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bobsgirl
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I agree with you, she should see a specialist. And for her peace of mind, and yours, I hope it's soon. My sister has had abnormal Pap results for years and her doctor is just now getting around to doing a biopsy. In the past I guess they weren't abnormal enough 
to warrant doing further tests.
Heavy periods can be caused by a lot of things, including peri-menopause. Could this be the case?
I wish I had more to offer. I hope it turns out to be something very minor that can be treated successfully. (((MrandMrsWag)))
to warrant doing further tests.Heavy periods can be caused by a lot of things, including peri-menopause. Could this be the case?
I wish I had more to offer. I hope it turns out to be something very minor that can be treated successfully. (((MrandMrsWag)))
LadyJeanne
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Doctors and nurses aren't infallible. That's the only explanation - you know they do actually want to help and aren't deliberately screwing up.
Abnormal paps actually happen more often than you think. It means they've picked up a sign of some cells that don't look right. They don't necessarily do anything if a test comes up abnormal - they tell you to get another test in 6 months (rather than waiting a year for another pap). Often, it clears up on its own, but in light of her sister, though, they should have taken a closer look.
I've looked into the excessive bleeding during periods. Typically, they diagnose the cause of menorhagia by a process of elimination: fibroids in the uterus can cause excessive bleeding, an iron deficiency can cause (and be exacerbated by) excess blood loss, cancers, IUD use, etc. If they rule those out, hormone imbalance is usually considered the culprit, and they try putting you on BC to regulate.
Vitamin E can help if an IUD is the problem. Vitamin K can help if she bruises easily - she might have a K deficiency. 6 weeks of extra iron in conjuction with Vitamin A, and maybe D, to help with iron absorption isn't a bad idea if she's not getting enough through spinach and beans and eggs and whatnot. Docs don't like people taking super-doses of iron, though, unless a deficiency has been diagnosed.
Herbs can also help, if you want to try that route. Lady's Mantle in a tea or tincture for 2 weeks a month can help, as well as Shepherd's Purse and raspberry tea. Vitex helps regulate hormones as well, though that's a longer term herb therapy - takes about three months or so for it to get things under control.
for Mrs. Scalywag.
Abnormal paps actually happen more often than you think. It means they've picked up a sign of some cells that don't look right. They don't necessarily do anything if a test comes up abnormal - they tell you to get another test in 6 months (rather than waiting a year for another pap). Often, it clears up on its own, but in light of her sister, though, they should have taken a closer look.
I've looked into the excessive bleeding during periods. Typically, they diagnose the cause of menorhagia by a process of elimination: fibroids in the uterus can cause excessive bleeding, an iron deficiency can cause (and be exacerbated by) excess blood loss, cancers, IUD use, etc. If they rule those out, hormone imbalance is usually considered the culprit, and they try putting you on BC to regulate.
Vitamin E can help if an IUD is the problem. Vitamin K can help if she bruises easily - she might have a K deficiency. 6 weeks of extra iron in conjuction with Vitamin A, and maybe D, to help with iron absorption isn't a bad idea if she's not getting enough through spinach and beans and eggs and whatnot. Docs don't like people taking super-doses of iron, though, unless a deficiency has been diagnosed.
Herbs can also help, if you want to try that route. Lady's Mantle in a tea or tincture for 2 weeks a month can help, as well as Shepherd's Purse and raspberry tea. Vitex helps regulate hormones as well, though that's a longer term herb therapy - takes about three months or so for it to get things under control.
for Mrs. Scalywag.
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EJFan
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scalywag... i'm going waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out on a limb, not to mention a bit of a digression here but i thought i'd mention this anyway:
disclaimer: i'm not familiar with the issue, not a medical professional of any sort, just bringing up something to explore/think about.
there may be a link between the med(s) and some degree of the issue and i'm wondering if something can be addressed in a dietary manner to minimize the need for medical intervention with the hormone imbalance and whatnot. often times, side effects of medications for one malady can induce other problems so anything you can do to prevent/reduce the need for meds could help resolve some of this. (not in any way suggesting homeopathic remedies, discounting conventional medicine and/or relying on supplements of various sorts)
maybe someone can elaborate on this philosophy if they have experience with it. i only know that some women i know have seen good results in exploring this route.
disclaimer: i'm not familiar with the issue, not a medical professional of any sort, just bringing up something to explore/think about.
there may be a link between the med(s) and some degree of the issue and i'm wondering if something can be addressed in a dietary manner to minimize the need for medical intervention with the hormone imbalance and whatnot. often times, side effects of medications for one malady can induce other problems so anything you can do to prevent/reduce the need for meds could help resolve some of this. (not in any way suggesting homeopathic remedies, discounting conventional medicine and/or relying on supplements of various sorts)
maybe someone can elaborate on this philosophy if they have experience with it. i only know that some women i know have seen good results in exploring this route.
