Hi everyone, sorry Gents, this is advice from the ladies please, re Cervical Smear test. I am PPMS since 2007. I have gradually got stiffer and more clumsy as the years have gone by (the nature of the beast I guess!) however I’ve been sent 3 reminder letters since July to go for screening. I know how important this is, however I can’t just ‘pop up’ on to a medical couch for the procedure to be done correctly and thoroughly. My problem is my thighs (abductor muscles) are so tight and stiff it’s embarrassing and I can’t seem to get any medical professional to really appreciate how difficult it is for me. The receptionist at my surgery said the ‘GP will do it with 2 nurses’ I have visions of being pinned down etc etc, there must be something else or a special chair. Has anybody got any recent experience please? Thanks Everso.
Hi I have the same problem, I had to written to my doctor, re my Smear test and Breast examination as I can’t stand to have a scan or (sorry to be so descriptive) open my legs to have a smear. The surgery needed a letter to say I would decline my rights to the tests, as they could not offer an alternative for my condition. So that’s the only thing I can say on the matter. Good luck Deborah
That sounds awful syllabub. It’s something I shall have to get my head around at some point too but hadn’t really thought about HOW they will do it. I’m 47 -diagnosed with ppms at Xmas last yr,but have had colposcopy before so it’s important to have the smears…I never thought!!!- would a muscle relaxant help do you think?? Crikey I really hate this ms business!!!
Emma x
Hi
My daughter had problems (for a different reason) in the nurse getting a clear smear, and she was sent to our local hospital where they had a special shaped chair, which worked great for her. For some unknown reason her cervix is tilted.
I wonder if it would be worth you asking if your local hospital had any specialised equipment that would enable you to have a smear test there.
Hope this helps.
Pam x
Thank you Pam, that’s exactly what I was wanting, a special chair which tilts and is shaped to make the procedure easier. I’ve had an ‘abnormal’ smear result in the past which is graded 1-3 mine was a 3 which means a colposcopy needs to be done in hospital outpatients to remove the offending cells which if left could turn into cancer. This was successfully done about 15 yrs ago, and smears have been clear since. But, I’m now 61 and it would probably be the last one as they’re done every 5 yrs up to 65, so I need to do this one last time. In the earlier years of the onset of my MS, I was indeed put into such a chair and that helped a lot. It seems, like pulling teeth to request something like this again these days. I get the negative response of ‘no we don’t have anything like that??’ I don’t believe it, how do severely disabled women paralysed for example get their smears done then? I think I’m going to have to make a bit of a fuss over this one as it’s so important in view of my history. Thank you to you and others who have responded to my dilemma x
It seems in so many ways we are back in the dark ages!
Last summer I had a couple of friends staying from America. One of them is a doctor. I said I was going for a smear test (my last one actually as I’m nearly 64) and she asked me why. I said we have them on the NHS every few years to make sure they detect cervical cancer.
She said ‘Why do you think you are at risk?’ She went on to say that unless you have had sexual intercourse in the past few years, especially with someone who has not been your long-term partner, and providing you have had clear tests for years (I did actually have a ‘pre-cancer’ result in my 20s and had laser treatment), then you are not at risk of getting cervical cancer.
She explained that the sort of cancer they are testing for is basically started by a virus that is picked up during sexual intercourse (a man wouldn’t know he was a carrier of the virus).
So, when I saw my GP I said I had decided not to have the smear test again. She obviously asked why and I gave her the reasons stated above, and she then AGREED that I am very low risk (I haven’t had a sexual relationship with a man for many years) so I signed something to say I had requested to opt out of the test.
Of course if you have had a positive result for pre-cancer cells in the last decade or so (mine was about 40 years ago) OR you have had sexual intercourse with more than one man, or with a man who isn’t your long-term partner (in other words, if you have been with the same partner for 10 years or more, you would have had a positive result by now if he is a carrier), then you might consider not having the test at all.
I realise this might be controversial info, so I just give you the info to make up your own minds or perhaps do some internet research.
In terms of disability, I think it’s absolutely disgraceful that GP’s are not going out of their way to ensure you can have the test comfortably!
Pat xx
Thank you Pam for your comments. It is certainly food for thought. I personally feel I don’t wish to have to go through this procedure again really, especially as they don’t seem to offer any easy options. I do wonder however, how younger women in their 30’s 40’s cope who are unable to move from the waist down for whatever reason, are they ignored, or assumed they don’t have a sex life then? Anyway, as you say it’s a decision only I can decide upon. Thank you so much for your input on this subject xx
Apologies to Pat (Snow Leopard)
Oops sorry Pat I called you Pam !!! I appreciate your thoughtful response and apologise for my error, Doh! xx
No problem. I’ve been called worse!!! Lol… anyway Pam’s a nice name. We have two lovely Pams on here!
