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Pap smears and other fun things [TMI Warning]


100indecisions

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I don't really have any advice as I've never had a pap smear myself even though I'm 24. (frankly the thought of having one terrifies me, and even though I know it's not a good idea I hope to go as long as I can before ever having to do it)

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Q.T. McWhiskers

I'm 37 and never had one either, although I know I should do it eventually. I'm pretty freaked out by the whole idea. :/

I almost wish my parents had insisted on physical checkups when I was a kid but they never took me to the doctor at all unless I had a fever. I have a touch aversion unless I know someone really well.

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100indecisions

In my experience with tissue stretching, once it's stretched, it can take years to revert depending where it's at. Earlobes aren't very elastic, so they stay stretched, but very vascular areas do tend to revert faster, especially if they're internal dermal layers. So I estimate that it would take about 6 months for it to revert back all the way. I see what you're saying about the tampon every month being an issue, I would not insert one unless there's enough moisture (yikes!) You could just use an applicator without inserting the actual tampon, maybe once a week until that size glides in without pain, then graduate. A dilator may be a better option, I've never used one, so I'm not sure how painful it would be >_<

That's very helpful, thank you (see, I know NOTHING).

I think my doctor will believe the not sexually active (really hoping). Just not sure they'll get the phobic and terrified bit. :/

I've done a lot of googling (I know not the best idea) but I'm fairly able to disregard bad medical information. I think I'm gonna have to invest in/find a mirror as I've realised I don't own one and can't actually see down there. I can't tell if it's big or not, it really isn't a place I explore often I was just uncomfortable and thought maybe thrush or something.... But don't think so.

I'm just gonna have to fight my fears... I didn't realise I was this phobic until this, it has come as quite a shock to me.

A good doctor should believe you on all fronts, and if your current doctor seems to be brushing off your concerns or doesn't accept the idea of asexuality, you might want to start shopping around for a new doctor, as long as your financial situation allows that.

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I have a very similar history to you OP, incurious, but also too squeamish to use tampons at all. I let my GP talk me into a pap smear when I was 22 (and a virgin), and the pain was unbearable. She verbally abused me before finally giving up. Needless to say, this was not a good experience. I did have a successful smear a year or so later, after I was no longer a virgin. I was a weeping mess and fell into a depressive slump for a week. The test was negative.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time reading through the scientific literature on pap smears and cervical cancer. As a scientist, I thought I should know what the real risk of not getting a pap smear is before deciding whether or not to forgo them. Cervical cancer is a relatively rare cancer, affecting 12-20 in 100,000 women (1, 2). The eight most common strains of HPV alone cause over 90% of cervical cancer cases (3)--it is also worth noting that this and many other medical papers assume all cervical cancers are caused by different HPV strains. The study did find that 38% of adenocarcinomas (which are ~7% of all cervical cancers [4]) did not test positive for HPV, but that this may have been from improper specimen handling. Twin studies have been conducted to look at the role of genetic predisposition in cervical cancer development (summarised in 5), and, while genetics have a role in the development of cervical cancers, exposure to HPV is almost always a prerequisite. Only 2-5% of cervical cancer cases are caused by something other than a readily identifiable strain of HPV (3).

In my experience, doctors often significantly downplay the fact that venerial disease is the primary cause of cervical cancer to the extent that many women don't know that cervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV. The medical community views semi-mandatory screening as the only way to deal with otherwise noncompliant patients. If women could opt out without being harassed by medical professionals, I imagine that many would--they might also opt out if they knew they were essentially being given an STD test (this is especially true as the pap smear is routinely bundled with other STD tests like chlamydia and gonorrhea). Of course, it may be useful for sexually active people, as the pap smear can be the first sign a woman gets of marital infidelity, but I really don't believe, based on the evidence, that pap smears for asymptomatic sexually inactive women should be mandatory. The fact that doctors continue to require them while inexpensive, less invasive, more accurate technology is available (6) is a mystery to me.

Why do they test for cervical cancer at all? Breast cancer screening makes sense, as it is the #1 most common cancer overall despite the fact that it principally occurs in women. Cervical cancer, with ~12,000 new cases per year in the US, doesn't even make the top twelve (currently 25th place; 7). It's hard to make the case that this is just about "womens' health", as non-cervical uterine cancer (~52,000 new cases/yr) and ovarian cancer (~22,000 new cases/yr) are considerably more common, and ovarian cancer is much more deadly (7).

