tell me why! And no doctor can speak to me until next week. Assuming that it is that I’ve still got hpv but just worrying now! What is a colposcopy like if any ones had one? Thank you

I posted about my experience with it on page 5 of this thread

 

[judgejohndeed]

It’s probably a year since your last smear. Does that marry up with the date? It’s probably just an automated letter you’ve been sent based on the date of your last recorded smear. Wouldn’t worry about it too much, I’d probably go for it anyway just to keep an eye on things if nothing else.

I guess so but I’m not sure. To be honest, if it’s a year from the colposcopy then I’d rather wait to give my body as long as possible to clear the HPV so I don’t have to keep doing this. I just wasn’t sure because I swear at the appointment they said a year from the colposcopy but the letter has confused me. Will of course ring my GP Monday but just wondered if anyone knew as it’s already stressing me out

 

[Hithere5]

Hi everyone , I’m new to this I’ve been looking for a forum online. I’m just wondering if anyone had the same problems as me because it’s really starting to get me down I’ve just had my smear and found it uncomfortable the nurse said I have a tilted cervix and it came back I had hpv I had never even heard of hpv until she said now they test for it. I got the letter to say I had low hpv and cried my eyes out because I actually thought it was like a Sti? Or something to do with the cancerous cells. I had to google it on the nhs to see what it actually was. Which slightly put my mind at rest, but my second problem (lol) is I’m very embarrassed but it’s getting a everyday problem I’m 32 I’ve got a 2 year old son so could be the reason I’m tired but I’ve got a really low labido I’ve been trying to find pills creams ect to try make it better but nothing works and when it comes to ‘doing the deed’ I just can’t get turned on and it’s painful for both me and him. I’ve rang the doctors but she just use lube but it’s embarrassing, my partner thinks I don’t fancy him anymore and now I’m telling him I’m on my period to try get out of sex oh god it’s a nightmare has this happened to anyone else? Has anything worked sorry for the long essay it’s just really starting to destroy me know I don’t know what to do

 

[knivesnflowers]

i'm due an internal ultrasound to check if i have an ovarian cyst - i'm on progesterone only pill and havent had periods in a few years (baaad periods due to pcos so on a higher pill dose to stop them) and i'm kinda petrified. but that's probs bc i'm a 20 yr old virgin ... lol
basically has anyone had one that wasn't awful??

 

[BettyCrockerr]

The blood tests are done by the gp and the ultrasounds were done in the hospital based on gp referral it’s just saddening that women are ignored like this, especially those of us that are young and would like to preserve our fertility! It would nice to know sooner rather than later if there’s a serious reproductive issue‍


Hi I haven’t really been offered anything else besides the pill when I was 15 and honestly I don’t fancy it. The potential side effects and the issues they can cause fertility just aren’t worth it for me, especially when I may already struggle with fertility in the future if I do have this disease🥲

i think you should have a good chat about contraceptive options with your GP or family planning clinic. Side effects can be really minimal and most don’t have any adverse effect on your fertility. Which side effects particularly are you worried about and what is it that worries you about the effect on your future fertility?? The benefits would certainly outweigh the negative and could really improve your quality of life now. Please don’t discount it based on one thing you were offered years ago. You’d really have to try some out for a few months and see how it goes.

 

[Kandy floss]

I had my first smear last year aged 25 and it picked up HPV.

I was supposed to have another one in May which was delayed due to pandemic but I complained to the NHS as I’d spent a year worrying about it and got it done a few weeks late (like others here I even find sex uncomfortable but I can’t go without a smear as I’m too paranoid so just force myself to get on with it).

My second smear showed cells changes so I went for a colposcopy at my local hospital and the wait for the results was horrendous, but then came back saying no cell changes which confused me as the smear picked up cell changes

So I was discharged from the clinic and now I’m back to 3 yearly smears and I’m terrified that somehow the colposcopy was wrong and when I next have a smear done they’ll pick up something even worse

 

[Into_the_tunnel]

@Into_the_tunnel I don't have any advice but I'm so sorry, I just wish I could give you a hug. Can they offer sedation for you?

Thank you. I am going to ask I think it would help if a friendly face was there but we aren’t allowed anyone else in are we?

I know I shouldn’t be bleeding after 19.5 years of nothing but am more scared of the procedure than the outcome.

