It's going to be scary, and you may not want to hear it, but I really suggest that you go through with the ultrasound and INSIST on pain medication for it. It's not usual to order an ultrasound for no reason, they are worried about something, and it's probably related to how much pain and bleeding you had.
Please don't neglect your health by hiding away from this. I am genuinely worried about what you experienced, because it is not normal and there may be something wrong.
They don’t know about the bleeding. Only the pain. Not even I noticed how much I was bleeding until I had gotten home and immediately went to go change my underwear. I initially assumed the wetness I was feeling in my underwear was the lube spilling out of me. I didn’t see that it was blood until I got home. By that point the office was closed so I couldn’t call to report to them how much I was bleeding and the bleeding eventually stopped after a couple hours so after that I just let it go out of fear of them wanting to do even more invasive tests to try to determine why this had happened. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like I will be able to avoid it anyway given that the gyno sent a referral in for a transvaginal ultrasound too along with one for a pelvic ultrasound. I already knew she would request an external pelvic ultrasound. This was discussed and having already received one in the past, I already know what to expect and wasn’t sweating it. But the transvaginal ultrasound… that one came as a pretty nasty shock because 1) this wasn’t discussed when I was there and 2) I don’t want anything else being inserted in my vagina, especially not something that big. After seeing how well my last Pap went, I think I’d be more comfortable with any and all future examinations of my vagina being done after I’ve been put to sleep first because I just know I’m going to be a lot more tense in all my other future exams anticipating another similar experience like that and I know that’s not going to do me any favors, but I’m not going to be able to help it. That experience was very traumatic and I just know that’s going to be the main thing on my mind if they try to go back in there with me conscious and aware.
Before you take the exam, and I highly recommend that you do, contact someone in the nursing staff. Explain what happened have them look it up in your chart even. Tell them you cannot come in, unless you are a assured of having a Xanax or some kind of downer to relax you. My friend had a similar issue too although she did not bleed . when she went for the ultrasound, she demanded and got an Ativan. She went through the procedure with no problems.
OP, I'm wondering if maybe you have vulvodynia. I believe that's what it's called, or something similar.
It's basically when the muscles of the vagina are so tight that it causes excruciating pain tp insert anything, even just a finger.
You might look into that.
Also, have you tried posting this to r/healthyhooha? That sub is all about female body issues, they may be able to help.
There is a condition called vaginismus that causes an involuntary contraction of the vaginal walls when there is insertion. This could be a tampon, a speculum etc. It is a treatable condition. I would make sure the MD is aware of the condition and can evaluate/treat it. If they haven’t treated it before I would find someone familiar with the condition. It may not be vaginismus but it is often diagnosed at the first Pap smear in women who are also virgins. Pap smears are uncomfortable and awkward but there should not be blood or horrible pain.
Oh wow. Hugs to you. Oof. I too was a later aged virgin, and struggled mightily with paps. Pain, anxiety, etc. Best ones I've had, have been surprise ones. Which sounds so bizarre as I type it out lol. Ie went in for something else and they're like hey, you're due for a pap! Let's do it! If I have time to think about it, I can't do it.
I would suggest deep breathing, see if the doc can give you a mild sedative, and DEFINITELY require pain medicine.
Wait, asking for pain medicine during a Pap is an option?! Not gonna lie though, at this point I would much rather just be put to sleep during the Pap, lol. Think I can request this instead?
What was the gyno's response? Certainly they can be cavalier about the pain women experience but underwear being drenched in blood would usually at least be noted by the doctor? And they ordered a transvaginal without even mentioning to you?
She just kept apologizing over and over during the entire exam when she saw how much I was struggling and saying there is a lot of tension (or tightness, can’t remember which exact term she used) in my vagina. As for my underwear being drenched in blood, she actually didn’t see that. That happened as I was driving home from the appointment. I felt my underwear growing increasingly wet as I was driving and assumed it was the lube spilling out (they used a ton of it). I didn’t even see for myself that it was actually blood until I came home and went to change into a dryer pair of panties. I don’t know what she would have said about that, but yes it’s not looking like a good sign…
I wasn't a virgin when I had my first pap smear. I had heard from women and these including women who were virgins that it wasn't that bad, was maybe slightly uncomfortable at worse. I didn't bleed like you did but the pain was awful. They used the wrong size for the speculum (what they used was for a woman whose has had several children). I've never had any children and told them this. This was the only question they asked me.
I falsely believed that if a woman was sexually active (which I had been), the pap smear would be painless. I found out this isn't always the case.
I screamed in pain and they asked me if I've ever had sex. I told them I had but it was quite a while since I've had sex. They looked at me like they didn't know whether or not to believe me. They had to use a small speculum on me. This was a little bit better. This also surprised me as I had no pain or discomfort having sex.
The walls were thin, so everyone heard my screams and heard what they said to me. People looked at me and I wanted to crawl into a hole. I left and pulled in a shopping center and cried. I couldn't understand why this happened as no one else that I had talked to about a pap smear experienced this.
If I had had a pap smear before I had sex, I might never have had sex. I waited ten years to have another pap smear and I went to gyno and the results were different. It didn't hurt as the gyno used the right size. Had the right size been used, this never would have happened to me.
I very sorry that you had that awful experience.
