an abnormal pap smear ;(

[for-keepsx.livejournal.com]

ok. so i had a pap smear and all that good stuff done about two weeks ago. i had the doctor check for std's, and they came back negative. but......... there was a low grade of abnormal cells they found? what in the hell does that mean. i asked the nurse who called my house to tell me the results, and she said it can range from pre cancerous cells, to some bacterial infection? anyone ever run into this? i'm kind of bummed out now ;(

Comments

[obvious.livejournal.com]

I had that happen to me once when I was 21. I was in a panic for a week before I got in for another pap. It turned out that everything was fine. My doctor at the time said that most of the time abnormal cells come back ok with a second smear.

[bellabrigida.livejournal.com]

I've had it happen more than once. Actually, I'm overdue for a pap and my last one was abnormal.

So far, it's never been anything.

[crassy.livejournal.com]

Your cells are constantly changing, this means that if you went in for another test today, it could read out completely different than it did for the one in question.

But yes, it *could* mean you have dysplasia (http://www.womenshealthchannel.com/cervicaldysplasia/index.shtml). This could be serious, it could not be serious. I severe dysplasia (which 99.9% of the time accompanies HPV - which I have- from a wonderful ex of mine. However, you can still have dysplasia without having HPV).

Did your doctor tell you what the next step is? Are you to go in for more testing? Try not to worry about it as usually it turns out to be nothing but changing cells.

[for-keepsx.livejournal.com]

i was told to get another pap test asap. so i guess thats what i'll do.

[sulingsi.livejournal.com]

what the nurse meant was that sometimes they can get an abnormal low grade result on a pap if you have an infection at the time they do the pap smear. but the reason you get a pap smear every year is to detect precancerous cells like these might be.

no worries, in 60% of women, low grade abnormal paps just go away. and if not, at least you know about it and can get it easily taken care of. worst case scenario is getting a colposcopy, which is basically a more hardcore pap that takes off the bad cells if you have them. don't worry, LOTS of people are in a similar situation. don't be bummed!

[for-keepsx.livejournal.com]

thanks <3

[darlahood.livejournal.com]

My last pap was abnormal and I was diagnosed with garderella. Lovely.

[for-keepsx.livejournal.com]

what is that?

[boobookittylilo.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine from middle school had an abnornal pap, was refered to a different doc and they told her that she had HPV

[maidenmorticia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've had this.

Make sure you get a second PAP done within the next 6 months (the exact protocol for this depends on the country you live in). If it turns out to be the same result, then they will send you for something called a colposcopy -- where a gynecologist will look at your cervix with a high powered microscope-type thing (a colposcope) and take test samples of any bits which look out of sorts. It could mean a lot of different things right now, including that the lab mixed up reports and sent you someone else's! So don't panic yet. If it turns out that you do have HPV, there's an awesome LJ community dedicated to that: hpv.

[for-keepsx.livejournal.com]

im going to get a second pap done sometime soon. i've been looking up symptoms and what not of hpv but i dont really match any of them? ive been pretty careful as of who i've slept with lately, but god only know's ya know?i really hope it's not hpv. the nurse at the doctors office didnt say anything about std's or hpv, so could it be none of those? but she did keep mentionnig pre cancerous cells. i dunno, im just bummed out in general. blah.

[maidenmorticia.livejournal.com]

Um, there are two kinds of HPV viruses which affect the genital areas -- a group of approximately 30 strains divided into two groups: high risk for cancer and low risk for cancer. The kind which makes your PAP test go array is the high risk for cancer kind. And other than your PAP test going wrong, there are no other visible symptoms.

It's not a matter of who you've slept with lately, either. YOu can have the virus for years and years without ever having any symptoms only to suddenly get symptoms. Trying to identify the source of your infection, especially if you've had more than one partner, is next to impossible.

*anyway* no one said anything to me about HPV the first time my PAP test came back abnormal (except for a friend who had it already) and in fact my Dr. assured me it's most likely NOT the cause since 70% of bad/abnormal PAP test results are actually wrong.

And, btw, condoms -- condoms don't necessarily protect you against getting HPV since the virus might be hiding out on the guy's scrotum or pubic areas which are not covered by condoms.

Pre-cancerous cells are the same as cervical dysplasia. The main cause of cervical dysplasia is High Risk for cancer HPV. They don't tell you this, because IMHO (a) they don't want to alarm you; (b) you might not have anything wrong at all because the test was incorrect; (c) they are idiots; (d) I think the entire medical profession thinks that if they don't tell us the whole story, we won't freak out very much. (e) on the scale of "bad" STDs, this is not really that high since most doctors think that unless the two sexual partners are both virgins, just about the entire population has at least on strain of HPV.

I don't blame you for being bummed out, just be patient and do whatever you can to boost your immune system. Lots of stuff on that in the HPV community, because we spend a lot of time trying to boost our immune systems...

*Good Luck*

[for-keepsx.livejournal.com]

thanks so much <3

haha

[greenduckaz.livejournal.com]

In response to: "And, btw, condoms -- condoms don't necessarily protect you against getting HPV since the virus might be hiding out on the guy's scrotum or pubic areas which are not covered by condoms."


They realy need to create a lysol type product for unprotected areas. Or a special gel like those hand sanatizers... Yah, and they could make them taste better so then no sensation is lost... Yah it might even be better... mmmm Pina colada flavor..
haha ok im just rambling.