What happens in a smear test?

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I have never had one before. I am 22. I didn't get any leaflet or anything telling me what to expect and it is meant to be happening on Friday. I don't know if it will be a male or female doing the test, I don't know what they are going to do and I am dreading it and feel sick with worry. I am also angry with my supposed 'caregivers' for booking the appointment without giving me any further warning.

Seriously I am REALLY scared. (I am in the UK so any advice from UK aspergirls would be great)

I assume that you are referring to a PAP smear. This gives a run-down of what happens

http://cancer.about.com/od/cervicalcanc ... esults.htm

I always ask for a woman doctor, and so far have always gotten one. Women doctors know what it feels like and are more considerate, in my opinion.

How do you know if they're more considerate if you've never had a male doctor do it?
I have a male doctor to do it, and he's fine. Personally, (i'm probably in the minority) i'm more comfortable with a male doing it - think because i'm used to men being around that area - never had a woman that close.

But - it's nothing to worry about, the main thing is to relax.

I've only ever had a smear done by a female doctor.

All they do is open your vagina and get a swab of your cervix. It hardly takes any time, It's not painful, and she said it my be uncomfortable but I didn't even find that.

You will be ok - I know it's weird but it really isn't much.

It depends... it's easy to see what is done, on the link provided above. If you've got a history of sexual abuse you might tense up and find it painful. Other people tell me that it shouldn't be painful, but it's always caused me problems. That's because I already have problems though, it's not the procedure itself. Despite my anxieties though, I always get it done. You do feel better when you get the letter saying "all clear."

In my experience it doesn't usually happen quite in the way described in the link above in the UK.

First off, it isn't usually the doctor who does it, it's the nurse. Therefore it will more than likely be a female. If not, you have the right to request a female.

Secondly, they don't usually use stirrups in the UK (I wish they didn't here either ). The nurse will ask you to remove your knickers, tights and trousers if you are wearing them. I felt more comfortable wearing a skirt because I could keep it on so didn't feel so exposed.

You will then have to lie on the bed with your knees drawn up and your feet together on the bed. When she is ready, the nurse will tell you to let your knees fall apart. She will then insert the speculum. This sounds really scary but is only penis shaped and sized tool, through which the swab can be inserted. If you are taking deep breaths and trying to relax you won't even feel that part.

Then she will use the swab to take a sample of the cervix. Often women can't feel this part either. If you do feel it, it will feel just like putting your finger in your mouth and scratching the inside of your cheek with your nail. Because that is all they are doing down there.

It will all be over in no time. Less than 5 minutes.

in canada, in my experience, it is mostly like the description above. it is performed by a doctor. sometimes is hurts a little when they take the actual swab (it actually feels like a hard pinch to me), but the rest of the procedure is not painful for me.

i've had it done by both male and female doctors, with no difference either way. i've had so many done (about 25 to 30, i guess) that i don't care about it anymore.

sometimes, they warm up the speculum instrument in a special warming unit. but occasionally they have to switch it for a different size. we are not all built the same way, so there are usually alternate lengths of speculums (specula? speculi?) at hand. last time i had one done i sat up and asked the doctor if the length of a girl's vagina correlates to her height, and he told me "no". i was surprised.

over here we can request a female staffer to observe if we are uncomfortable with a male doctor.

I've had both male and female doctors do a PAP smear on me, and I have to say the one that did the best job with the least amount of discomfort was male. The females had a 'don't be such a baby' attitude towards it.

In the US, a male doctor cannot do a PAP without a female observer present.

It's okay... they made a mistake at the doctors. I don't have to have one until I am 25. That gives me three more years to panic about it!

It's really not bad at all. I just got my first one a month ago. It was terrifying having someone down there, but that was the worst of it. It hurt a bit, but it's very quick - like a second. Then they're done. I bled a little bit afterward, but that's normal. There's no lingering pain, and you only need them once a year.

I am a nervous, horribly anxious person. And I'll be fine with getting mine next year.

It was the ultrasound, and trans-vaginal echo, that I didn't like. But that's something you only need if something might be wrong. It wasn't painful, just scary, and weird. The nurse was leaning against me and talking to me and I hated it. Plus I was scared I had cancer or something. I don't, I'm fine, but man that was not fun.

You only have to have it done every 5 years in the UK.

Lucky!

It's not luck. The US has changed the frequency of PAP smears. You don't need to get one every year anymore.

I did not know that. I just got my first one recently and was told to come again next year. I'm sure by then, my GYN will be up to date on the requirements.