Eilan
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I completely understand why everyone's pissed, but, at this point, what's done is done. It's important for your wife to follow up with her specialist.Scalywag said:
One of my good friends (she's in her 50's) has had abnormal pap tests off and on for several years. She's had biopsies of her cervix and they always come back negative. Like LadyJeanne said, they're more common than you'd think. Hell, I've always heard that having (unprotected) sex the night before the exam can affect the results.
About five years after she went through menopause, my mom started bleeding again. She put off going to the doctor for at least six months because she was afraid of what the he might find. And she did have endometrial cancer, she's been treated for it, and she's cancer-free today.
for both of you.
TBKahuna123
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OK Scaly, first off I feel for ya. I used to almost have to force my wife to go tot he OBGYN. She's never had a normal pap smear or regular period in her life, do I can say that neither heavy bleeding during a period nor an abnormal pap are cause for panic, though they should be checked out.
The reason they might not have checked out the abnormal pap is because with all her other issues they decided they are what caused the abnormal pap. ONe thing I've learned is that saying your pap came back abnormal could mean about 3,453,237 things.
I am assuming that your wife is approaching middle age, and that means things start to change. It is extremely important that she find a GYN that she can trust, because this doctor will become more important to her as she ages. A regular doctor just don't cut it, there's too much going on up there.
With my wife's myriad of issues I have had a crash course in the female reproductive system and the way hormones affect EVERYTHING about a woman's body. All I really know is I'm glad to be a guy and I'll never get mad at my wife for her mood swings again! That and I couldn't cut it as an OBGYN, there's just too much to know.
The reason they might not have checked out the abnormal pap is because with all her other issues they decided they are what caused the abnormal pap. ONe thing I've learned is that saying your pap came back abnormal could mean about 3,453,237 things.
I am assuming that your wife is approaching middle age, and that means things start to change. It is extremely important that she find a GYN that she can trust, because this doctor will become more important to her as she ages. A regular doctor just don't cut it, there's too much going on up there.
With my wife's myriad of issues I have had a crash course in the female reproductive system and the way hormones affect EVERYTHING about a woman's body. All I really know is I'm glad to be a guy and I'll never get mad at my wife for her mood swings again! That and I couldn't cut it as an OBGYN, there's just too much to know.
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Quoll
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Just to let you know you are in our thoughts.
My wife has had abnormal pap results, irregular periods and fertility issues as well, so yeah it's a lot more common than you think.
I hope you get the answers you need so you can both just get on with having fun.
My wife has had abnormal pap results, irregular periods and fertility issues as well, so yeah it's a lot more common than you think.
I hope you get the answers you need so you can both just get on with having fun.
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LadyJeanne
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I'm so glad to hear it's not as ominous as you may have thought!
Definitely start with pre-dinner drinks!
Definitely start with pre-dinner drinks!
TBKahuna123
Back in the Sunshine
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Scaly, buddy, welcome to the club! My wife and I have been there and done that with the not ask the right questions then freak out thing many times. Now it's almost too routine. I'm glad that everything is fine and alls right with the world.
Look at it this way, at least your wife got reminded how much you care. You might actually get lucky tonight!
Look at it this way, at least your wife got reminded how much you care. You might actually get lucky tonight!
bobsgirl
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Scalywag said:OK, so first I'm going to say that maybe both my wife and I jumped to conclusions to quick and could have conversed a little longer this morning. But then i will also say that our doctor's office could have done a better job of relaying information to my wife. Here's how it went:
I went to the dentist for a regular cleaning this morning. While I was gone, my wife returned a call to the doctor's office for the results of the pap test. She was told that the test came back abnormal and that they needed to set her up to see a specialist. My wife asked to speak to the doctor or nurse practioner but neither were available at that time. The pap test she had last July had also came back abnormal, they had also sent it out for further testing (the july one) and it came back showing no precancerous cells. She was told that was OK and they would retest in 6 months (now) instead of a year. So when the person at the office told her she needed to see a specialist, my wife was alarmed.
So, as a lot of you probably know, I work at home (at least when I'm not here at Lit) and upon returning from the dentist, I could tell she was kind of quiet, but she had also woke up early with a sore throat, so I thought she was just not feeling well and decided not to push the issue. A few minutes late, she was getting ready to go into work for a few hours, and a light bulb went off in my head. I asked her if she had called the doctor for her test results, she said she had, and got upset. She told me that the test came back abnormal again, needed to see the specialist, and then went on a rampage about the doctor's office. She left for work expecting a call from the specialist to set up an appointment.
She got the call, asked a few questions but did not get many answers from the specialist (she figured they wouldn't say much because they hadn't seen her yet) so she called our doctor insisting to speak with someone about the test.
