xena_trade_center Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 i was reading the "do visits to the doctor bother you" and it bought up some interesting points.... Do asexual women have regular pap-smear check, and do they really need them? Although it isn't proven beyond doubt, most doctors agree that the human papilloma virus is the major cause of cervical cancer... something which you can only catch by sexual acts with another person who has the virus. This being so, for those asexuals out there who haven't had sex (88% according to the most recent poll), why would they need to have a pap smear? Am I missing something? Being in the navy i have to have a pap smear every 2 years. The first time i was coerced, and when my time comes again I'm going to refuse on gounds that i can't have the virus (for obvious reasons). what do you think? Link to post Share on other sites
Gorax Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Ehh . . . What's a pap smear? :shock: Link to post Share on other sites
Brenya Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 xena..........you must have scared everyone.........i am the only one who has voted in this poll :o usually when a pap smear is done they do an internal exam, which is very important whether you have ever had sex or not. they can find all kind of things wrong like endometriosis :x Link to post Share on other sites
aury Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 gorax: they use this metal instrument to spread open a female's, um, area, & they proceed to get samples of the cervix & whatever else they can think of from down there (usually w/ a big q-tip type thing). i haven't had mine yet, mainly because i'm too much of a chicken shit to go. fuck, if you have to numb my arm before drawing blood, what in hell makes you think i'm gonna let some stranger go down there w/out being sedated first?!?!?! :evil: :evil: :evil: Link to post Share on other sites
Uzumaki Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Why don't you have a No, and I haven't had sex option? Link to post Share on other sites
Eta Carinae Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Actually, I know women over a certain age are supposed to have pap smears, regardless of whether or not they're sexually active. I can't remember if it's 18 (which is what age you're supposed to start going to the gyno, period, even if you're not having sex), or something more like 35. I've never had one, for the record; never been to the gyno, either. Mostly because it seems so pointless right now. I'm 20. I'm not a good health role model. To add on to what aury said, the instrument they use is called a speculum. It's used to dilate the vagina so the doctor can prod at your cervix. Link to post Share on other sites
Cate Perfect Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 There are other things they check for in those tests, several of which run in my family, which is why I've had two of them even though I've never had sex. Luckily, I haven't had bad test results, though the second time the results came back odd and they had to test me again, luckily, they had enough of a sample from the Q-tip thingy that I didn't have to go back in for another one. And yes, women over 35 need to be tested. It was the most humiliating moment of my life. And I don't care if I develop cysts and everything else, I'm not going back. Ovarian cancer is supposed to be relatively painless and fast, so if that's what I wind up with, then so be it. Cate Link to post Share on other sites
xena_trade_center Posted August 29, 2003 Author Share Posted August 29, 2003 thanks for that Uzumaki. it's been fixed now. I thought i had added it... but musn't have confirmed it.... maybe why thats why theres only one reply.. lol Link to post Share on other sites
Rabger Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Put down a "No I haven't been and No I haven't said sex" for me. Oh, I've had a shit load of people gang up on me and try to talk me into going. A friend of mine tried to make an appt and drag me down there. My doctor lectured me when I said I wasn't going. Lecture lecture :? Bitch bitch. I'm STILL not going :!: And I won't either. I know it's probably important, especially cause I think something they find doing that runs in my family. But I figure, since I am against modern medical technology and would object to them performing surgery or giving me meds., etc., exactly what point would there be in me knowing if something is wrong or not :?: If there is I'm screwed anyway, nothing I'll let them do about it. So from my perspective it's pointless. Link to post Share on other sites
tomboy Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 yes i've had one and it was no big deal for me, didn't hurt at all, really just like someone else inserting a tampon. but i will say that the speculum was a bit chilly :? cateperfect -- believe me you want to take steps to avoid ovarian cancer. a woman i worked with died of that in may after 2 years of INTENSE pain. Link to post Share on other sites
Gorax Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 Why don't you have a No, and I haven't had sex option? Hehe yeah. Now the votes have went from 2 to 20 ^^ And, well . . . First of all, eww. And second, assuming a female has a hard time using the smallest-sized tampons on the market. How the hell would the doctor use this "speculum" for the test? Link to post Share on other sites
Wallach IX Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 And second, assuming a female has a hard time using the smallest-sized tampons on the market. How the hell would the doctor use this "speculum" for the test? the old "this may feel uncomfortable at first, but it won't hurt" trick... :roll: (incidentally, the specula come in various sizes, but still i find they coulda made 'em smaller and more comfortable...i doubt metal is strictly necessary, given the multitude of alternative surgical materials in use today) Link to post Share on other sites
