It's that time of year again.....

Its that time of year again, when it comes time for my annual exam. i've chosen to see a different doctor this year at a different medical practice because i was not overly impressed with the care and bedside manner of my last doctor. my appointment is at 10:00 am this coming monday. i'm excited to be back in the stirrups having my most private parts deeply examined. i'm also hoping that this medical center uses leg rests instead of boring old stirrups. fingers crossed!

Good luck i hope it is a pleasant exam. 😃

Be sure to tell us about it.

Looking forward to hearing all about it... enjoy!

For those who have a GP and GYN where they both perform a pelvic and breast exam, do you notice any striking differences that stand out between the two physicians?

I have an appt. coming up next week for a complete physical with my GP. I used to go to a GYN for my pelvic exams, but also left feeling that I never got a thorough exam. He was always done in what seemed like seconds & I was draped over my knees almost to my ankles while up in the stirrups. I always felt like he'd never see if I had any problems since he couldn't possibly see my genitals. That's why I now have my GP do everything, including my GYN.exam. He is extremely thorough. He never rushes thru my exams. Of course, I have to take all my clothes off & wear a gown open to the front. When he gets to my pelvic exam, he exams my genitals while I am laying flat on the exam table first, before I ever get into the stirups. He has me spread my legs apart & checks the position of my labia for symmatry & position of my labia & paplates for cysts, etc. Then, he has me move my bottom down to the edge of the table & mount the stirrups. He never has me with a drape over my knees at all. I do still have on the open in the front gown which he closes the upper part of after examining my breasts.When in the stirrups, he has my legs much higher in the air & spread much wider than the GYN ever did. Then, he positions an examining light right at his shoulder as he sits down on a stool between my spread open legs. He palpates every part of my genitals & pulls back the hood of my cliteris to examine it, too. He always tells me to keep myself open as he starts to insert the speculum into my vagina. It also feels as though he opens the speculum wider in my vagina than my GYN ever did. Maybe he just uses a different size speculum. I've asked my husband, who is always there in the room with me while I am being examined, if he can tell if the speculum is larger than the GYN's was. He can't tell. He (the GP) then readjusts the exam light to see into my vagina thru the speculum better and does a PAP smear. He is very careful to take a good speciman for my PAP smear which I am glad of. I read an article a few years ago that some womens PAP smears come back negative due to an inadequete speciman obtained. Then, he takes out the speculum & stands up between my spread legs & nserts his fingers into my vagina. He pushes up so high to reach all parts of my uterus,ovaries, etc, that I sometimes feels like he is pushing me up & away from him on the table. I guess sometimes I am since he sometimes tells me to stay open & not to move away from him on the table. Then, he does a vaginal-rectal exam & pushes up just as deeply into my vagina & rectum at the same time & examines me that way, too. Then, he does a deep digital rectal exam on me, too. My husband says that the GP inserts 2 lubricated fingers into my rectum for my rectal exam. He first inserts a syringeful of lube into my rectum. He positions his 2 fingers one on top of the other to insert them. Just before he pushes into my rectum, but waiting right at my anus, he tells me to bear down. As soon as I do, he pushes into my rectum. My husband says the doctor goes straight in with both fingers until his fingers are completely inbedded. I guess that is why he first directly injects lube right into my rectum. My husband has asked me if I can feel if he spreads his 2 fingers once inside my rectum. I am not sure but he does examine my rectum very thoroughly & at times it is uncomfortable. When I first starting getting rectal exams, they were really uncomfortable. I wasn't used to anything in my rectum. My husband spends time at home entering my rectum to get me used to it, especiially when we know I have an exam scheduled with the doctor. He enjoys filling my rectum up with lube with a bulb syringe while I am on my knees & elbows on our bed. He places several pillows under each of my knees to raise my bottom up higher & has me spread my legs wide.He also places a light right at his shoulder, as the doctor does, He says it makes it easier to see when my rectum is full of lube when he watches as he is injecting it into my rectum. Then he plays with my rectum with his fingers, first with one finger, then with two as he readys me for him to enter my rectum himself. In the beginning, he wasn't able to push very far into my rectum. But, we spent time with it & now, when my husband grabs my hips as he is entering my rectum he came push the whole way in. I now love when he pulls me back towards him as he enters himself into my rectum. By then, he always has me more than ready for him.