Well WTF, it turns out that the only reason she's going to the specialist is because our doctor doesn't have the instrument needed to do the necessary follow up test, some doctors have it, some don't. (Now it seems to me that this little bit of information plays a major role in making assumptions about reasons it is necessary to see the specialist.) There is no need to be concerned at this point, and this is a somewhat routine follow-up under these circumstances.
Why didn't she get this piece of information from the start? (rhetorical question)
Anyway, will someone please reset the panic button.
That is very good news.
I'm glad the two of you can relax a little bit.sassy_girl1963
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Oh I feel for both of you Scalywag. Can sure relate to doctors and their staff giving out not enough information - or sometimes speaking when they don't have the full situation.
Am so glad that the panic button was able to get reset!
Am so glad that the panic button was able to get reset!
Cathleen
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Scaly, glad things are not bleak. I've had abnormal results a few times and the doc explained that many times it can be as simple as the lab tech might have mishandled the slide etc. So a retest is ordered. Although with her sister's history I'd ask for more frequent tests (as icky as they are).
I have a lot of doctors (all at Mass Gen) and before the new computer/information program was in place, information sharing basically occured via me. When something big was up they'd contact each other (or the specialist involved). I have faith in my docs but know they're stretched to the limits - but bottom line, I know they care. I hope Mrs.Scaly has a good team and she has faith in them, if not, find new people. (I love NPs too and see one before my MD, my NP is just superior with people.)
Hope dinner and drinks was nice... have some dessert for me!
I have a lot of doctors (all at Mass Gen) and before the new computer/information program was in place, information sharing basically occured via me. When something big was up they'd contact each other (or the specialist involved). I have faith in my docs but know they're stretched to the limits - but bottom line, I know they care. I hope Mrs.Scaly has a good team and she has faith in them, if not, find new people. (I love NPs too and see one before my MD, my NP is just superior with people.)
Hope dinner and drinks was nice... have some dessert for me!
jtrugbyhook02
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Pap smear
Pap smears are excellent tests but they often scare poeple much more often than they should. A pap smear is a screening test. Screening tests are tests which have a high sensitivity and a low specificty. Let me explain... For a screening test, you want to be sure that it will catch everyone who may have the disease. The "may" is important--a highly sensitive test will catch everyone with the disease, but also has the chance of catching those who do not have the disease (highly sensitive, but low specificty--may catch those without the disease). I am sorry that you and your wife had so much trouble and that you had to needlessly worry, but be thankful that nothing was wrong.
Doctors are great and supply a much-needed service, but ofttimes can be a bit blunt and hurried. I am in medical school now. This may seem weird, but I appreciate stories like yours. Hopefully, I will be able to learn from other people's frustrations and be able to avoid those situations later when I deal with patients. Thanks for your help.
Pap smears are excellent tests but they often scare poeple much more often than they should. A pap smear is a screening test. Screening tests are tests which have a high sensitivity and a low specificty. Let me explain... For a screening test, you want to be sure that it will catch everyone who may have the disease. The "may" is important--a highly sensitive test will catch everyone with the disease, but also has the chance of catching those who do not have the disease (highly sensitive, but low specificty--may catch those without the disease). I am sorry that you and your wife had so much trouble and that you had to needlessly worry, but be thankful that nothing was wrong.
Doctors are great and supply a much-needed service, but ofttimes can be a bit blunt and hurried. I am in medical school now. This may seem weird, but I appreciate stories like yours. Hopefully, I will be able to learn from other people's frustrations and be able to avoid those situations later when I deal with patients. Thanks for your help.
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bobsgirl
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Scalywag said:Thanks again eveyone for all your support. I just love the sense of community here!
Yes we went out for dinner and drinks (I just love Sam Adams Winter Brew on tap). We didn't drink a lot though (at dinner or at home) because I needed to be in at least a semi-state of awareness when reviewing the final touches of my son's college application process to make sure everything got completed properly, after he got home from work last night. I'll be glad when that process is over.
This is also how my wife feels about hers.
I suppose anyone in the medical field can develop a desensitization from their patients. Our doctor is like that, sort of on the blunt side. Actually, that's why I like him, he gets to the point.
One of my kids sees a pediatric neurologist. I was not able to make the first visit with him, and I remember my wife describing him as an egghead (she felt that for a pediatric doctor he was too technical for my kid to understand) but when I met him at a subsequent appointment, I felt he was just asking questions and explaining things in the manner he should be. If I didn't understand something, I asked him to explain further. No big deal to me, since I'm not a doctor, but I think maybe she feels that doctors talk "down" to her because she has to ask them to explain things further.
jtrugbyhook: thanks for offering the explanation regarding the pap smears. And good luck in medical school.
Oh yeah, no sex but some nice cuddling.
What a nice way to end a stressful day!
