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[monkeygirl]

Hi

I'm new here 

over the last few months i started having bleeding between periods and quite bad abdominal pain. i went to the gp and we re-tried to do a smear test - i guess it's all v personal but i was abused when younger and all previous tests have meant that my body kind of goes into shock and they haven't been able to get a sample my womb is also apparently tilted so it's hard to get to apparently :-( despite a number of attempts i was referred to the local hopsital women's unit.

i had an ultrasound and then saw the consultant who told me that both the walls of my womb and cervix were thicker than they expected. due to the symptoms, the ultrasound results and the problems with getting a smear they decided to do a hysteroscopy, take a biopsy of the womb and do a smear under general anaesthetic. it was all very triggering for me personally but the actual procedure wasn't too bad in the end. after i came round they said everything looked ok, they didn't expect to see me again and i would get the biopsy and smear results in about two weeks time.

a month later i got a letter saying they hadn't managed to get a smear sample and that i have to go and get it done again in september or sooner if i am having any symptoms (which i am). i rang my gp (she's great) to ask how, when i was under anaesthetic, they could not get a smear. my friend thinks they have lost or corrupted the sample by accident. the gp had been sent the biopsy results and it had shown that i had benign polyps. i can't remember all the conversation but she said to wait for what the hospital said to do next.the gps now off on holiday for about two weeks. last week i got fed up with waiting to hear from the hopsital and rang them up to ask when i would be getting a letter. they said the letter had been dictated that day and i should hear 7-10 days from then.

i am really thankful and relieved that what they found wasn't cancerous but feeling like i have to go through the whole thing again in september just feels cruel and it really does trigger me. i googled "benign polyps" and it seemed to be saying they had to be removed. is that right? my gp said she would suggest they stop trying for smears and take a biopsy of the the cervix or something. apparently it's the test they do if you have abnormal cells in your smear result. but will i have to go back in hospital and have the polyps removed as well?

i'm sorry to go on as i can see that so many people here are struggling with major things. it just feels like this is going on and on and i just want to see and end to it. knowing the way it is going so far, the letter, when it comes in 10 days time (!) will just say to go for another appointment and i will be no further forward :-(

any thoughts would be really appreciated.

thank you
 

[Annie0710]

Hi and welcome

I can't help you sorry but what I will say is don't ever apologise for asking a question, airing your concerns, or just ranting about problems/symptoms, it's what makes the forum

I'm sure you will get some answers soon from our lovely ladies

Annie xx

[Grumpymum]

Hi monkeygirl, I too do not have any advice about your problem, but I do really sympathise with you. Any problem you experience is a major problem to you personally so do not feel you have to apologise for it. I would similarly feel majorly angry having been through a general anaesthetic that they failed to get an adequate smear and you are back to square one. I hope that your problem is resolved soon.

Sending you 

[MrsMopp]

Don't apologise, this is a horrible situation for you.

I hope you get some answers soon.

I expect this has been suggested before but have you ever had therapy to try to deal with the abuse you suffered?

Sending hugs

[Ju Ju]

I do empathise as I am awaiting results for a biopsy as I have thickening of the lining of the womb too. Had I not been able to have it done without general anaesthetic, I would not have been able to have it done until well into August. The gynaecologist was therefore keen to do it there and then and gave me no time to think about it. So on top of all the stress you have to wait for any procedure, but to have to have it done again is even more distressing. I'm glad there was nothing cancerous found, which is one stress out of the way.

As Mrs Mopp has asked, I do hope you have had support re the abuse.

[monkeygirl]

Thank you for the kind and supportive replies.

Yes, I have had therapy (alot of it)  re the abuse but despite dealing with it on so many levels my body seems to take on a mind of its own and even being sedated hasn't helped. hence getting to the grand old age of 44 i've not been able to have one "successful" smear test. as i said, my gp has been so supportive through out and she too was really disappointed when i rang and said that even under general anaesthethic it still hasn't worked. i just want it to be all over :-(

[Ju Ju]

Well have your rant here! It's good to be heard, even if we can't help practically. Oh and 

[countrybumpkin]

So sorry this is all happening to you.  Womb polyps in post menopausal women are always removed because there is a small risk that in time they could turn cancerous but I am not sure if this also applies if they are found before menopause but I would imagine it would.  There is a difference between fibroids and polyps as you probably know so if they said polyps then they are probably going to want to remove them. Fibroids shrink and disappear once post menopausal.

