Rough Colposcopy and Cervical biopsy experience

[msjamielee]

Hello. I'm new to this site. I'm 30 years old and have been very healthy up until recently. I've had regular annual pap smears since I was 17 and they always came back normal until 6 months ago. Well, 6 months ago it came back normal/high risk hpv positive. So my doctor just told me to come back 6 months later to retest as it could go dormant. Well, when I went in for my 6 month follow up it came back abnormal ASCUS HPV...so she said again, to come back in 6 months. This didn't seem right to me as it changed in just 6 months...what would happen in another 6? And being that I'm a giant hypochondriac, I couldn't wait 6 months so I set up my own appointment for colposcopy with an OBGYN (my family doc isn't even an MD...she's a FNP).

My appointment was this past Thursday (it's Saturday now). The doctor reviewed my medical records and decided she'd do a colposcopy and cervical biopsy to be safe. She gave me Demerol and Valium before the procedure to ease my nerves and to help with pain....and let me tell you - it did NOTHING. Not to scare anyone out there who hasn't had this done yet (most say it's easy as pie) but this was hands down the most painful, traumatic experience of my life to date. And I usually can handle pain. The colposcopy was no biggie...just uncomfy and the vinegar burned a bit, but the biopsy was excruciating...she took 4 biopsies total and by the second one I was crying and pleading with her to stop but she wouldn't. My legs were shaking and I threw up afterwards. The nurse told me that happens often...?!?!?!? Is this just a bad doc or is that normal? I mean after what I experienced I think I should've been put under GA. I had to get help walking to the car (my mom drove me) and I cried all the way home...even on strong pain meds. Ugh. I will NEVER do that again...I simply won't.

And now the aftermath....The bleeding stopped by day 2 but I still have to wear pads to collect this yucky clumpy discharge with huge brown pieces of what looks like flesh coming out of me. I'm using vandazole gel suppositories twice a day too to prevent infection after the biopsy, but it's clear so I am really put off by what these huge chunks are..anyone else experience this?? On top of that, I'm still so traumatized from that experience I can't even get up from the couch 3 days later. I shudder when I remember. And I still have getting the results to look forward to...I go back in 2 weeks for that. I just joined this site to see if there are any other experiences like mine because I thought maybe talking about it with people who understand would pull me out of this depression and funk I'm in.

[stephc]

Hi,
I have had several colposcopies, I was never given any pain medication for them. They were uncomfortable, and a bit painful, but not to the extent that you described. The discharge is normal for a colposcopy, kinda coffee grounds like, that lasted for several days for me. I'm not sure why you had such terrible pain, hopefully it has gotten better? My legs always shake during those procedures, more from nerves than pain though...they always ask me if I'm cold... Do you think that you were nervous, and that intesified the pain and trauma of the experience for you? I would hate for you to neglect your health because of the awful experience that you had. Waiting for test results is always the most difficult part for me. Let us know how everything turns out.

[msjamielee]

My colposcopy and biopsy results came back moderate dysplasia. I've been sent to another doctor who will perform a cone biopsy procedure in a week. I'm terrified. I have an anxiety disorder and a major surgery phobia to top it off. Everything about it from being put under general anesthesia to what they're actually doing to me down there terrifies me. It's like a major ordeal to take a more invasive biopsy...and what if the results are worse than expected or they don't get it all...then what's next? Hysterectomy? I'm 30 have no children and am hoping to be a mother someday. I hope this is all an easy fix and will be water under the bridge. I let the "what-if's" take over when I really need to learn how to live in the moment....it's just so hard!!

BTW - Has anyone else had the cone biopsy and could you share your experiences??

[sheila]

msjamielee-fikrst off Im sorry I cant share any biopsy experience but feel the urge to say.....Ok not the news you wanted to hear, but they did use the word "moderate" so it could have been alot worse right?
I can truly understand where your comming from-I myself have major depressive and anxiety disorder with panic attacks! and lets not forget white coat syndrome. Took me 30 years to get to a dentist had to knock me out and now here it is another 15 years later and I need alot of work done and can-not talk myself into it-took me that long to see a doctor as well but because Im on meds I see him 2 x a year now-because I trust him-Thats a key factor in people with disorders such as ours we really need to feel safe. I would either insist they knocked me out good gave me some happy pills and if they couldnt accomodate that I would find someone who would. just keep saying to yourself the sooner I find out the sooner I can get started to get this out of my way so I can go on with the rest of my life(Im working on myself with that line) Those what ifs are always in my brain too-hard to shake them out. I hope someone can respond that will ease your fears a bit..hang in there keep us posted.

