ugggh
I usually don't post really personal TMI stuff on here, but I had a rather unfortunate escapade this week and wanted the advice of some other ladies~
About a month ago, my doctor's office calls me to schedule a general check-up since I hadn't been in there in over two years, and that was just to have my allergy prescription refilled. So I had my check-up and that went fine, until my doctor asks me when my last pap smear was and I was like "uhh... never?" because it was something my mom had kept meaning to schedule for me when I turned 18 (I'm almost 22 now btw) but never got around to it and eventually she forgot about it and I let her forget because having someone pry my legs open and stare at my vagina sounded horribly awkward and I was hoping I could just avoid the whole thing. But my doctor said I needed to have one, so I relented and scheduled that appointment.
It was for yesterday, and I went with some trepidation. I had just finished up my period the day before, and I wasn't sure if that was going to interfere with whatever it is my doctor had to do, but I try to keep all my appointments so I went anyway. The nurse came in, checked my temperature and blood pressure (the machine was malfunctioning so she had to do it twice on one arm before giving up and going on to my other arm), pointed to these weird folded paper-cloth things on the examination table and said "Pink is top, white is bottom," and left before I could tell her I have no idea what that means. I unfolded the things. The "top" was a weird conical cape and the "bottom" was basically a giant napkin. That didn't help. I took off my shoes and just stood there until my doctor came in, and she said I had to take off all my clothes, but I could leave my socks on, and then she gave me this cheesy wink and left. So then I'm naked, sitting on a table, wrapped in napkins.
The doctor comes back and has me lie down so she can do a breast exam, which went okay. Then it was time for the downstairs examination, which required me to get into a really awkward position that made my leg muscles cramp up. She took her tool or swab or whatever she had, I couldn't see, said that it "wasn't supposed to hurt" and started poking it up there BUT IT DID HURT, like it wasn't unbearable but I was lying there gasping and going "ow ow ow ow ow." I was willing to stick with it through the end of the procedure, but she said there was still some period blood up there and it would be better if I came back in another week or two for her to try again. So she take the tool out and my pain fades substantially, then I feel her mopping me up and she gives me a pad and I get dressed. I got a quick flu shot while I was there so the whole trip wouldn't be a waste (more on that later), make my appointment, and leave.
I go to the bathroom down the hall from her office to clean myself up a bit more and discovered I was bleeding a lot? It's not like I was gushing blood, but there was a fairly consistent drip of it coming out, thin bright red blood, not really like period blood at all. I went ahead and drove back to my dorm, and I went to the bathroom again and I was still bleeding, but a bit less. It did eventually fade away as the night went on, and I'm clean now, and like I said I'm not in any pain. (ALTHOUGH MY LEGS ARE STILL SORE FROM THAT AWKWARD STIRRUP POSITION.)
So... was all that normal? Did I just get my "cherry popped?" Is that even a real thing or something I just heard in a movie once? Is that something every female body has to do at some point and it was good that I got it out of the way now? Will I be bleeding-free when I go in for the full pap smear in two weeks? And what about the pain, is that fairly common? I was far from being relaxed so I expect my muscles were tensed up, and of course my vag has never had anything in it before (the few times I've tried to put in tampons it's been really uncomfortable so I just wear pads all the time), so does it just need to, idk, get stretched out a little before these procedures get more comfortable?
I KNOW PRETTY MUCH NOTHING ABOUT GENITAL ANATOMY AND PROCESSES AND THIS ALL SOUNDS SUPER AWKWARD TO 1) DISCUSS WITH MY MOM OR 2) HAVE IN MY BROWSER HISTORY, AND YOU GIRLS ARE LIKE THE COOL OLDER SISTERS I'VE NEVER HAD SO YEAH I'D APPRECIATE IT IF YOU HELPED ME OUT HERE
And about that flu shot, the injection site started bruising immediately which is weird because I don't bruise that easily and the nurse said she'd never seen a flu shot do that before either. But it was the place on my arm where she'd tried twice get a blood pressure reading so maybe that messed my veins or something idk, plus she said it was a new kind of injection needle the office had started using and she thought it was too big. Whatever the reason, my arm has this big angry purple bruise with red spots on it, and the area is a little swollen and hot, and it aches a bit and I just hope I didn't get some infection on top of all this
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
About a month ago, my doctor's office calls me to schedule a general check-up since I hadn't been in there in over two years, and that was just to have my allergy prescription refilled. So I had my check-up and that went fine, until my doctor asks me when my last pap smear was and I was like "uhh... never?" because it was something my mom had kept meaning to schedule for me when I turned 18 (I'm almost 22 now btw) but never got around to it and eventually she forgot about it and I let her forget because having someone pry my legs open and stare at my vagina sounded horribly awkward and I was hoping I could just avoid the whole thing. But my doctor said I needed to have one, so I relented and scheduled that appointment.
