Colposcopies and related stuff
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Topic: Colposcopies and related stuff
Posted By: minik8e
Subject: Colposcopies and related stuff
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 9:09am
| I know I'm a relative newbie on here, but you guys all seem so lovely that I feel like it might be the place to ask. Has anyone on here had a colposcopy as a result of an abnormal smear, that hasn't looked too great, and had treatment for high grade abnormal cells, and gone on to get pregnant or otherwise? I had a colposcopy yesterday, and things don't look so rosy. They took samples for biopsy but have said it's pretty much inevitable that I'm going to need treatment of some sort, depending on how high grade the cells are. All of the treatments have effects - one causes the cervix to be unable to dilate in labour due to scar tissue, another one gives a high risk of second trimester miscarriage and in worst case scenario, the other may cause infertility. Has anyone else been through this?????? I'm only 23, and want children. |
Replies:
Posted By: Katherine
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 9:20am
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Hey minik8e, I had a colposcopy for the same reason as you -- abnormal smear and treatment for high-grade abnormal cells. This was when I was a teenager (in the US women start going to the OB/GYN for smears when they're about 16) and as I recall, after the treatment, I had to get smear tests every six weeks for a period of time until I had six "normal" results in a row. The result of my treatment was scarring to the cervix, and I did have a bit of trouble dilating when in labour, but the midwife was able to manually stretch things out (and boy, did that hurt!) but I went on to have a normal labour with no other intervention. There are so many reasons for abnormal smear results -- in my case, they weren't able to find a reason. My mom has also had abnormal smears for no discernable reason, and had colposcopies and treatment, and she had three children without trouble, although they did monitor her more carefully throughout her pregnancy because of the worst-case scenario risks (like miscarriage and inability to dilate, neither of which she was affected by). If I were you, I would ask a lot of questions about the probability of those worse-case scenarios happening to you, and ask whether there are treatment options that will keep your body better placed for successful pregnancy. Hang in there! |
Posted By: Bombshell
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 9:28am
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hey there lurker....i just wanted to give u a hug from me and ella bella...we want u to have bubbas too..so all the best i hope u get some answers soon
HUGS |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 9:30am
| Thanks Katherine. I got to watch the whole thing on the TV screen, so saw what it was like. I knew something was up when before they'd even put the solution stuff in, the doctor called in a specialist because there were a LOT of broken blood vessels. Then it was even worse because they expressed their surprise at how quick the abnormal cells showed up (basically my entire cervix turned white, with some areas denser than others) and how many they were and how thick the rippling was. So it was, all in all, kind of freaky. They also took samples from every possible area because there were so many cells. It's scared me witless. |
Posted By: Katherine
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 11:14am
You poor thing, big big big hugs for you. It is a scary process, I know. Have they given you a reason for the abnormal cells, or is it one of those "We need to run more tests to know what's up" situations? Feel free to talk about it on here -- or PM me if you don't feel comfortable in the public forum -- sometimes talking about it can help with the fear. We'll lend you listening ears! 
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 11:43am
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Hey Kate, I have had them. I started with them at 19 and had to have one every 6 months it was horrible. I never watched the process thou (never been a fan of watching thing being done to me). I found that after having Andrew all my cervix issues disapeared. However I am due to have a smear in the next few weeks (have to find out when I can have it after having Josh) and i'm hoping that it has all settled down. So going by me pregnancy and childbirth fixed things up for me. If you want to go for it get pregnant. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: Glow
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 11:57am
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Ive had 2 colposcopys, from abnormal cell changes. Have also lost a tube from previous eptopic. I have had 6 pregnancies and from those six, i now have a beatuiful 2yr old boy, although i failed to dilate and had c-section. & Am currently pregnant with #2 28wks tommorrow, will have to wait to see what happens at that birth.
Wish you all the best in TTC and remember mircles can happen, big or small. ------------- Mummy of Two Boys B: 2004 K: 2007 |
Posted By: Jay_R
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 12:04pm
Hi there - I started getting abnormal smears at age 15, by the time I was 25 it had progressed to CIN 1, at 27 it was at CIN 3 and after 2 colposcopy's it was shown to actually be CIN 4 (pre-cancer). I've had 9 colposcopy's, 4 biopsy's and two treatments of LLETZ. I was told that my chances of carrying a child were very slim as the tissue in my cervix was so thin. BUT - Joshua turns 1 next month  It's absolutely not the end of the line for you - keep up your vigilance with your health, and make sure you follow everything up. There are people who can help every step of the way, so don't be afraid to ask for help, and follow them up!
Good Luck - PM me if you want to chat further. |
Posted By: Peace
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 1:01pm
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Hi minik8e!