Eta Carinae Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 I believe there are plastic ones in use today, actually. Link to post Share on other sites
aury Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 ever see a tampon fly across a room? that's what happened after i threw it. pads are good. Link to post Share on other sites
VivreEstEsperer Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 And, well . . . First of all, eww. And second, assuming a female has a hard time using the smallest-sized tampons on the market. How the hell would the doctor use this "speculum" for the test? answer: not very easily. my dr. used the smallest one and she still couldnt keep it in very long, um, EEEK.... Question: is there a correlation between more asexuals using pads rather than tampons as a result of not wanting to stick anything up there? just wondering because i've always been very uncomfortable with the idea of tampons even though I know they must be so much comfortable once theyre in there...which kind of annoys me. Kate Link to post Share on other sites
ogbg Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 No, and DOUBLE NO!!!! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is going up there!! I'd rather just pretend that *third* hole doesn't exist :shock: And yes, that includes tampons. Yuck!!! I tried using them once, but I couldn't find the hole with the end of it, so I gave up. There was NO WAY I was going to use a mirror, because I thought I'd faint if I ever saw that area :x Ew, ew, ew... (walks over to aury and stands stubbornly beside her) Go, pads. (sees another poll on the horizon...) :lol: Link to post Share on other sites
VivreEstEsperer Posted September 6, 2003 Share Posted September 6, 2003 *stands besides aury and oogie* Link to post Share on other sites
Uzumaki Posted September 6, 2003 Share Posted September 6, 2003 I lead a healthy lifestyle. I get exercise, eat lots of veggies, and don't do drugs. I know I'm doing much more to stay fit than most women out there, even the ones who get Pap smears. I swore to myself that I would never get a Pap smear or a mammogram. This thread is gross, so I'm not going to look at it anymore. Link to post Share on other sites
Rukin Vinter Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 ...What's a pap-smear? *is clueless* Link to post Share on other sites
YP Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 I haven't had a smear, and I don't use tampons. And I haven't had sex. And nothing's going anywhere near there, and definitely not up. Link to post Share on other sites
Silly Green Monkey Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 I'm scheduled for a pap smear sometime soon, and I'm going to try to convince her that because I've not had sex since the last one, I don't need to do it every year. I don't use tampons OR pads, thank you depo! Tampons hurt too much to insert, and they don't vibrate at the same frequency as the rest of me. I was conscious of the tampon the entire time I wore it. Link to post Share on other sites
KleenexCow Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 I've been going to the gyno since I was 13, for a condition that I'm not going to mention, seeing as I don't want anyone to get really grossed out. That's why I started going, at least. At our first meeting, she discovered my extra-long period problem, and the other problem was forgotten. Hm. Anyway, I go to her every year so she can renew my birth control prescription, and a few years ago she tried enforcing a pap smear on me. On a non-sexually active 16 year old! I don't know what sized speculum she tried on me first, but it obviously wasn't the smallest, as she went through an entire range of them trying to find one that didn't make me feel like I was having a mace shoved up my vagina. Ouch! None of them worked, so she said that she'll just wait until I lose my virginity. Could have thought of that before!! I have, for the record, used tampons. I started one time when I was at sailing camp. Not only was I not prepared and only had a few pads, but we were sailing Sunfishes...little boats that dump you in the water quite easily. I couldn't use a pad, because it would get soaked, but I couldn't go without, because I would be out of the water about 80% of the time. I had to borrow tampons. I was soooo nervous putting it in, and it felt really weird. I finally managed to do it, and then promply bled through it (a super tampon), my bathing suit, and my pants in about three hours. Super embarassing. I tried a number of attempts, over the next few days, to see when I had to change it...I ended up having to discreetly slip a pad into my swimsuit the second I got off of the boat, and remove the tampon, later, when I had access to a bathroom. It was hell. I haven't used them since. I am a little worried, though, since I just started my period today, and I have lifeguarding class on Tuesday. On day three, I'm still typically having to change out overnight pads as if they were regulars and sleeping on top of a dark towel. Going without is not an option, but I still am really really creeped out by the idea of sticking a tampon into me (even if I can find one that will last long enough). A lot of people I know use a Keeper--more environmentally friendly, you know, and we here at Warren Wilson College are all about damning the man and saving the environment. They are always trying to convince me its the right thing to do, but COME ON! I can't even use tampons. They freak me out, and my bodily fluids spew forth with enough pressure that I can't even use them for very long, anyway. What makes them think that I can insert a Keeper, and then REUSE IT?? Eeeeeeew. Link to post Share on other sites
