Abnormal PAP?

Well I found out that my PAP came back abnormal from my previous hospital, I just switched doctors because we moved. This really scares me now as I'm pregnant. My mom had an abnormal pap and then got cervical cancer when she was 22. I am adopted though so that's on my side. The new doctor said in about a week or two he was going to look at my cervix through a microscope and then if anything looked weird he'd have to do a biopsy. I've felt inside of me and my cervix feels really weird on one side. I'm scared about how this will affect my pregnancy. And since I've moved away from my family into my DHs hometown I don't have anyone here to talk to about this, well not face to face at least.

Has anyone had to do anything like this or know of any stories like mine?

 

I had an abnormal Pap at the beginning of my twin pregnancy. I think they did the pap when I was like 6 weeks pg or something. Anyway, I had a colposcopy, but they didn't do a biopsy (they don't usually take too much when patient is pg) and couldn't get enough cells to see if there was anything there. What the dr saw during the colopscopy seemed pretty normal. I think I had that when I was about 9 weeks or so.

Anyway, they didn't do anything else - they said that they'd wait until after delivery, and then do another pap and see what happens. My pap at my 6 week checkup came back normal. It didn't affect my pregnancy at all - they just didn't do a full biopsy during the colposcopy because I was pg, and there's lots of blood down there, and I was expecting twins!

Sometimes it is abnormal when you are pg - and the pg and delivery (I had a c-section) washes everything out, too.

Chances are that everything is ok, but definitely see what they say at the colposcopy and follow up at 6 weeks PP. I was kind of scared too, and relived when everything turned out ok. I'm definitely going every year for my pap though!

I'm sure everything is ok - I know i t's hard not to worry!

Jenny

 

:hug99: I have no advice, but am sorry. I hope it all turns out just fine!

 

QUOTE(ferfischer @ Jun 12 2008, 11:49 AM) [snapback]823200[/snapback]
I had an abnormal Pap at the beginning of my twin pregnancy. I think they did the pap when I was like 6 weeks pg or something. Anyway, I had a colposcopy, but they didn't do a biopsy (they don't usually take too much when patient is pg) and couldn't get enough cells to see if there was anything there. What the dr saw during the colopscopy seemed pretty normal. I think I had that when I was about 9 weeks or so.

Anyway, they didn't do anything else - they said that they'd wait until after delivery, and then do another pap and see what happens. My pap at my 6 week checkup came back normal. It didn't affect my pregnancy at all - they just didn't do a full biopsy during the colposcopy because I was pg, and there's lots of blood down there, and I was expecting twins!

Sometimes it is abnormal when you are pg - and the pg and delivery (I had a c-section) washes everything out, too.

Chances are that everything is ok, but definitely see what they say at the colposcopy and follow up at 6 weeks PP. I was kind of scared too, and relived when everything turned out ok. I'm definitely going every year for my pap though!

I'm sure everything is ok - I know i t's hard not to worry!

Jenny

This was my experience also, minus even the coposcopy. They just sent the sample out to screen for HPV and since that was negative, there was less of a chance that it was cancerous. I was also told that sometimes paps are just abnormal during pregnancy.

GL!

 

I also had an abnormal pap at my first OB appt (10 weeks). They did a Colposcopy about a month later but said that would not do a biopsy while I was pregnant due to it causing excessive bleeding to a pregnant cervix. Since they only saw minimal changes in one area they said they would give me a PAP after I had the babies and follow up then. It is very nerve wracking and I completely understand where you are coming from. Good luck and I hope all goes well. I guess it is not that uncommon for cellular changes to occur during and after pregnancy. :hug99:

 

I had a mildly abnormal pap a few years ago, but asked to get tested for HPV because someone told me 3 x girlfriends of my X (from many years before) had problems- 1 had cervical cancer twice, my friend who knew them suggested I go tested because it appeared to be a really virulent strain.

