Michelle, I hate to tell you this, but I have had three of them done and NO it is not a painless proceedure. Well I guess that for some women it can be, but for me it definitely was NOT.

I had one done when I was 19 and again when I was 21 and again last February. This past Feb. I had a pap come back with abnormal cells and they wanted me to have a colposcopy and they said the same thing to me. I knew better and I prepared myself.

They are going to do a more in depth pelvic exam with the speculum only more open (ouch) and then they shine a light in there so they can see better. Then they will spray a vinegar solution on your cervex to see where the abnormal cells actually are. Once they see where they are then they will take a biopsy of those "bad" cells. *** WARNING *** This is what hurts. It is a very strong pinch. I was in a lot of pain and it had me in tears almost.

But you have given birth, so I guess by comparason, this would be nothing. You will cramp for a few hours afterwards, so don't plan on doing much for a while after the procedure.

Then after they get the results they will let you know if you have HPV or not and what they will do about it. If it is positive for HPV, there are several ways to go about treating that. I have gone through treatment this past year and have gotten a clean bill of health, so I know all about it.

Please feel free to ask any questions as I have just gone though this and I know how much it sucks...

I just re-read that you have already been diagnosed with HPV. I didn't know that they could diagnose without a colpo.

Do you have the high or low risk?

And yes this would cause the pap to come back abnormal. That is why I have had 3 colposcopies done since I was 19. I have had HPV since I was 19 but way back then...I know Im old...They didnt call it HPV, they hadn't named it that yet. They just called it pre-cancerous cells.

Right after I posted this, I googled 'colposcopy' & realized that is what I had done a couple years ago when I was diagnosed w/ HPV. I think I pretty much blocked that day out which is why it didn't click. I'm honestly not sure if I have the high or low risk, nothing was really explained to me at the time. What's the difference in the two?

Thanks for the info, I'm not looking forward to this at all

I had a colposcopy done about 4 years ago, and for me it WAS a painless procedure. I worked myself up so bad before the appointment because I was so scared that it would hurt. But I honestly didn't feel a thing.

When do you go in?

I go in next Thursday at 1:15pm, the soonest they could get me in. I just want it over with, I even asked if I could get in today but the had no openings.

You have high risk HPV. Low risk HPV is associated with genital warts. High risk HPV is associated with cervical cell changes. Which is what you have now.

Sometimes, pap smears can read that something maybe going on in your cervix, but that isn't a diagnosis of anything. Which is why they have to do a colpo - to diagnose what is going on. It sounds like your prior colpo was low grade? I say that because you didn't follow up your comment with any treatment you may or may not have had. If you have low grade cellular changes, doctors will often just wait and see if it goes away on it's own. And, since your last pap smear was just fine, it looks like it probably did.

As long as you keep current on your pap smears and get treated when you have some cell changes, you'll be fine.

Thanks Ingi, & no I never had any treatment after my last colpo. I'll keep you guys updated on all of this.

I didnt have any treatment after my first two colpo's and they just did a follow up pap and it was all clear. This one, they found something more and I had to go through more treatment.

I hope that you are one of the lucky ones and that you dont feel a thing. I wonder why some people it hurts so bad and others it doesnt???

Good luck at your appointment.