I have had a colposcopy and loop diathermy, treatment for cin2 precancerous cells. My advice is that the whole process is not that scary, I had a morning in hospital for my operation (I chose a general anesthetic) and 3 weeks of healing time. 10 years later (I'm now 28) I have my little girl in my arms and I know this didn't effect my fertility! I do have the occasional irregular smear now but they seem to have slowed to a stop. All the best, PM me if you want to chat more  ------------- DD1 May 2006 DD2 March 2011 DD3 August 2012 |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 1:40pm
| I had an abnormal smear a couple of years ago and then a colposcopy every 6 months afterwards, they couldn't decide if it was high grade or low grade cell changes. I never had any treatment for it though. But I'm sure they will want to keep doing the colposcopys once I've popped. |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 03 April 2007 at 3:55pm
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Thanks ladies. From what the doctor said, the cells are likely to be CIN 3 or 4, if not higher. They didn't say why they were abnormal, they were pointing out all the bad things they could see (not intentionally for me, but discussing with each other after calling in the extra specialist) so yeah!! I had a smear 18 months ago which was normal, then this one in February (my last yearly smear darn it!!) which came back abnormal, and am now at this stage. They did say they were growing - they could see the new growth. The cells covered my entire cervix, denser and worse rippling at the bottom with a lot of broken blood vessels, with the new growth (not as dense, and more of a cobblestone effect) at the top left. I didn't mind watching it, because it was quite cool to see just how you're made up!! But seeing the entire cervix turn white with abnormal cells within a couple of seconds of the solution being applied was a little scary. I had an abnormal smear back when I was 16, but we knew what had caused that, and since then all of my smears had been normal.
For those of you that had to have c-sections as a result, did it affect your feeling of being a mum?? I've heard some people say that it doesn't feel right after a c-section because you don't get to have the vaginal birth, but I don't know if that's common. |
Posted By: Bel
Date Posted: 10 April 2007 at 10:06pm
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Hey while you are talking about colposcopies (well you were the other day anyway) I thought I would just check. I have had 2 abnormal smears and have been booked in for colposcopy. Because changes seem lowgrade they decided that I wasn't too important and told me it would be 4-6months before I would get an appt. Once doctor told me this she told me not to TTC until all sorted - but too late...
I have checked with doctor and m/w about what I should do now and doctor says to go ahead with colposcopy in 2nd trimester (I am now 11 weeks) and then decide about treatment depending on what they find. M/w says wait until after birth and have all done then. Her feeling was that there was no point in worrying about it before birth if they wouldn't treat until after. Does this sound correct? Has anyone been in the same situation? ------------- Mum to two beautiful kids 
Luke (09.11.2007) Amy (01.04.2009) |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 10 April 2007 at 10:11pm
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I was due to have one when I was pregnant with Andrew. I would of been about 30 weeks pregnant and was told to wait until after I had him to have anything done. About 6 months after having Andrew I had the colpscopy done and was all normal. From what they think, having my cervix open made things a lot better. I'm due to have a smear very soon so we'll see what has happened this time. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 11 April 2007 at 11:45am
| Sorry, just an update - they have also discovered I have cysts on my ovaries - result of an ultrasound I had two weeks ago. I am having such a marvellous time. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 11 April 2007 at 12:14pm
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Did they say it was PCOS Kate? ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 11 April 2007 at 12:29pm
| Becks - no, they've booked me in for another ultrasound in 6 weeks to see whether they're growing, or what's happening, I just had a brief talk with the nurse over the phone because their phone system kept cutting us off. They're also chasing up the results of the biopsies. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 11 April 2007 at 1:25pm
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I hope for you that its not PCOS cos thats a bi*ch. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 April 2007 at 1:38pm
| Bel - That sounds a little weird, I was due to have a follow up colposcopy and I rang them and told them I was pregnant, when I was due and they said they don't like to do them while you are pregnant and would make me an appointment after I've given birth sometime. |
Posted By: Bel
Date Posted: 11 April 2007 at 1:46pm
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yeah OK, think I will go with the m/w on this one and wait until after. No one worried about it really, just getting an abnormal smear checked out. ------------- Mum to two beautiful kids
Luke (09.11.2007) Amy (01.04.2009) |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 12 April 2007 at 11:47am
| Has anyone had biopsy results rushed through? If so, was there a reason that they rushed them through? I have just been advised that my results are due in either tomorrow or Monday...that's less than 2 weeks, instead of the 4-6 weeks they told me it would take... |
Posted By: baalamb
Date Posted: 12 April 2007 at 12:14pm
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Heya minik8e, welcome over!!! In regards to your c-section question, I had a c-section after a failed induction so I didn't labour at all and personally, it didn't make me feel less of a mum or any different as a mum at all. I carried Miss Ashlee for 9 months before the 'labour' so there was no doubt that I still felt as maternal as those that had vaginal births. I know some women have a hard time coming to grips with having a c-section, but personally, my experience was all good. Good luck with all the tests etc you have to go through
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