Today, the doctor's office called to tell me that I will be having a proctoscope exam with my physical this year & said she was sending me prep instructions in the mail as well as a description of the exam. I asked the office person who called why I was to have a proctoscopy exam. She told me that since I am coming up to my 55th birthday next month, it was an important test to do yearly especially since I have not yet had a colonoscopy. She said I would need to have a cleansing enema either just before my appt. or when I arrived at the office for my appt. My husband will give me an enema before we leave for my appt. Not wanting to wait for the description paper to arrive in the mail, I asked her how the doctor would be performing the exam. She told me I would be positioned on my knees & elbows for the exam & that the proctoscope would be in my rectum for about 5 or so mins. She did say that my husband would not have to leave the room while I am having the proctoscopy exam. I have a feeling I am going to be very nervous, so I am glad he will be there with me.

When my GP has completed examining me, he asks my husband & I questions as a couple. For the last few years, now that I have started menpause, he asks if I am able to produce enough vaginal lubricant for intercourse or if we need to use an over the counter product. He also asks if cliteral stimulation still triggers a strong response. He asks if I am able to achieve orgasm when making love with my husband. I am happy to report that at almost age 55, my clitoris response is just fine as is my vaginal muscles for grabbing on to my husband when he enters me. My husband loves that he can feel my vaginal muscles grip him as we are making love. I also surprise him sometimes to keep our sex life exciting. I keep myself fit by going to the gym several times a week. I also take Zumba classes at the gym & dance for my husband at home when he least expects it. I also wll unexpectedly walk into the kitchen wearing nothing but a G string while he is cooking dinner or wear a pair of crotchless panties & no top or bra while I am exercising. That always leads to my husband taking me up against the kitchen cabinets or when I am exercising, on the floor with my legs up in the air & spread wide open by my husband as he takes me right there. I done things like go to the supermarket with him wearing nothing at all under my coat. I did that on Valentine's Day the other day. He had no idea until I opened the top buttons of my coat while in the supermarket & "accidently" allowed him to see a full view of my bare breast. He thought I was just topless under my coat until we got home & I took off my coat, standing there completely nude except for the boots I had worn to the store. In a flash, he had me up me on my back on the kitchen table with my legs spread wide and my feet on his shoulders. As I lay there, open to my husband, it occured to me that it was dark outside & the kitchen lights were on. The kitchen table I was laid out on is right in front of the glass patio doors & the doors have no curtains or blinds. I wondered if any neighbors were watching us. I found the thought excited me as my husband took me first burying his face between my legs & then entering me fully. I whispered to him that someone may be watching us & he came quickly with a roar. I found out the next morning that the neighbor behind us did see us from her own kitchen window when I called her to see if she was planning to go to the gym that morning. We sometimes do go to the gym together. She asked me if I was sore. I asked her why I would be sore & she told me her husband had just come home from work the night before & from their kitchen they both saw my husband take me as I lay completely naked & spread wide on the table.

We won't go into detail at my doctor's appt., as I have done here. But, I will be able to answer him honestly when my husband & I tell him that my womanly parts may be almost 55 yrs old but still highly sensitive.

I am sorry that this reply is so long. I didn't intend it to be. I guess I get too longwinded.

Hope when it comes around you find yourself in a room with leg rests / knee stirrups instead of the foot stirrups, those would certainly be my choice if I got to pick out of the catalog when designing the medical office.

I had my appointment this morning. i dressed in some comfy yoga pants (no panties) a tshirt and a lacy bra. When i arrived at the office i signed in with the nurse and was told to go into the bathroom and leave a urine sample. i had just gone to the bathroom before i left for the office so i really had to strain to give a sample. the waiting room was filled with younger woman which surprised me. i didn't see 1 woman over the age of 30 in the waiting area. the waiting room was simple, it had paintings of brightly colored flowers on the wall and there was a tv showing one of those health news shows that they always play in doctors offices. after waiting forever (literally 45 minutes) the nurse called me back and took my blood pressure, tested my urine and weighed me. then she took me to the doctors office where i was told to wait and he would be with me shortly. after about 3 minutes an older man wearing blue scrubs walked in. he was balding but still had a strong build despite his age. as he shook my hand i noticed how large his hands were. "hello, i'm Dr. Hansen". i introduced myself and he told me to have a seat.

doctor: now zoie, what bring you in today?

me: i'm here for a check up and to talk about birth control options. i was perviously on the pill but i have trouble remembering to take them and i'd like to have something that i don't have to take daily

doctor: i understand it can be a pain to take the pill everyday, but in my opinion its the best birth control method. we could give you the implanon or mirena but you'd experience spotting to heavy bleeding for 2-3 months. the pill has many advantages including the benefits it has for your skin, and it can also regulate weight. i can give you several months worth of pills today so it will save you money.

