A pap smear is a yearly test all sexually active women need to get. It tests for abnormal cells on the cervix. It does not test for stds unless you request those specific tests.

It generally takes approximately a week or two to get the test results back. You are usually only notified if you do have an abnormal pap, otherwise they don't bother sending a letter.

It is not uncomfortable physically. If you are concerned, take some ibuprofen about 1/2 hour before your appointment.

The doctor will use a speculum (sp?) to hold open the vagina. These tend to be plastic now and not as uncomfortable as the old metal (and always very cold!) kind that sometimes pinched. Then s/he'll look inside and scrape a very long q-tip on your cervix. It can be a little sensitive feeling but it isn't painful. After that, s/he'll take out the speculum and feel inside with one hand and push on your stomach with the other - they are feeling how large your uterus is. They might tell you something like you have a tipped uterus (not uncommon and nothing is wrong with that) or your uterus feels fine. They also feel if your ovaries are enlarged.

Then it is over. Oh, sometimes they do a breast exam also.

It all takes about 10 minutes.

If I stay really relaxed will there not be as much pressure??? And nother thing I forgot to ask is... Would it be ok if I had sex the day before? Or is it not a good idea?

Well pap smears are nothing.For me it was a really quick in and out.Yeah it hurts for the first time because its like there trying to widen it.I think id be okay.Unless your not feeling well.

My first one didn't hurt at all, but i'd already been having sex for a few months. Then again, my first sexual encounter didn't hurt either. A pap smear isn't that bad :) just try to relax as much as you can, and let the doc know if it is hurting too much. I personally didn't feel any pressure; I mean I obviously felt the widening of my vagina and the entrance but I wouldn't call that pressure really. As for the swab touching the cervix, I don't believe I felt that either. Some women have a lot of sensation inside their vaginas and some don't :)

also, at the planned parenthood I went to, the speculum was metal, but heated ;) that was an odd sensation, haha!

Relax xxx

The speculum just made me feel as though I needed to empty my bladder. Of course, I had lost my virginity several years before and had been wearing insteads for almost a year, so I was a bit stretched out. The doctor and nurse were talking to me while the exam was going on, and I didn't even feel the pap smear. All of a sudden, the doctor was taking his gloves off, and I said, "wait! I thought you were going to do a pap smear!" and he replied that he had just done it. :)

just don't be embarrassed. Adopt the mindset of someone in labor; they never seem embarrassed or self-conscious when the doctor is examining them (although I don't know if you've ever been in the room when the doctor has come in to check the mom-to-be's cervix). It's simply something that has to be done.

Feel free to send me a private message or im me if you'd like in-depth information. :)

-rachel

No sex or douching within 24 hours of your pap test.

Says who? They didn't tell me that at my pap smear.

It's true, actually... And no tub baths, either.

Alright, but what's the health reason behind this urban legend?

*smiles politely* it's actually not an urban legend. Probably if you consult your gynecologist about it, they will have assumed you already knew this, and that's why they didn't tell you. :)

the reason behind it is that putting things 'up there' or douching or taking a tub bath removes/adds/changes the stuff that's normally on your cervix. They don't want your boyfriend's semen to show up on your pap smear, because that would make it abnormal. And if you douche or take a tub bath, you might wash away some of the cells they actually want to study. Either way, it would stink if you had to get it re-done or if you needed a colposcopy just because you and your boyfriend couldn't wait one day. ;)

I dont know how it would feel bc I never had one but im here for you! And I hope it all goes ok