After informing myself, I have chosen not to get any further pap smears. I don't have a family history of cervical cancer, I'm in a monagomous relationship and I don't engage in traditional sex--my risk for cervical cancer is low.

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I have a very similar history to you OP, incurious, but also too squeamish to use tampons at all. I let my GP talk me into a pap smear when I was 22 (and a virgin), and the pain was unbearable. She verbally abused me before finally giving up. Needless to say, this was not a good experience. I did have a successful smear a year or so later, after I was no longer a virgin. I was a weeping mess and fell into a depressive slump for a week. The test was negative.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time reading through the scientific literature on pap smears and cervical cancer. As a scientist, I thought I should know what the real risk of not getting a pap smear is before deciding whether or not to forgo them. Cervical cancer is a relatively rare cancer, affecting 12-20 in 100,000 women (1, 2). The eight most common strains of HPV alone cause over 90% of cervical cancer cases (3)--it is also worth noting that this and many other medical papers assume all cervical cancers are caused by different HPV strains. The study did find that 38% of adenocarcinomas (which are ~7% of all cervical cancers [4]) did not test positive for HPV, but that this may have been from improper specimen handling. Twin studies have been conducted to look at the role of genetic predisposition in cervical cancer development (summarised in 5), and, while genetics have a role in the development of cervical cancers, exposure to HPV is almost always a prerequisite. Only 2-5% of cervical cancer cases are caused by something other than a readily identifiable strain of HPV (3).

In my experience, doctors often significantly downplay the fact that venerial disease is the primary cause of cervical cancer to the extent that many women don't know that cervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV. The medical community views semi-mandatory screening as the only way to deal with otherwise noncompliant patients. If women could opt out without being harassed by medical professionals, I imagine that many would--they might also opt out if they knew they were essentially being given an STD test (this is especially true as the pap smear is routinely bundled with other STD tests like chlamydia and gonorrhea). Of course, it may be useful for sexually active people, as the pap smear can be the first sign a woman gets of marital infidelity, but I really don't believe, based on the evidence, that pap smears for asymptomatic sexually inactive women should be mandatory. The fact that doctors continue to require them while inexpensive, less invasive, more accurate technology is available (6) is a mystery to me.

Why do they test for cervical cancer at all? Breast cancer screening makes sense, as it is the #1 most common cancer overall despite the fact that it principally occurs in women. Cervical cancer, with ~12,000 new cases per year in the US, doesn't even make the top twelve (currently 25th place; 7). It's hard to make the case that this is just about "womens' health", as non-cervical uterine cancer (~52,000 new cases/yr) and ovarian cancer (~22,000 new cases/yr) are considerably more common, and ovarian cancer is much more deadly (7).

After informing myself, I have chosen not to get any further pap smears. I don't have a family history of cervical cancer, I'm in a monagomous relationship and I don't engage in traditional sex--my risk for cervical cancer is low.

This is research sexiness with all of the proper cite notation.

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I have a very similar history to you OP, incurious, but also too squeamish to use tampons at all. I let my GP talk me into a pap smear when I was 22 (and a virgin), and the pain was unbearable. She verbally abused me before finally giving up. Needless to say, this was not a good experience. I did have a successful smear a year or so later, after I was no longer a virgin. I was a weeping mess and fell into a depressive slump for a week. The test was negative.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time reading through the scientific literature on pap smears and cervical cancer. As a scientist, I thought I should know what the real risk of not getting a pap smear is before deciding whether or not to forgo them. Cervical cancer is a relatively rare cancer, affecting 12-20 in 100,000 women (1, 2). The eight most common strains of HPV alone cause over 90% of cervical cancer cases (3)--it is also worth noting that this and many other medical papers assume all cervical cancers are caused by different HPV strains. The study did find that 38% of adenocarcinomas (which are ~7% of all cervical cancers [4]) did not test positive for HPV, but that this may have been from improper specimen handling. Twin studies have been conducted to look at the role of genetic predisposition in cervical cancer development (summarised in 5), and, while genetics have a role in the development of cervical cancers, exposure to HPV is almost always a prerequisite. Only 2-5% of cervical cancer cases are caused by something other than a readily identifiable strain of HPV (3).