The biopsy of the cervix ( colposcopy) is usually done without sedation but I would guess for you a general anaethetic will be needed and they hopefully could do everything at once.

I remember the horrors of peri meno well and having to have hysteroscopies/colposcopies and investigations under GA and I do not have the additional issues you have.

Hope you can get some def answers soon so at least you know that is going to happen x

[CLKD]

Welcome.  I expect it is natural for your body to shut down with your history.   


It is also a problem that sometimes not enough sample is taken during a smear test or as suggested, the slide has been contaminated somehow.  You could ring the Dept and ask if they would expect to repeat the procedure under general anaesthetic and would you be able to take a cancellation ? which may well ease any related anxiety. 

Let us know how you get on!

[BrightLight]

Hi Monkeygirl
I am really sorry to hear that they didn't manage to get a smear and you are now concerned about further procedures. I'm not able to advise about uterine polyps, I had a cervical polyp and they do like to remove them for caution, I waited over a year to have mine removed as I was very anxious. The uterine polyp could be the cause of your bleeding.

Don't apologise for writing, you have been through a lot, in the past and currently, very stressfull.  Your GP sounds great and maybe try and relax until they are back from holiday, easier said than done or maybe you can call the hospital to find out the procedure for the polyps?

[monkeygirl]

sorry but i needed to post and i didn't think my facebook status was the place to do it!

i'm an totally going off my head today. today is day 9 out of the 7-10 days that they said they would send me the letter saying the official results and "what next." i feel like i am going to explode - it feels like a kind of sick torture. i mean, how long does it take to write a letter? if they were able to write online (i presume) to my gp weeks ago why do i have to wait so long to be told what is happening next.

i wanting to ring up to complain today but i guess there's no point. then i think i'll wait until after the post tomorrow and then ring. then i think if i ring and complain and i have to go back then i am going to be in a bad light and they may treat me badly. i am seeing my gp on tuesday - maybe if i could hold it off until then she would contact them - but that will be even more time. :-(

i am seriously going out of my mind here. going to work later so hopefully that will distract me :-(

[CLKD]

Waiting is the worst time, however: you are not the only pebble on the beach and from the 'other' side of the bed as it were, the Dept has other reports to assess and send out, other patients to see, holidays/sickness/emergencies to deal with.  Add to that non-working at weekends? plus postal anomoloies (sp)   â€¦â€¦..

Have you rung the Dept. to ask what the next procedure is likely to be, or spoken to your GP?  Check that the letter has been sent to you in case it's mislaid ……… "I can't remember what I was told about the next step should it be necessary and haven't yet had a letter following my appt. on ……… " should be OK.

Let us know how you get on! 

[monkeygirl]

I just re-rang the gyne admin office - they haven't even typed the letter yet so it's not going to be with me by tomorrow. she did try to fob me off a bit by saying "well, sometimes smear tests do fail - my daughter had to have 3 lots" but I said, "yes but not under general anaesthetic" to which she had to agree. she said the consultant wasn't in until monday but she would try to get one of the nurses to call me back - i hope she does :-(

[CLKD]

   you don't want to hear about any one else, this is about you ………. I had that when seeing a Psychologist, I knew she had no answers to my phobia but when she began talking about other patients' problems, I walked out.     I was paying sessions for ME    rant over 

Hopefully the Nurse will phone you.  Now that you know the letter hasn't yet been typed how do you feel?

[monkeygirl]

 Thanks CLKD

I am feeling pretty rubbish to be honoured and triggered by it all. the nurse didn't ring back. it triggers all my history of being just a "number", lost in the system a number not a person and someone not worthy of being told something that has cost me so much personally to go through with. of course I know rationally that there is no conspiracy against me personally, that there is a huge workload for too few people but none the less this presses buttons for me about me not being worthy when i am already having buttons pressed due to the nature of the problems

i have had a lot of experience (due to my past) with mental health services and the nhs. there i was made to feel like I was a problem and an inconvenience. i commented to my GP after I had the procedure nearly 6 weeks ago how different my experience had been in the women's unit - i felt treated like a human being, with respect and care. it was quite a shock but a nice one. but the more this goes on the more it starts to feel like my previous experience and, well, i've said it - it is pressing my buttons big time.

everything in me screams "i am not a number, i'm a person" but the system says, "you are a number, don't you know how much others are struggling, how dare you expect to be told your specific results and what will happen next / someone to return your phone call  type your letter. know your place" :-( rant over