[eliz0827]

I just had a Colposcopy and Cervical Biopsy about 2 days ago. Yesterday was fine but today I’m having more cramping pain and yeah the stuff coming out is disgusting! I called my DR.'s office and spoke to the nurse. She told me that the pain was normal and the nasty stuff had to do with the stuff that they put on the biopsy site is what's coming out. I know it's after the fact but wanted you to know that you’re not alone. I have had 2 children via c-section. To me the pain from the biopsy was not as painful as that BUT it definitely was more that what was expected or relayed to me. I'm obviously waiting on the test results but would for sure do it again if i had to in the future. Trust me the "minimal" pain that is experienced is much less than what you could potentially be experienced if u do nothing and develop into something worse. I'm sending good vibes your way and hope everything turns out good!

[fezfez]

Hi there, I had a coloscopy and cervical biopsy two weeks ago...it is definatley not pleasant!! I bled for a week and had a lot of cramping! I think the brown flesh you are losing are clots...as the wound starts to heal they clot hence the brown clots..I lost clots as well...but if you are suffering a lot of pain and its a bit stinky down there make sure you ring your doc! My results came back as CIN 3..scary stuff and I had day surgery (LLETZ procedure) yesterday under general anasthetic to remove the abnormal cells. It seems really scary but it is way less painful than the biopsy! Even though the thought of having other biopsies is horrifying I will do it again to keep an eye on my cervix as I do not want Invasive cervical cancer! I know it is hard..I suffer from anxiety and depression and the thought of it all makes me shudder but we have to do it to keep ouselves well! Try really hard to focus on getting better..hope you feel better real soon! Ask me anything anytime..look after yourself!

[cindyevans4]

I have totally been there. Last Feburary I started with an abnormal pap and strain 16 HPV. I had a colopolscopy and 5 biopsy's then 6mos and repeat so on. Last Friday I had only 3 biopsy's as my cells were getting better. My doc stated that a lot of women are over treated for this and there was no reason to proceed with a cone biopsy. They are very painful (cervical biopsies) and I am not administered any pain medication. But they are worth knowing that things are being taken care of. Hang in there.

[Kelly D]

Hi, six months ago I was diagnosed with CIN 3. I also suffer from pretty severe anxiety (which is so unhelpful in these sorts of situations!). You seem to be some what at ease already but I've found (as an aspiring scientist) primary research articles comfort me the most. Here is a good one that gave me hope: LINK DELETED AS PER FORUM POLICY PLEASE READ THE RULES. They give straight up facts of actual people and data of large scale studies. I feel like every time I ask my doctor or peers about this stuff they fluff stuff up so I'll feel better. This has been the most honest answer I can find. Hope you find this useful. - Kelly

[Didee]

I can though re post this link.

http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/8463...FggS8LRIjDZ.24

[Mistystauts]

Hi my name is misty Ijust went through the same this past monday but they didn't give me anything for the pain I think your doc was alot nicer to you.It is now wendsday of the nent week and i jut now stop thowing up and bleeding. I tell you I have had 5 kids and it didn't hurt no where near that bad I couldn't even walk out of the clinic by myself and the clinic is a well known one for the area I live

[pbj11]

Hi all,

I'm sorry to see so many logging in here with these cervical issues. All of this is becoming increasingly common as about 70% of women have HPV.

I have a question. Is the biopsy part of the colcoscopy procedure? I know cone biopsies are different, or I think they are.

I'm guessing, regarding colcoscopies, that all women are different in how they react. We walked to lunch immediately after my daughter's colcoscopy and she had minimal bleeding and pain that was controlled by OTC medicine.

OR --- is it a case of a difference in how the doctors actually do the procedure or is it the amount of affected cervical tissue involved?

Any thoughts or info?

Thanks,
PBJ

[sheila]

pbj-I think the pain that is is referred to here on the original post the colonoscopy biopsy .....but the rest I think are the cervical cone biopsies kidof intermingled.

[pbj11]

Thanks Sheila. There's a big difference between the two.

[Bean]

So ok here is the story; out of the last 6 pap test every second one is normal and the other are abnormal low; so as precautionary I was revered to a specialist; I was seen by this specialist within a week of being referred so that was great; I get there and of course wait my turn and the doc and her nurse were very nice explained the whole procedure first and as odd as it sounds I got to watch what they were doing on the HD screen; anyway she said that it looked normal and that she didn't see anything to be concerned about; However they did another pap and did 3 biopsy's; they said that most women never complain about the procedure but holy eff this hurt from when they put the prong thing in to the vinegar to the actual biopsy... By the time it was over I was in tears - it appears I am not like most women and find this procedure very much painful. Ulemas was earlier today I am still bleeding, cramping and I still have the burning sensation Down there. That being said I did have a great doctor and nurse and I will go back if I have to; my question is "does this procedure really not supposed to hurt or am I over-reacting"

[debber87]

I just had a colposcopy done on the 12th at that time they took a biopsy.It was a bit uncomfortable but I had none of the sympotms you described.I had very little spotting and was crampy for two or three days.No pain meds were perscribed by generic tylenol helped.I have had this procedure done several times and never experienced the pain level or sympotms you described.I think doctors make a difference

[pbj11]

Hi Debber and Bean,

I guess there must be something that makes a difference in the level of pain afterward. We're talking a colcoscopy, right? Debber, my daughter was similar to your experience, as I described several posts above.