In my experience, doctors often significantly downplay the fact that venerial disease is the primary cause of cervical cancer to the extent that many women don't know that cervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV. The medical community views semi-mandatory screening as the only way to deal with otherwise noncompliant patients. If women could opt out without being harassed by medical professionals, I imagine that many would--they might also opt out if they knew they were essentially being given an STD test (this is especially true as the pap smear is routinely bundled with other STD tests like chlamydia and gonorrhea). Of course, it may be useful for sexually active people, as the pap smear can be the first sign a woman gets of marital infidelity, but I really don't believe, based on the evidence, that pap smears for asymptomatic sexually inactive women should be mandatory. The fact that doctors continue to require them while inexpensive, less invasive, more accurate technology is available (6) is a mystery to me.

Why do they test for cervical cancer at all? Breast cancer screening makes sense, as it is the #1 most common cancer overall despite the fact that it principally occurs in women. Cervical cancer, with ~12,000 new cases per year in the US, doesn't even make the top twelve (currently 25th place; 7). It's hard to make the case that this is just about "womens' health", as non-cervical uterine cancer (~52,000 new cases/yr) and ovarian cancer (~22,000 new cases/yr) are considerably more common, and ovarian cancer is much more deadly (7).

After informing myself, I have chosen not to get any further pap smears. I don't have a family history of cervical cancer, I'm in a monagomous relationship and I don't engage in traditional sex--my risk for cervical cancer is low.

Thank you for this well written informative post! It alleviates some of my fears that avoiding pap smears is a bad idea.

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You all will understand my joy when I discovered you only have to get a pap smear every 3 years if it comes back normal. As someone who also deals with body dysmorphia especially regarding my genetalia, this was landmark. Amazing.

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I have a very similar history to you OP, incurious, but also too squeamish to use tampons at all. I let my GP talk me into a pap smear when I was 22 (and a virgin), and the pain was unbearable. She verbally abused me before finally giving up. Needless to say, this was not a good experience. I did have a successful smear a year or so later, after I was no longer a virgin. I was a weeping mess and fell into a depressive slump for a week. The test was negative.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time reading through the scientific literature on pap smears and cervical cancer. As a scientist, I thought I should know what the real risk of not getting a pap smear is before deciding whether or not to forgo them. Cervical cancer is a relatively rare cancer, affecting 12-20 in 100,000 women (1, 2). The eight most common strains of HPV alone cause over 90% of cervical cancer cases (3)--it is also worth noting that this and many other medical papers assume all cervical cancers are caused by different HPV strains. The study did find that 38% of adenocarcinomas (which are ~7% of all cervical cancers [4]) did not test positive for HPV, but that this may have been from improper specimen handling. Twin studies have been conducted to look at the role of genetic predisposition in cervical cancer development (summarised in 5), and, while genetics have a role in the development of cervical cancers, exposure to HPV is almost always a prerequisite. Only 2-5% of cervical cancer cases are caused by something other than a readily identifiable strain of HPV (3).

In my experience, doctors often significantly downplay the fact that venerial disease is the primary cause of cervical cancer to the extent that many women don't know that cervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV. The medical community views semi-mandatory screening as the only way to deal with otherwise noncompliant patients. If women could opt out without being harassed by medical professionals, I imagine that many would--they might also opt out if they knew they were essentially being given an STD test (this is especially true as the pap smear is routinely bundled with other STD tests like chlamydia and gonorrhea). Of course, it may be useful for sexually active people, as the pap smear can be the first sign a woman gets of marital infidelity, but I really don't believe, based on the evidence, that pap smears for asymptomatic sexually inactive women should be mandatory. The fact that doctors continue to require them while inexpensive, less invasive, more accurate technology is available (6) is a mystery to me.

Why do they test for cervical cancer at all? Breast cancer screening makes sense, as it is the #1 most common cancer overall despite the fact that it principally occurs in women. Cervical cancer, with ~12,000 new cases per year in the US, doesn't even make the top twelve (currently 25th place; 7). It's hard to make the case that this is just about "womens' health", as non-cervical uterine cancer (~52,000 new cases/yr) and ovarian cancer (~22,000 new cases/yr) are considerably more common, and ovarian cancer is much more deadly (7).

After informing myself, I have chosen not to get any further pap smears. I don't have a family history of cervical cancer, I'm in a monagomous relationship and I don't engage in traditional sex--my risk for cervical cancer is low.

Yeah! I never will understand why they don't do more screening for ovarian cancer. I mean pap smears are still important preventative services (apparently you can catch stds from your sexual partner from their previous sex partners, going back to 10 years), but ovarian and breast cancer can pick anyone, even if they're a virgin.

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