First Smear Test

I have my first smear test tomorrow and I was wondering does anyone have any advice on how not to be completely embarrassed? I just know I'm going to be absolutely mortified!

No one can tell you tasha, how not to be completely embarrassed.

The procedure itself is generally a little uncomfortable. It shouldn't be painful.

You'll generally not be fully unclothed or even gowned. Just lower half nude, under a skirt. Usually its a female taking the smear sample and what you have to remember is two things:

1) She will have seen hundreds of women and all will have had a first time, sometime.

2) The test is a potential life saver and to miss out on it through embarrassment would be foolish.

Go tomorrow - try to put your natural modesty behind you. Maybe this time next week you'll be telling someone else 'it's not so bad, after all'

Embarrassment is a normal part of the exam I'm afraid Tasha... most every woman experiences it.. and most every time she goes.

Do come back and let us know how it went, that you are OK, and that as Big K said... "it's not so bad after all".

Doc Rob

I'm not familiar with exams in the UK which evidently differ a great deal from those in NA.

I just had a shudder about what has been said and had to add absolutely wear jeans or slacks. I've never been in the position where I could just remove my panties and hike up my skirt for this procedure but that would be too.... Wear slacks!

I hope yours goes well as most do. What always gets me through it is; it's only fifteen minutes. You can endure almost anything that long.

In your case if it's just a smear it's less than five.

Good luck,

Jackie

Well, it's done! I went this afternoon and most of it happened pretty much as I expected. It was a nurse doing it and she was nice but just kind of got on with it at the same time. I went in and she checked my personal details first, date of birth, address etc. Then she laid out a pair of gloves, a platic speculum in a bag, the little brush they use and the container for the sample. Next she asked me when my last period was and when my last smear test was and I said that this was my first. The she asked me to remove my shoes and my underwear (I went with the skirt ladies, pretty much cause that's what it said to do in the leaflet I got and I'm a bit of a sucker for following rules!) and get up onto the couch and bring my heels towards my bottom with my feet together and let my knees fall open. I did get kind of embarrassed at this point I have to say. Anyway, she gathered my skirt up around my waist and put on the gloves and took the speculum out of the packet (I was staring at the ceiling at this point but I could hear it all) She told me to breathe out when I felt pressure from the speculum which I did and she pushed it in and opened it. I found this a little uncomfortable but not too bad but it then seemed to take quite a while for her to see my cervix and I have to admit that this I found quite uncomfortable. She asked me to cough and raise my bottom off the couch and I could feel the speculum being moved inside but eventually it came into view and she took the sample with the brush which I actually hardly felt and took out the speculum. All in all it wasn't as embarrassing as I expected but it was less straightforward than the info they give you makes out, I hadn't realised that it might be difficult to see the cervix, I don't know, is this common or is it just me?

Thanks very much for the advice, talking about it beforehand was really helpful, I still got embarrassed, but it really did help me remember that it's not anything unusual for the nurse/doctor which did ease some of the emarrassment.

I think it would be harder to locate the cervix in the frog (? is that what you call it) position than with feet in stirrups (which I've come to understand are not as common in the UK).

Perhaps a play-doc (or a real one) who's done it in both positions can comment.

I'm glad you weren't traumatized and that some information here was helpful.

Jackie

Congrats, Tasha! I hope I have the courage to get my first one, soon. It seems not so bad in the way that you tell it. I think I would have gone with the skirt too- I would think that I could keep it on longer and put it back down sooner than If I was lying there without pants- After the procedure is done I could immediately flip it down.

You might have a tilted uterus. I've been told by one doctor that mine is (she had trouble finding it too), but I've been to many, many other doctors by now and no one else has mentioned it being tilted or have had trouble finding it.

Also, depending where you are in your cycle, the cervix moves a little bit (higher, lower, etc.) so that might be part of it too.

I'm glad that you went and got it over with! For me, stressing over it before the appointment is almost as bad as the appointment itself.

Ellen, that is definitely one reason for wearing the skirt, just so long as you don't do what I did which was to wait unil I was told I could put it down which meant I continued to lie there completely exposed while the nurse sorted out the sample, when there was obviously no need for me to!

Your Uterus is about half the size of your fist and your cervix is no bigger than your folded index finger. So trying to locate something located fairly deep in your vagina can be elusive for the inexperienced examiner. This necessary procedure need not be a dreaded experience. I'm afraid your nurse lost an opportunity to discuss with you the variations in human anatomy and educate you regarding your own body. When the uterus is anteverted, the cervix will be very posterior and the speculum will need to be withdrawn some and inserted much lower and deeper in the vagina in order to visualize the cervix. When the uterus is retroverted the cervix may be very anterior, as high as the symphisus pubis and requires taking a different aim with the speculum. It may be necessary to remove the speculum and locate the cervix with one finger. The patient needs at least some explanation for why the cervix was hard to find. Some women with a retroverted uterus may find it helpful to know as this could make the missionary position uncomfortable and trying a different position may be much more satisfying to them. I am pleased that your first experience went well and hope you will not be discouraged from asking questions and establishing a very important relationship with your health care provider.