Pat xx
Hi, this post interested me and I`d like to add my thoughts please!
When I was 31, I had a smear which showed pre-cancerous cells. I then had a examination using a tilting chair, like the one described above. The doctor used a scope like a telescope! The procedure was not painful or uncomfortable at all. But back then I had full mobility.
I had to have a hysterectomy and smears every year for 5 years, before getting the all clear. My last smear was around 18 -20 years ago. I asked a nurse why I wasnt being called for them anymore. She said I was no longer at risk. I havent been sexually active for 14 years and before that it was only with my husband.
Regarding mamograms…I have them regularly , but the last one was so uncomfortable/painful, taken whilst sitting in my wheelchair, they couldnt take an accurate scan.
I dont really want to continue having them, but guess I should, eh?
Pat, do you have mamograms?
pollsx
smears have never bothered me but mammograms uuurgh!
just after being diagnosed with ms i got called for my first mammogram.
it was very painful for me to raise my arm and to contort myself so that i could put my bits into the breville - well i demanded to be let out.
the nurse said i was being a baby.
and i will never again jokingly refer to that awful machine as a breville sandwich toaster!
Hi Poll, yes I do have mammograms and breast cancer was found on one last March. It was very small and stage 1 thank God.
However, there is a school of thought that says that a lot of women are having breast surgery and radiotherapy unnecessarily because these small cancers would never actually cause a problem… or they might cause a problem if we lived to be 150 or something.
I don’t know what to think about this. Obviously once I was told I had breast cancer I went through the treatment. I would be a fool not too. But I don’t know if I agree with the ‘no mammogram’ theory.
I do know that I have lost friends to breast cancer who, if the cancer had been detected earlier, might still be with us today.
Again every woman must make up her own mind and there’s lots of info on the internet… but maybe SO MUCH info makes it all even more confusing!
I think it’s awful that there aren’t machines available for women with disabilities!!! Can’t have smear test because of lack of tilting chairs! Can’t have mammograms because can’t stand for long enough!!! Surely the NHS should be doing something about this!!!
Could the MS Society do something about this??? If only to point the problem out???
Love to all,
Pat xx
Thanks Pat, I`m really sorry, but I forgot about your breast cancer. Please forgive my lack of tact!
I will continue to have the mamograms, as I believe older women do often find tumours.
The technicians told me they couldnt get an accurate scan, with my difficulties in getting right into the machinery.
pollsx
I recently had a mammogram and it went okay. The nurse was just about to tell me that she couldn’t do it as I have a problem standing and then she remembered that she had a biopsy chair. It was perfect for the job. It was like a comfy chair which raised up and had removable arms. The hardest thing for me was undressing but the nurse was lovely and helped me while at the same time keeping my dignity. The biggest worry for me is probably being treated right. Unfortunately I’ve had some unkind nurses in the past. But when they are lovely and go that extra mile it makes all the difference. I’ve not had a smear since before being in a chair but have seen a Gynacologist for incontinence difficulties. He was brilliant and provided the help i needed without losing my dignity. Michelle x
No worries Poll. I prefer it that you forgot. Wouldn’t want to be thought of as ‘Pat who had breast cancer’!!! To be perfectly honest I do forget about it myself. I always say that the kitchen replacement was more stressful than the breast cancer… and it’s true!!!
Lots of love,
Pat xx
Glad you’ve had some good treatment Michelle.
It’s very sad that not all nurses are kind. When I watch ‘Call the Midwife’ (which I love!) I always wish that I had had midwives like that. I had my son in hospital in 1972 and have to say the midwives were awful.
In those days you stayed in for 10 days and on day 7 I got the ‘baby blues’. Perfectly normal as everyone knows. I was crying and the ward sister really told me off. Said she should take me down to see the babies in incubators and I might realise how lucky I am. Of course that just made me cry more. I was all of 18 years old!
I can’t imagine why some of them become nurses or midwives… esp as they’re not that well paid!
Pat xx
Pat I love call the midwife it’s brilliant but I always end up crying some of the stories are so sad. The midwives are lovely. It’s a shame that you had such a mean one when you were only 18 . I had my first baby when I was 21 I was so unprepared for it all. He’s 30 in August, I don’t know where the time has gone. Michelle x