 

[pommynoir]

I am a colposcopy secretary and we have a bit in our standard letters that says if you have anything special like a holiday or a wedding let us know and we will delay the treatment, so yes I’d say it’s fine to do that

Yeah mine says if you’re going on holiday in four weeks, so maybe I’ll explain. Wedding in four weeks then honeymoon is 6 weeks later. But then it’s actually delaying it until the new year as I won’t be back by then which seems so bad to me!

i guess I could cancel the honeymoon as we won’t lose anything, just the worst as my fiancé has to take the majority of December off unpaid so was great time for the honeymoon. We can always go bigger and better the following year

 

[iloveanimals]

hi, i have has a unilateral salpingo oopherectomy because of an ovarian cyst with torsion, i couldnt have it keyhole, but the scar was very neat and below bikini line and i was out within 3 days. That was an emergency situation, so yours may be quicker. What i would say is , make sure you take your laxatives as i didnt and it caused me weeks of problems. x

 

[knivesnflowers]

hi again! i'm a lot less stressed about the actual procedure but does anyone know how long an appointment for an internal ultrasound would usually take to come through? it's been about six weeks since the main pain that triggered this line of thinking and still not heard anything about a scan. i had a general consultant appt with gynae but they said the scan would be a separate referral and maybe not with them.

i think because my past attempts at getting answers were a struggle i don't want to be made out to be overreacting about the pain i was in. If i've understood the point of the scan correctly it'll probs be less and less likely there's fluid / anything remaining that would indicate a cyst was there and ruptured if i wait much longer?? or maybe i'm completely wrong!

 

[skvallertant]

Hi all. I’m glad I’ve found this thread. In November 2020 I had a smear which showed I had the HPV virus and was told to go back a year later. I was a bit late and went in April this year instead. I’ve had the results back and the HPV hasn’t cleared so I have to go back again next April.

Has anyone else been through this? I’m dreading yearly smears (if it comes to that) and worried about cancer.

I don’t know if this is related or not but I go through phases where I have no periods for 2 years and then it comes back as normal. This has happened 3x in my life. They’re always really heavy (to the point where I’ve called 999) and quite painful for the first couple of days. I realise the two things probably aren’t linked.

This happened to me, I've had hpv show up three years in a row and I'm having a colposcopy in a few weeks. I'm quite nervous, but it's very common apparently and it doesn't mean you have cancer. I wouldn't imagine it would be related to your period, but I'm sorry to hear you're suffering so badly

 

[Violeteyes89]

I received cold coagulation in September for an ectropion as I've bled every day since 6th October last year and this treatment hasn't helped at all. I dont even know what a period is anymore as I bleed everyday, its making me miserable. Im going to contact them again for further treatment.

Yeah you definitely shouldn’t have to put up with that. I felt like my bleeding was continuous. Some people have ectropion and might only bleed a little after sex and in this case the minor treatments such as cold coagulation usually help. When the ectropion bleeding is much heavier, the best treatment method is literally burning the skin away and cauterising it.

 

[Amyx1518]

I have a leep at 9am tomorrow after 3 x HPV + smears and a colposcopy which showed ungraded CIN whatever that means. Can’t sleep

How was it?

 

[orange club biscuit]

Argh got my colposcopy referral from the hospital today and it’s going to take another six weeks for me to get my appointment after waiting an entire year for one - not impressed!

I have been getting yearly smears since 2018 when they found I had HPV and cin1/2 - had a come biopsy then LLETZ to remove the cells, had a check up, all fine. Then I was working abroad and missed my Nov 2019 smear, missed a rearranged one in Feb because I was on my period, then covid happened and the hospital stopped doing them. Then I moved house in August and managed to get a smear ASAP with my new GP. Found out that I still have HPV, still have abnormal changes, need another colposcopy but now won’t be til mid Jan FFS! I don’t have any symptoms and I know CC develops slowly usually but it’s still a bit of a weight on my mind plus thinking about trying to conceive next year and so it’s kind of on hold until then because I don’t want to have to postpone again in case I get pregnant

I wonder if I should push for a more urgent appt but I would like to think that if they were genuinely concerned I would have been seen by now....? Is that too optimistic....??

 

[knivesnflowers]

hi again! i'm a lot less stressed about the actual procedure but does anyone know how long an appointment for an internal ultrasound would usually take to come through? it's been about six weeks since the main pain that triggered this line of thinking and still not heard anything about a scan. i had a general consultant appt with gynae but they said the scan would be a separate referral and maybe not with them.

i think because my past attempts at getting answers were a struggle i don't want to be made out to be overreacting about the pain i was in. If i've understood the point of the scan correctly it'll probs be less and less likely there's fluid / anything remaining that would indicate a cyst was there and ruptured if i wait much longer?? or maybe i'm completely wrong!

update - got my appointment through the post today! worrying over nothing as per usual. it's for monday which is quite quick so i think i got lucky with a cancellation. it also said they'll do a normal pelvis ultrasound first too so i've probably stressed over the internal scan for no reason as well