I had my yearly pap smear done on Wednesday Dec. 13, and it took the doctors office until Monday the 18th, beofre they sent it off....5 days later!!! Now they say my pap is abnormal, which it has never been, and that I have abnormal cells. Is it possible that the pap was no longer any good after sitting for 5 days? It scares me that it was "abnormal" results, and now I have to have a colposcopy done Tuesday!!!! What do you all think? PLease only serious answers.....this had made me upset enough, I don't need sarcastic answers....just someone to ease my mind.
2007-01-12 02:28:33 · 3 answers · asked by ? 3 in Health ➔ Women's Health
First and foremost calm down. If you are having a colposcopy it is not a big a deal that you are making. I had to have one done several years ago, and I was scared too but my doctor and his nurse were wonderful. As for the age of your pap, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks for result to appear. They need to let it sit for these cells to grow for the results to be read. So letting it sit, did not do any damage. If they found it earlier, then that is better than waiting. Also positive results can be something as simple as an infection of some sort. You can ask for a second pap, or just have the colposcopy which is more indepth. Instead of just scraping for cells, they are removing a small part for more indepth testing. Did they say what level the original cells were? Trust your instincts. If you feel that nothing is wrong, then push for the second pap. If you want to be reassued then go ahead with the colposcopy. It will be more accurate. Good luck and I wish you the best. And calm down. Have some chocolate or your favorite comfort food. It will help.
2007-01-12 02:45:04 · answer #1 · answered by Toni B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no your smear sample will not have suddenly changed because it has been left for 5 days.Be thankful that they have caught the abnormality. You were luckly to get the results back so quickly, where are you from, in England it can take weeks to get the results back and then weeks waiting to get a colposcopy appt.Good luck though hope everything works out for you. Take a look at this web site...www.jostrust.co.uk it has loads of info about precancerous conditions.
2007-01-12 11:22:59 · answer #2 · answered by jlb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your specimen was fine as paps are stored at room temp in medical labs.
having said that...try not to worry about an abnormal pap. if you took a poll of women who were 30 years old...probably at least half will have had an abnormal pap at some point which turned out to be nothing. so...dont worry just yet. :)
2007-01-12 10:54:17 · answer #3 · answered by dali333 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