LOL yes, blood work indeed. I go monthly for that. My neuro is Mr. Thorough. I'm on Copaxone, but as his secretary said, "He likes to be sure and check on his patients". Hey, I could have a neuro who wrote the script and said, "See you in a year". :)

I had a colposcopy done back in 1998. I had no pain during or after the procedure. I had to go back every 6 months until I had a clear Pap two or three times in a row (I can't remember now how many it was) but now I just go once a year.

I was supposed to have a colposcopy a year ago but it never happened. I'd had an abnormal Pap for the first time ever, but no HPV.

I canceled the colposcopy due to a conflict and when I called later to reschedule, I asked the nurse exactly what kind of abnormality it was. She said ASCUS (?), the lowest level, and since I tested negative for HPV the chances of cancer are about nil (I found out from reading). She said I didn't need a colposcopy, I could just have a follow-up Pap.

The doctor wrote me a note out of the blue in January saying I could either have a colposcopy or a follow-up Pap in six months. I was a bit confused--six months would be a year since the abnormal Pap!

Due to one thing and another (complicated), I never did either one. I have a yearly appointment this week. I have no idea why they originally scheduled a colposcopy when a follow-up Pap would do nicely. (Maybe because I have good insurance??) :)

What kind of Pap abnormality did you have, Laura? Did they say WHY they want to do a colposcopy instead of follow-up Pap?

Good luck with it.

Nancy T.

I didn't have one of those, nor did I have any abnormal cells on the pap smear, but I still ended up needing a hysterectomy just the same! :(

I wish you all the best with your test and hope that you don't have any pain afterwards. :hug:

Thanks, and nah my GP didn't say exactly what the abnormality was. She didn't seem overly concerned about it, other than there was an abnormality and to get it investigated through Colposcopy. She did say as I mentioned, "These results are extremely common" and not to worry about it. Sounded more like routine than all else.

That's what my doctor told me, too. Nobody seemed concerned about it - and I didn't know enough to be concerned - so I just had the procedure and haven't had to have another one since.

My doctor said that these abnormalties usually clear up by themselves.

From what I've read, it's common to have some abnormal cell changes but mostly they do clear up by themselves. If it turns into cancer, it's many, many years down the line.

Apparently they often routinely do an HPV test (human papilloma virus, the cause of cervical cancer) on your Pap sample if it shows abnormalities. That tells them if you're at a higher risk. My doctor also wrote in her note that she was "less concerned" about my abnormal Pap because I do not have HPV.

Nancy T.

Sure, but I'm somewhat @nal retentive when it comes to my medical records so I asked for a copy of the pathology report. The doc looked at me funny, but let me have it. ;) I feel better knowing what THEY know. It's MY body after all and they don't have a right to keep things secret from me when it deals with it. That's IMHO, mind you.


I was told that too. But the research I did on possible causes of abnormalities indicated it as well. So I felt pretty good about that. Rather safe than sorry, however.

The first time I had an abnormal pap and knew nothing else, I had myself dead and buried before I saw the doc. I also had myself convinced that there would be nothing wrong (talk about exact opposite thoughts!). It was a happy thing that there was nothing to be concerned with--the lab results were a false abnormal. Whee! :cool:

Well HPV was never mentioned. She mentioned the 'could be a problem in 15 to 20 years', and did mention checking for pre-cancerous cells. But we'll see tomorrow, I'm not gonna stress it ;)

please let us know what your dr says.
keep on top of it yourself too.
i've gotten in the habit of getting copies of all my test results.
i keep files on myself and feel better knowing exactly what is happening.

this stems from snafus in my records when i applied for ssdi.
after that i get copies for myself.