Maybe it has to do with how much of an area is affected and how much material needs to be biopsied. From what I understood, and I may be totally wrong, they remove any tissue that is showing up as bad under some special kind of light. Is that correct? If so, then I can see a difference in how different women would respond with more pain. More tissue, more pain. Maybe deeper too. Again, I may be off base, but that's what it sounds like to me.

I'm sorry that both Bean and Didee had those experiences. Another reason I'm glad they yanked everything when I was much younger. I would have had to undergo too many procedures over and over because things were turning in a negative direction for me. Luckily I was done having my children or I'd have had lots more done.

Bean -- let the doctor know and maybe they can give you something better for pain control if you need another procedure.

God bless all,
PBJ

P.S. --- Odd, I just looked at my old post above and had asked the same question about the amount of tissue involvement.

[Didee]

I can only go by what I was told at my Colposcopy and biopsy that most women do not have much sensitivity in that area, a small minority do.
I don't think it has anything to do with numbers of bits taken or their depth but I could very well be wrong.

[pbj11]

Thanks Didee. I guess you may be right as I became ultra-sensitive with my cervix before I had the factory closed. I had never been like that before.

[Chatze]

Hi all. Just had a colposcopy and biopsy done 9/12/11 and it the most painful thing ever! I kept raising up to alleviate some of the pressure but my Dr kept telling me to calm down and that it wasn't that bad. I kept what I really wanted to say to myself but I kept wondering if I really was a big wuss or if other people found it to be not nearly the type of situation that is described to you before actually having it done. The stuff that came out was horrible the few days after and I too found it hard to walk out of the drs office that day.

Did any of you have any problems urinating or with discharge after. It's been about 6 weeks since I had it done and I keep getting what I thought were yeast infections except without the smell or itching. It's just mostly watery like I've peed myself or chunky white. I also have to pee all the time now. Is it the cervical cancer I was diagnosed with (stage 1) or was it the colpo? I asked my doctor and she insisted it was normal but I was never like this before..... Someone please let me know

[april51]

I can only give you what I have personally experienced and I hope everyone takes my advise to not ignore cervical problems.

In 1979, six months after my first child was born, I had an abnormal pap. He (OB/GYN) did some follow ups and sure enough I had HPV. I was horrified as it was not a well known virus then. He told me that if I had sex with someone who had sex with someone I likely contracted it that way. In other words, he said likely 90% of people had it and it was spreading. He had no idea what it intailed but said to NEVER miss a pap. So I didn't.

The virus flared up in 1985 with the birth of my third child but went dormant again.

In August 1999, many paps later, again abnormal with a capital A. I went to a training hospital for my colpo to a female doctor. I was able to watch on the little screen. The doctor showed me the instrument that was used for the biopsy. Itl looked like a small dragon with big teeth. She told me it would hurt and it did. She took three bites. Ouch! She packed me with what she called a coffee ground type of stuff and said that it would fall out. She gave me all the warnings and I went through it all.

She did this because she had been through it. I felt fortunate.

A few days later I was moving 1000 miles away and called her from a pay phone on the way. It was 1999...The pathology came back clear! She urged me to call her back in a few days. I saw my cervix on the screen. It was dead and white on one side. She had them run the tests again and they came up stage I (not cancer, but virus) and she said, "You saw what your cervix looked like as well as I did. Get to a doctor."

The medical community were in a transition period of whether to call this cancer or not.

Well I got settled in and in Feb of 2000 found a OB/GYN and had the pathology sent to him and he laughed. He did new tests and it was stage IV! (Yes, that fast.) He could see with his eyes something was terribly wrong. He did a LEEP (The loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) uses a thin, low-voltage electrified wire loop to cut out abnormal tissue.) This did not hurt or leave a lasting effect. Though I was done having children. He cut off about 1/2 inch of the cervix and the margins were clear.

Here comes the hard part. I had to get paps every three months for years to come. It became grueling. In 2007 I had a hysterectomy for other reasons, but given my history it seemed a good idea.

Here come the other hard part. I was told by my new OB/GYN that I still need paps because those nasty little cancer cells can linger.

So, to answer your question, I did have all those symptoms. Go back to your doctor. I hate pain too. (It's been a while since I've been to the dentist also.) I beg you to get this under control.