Asking for speculum

I have been brave enough to discuss my need for a PAP with my doctor, and he seemed very uneasy about it, but he has agreed to do one. He told me that it is easier on both the patient AND the doctor when a female doc does it. I told him that is nonsense; that it is more about the trust relationship between the patient and the doctor.

Anyways, I have not had very many PAPs (although I've had many external and bimanual pelvic exams), and have many questions. I would like to get up the courage to ask the doc if I can have the speculum following the exam, as I believe in this clinic they use plastic disposable ones. I would feel better about asking him rather than sneaking it from the trash afterwards. I don't know, however, how to ask for it without him thinking I've fallen off the turnip truck.

He knows I'm a well-informed patient, and ask a lot of questions in general, and has complimented me on this, but I'm just not sure how to approach this.

It's booked in six days -- I appreciate any serious and/or creative ideas for asking for the speculum. Thanks!

The answer is very simple, and very logical, and there is a good medical reason to own one actually. Look up on the internet sometime about examining your inner vagina and cervix. There is quite a bit of information about it these days.

Remind him that prevention is the best medicine and if a patient can detect changes or problems early, then it's quite possible to stop any potential future issues.

Any good doctor values a patient who is informed, and takes their health seriously. Besides that, if you discover a potential problem early, and he fixes it, he comes off as the hero and doesn't have to worry about any future trips to court because he missed something. See, it's a win win situation for both of you.

Try it and let me know how it turns out.

Thanks for the suggestions. As a doctor practicing in Canada (but trained in Africa), he's not as concerned about liability as American doctors, perhaps. But he does like to "cover his ass".

He told me that if he could only get his diabetic patients to take their disease as seriously as I take my health (it was his way of telling me he values patients who take charge of their health).

I do find it strange that he thinks routine gyne care should be done by female doctors, though there is no female doctor with a practice in my community, but there is one who visits for gyne care. I think the age of my doctor plays a role in this, as well as my age. He is very young (28-32 I believe, although I've never explicitly asked), and I am 29. Perhaps certain aged patients and/or certain personalities of patients intimidate him or remind him of his wife/mother, etc. My doctor seems nervous about doing the exam itself (but is completely okay with talking about it). I am not sure how he will be with talking about giving me a souvenir speculum! I am the one who is a little uneasy about this and that is why I am looking for some suggestions.

I am not afraid the exam will be rough. I am confident he will be professional throughout.

Anyone else have any ideas for asking for the speculum?

Well id trust mashie for just about anything so go with her suggestion but you can always just buyone online

I hope I'm not making myself unclear. I know I can buy one online or perhaps from a larger medical supply store. That is not the point or the question I am asking. I know I will be having a PAP and am almost certain it will be with a plastic speculum which will be tossed into the trash if I do not rescue it! I do not intend on bringing any aspect of med-fet into my relationship with my doctor.

The speculum, should I obtain it from him (or get the courage to even ask for it), would be used for me learning about my own body. Where is the med-fet in that?

You may ask why I would want to ask him for the speculum when I could buy one somewhere or get it from the trash afterwards? I have discussed A LOT of things with my doc, so why shouldn't this be one of them? I'm just still not sure how to broach it -- that's why I'm here, and I think some of you got the gist of it, and I thank you for that!

Http://www.womenshealthspecialists.org/self-help/cervical-exam

well following Mahsie...

well cervical self exam is not really a new concept and maybe the major reason or pretext for you to ask your gynecologist to give you the plastic speculum he just used on you. I'm sure that with the good relation doctor -patient you both have he'll be receptive to do it (off course he may say something like "there's no need to do that, but you can allways say you have a female friend that already atended a workshop on it or something like that).

It sounds like you have a good relationship with your Doc, so explain you would like to keep it for your self exams.

If you can't get the nerve to ask for it, just rescue it from the trash can. I guarantee it's not the first one to be taken from a doctors office!

After all, you are paying for the speculum, you should be able to keep it if you want it.

Thanks for all the suggestions -- went very well. The nurse brought me into the room and filled in the paperwork, and asked me to change, but I said I had some pre-exam questions and would like to talk to the doc beforehand. She didn't realize I was also there for general medical stuff, and it would have been a long discussion half-naked. She eventually told me it was my choice if I changed or not before the doc entered, but I chose to stay clothed, and the doc was ok with that, but I think he was really distracted by the gloves, lube, speculum, slide, swab, etc. right in front of him on the desk. It was like he was thinking when are you going to stop asking questions and get on with this?

I told him I had a couple questions before the exam, and some during the exam, and he said that was fine, and I put a disclaimer on them -- that they were merely curiosity based (he really can appreciate my curiosity and that I am well-informed)! So, I asked about watching with a mirror, and he said yeah, but looked panicked when he said he didn't think there was a mirror around, and I said I came prepared. Then I was really afraid to ask about keeping the speculum, and thought about rescuing it from the trash, but got enough courage. I just said "Can I keep the speculum?". He said yeah.

When the nurse came in, he explained to her that I wanted to see inside with a mirror, and he actually took the mirror and adjusted it for me, but was easier for me to do it. Then he asked if this was what I wanted to see...um...yeah.

He then removed the speculum and dropped it in the garbage, and quickly pulled it out. He looked so embarrassed. He said -- out of habit. He explained to the nurse I wanted to keep it. Think he kept covering his butt. He asked the nurse to put it in a specimen bag and then in a brown bag (she asked him if it was going to the lab, lol). He said no, I wanted to keep it. No other explanation. I had a backpack with me and was prepared to leave with it discretely.

Doc was VERY good about explaining the PAP and how it is done.

I would have asked him more during-exam questions, but I was tired and forgot, and was otherwise feeling unwell, but did not want to reschedule the exam, as that would have been stressful too.

Only minor thing that happened was, while I was changing, someone came in without knocking, not sure probably a nurse, and I shouted "not yet!" I think the doc heard about it, because when he left the exam room, he made a point of locking the door and telling me this was so no one would intrude.

Happy to read that it turned out to go relatively smooth : )

A great way to go about this is to ask relative to fertility. It's a very typical reason to bring up the subject and there are a number of sites, groups, books etc that address self use of the speculum to note visual changes in the cervix. Your doctor i doubt will think twice about it

Sarah