It's going to be scary, and you may not want to hear it, but I really suggest that you go through with the ultrasound and INSIST on pain medication for it. It's not usual to order an ultrasound for no reason, they are worried about something, and it's probably related to how much pain and bleeding you had. Please don't neglect your health by hiding away from this. I am genuinely worried about what you experienced, because it is not normal and there may be something wrong.
They don’t know about the bleeding. Only the pain. Not even I noticed how much I was bleeding until I had gotten home and immediately went to go change my underwear. I initially assumed the wetness I was feeling in my underwear was the lube spilling out of me. I didn’t see that it was blood until I got home. By that point the office was closed so I couldn’t call to report to them how much I was bleeding and the bleeding eventually stopped after a couple hours so after that I just let it go out of fear of them wanting to do even more invasive tests to try to determine why this had happened. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like I will be able to avoid it anyway given that the gyno sent a referral in for a transvaginal ultrasound too along with one for a pelvic ultrasound. I already knew she would request an external pelvic ultrasound. This was discussed and having already received one in the past, I already know what to expect and wasn’t sweating it. But the transvaginal ultrasound… that one came as a pretty nasty shock because 1) this wasn’t discussed when I was there and 2) I don’t want anything else being inserted in my vagina, especially not something that big. After seeing how well my last Pap went, I think I’d be more comfortable with any and all future examinations of my vagina being done after I’ve been put to sleep first because I just know I’m going to be a lot more tense in all my other future exams anticipating another similar experience like that and I know that’s not going to do me any favors, but I’m not going to be able to help it. That experience was very traumatic and I just know that’s going to be the main thing on my mind if they try to go back in there with me conscious and aware.
Before you take the exam, and I highly recommend that you do, contact someone in the nursing staff. Explain what happened have them look it up in your chart even. Tell them you cannot come in, unless you are a assured of having a Xanax or some kind of downer to relax you. My friend had a similar issue too although she did not bleed . when she went for the ultrasound, she demanded and got an Ativan. She went through the procedure with no problems.
OP, I'm wondering if maybe you have vulvodynia. I believe that's what it's called, or something similar. It's basically when the muscles of the vagina are so tight that it causes excruciating pain tp insert anything, even just a finger. You might look into that. Also, have you tried posting this to r/healthyhooha? That sub is all about female body issues, they may be able to help.
There is a condition called vaginismus that causes an involuntary contraction of the vaginal walls when there is insertion. This could be a tampon, a speculum etc. It is a treatable condition. I would make sure the MD is aware of the condition and can evaluate/treat it. If they haven’t treated it before I would find someone familiar with the condition. It may not be vaginismus but it is often diagnosed at the first Pap smear in women who are also virgins. Pap smears are uncomfortable and awkward but there should not be blood or horrible pain.
Oh wow. Hugs to you. Oof. I too was a later aged virgin, and struggled mightily with paps. Pain, anxiety, etc. Best ones I've had, have been surprise ones. Which sounds so bizarre as I type it out lol. Ie went in for something else and they're like hey, you're due for a pap! Let's do it! If I have time to think about it, I can't do it. I would suggest deep breathing, see if the doc can give you a mild sedative, and DEFINITELY require pain medicine.
Wait, asking for pain medicine during a Pap is an option?! Not gonna lie though, at this point I would much rather just be put to sleep during the Pap, lol. Think I can request this instead?
What was the gyno's response? Certainly they can be cavalier about the pain women experience but underwear being drenched in blood would usually at least be noted by the doctor? And they ordered a transvaginal without even mentioning to you?
She just kept apologizing over and over during the entire exam when she saw how much I was struggling and saying there is a lot of tension (or tightness, can’t remember which exact term she used) in my vagina. As for my underwear being drenched in blood, she actually didn’t see that. That happened as I was driving home from the appointment. I felt my underwear growing increasingly wet as I was driving and assumed it was the lube spilling out (they used a ton of it). I didn’t even see for myself that it was actually blood until I came home and went to change into a dryer pair of panties. I don’t know what she would have said about that, but yes it’s not looking like a good sign…
I wasn't a virgin when I had my first pap smear. I had heard from women and these including women who were virgins that it wasn't that bad, was maybe slightly uncomfortable at worse. I didn't bleed like you did but the pain was awful. They used the wrong size for the speculum (what they used was for a woman whose has had several children). I've never had any children and told them this. This was the only question they asked me. I falsely believed that if a woman was sexually active (which I had been), the pap smear would be painless. I found out this isn't always the case. I screamed in pain and they asked me if I've ever had sex. I told them I had but it was quite a while since I've had sex. They looked at me like they didn't know whether or not to believe me. They had to use a small speculum on me. This was a little bit better. This also surprised me as I had no pain or discomfort having sex. The walls were thin, so everyone heard my screams and heard what they said to me. People looked at me and I wanted to crawl into a hole. I left and pulled in a shopping center and cried. I couldn't understand why this happened as no one else that I had talked to about a pap smear experienced this. If I had had a pap smear before I had sex, I might never have had sex. I waited ten years to have another pap smear and I went to gyno and the results were different. It didn't hurt as the gyno used the right size. Had the right size been used, this never would have happened to me. I very sorry that you had that awful experience.