Unsuccessful smear test
Hey all,
I went to get my first smear test done the other day. (I’m 25, in Ireland) and it was unsuccessful due to the immense pain i felt.
I’ve not been diagnosed with vaginismus officially yet, but due to the struggles I’ve been having with PIV, tampons or any insertion up there (intense stabbing or stinging pain) I’ve been researching support and treatment and I’m currently waiting on my first gynaecologist appointment.
Anyway, I went to get my smear test and I told my nurse that struggles I’ve been having and how nervous I was. She said we’ll go slowly and use a small speculum. Well it was a disaster.
She couldn’t get it in AT ALL, only the tip had went in before i was tensing and wincing from such pain. I physically could not relax. She stopped and asked me if I wanted to postpone or try the paediatric speculum, I initially said yes to retry but i was getting increasingly upset and panicked thinking of another attempt so she said she’d stop to prevent me being under further distress. I appreciated that she understood how I felt. And she’s gonna help speed up my process of getting my potential vaginismus cured.
I’ve been with my bf for two years, and we’ve never had PIV at all because his penis being in even an INCH hurts me. Same pain with tampons, same pain with the speculum. I felt quite embarrassed for crying in front of the nurse, but she was so kind and understanding, and it made me feel more supported.
I just wanted to talk about how the attempted smear test went for me, it wasn’t fun at all. I hope that I can eventually get one without pain :(