And Also Why I Have A New Sympathy For Women Who Have Surgical Abortions...
*This contains graphic info about my cervix. Don't read if you are icked out*
Hi, I'm PamelaVee and I am 24.
This all started about a year ago. I am one of the Americans that is not insured for health so I don't see the doctor. If anything is wrong, I wait in line forever at the low cost clinic. I see the Health Dept. for pap smears and birth control at no cost because I do not make enough. I do work and I am good with $, I just don't have a lot of it. But this isn't a debate about health care/insurance.
Anyhow, the health dept called about a year ago (terrifying to get a call from them) and said I had abnormal cells. I needed to get a colposcopy. That is like a pap smear but they take a little sample, like getting your ears pierced.
FYI- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a cause of cervical cancer. There are over 100 strains of HPV and can cause anything from abnormal skin appearance, to warts, etc. The type I have if obviously the kind that causes abnormal cells. 3 out of 4 sexually active people have HPV.
Well, I simply didn't have the money. Then 6 months later I got another pap and it was slightly better, but still abnormal. (My nurse said that sometimes, the cervix can and will heal itself). I still didn't have $ for the colpo so I didn't get it. Well this last pap they call back again and it's bad again, but I finally am able to save up for the colposcopy. Before, I didn't know it was only going to be $190 for me. Last time it was quoted at $400.
I have anxiety and depression, but it has gone through the roof in the last 6 months because I have been agonizing about death, cancer, and dying.
Well the colcoscopy looks really scary but to tell you the truth, I didn't feel the sample being taken. I just cramped like a period cramp after. I did that on the 1st of July and was told I would get the results the following Monday. I didn't get them until the 15th! The waiting was awful then they told me even worse news. I have to get treated.
I have cervical dysplasia. That means the cells are not bad enough to be called cancer (yet) but still bad. And I am past the point of a cryo (where they freeze your bad cells off). I am told I have to get a LEEP procedure. It's where they take an electrical loop and burn off the cells. Most people are under general ansesthesia for this, but I can't afford that so I was given a local anesthetic and a RX for valium and lortab. I'm terrified. Another reason I was happy (at first) to not go under is because I was really scared about not waking up, and kept getting graphic visions of myself bleeding out my arm or my arm turning black from the IV. If I had insurance and knew how it was going to be, I would have chosen to be knocked out.
So yesterday is the day of the procedure. I took the medications and I step into the room and I almost passed out. The machine they use looks very very scary. Due to my anxiety, I start thinking everything is covered in germs. Anyhow, the machine they use is a vacuum (for the smoke!! They burn your cells off and so you have smoke coming out of your vagina!) and the other part is the electricity they use. You have to sit on a pad to stay grounded. I think part of what else makes the machine scary is the noise. All it is is a vacuum really but seeing it there, with the tube,and all the instruments laid out..it really scared me.
They gave me a shot and warned me it would make me shake and it did. My whole body was shaking but that was ok but it also made me really sad and nervous. There was a really nice nurse who held my hand.
I will tell you something. The local anesthetic DIDN'T WORK all the way. I felt it. I do not know why the doctor didn't give me another shot, (I flat out told him it hurt. He asked why i jumped and I said "Because it fucking hurt!) and I wasn't able to ask for another shot because I was out of it.
I was so glad it was over, but I am still agonizing over cancer and death.
After this experience, I have a new sympathy for women who have to go through surgical abortions. I know it's NOT the same, but the vulnerability. discomfort, being really scared and disoriented, and the pain and being open on the table n stirrups is something I didn't experience before. Even though I was staunchly pro choice before, coming out of there I felt like I could relate in some small way, and the next time i hear someone say something about abortion as birth control, I will remember this experience and let them know how NOT fun it is.
The sample they took was pretty big so hopefully they got it all. It looked like a chunk of lobster.
Yesterday, I got the bill in the mail for the first test. $300. I assume the next one will be $300 if not more. So after both procedures and the lab fees, I am looking at $1,000. HOPEFULLY this is the end of my cervix story. I get the results on the 30th and we move the 31st.
I guess i just wanted to share my experience with some women who could relate. I hope I won't be judged too harshly here. I also wanted to say to GET YOUR PAP SMEARS DONE . They suck but they are nothing compared to what the last month has brought me. Your health is worth it and see if someone can help you if you can't afford it. Wish me luck on the results!