It was for yesterday, and I went with some trepidation. I had just finished up my period the day before, and I wasn't sure if that was going to interfere with whatever it is my doctor had to do, but I try to keep all my appointments so I went anyway. The nurse came in, checked my temperature and blood pressure (the machine was malfunctioning so she had to do it twice on one arm before giving up and going on to my other arm), pointed to these weird folded paper-cloth things on the examination table and said "Pink is top, white is bottom," and left before I could tell her I have no idea what that means. I unfolded the things. The "top" was a weird conical cape and the "bottom" was basically a giant napkin. That didn't help. I took off my shoes and just stood there until my doctor came in, and she said I had to take off all my clothes, but I could leave my socks on, and then she gave me this cheesy wink and left. So then I'm naked, sitting on a table, wrapped in napkins.
The doctor comes back and has me lie down so she can do a breast exam, which went okay. Then it was time for the downstairs examination, which required me to get into a really awkward position that made my leg muscles cramp up. She took her tool or swab or whatever she had, I couldn't see, said that it "wasn't supposed to hurt" and started poking it up there BUT IT DID HURT, like it wasn't unbearable but I was lying there gasping and going "ow ow ow ow ow." I was willing to stick with it through the end of the procedure, but she said there was still some period blood up there and it would be better if I came back in another week or two for her to try again. So she take the tool out and my pain fades substantially, then I feel her mopping me up and she gives me a pad and I get dressed. I got a quick flu shot while I was there so the whole trip wouldn't be a waste (more on that later), make my appointment, and leave.
I go to the bathroom down the hall from her office to clean myself up a bit more and discovered I was bleeding a lot? It's not like I was gushing blood, but there was a fairly consistent drip of it coming out, thin bright red blood, not really like period blood at all. I went ahead and drove back to my dorm, and I went to the bathroom again and I was still bleeding, but a bit less. It did eventually fade away as the night went on, and I'm clean now, and like I said I'm not in any pain. (ALTHOUGH MY LEGS ARE STILL SORE FROM THAT AWKWARD STIRRUP POSITION.)
So... was all that normal? Did I just get my "cherry popped?" Is that even a real thing or something I just heard in a movie once? Is that something every female body has to do at some point and it was good that I got it out of the way now? Will I be bleeding-free when I go in for the full pap smear in two weeks? And what about the pain, is that fairly common? I was far from being relaxed so I expect my muscles were tensed up, and of course my vag has never had anything in it before (the few times I've tried to put in tampons it's been really uncomfortable so I just wear pads all the time), so does it just need to, idk, get stretched out a little before these procedures get more comfortable?
I KNOW PRETTY MUCH NOTHING ABOUT GENITAL ANATOMY AND PROCESSES AND THIS ALL SOUNDS SUPER AWKWARD TO 1) DISCUSS WITH MY MOM OR 2) HAVE IN MY BROWSER HISTORY, AND YOU GIRLS ARE LIKE THE COOL OLDER SISTERS I'VE NEVER HAD SO YEAH I'D APPRECIATE IT IF YOU HELPED ME OUT HERE
And about that flu shot, the injection site started bruising immediately which is weird because I don't bruise that easily and the nurse said she'd never seen a flu shot do that before either. But it was the place on my arm where she'd tried twice get a blood pressure reading so maybe that messed my veins or something idk, plus she said it was a new kind of injection needle the office had started using and she thought it was too big. Whatever the reason, my arm has this big angry purple bruise with red spots on it, and the area is a little swollen and hot, and it aches a bit and I just hope I didn't get some infection on top of all this
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME