The Fear of an Abnormal PAP
Jun 11 '05 (Updated Jun 13 '05)
The Bottom Line PAP smears are not fun. Getting an abnormal PAP result is even worse.
I have really been struggling with whether or not to write about the health issues I am going through on Epinions or not. After all, this is a public forum and people I don't know could read it.
Then, I remembered the problems I had a couple of weeks ago when I was told that I had an abnormal PAP test. I could find information on the Internet telling me that it is a common occurrence, and not to worry about it. But, I didn't read any personal accounts. So, I figured I would write one for that very reason. If a woman that is freaking out over an abnormal PAP reads this and it makes her feel better, then my mission is accomplished.
It started about a week after I returned from my honeymoon in St. Lucia. The pain, that is. It was a slight pain in the lower right quadrant of my abdomen. It was a stabbing pain, sort of like PMS cramps, but not that bad. I ignored it and went on with my everyday life. A week later, I got my period early. It was 2 weeks after the end of my "normal" cycle, so it was very strange. I figured that the pain I had been feeling was from PMS. I just didn't know it because I wasn't expecting my cycle.
My cycle, even though I had my period just 2 weeks before, lasted for a week-- which was long for me. It ended on May 3, but the dull pain from cramps remained. Not only did it remain, it increased. On May 7th, the pain in my lower right quadrant was so intense that I called a doctor the next morning. The doctor told me that she could see me on the 10th.
The morning of the 10th, I headed over to Stony Brook Medical Center where there was a family practitioner. The doctor saw me and performed several tests. She didn't like the way something felt in my reproductive system, so she sent me for an ultrasound that afternoon.
Craig and I went for my ultrasound. They did all these tests, and the pain increased as time went on. They thought I had appendicitis, so they admitted me to Stony Brook Hospital. Several doctors saw me, but none could pinpoint what was wrong. I was referred to a GYN, got a prescription for Percocet and was sent home.
Three days later, I went to see the GYN in the Stony Brook system. She performed a pelvic exam on me-- the fifth one I had in 4 days -- and told me that they would call with the results. This doctor was HORRIBLE. She really hurt me when she did the PAP. It took quite a long time, and I bled quite a bit afterward. She was callous and cold, and didn't apologize for making me bleed. I bled for 3 days after the test.
A week went by, and I hadn't heard from her. I called another GYN that I had been to before and asked if I could come in. I didn't entirely trust the first GYN that I had seen. The doctor at Huntington Medical Group made an appointment for me to come in the next morning, May 17th. As I picked up the phone to call Stony Brook, it rang in my hand.
It was Stony Brook calling me. I had an abnormal PAP and they wanted to schedule a colposcopy.
My heart fell to my feet. I told them that I was changing doctors and that I would like them to fax my records to her. I filled out the necessary forms and faxed it to them.
The next morning, I went to see the doctor in Huntington Medical Group. I was a mess. She brought me into her office to talk to me about what was going on. She said that she had not yet received the records, and she would have to wait. She told me about the different things that an abnormal PAP could indicate: different STDs, cancer, or it could have just been a false positive. However, since I had a false positive when I was younger, this raised a couple of red flags.
I convinced myself that I had cervical cancer. There was no way that I had any STD. How could it be a false positive again? I blamed myself, as I skipped my yearly exam last year.
A week went by, and the records finally made it to her office. I went in on June 3rd to figure out what was going on. The pain was still there, but shifted to the left instead of the right. Before we went into the examination room, she sat down in her office with me and went over all of the test results. It appeared that everything had come back normal, except for the PAP. And, of course, the first test didn't show the HPV cell count. (HPV is the Human Papilloma Virus, a very common germ that causes abnormal cells or tissue growth on the skin of the body. These cells can be cancer indicators.) She informed me of 2 things: First of all, I'm not ovulating properly and have a less than 50% chance of ever conceiving. Second, there was a slight chance that I have cervical cancer, and I should prepare myself for that possibility.
She did the PAP quite fast-- much faster than Dr. Butcherbitch. She told me that they would call the next week with the results.
What followed over the course of the next week was pure Hell. I was still in pain, and now was devastated over the low chance of ever conceiving as well as terrified that I had cervical cancer. I didn't know what to do with myself. I would cry at Pampers commercials. I had to ask my father, whom I haven't spoken with in nearly 3 years, if cancer ran in his family. (He didn't even dignify me with a response, by the way.) It was horrible.
I went to another doctor on June 6th for another set of tests. I was talking to a wonderful nurse, and she explained something to me about an abnormal PAP that I never knew. A PAP test can come out abnormal if the instrument used to take the sample touches any other part of your body. I described the test to her, and she-- the NURSE-- told me that Dr. Butcherbitch probably hit the walls inside or other parts or my body. She told me not to worry about it, as I only had a slight abnormality in the cells.
Still, I was worried. Granted, I felt a heck of a lot better after that nurse explained things for me. She even let me see the instrument that is used to take the PAP sample. It shouldn't hurt at all, to tell you the truth. There are no points or anything on the instrument. It looks like a dull, webbed rake. Of course, it's uncomfortable. But, it shouldn't be painful.
Yesterday, I finally got the results of my PAP. It came out 100% clean. Everything is negative. It is such a huge weight off my chest. However, doctors are still trying to pinpoint exactly what is wrong with me.
If you have an abnormal PAP like I did, don't do what I did. Don't obsess about it. Don't start planning all of the things that you want to do before you die. Don't shop for wigs you may need for chemo. Just stop, take a deep breath, and know that an abnormal PAP is relatively common occurrence. They appear in 5% - 20% of women being tested. In most cases, it does NOT represent cancer.
There are several different classifications of abnormal results, too. Find out which you are. If you are just "abnormal," then you probably don't have much to worry about.
Having an abnormal PAP is a frightening experience. Just because it is abnormal doesn't mean that it is something worse than a common mistake made by a GYN. Don't jump right into having the colposcopy. (That is, of course, unless your GYN recommends it.) Have another PAP test. If your second one comes back abnormal, too, then get the colposcopy. Why go through a test that you might not need?
I am NOT a doctor. I do not work for a GYN or in any other doctor's office. This was written from a true experience, and is my opinion. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Candice Cain@verizon.net.
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Candice923
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The twins have arrived - 3/14/08
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