My colposcopy came up as mild dysplasia, but since I had abnormal cells in my cervix and tested positive for a nasty strain of HPV they decided to do a LEEP. The whole procesess took about 2 months from the first abnormal pap to LEEP.

Even though I had problems (complete cervical stenosis) from the LEEP, I am glad they did. It turns out I had high grade dysplasia, NOT mild.

My best friend has the same strain (her husbands x cheated on him with my X before I dated my X) and had carcinoma in situ. They had to do a cone biopsy on her, but she was having symptoms for two years of discomfort before they took a sample from the inside of her cervix. She is fine, and had a daughter after her biopsy.

yes, it can be scary, but it is important to follow up on it. It is also true that many women have abnormal paps during pregnancy that come back normal afterwards. Although I'm not a doctor, I've read it's very common.

If you follow u p with your doctors you should be fine. Although some strains of HPV are really virulent, most do not progress quickly, and even if they do it usually takes a very, very long time for any cancer to spread.

If you get regular pap smears it would be near impossible for anything to develop to the point of it being dangerous.

Most likely it is due to being pregnant. If not, follow your doctor's advice and you should be fine. Your babies are not in danger. Even with high grade dysplasia it usually takes quite a while to get to the point of treatment.

It is scary, but there is a very high cure rate (of dysplasia not recurring) if you end up having to have a LEEP or cone biopsy. Freezing is not quite as good, but most do not recur, either.

The technology is MUCH better and diagnosing and correcting problems from when your mom had it. I am sure even if you do have dysplasia, you will be fine.

 

Oh, also.... if you need a LEEP most of the time you do not need to go under, and recovery is quick. And if your cervix feels weird if anything it is probably inflammation. you usually can't feel the changes, and often doctors can't see anything unless they put a solution on your cervix and look at it through a special light. What you are feeling on your cervix is probably not related.

The good news is they are not doing the colcoscopy for a week or two. If there was anything really scary in the pap (high grade dysplasia or cancer cells) they would rush you in immediately, they would not want the liability.

 

I can't add anything except I hope things turn out just fine!

 

Desolation anonymous mentioned being tested for HPV, and I think that's a really important thing to ask your doc for (if it hasn't already been done). 70% of cervical cancer is caused by HPV strains 16 and 18, Source so that's important to rule out.

 

I had an abnormal pap when I wasn't pregnant. They did the biopsy, claimed that I had advanced dysplasia and was in grave danger of cervical cancer very soon. I was freaked out of course so went ahead with the LEEP. When they got the results back from the LEEP, the cells were barely abnormal and more than likely would have gone away on their own! Cervical cancer is such a serious thing, but HPV is SO common (over 80% of women have it although most of them don't know it) and a lot of it goes away on it's on, especially if you are under 30. My LEEP made me have an incompetent cervix and I almost lost this pregnancy. My best advice to you is seek second opinions before doing anything, get tested more than once, and do some research before you have any surgeries done. I so with I knew then what I know now! Hoping that it goes well for you and turns out to be nothing...

 

QUOTE(lovelylily @ Jun 12 2008, 01:09 PM) [snapback]823452[/snapback]
I had an abnormal pap when I wasn't pregnant. They did the biopsy, claimed that I had advanced dysplasia and was in grave danger of cervical cancer very soon. I was freaked out of course so went ahead with the LEEP. When they got the results back from the LEEP, the cells were barely abnormal and more than likely would have gone away on their own! Cervical cancer is such a serious thing, but HPV is SO common (over 80% of women have it although most of them don't know it) and a lot of it goes away on it's on, especially if you are under 30. My LEEP made me have an incompetent cervix and I almost lost this pregnancy. My best advice to you is seek second opinions before doing anything, get tested more than once, and do some research before you have any surgeries done. I so with I knew then what I know now! Hoping that it goes well for you and turns out to be nothing...



