I'm in the same boat as you.

had my first smear today and it was absolute agony, ended up being unsuccessful so got another appointment in a few weeks.

Hello, and thank for posting.

I am so sorry you have experienced this when attending your first cervical smear. Sometimes they are unsuccessful for various reasons any anxiety (particularly if its your first time going) can increase muscle tension, which in turn can make them tricky to perform. 

The Jos trust (UK cervical cancer charity) website has a good page here on tips for attending smears which may be helpful to you. If you are finding the screening particularly painful, here is an article which may also help.

Take care, and hopefully your next screening will have a better outcome.

Sarah.