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I too have been through a LEEP procedure. Even though I was working for a health clinic at the time, it was still scary as hell! So I completely sympathize with how frightening of an experience it is.
I'm not sure why most women would be under general for the LEEP. Twilight, I could see. I had ibuprofen and local, nothing else. It was unpleasant and the smell was horrible (I refused to work in the clinic the days we did LEEPs because the smell made me vomit.)
Good luck with the results! Thank you for sharing.
This makes me so glad that I went under general when I had my LEEP done. I was worried about cancer and dying and my hair falling out (my biggest vanity)... it was a rough period.
What I really, really want to add to what you've said here is this:
When I got my second abnormal pap result back from my GP, I insisted she refer me to a ob/gyn. She tried to convince me that it was not something to worry about, since I was so young (22 at the time), and that we'd just do another pap in 6 months. I refused to leave her office without the referal.
When I saw the ob/gyn, she basically told me the same thing. They would do a small biopsy/remove the bad cells, but likely nothing would come of it... it was probably just a cyclical thing. I was far too young to have any sort of issue.
Two weeks later, I get a call saying my ob/gyn had booked me in for a LEEP because the results came back less than peachy (despite all reassurances to the contrary!). Haven't had an issue since, so I'm glad I got it all done.
Lesson for me (and hopefully anyone who reads this)? Get informed about your body, and don't be afraid to demand the next step! I only asked about the referal because a friend of mine had just gone through the same thing a few months before me. And who knows where I would be now if I'd waited the extra 6 months before getting the treatment I needed.
I had the leep. My experience wasn't too bad, however I have had a child.. I dunno I was just glad the lesion was removed.
S
I was under general anesthesia for my LEEP procedure, but I had it performed during a laparascopic surgery for my endometriosis.
This was about a year ago, so I was only 21 when they found abnormal cells on my cervix. So yeah, no matter how old you are, it's absolutely vital to get regular pap smears.
The unfortunate part of my story is that after I graduated from college in May, and was therefore ineligible to remain on my parent's health care, I attempted to take out an individual policy and was rejected because of that year-old abnormal pap smear.
I have a Pap booked in for Friday, and I have to say I'm terrified. I have problems due to previous sexual assault, and so just the thought of someone opening me up like that freaks me out. But I'm getting it done at a Women's Clinic, so hopefully it won't be as bad as if I had a male doctor.
Getting irregular results back can be terrifying. It was actually the irregular resaults of a friend of mine that prompted me to book mine. Turns out she had early stage cancer, but it's all gone now, thank God.
So here's me hoping that my results are normal, and that the Gardosil injections I got do the job!
How messed-up is the healthcare system that the type of anesthesia someone can get is determined by how much they can pay?!
The fact that you told him it hurt and that didn't seem to register: WTF?
I too have had diagnoses of dysplasia, with the colposcopy and the LEEP following. Thankfully, I was still under my parents' insurance (Tricare) then, so I was able to get the general anesthesia for the LEEP.
I've had on and off abnormal pap smears since then, which could be for several reasons (irritation of the cervix, breakthrough bleeding, wev).
Not long after all this, I got a new appreciation for how fucked up our health insurance is in this country.
I switched to BCBS when I lost coverage on my parents' insurance (age limit). And BCBS decided that they would not pay for any diseases of the cervix, uterus, ovaries (etc) since I'd had dysplasia and the procedures to remove it.
So, yeah. Had I had another bout with dysplasia or something worse, I would have been up the creek.
These days, I have a good job and better insurance, with no exclusions.
Insurance companies can invoke a waiting period, but under HIPAA they can't outright deny coverage so long as I'm under an employer's plan (and have had continuous coverage, which, again, I have; I'm one of the lucky ones).
But if I weren't employed or if I'd had a gap in coverage...I know exactly where I'd be.
And if I ever have to go back to buying my own insurance, I'm afraid I'll be in the same boat.
I had a LEEP done last week. It wasn't a good experience for me at all. I had the local anesthetic and it didn't work. I felt everything, the heat, the pain... After two "swipes" and me practically jumping off the table, he decided he probably got enough of it. He said if I had to have this done again, I would have to do it in the hospital where I can be put under. Apparently, I have an extremely sensitive cervix. While I hope I never have to have this procedure done again, I would definitely do it in the hospital next time. They called with my results a couple days ago - no sign of cancer or anymore dysplasia. Keeping my fingers crossed!