Silly Green Monkey Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 My friend has very heavy periods as well, she goes through a super pad in a couple of hours and tampons have to be used with heavy pads. She uses a plastic cup, says that after twenty years of dealing with her bodily fluids she has no problems with insertion and removal. Link to post Share on other sites
cait Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 The other day my friend pulled out this plastic device and asked a few of us what we thought it was. Nobody knew. She told us it was the thing they use for a pap-smear. So I guess they don't only use metal devices. It was also the smallest size, and it was huge. Well, sure it seems small when they insert it, but when the wrench the thing open? That would definitely rip something for me. I mean, I know that would hurt. And my friend tells me it hurts like hell. I figure my province must just have crappy equipment as everyone everywhere else claims it doesn't hurt. (But people also claim that thongs are comfortable). Anyway, that thing would most definitely hurt me. I think we were told in sex ed that we should have a pap-smear as soon as we are sexually active. But I have also heard you should get one as soon as you start your period. I know I probably should go to see a gyno, and I am almost 19 now so it's about time. But I just don't like doctors. I don't know how to see them let alone anything else. My mother never told me about a pap-smear (I highly doubt she knows they exist, she doesn't even know anything about bras). So anyway, she never really influenced me to go to the doctor. She's one of those "it'll fix itself" types. So I hardly go, the last time I saw a doctor she told me I needed a psychologist and made me generally very uncomfortable, so I didn't even finish up my issue with her. Just stopped going. Besides that, once I did get in to see a gyocologist, I don't know how I'd deal with that. I mean, I can't have people looking and poking around at my private parts. Talk about the most uncomfortable experience in existance... I really should, but I can't do that. *cringe* And why should anyone have to see my vagina anyway? I'm not going to be using it for much. Link to post Share on other sites
Neabsco Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 *feels queasy* What about colonoscopies? Any takers? Um, excuse me . . . I really don't think I could stand any of that, and the more people say I really ought to get it done the more it feels almost like a rape situation to me. This has bothered me greatly ever since I first read about it in a medical book when I was ten. Link to post Share on other sites
bard of aven Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 *feels queasy*What about colonoscopies? Any takers? I've had a couple. 's no big thing. (Others may disagree.) Feels weird, certainly. The insertion was not painful, but getting around the first corner was. The key is to breath deeply and relax. After that, it was uncomfortable without being painful. I have a relative my age (late 50s) who has colon cancer matastasized to liver and lungs. The five year survival rate for this is 5%. This person is on three days of chemo every two weeks. Given the choice between that, and a colonoscopy every 5 years with occult fecal blood tests each year in between, I'm opting for B. To Cate (2 years late): Please think that out again. I knew a woman who died of ovarian a few years ago. It was not quick, and it was far from painless. boa Link to post Share on other sites
baa*baa*grey*sheep Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Never had a pap smear, never had sex. I was asked by my GP to have a smear test when I turned 20, but never went. When I read how the smear test was carried out, it put me totally off! I didn't like the idea of having some foreign object inside my private area! Nor would I even like the idea of someone looking *down there* :? I also don't use tampons as I've never been able to insert one yet. :D Link to post Share on other sites
Princess Brat Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 No never, I asked about it and got the answer I didn't really need one since I'm a virgin and she thought it also should be very painful for me because of that. I might have to talk to someone again about my highly strange periods. :oops: Link to post Share on other sites
Miss_Moneypenny Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 My doctor has written to me (a circular letter) ever so often since I was about 20 and I have always ignored them. It's funny I should find this thread right now as I have just received a different letter from my doctor saying that I really should have the smear test and that if I didn't want it, I should fill in and sign the form at the bottom of the letter to say that I was declining the test. I still haven't decided whether I'm going to reply. I've never taken up the offer of a smear test because I've never had sex and my understanding was that you only have to have smear tests if you are or have been sexually active. So I didn't see any point. Also, I was worried about having surgical instruments put there. I mean, as a virgin, wouldn't it tear something? For the record, I have never used tampons because they also scare me. I'd be worried about losing the string and having to get the surgery nurse to take it out. But more than that, I've heard about something called toxic shock syndrome and that if contracted it can impair a person's mental functions. And that DOES scare me. It's just not worth the risk. Link to post Share on other sites
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