Wow, that's amazing Lovlylilly, your story is almost the opposite of mine! Of course in my case I wish I didn't have to have the Leep, but unfortunately it was indeed necessary. You have good points, even though mine turned out to be high grade dysplasia, they told me it would take at least 2 years to turn into something bad and spread from that point... so if it took them another six months to make SURE it was a problem, I still would be fine... better not to have surgery on these things at all if not necessary! (I myself am very worried about the risk of IC, as well). Did you ever have any stenosis problems after your LEEP?

 

I'm an ob/gyn doctor and see abnormal paps all the time. Most of the time it is due to mild dysplasia. Cervical cancer is very rare. I doubt you're feeling anything abnormal as your doctor would definitely have said if he/she felt or saw something abnormal on your cervix during your exam. They will likely just do colposcopy (look at your cervix with a microscope) and hopefully defer any biopsy until after you deliver. Depending on how abnormal your pap is, it may clear up on its own or need to be treated after you deliver. So don't worry!

 

I'm sorry, I hope it all turns out fine. :love0028:

 

I wouldn't worry either. I have had abnormal paps, and biopsy. I did have HPV cells, but not the ones that cause cancer. That was with my old OB. Since being with my newer one, I have not had any abnormal paps, so it can go away on its own!

April

 

QUOTE(desolation_anonymous @ Jun 12 2008, 01:52 PM) [snapback]823535[/snapback]
Wow, that's amazing Lovlylilly, your story is almost the opposite of mine! Of course in my case I wish I didn't have to have the Leep, but unfortunately it was indeed necessary. You have good points, even though mine turned out to be high grade dysplasia, they told me it would take at least 2 years to turn into something bad and spread from that point... so if it took them another six months to make SURE it was a problem, I still would be fine... better not to have surgery on these things at all if not necessary! (I myself am very worried about the risk of IC, as well). Did you ever have any stenosis problems after your LEEP?


How funny! I'm sorry that you had to have a LEEP also, but since you needed it then I'm glad at the same time. Definitely a lifesaver in the right circumstances, but I was going to a LEEP happy clinic I think. They just went crazy with those things. I haven't had any problems with the stenosis. At least I don't think so. Just to set you at ease, IVF also puts me at risk for IC. And really I think it's fairly uncommon. I hope you have no problems at all!!!

 

I had an abnormal PAP right before my first son was born. They did a biopsy and I had severe dysplasia which I had cryosurgery (freezing the dysplasia) after my son was born and then had to go to the OB/GYN every six months for the next five years and have a PAP. Within that five years if I had another abnormal PAP then the time would start all over again. However, I have never had an abnormal PAP again and everything has been fine since.

 

Same thing happened to me and I was FREAKED!! They wanted to do a colposcopy (look at cervix under "microscope") and biopsy when I was 13 weeks-- I worked sooo hard to get pregnant, there was NO WAY I was risking anything w/ an invasive procedure. As luck would have it.. After the pregnancy it came back normal!! I'm sooo glad I waited. It's not a huge deal if you take care of it immediately after pregnancy IF it is even still abnormal. Pregnancy CAN clear up abnormals. Can you call your doc and see what the classification of the abnormal cells was?? If it's CIN1 or below they're overreacting-- if it's cin2 cin3 more serious.

It will be fine. Very very very very common!!

 

Thanks everyone, your stories made me feel soooo much better. Glad to know I'm not alone in this and that it could out fine!
My doc said he isn't sure what grade it is but that he'll know after the microscope thing.

I'll deffinatly let you guys know how it turns out.

Thanks again!!

 

CIN I II or III can only be determined by biopsy. Paps are classified either as ASCUS (atypical cells of undetermined significance), LGSIL (low grade) or HGSIL (high grade).

 

I had an abnormal pap during my pregnancy with ds#2 - they "painted" my cervix with some kind of vinegary solution and looked at it under the black light - it was determined that the pap was abnormal just due to irritation from being pregnant. they gave me a cream and I have never had a problem since. (ds#2 is 11yrs now!) pregnancy can do some pretty strange things to our bodies!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! on your babies!!