I was a little disappointed that he didn't think other birth control options were for me. i've been wanting to get an IUD and was hoping he would recommend it for me. but after talking with him i do feel good about my choice to stay with the pill. now i just have to remember to take them.

after talking with the doctor in his office he lead me across the hall to a small exam room. the table was in the corner, facing the door (sadly no leg rests, just stirrups that were already extended and waiting for me. the walls were a soft cream color with no pictures. there was an ultrasound machine in the room right next to the bed and an instrument tray with the small bottle, spatula and brush ready for my pap. the speculum was not in sight. there was a white paper sheet folded on the table and a short white paper vest as well.

doctor: remove all your clothes and cover your lower half with the sheet and then put the vest on. i like it to be opened in the front for easy access for the breast exam.

with that he left. i really thought about snapping a picture at this point and now i regret not doing it. i wish i hadn't have chickened out. anyways. i removed all my clothes, my nipples becoming erect immediately from the cold room. i covered myself with the vest and sheet and climbed onto the exam table and waited for the doctor. 5 minutes later there was a knock on the door. the doctor entered followed by a nurse.

doctor: please drop the vest to your waist and raise your left arm behind your head. im going to start by examining your left breast.

i did as was instructed and watched his large hands knead my breast tissue. then he repeated the process on the other side.

doctor: lie back for me i'm going to examine your breasts in this position also then listen to your heart.

i lay back and once again feel his hands on my breast. this time pressing a little deeper. it became uncomfortable.

me: doctor my breasts are a little sore

doctor: i apologize, i'm almost finished. you have large breasts with dense breast tissue. i want to make sure i'm feeling everything.

after several more moments he had finished and covered me back up again.

doctor: time for your pelvic and pap smear. i want you to scott to the very edge of the table.......a little more. good. now put your feet in the stirrups for me.

after putting my feet in the stirrups, i kept my knees closed. the doctor turned on the examination lamp and positioned it so it was shining right at my most private area.

doctor: i'm going to need to your relax your needs to the sides for me.....there you go. a little more...perfect.

the table was flat so i couldn't watch what was happening, but i heard him snap on the exam gloves and then i heard a drawer opening, some metallic clanking and finally the cold metal pressing into my vagina. "a little pressure now. just relax for me". it felt like i was being pried open and that it would never stop. i sqirmed a little on the table and the nurse reminded me to breathe.

doctor: relax zoie.

i felt scraping inside me and then a sharp painful period like cramp and he (i would assume) inserted the brush into my cervical opening. i saw the nurse take the brush and then i felt the speculum collapse and slide out of me. the doctor stood and the nurse squirted a large amount of lube onto his large fingers.

doctor: time for your manual exam. you're going to feel some pressure. i'm feeling for the size and shape of your uterus, your fallopian tubes and ovaries and any abnormalities. relax for me.

i felt his large fingers invading my tight vagina. if possible he felt bigger than the speculum did. i could feel his hand pressing down deeply on the outside and his fingers pressing from the inside. he spent a few seconds on my left ovary, then my uterus and then when he got to my right ovary the expression on his face changed and it looked like the was concentrating.

doctor: any pain here?

me: yes a little bit. its uncomfortable.

doctor: i think im feeling a cyst. sometimes cysts clear up on their own with the menstrual cycle. i'd like to keep an eye on it though. i'll have the nurse set you up for another appointment in 3 months to reevaluate.

with that he pulled his fingers out my vagina. it felt gooey with lube. i heard the doctor snap off his gloves and i begin to sit up and close my legs.

doctor: oh, we're not quite done yet. i'd like to do a recto/vaginal examination. just lie back again for me and let your knees fall to the side. it will only take a moment.

as he's saying this he's regloving and the nurse is putting more lube on his fingers. my heart is beating fast. i feel 1 large finger invading my tight anus and the other at my vaginal opening again. i bite my lip and he slips in deeper and deeper. i feel so full and uncomfortable. he starts to press down again feeling my organs. it again feels like forever.

me: doctor, its uncomfortable.

doctor:almost finished here. you're doing great.

finally he slides his fingers from my holes and removes the gloves. i feel even more lube dripping down my vagina and rectal areas.

doctor: alright, here are some tissues to clean up with. the nurse will get you some birth control pills and you can get dressed. on your way out set up an appointment a few months from now and we can check on that ovary. it was nice meeting you.

he walked out of the room and i cleaned myself up. i have an exam set up in july for another examination. i hope its nothing serious but i cant wait to get back into the stirrups.

Were you expecting the recto-vaginal exam? Thanks for sharing. Hope to hear all about your follow up!