Hello KaroKaro and thanks for posting,

I am so sorry that you have had a horrible experience attempting to have a smear test. I hope it isn't something that stays with you.   

I think there have been some efforts to redesign the speculum and like you, I found one online called Yona that uses silicone, but from what I can gather most of these redesigns haven't been all that extensively tested which is most probably why they have yet to be adopted. Most novel medical technology needs to be assessed thoroughly to demonstrate that it is as good as whatever is currently in use and ideally better. I think it is fair to say that when there is good data about something that can be shared widely it is more likely to be adopted, but there are probably other factors too - unfortunately it can be expensive and take time to develop new technologies.  

Do take a look at the post above from my colleague Catherine in case it is of any help.

Feel free to give us a call if you want to talk anything over. Our number is 0808 800 4040 and we are here weekdays 9-5. 

Best wishes,

Julia

Hi, Mumoftwo, I have the same problem. It only started being horrendously painful when they changed from a type of small spatula to a brush, which, for me, has been used for the last three smear tests. I can't seem to get it through to the nurse that I have a very high pain threshold, so when I say it is excruciating I really am not exaggerating. The brush comes out covered in bright red blood, I feel that so much trauma to the cervix can't be right. She just keeps saying it shouldn't hurt but offers no solutions, except that I don't have to have it done if I don't want to. I have kept up to my smears all my life and never been late or missed one, I am now too panicked to go. 

Hello there

I am sorry to hear about your past few experiences of having cervical screening carried out.

Unfortunately some women do find this procedure uncomfortable and painful and it is important to let the nurse or doctor taking the sample know this, so they can suggest and try different ways to make it manageable.

It may be worth calling ahead to your surgery and sharing your concerns then discussing who might be the best person to carry out this test for you.

Wishing you all the best

Take care

Naomi

Hi Naomi, I have done all that several times, I feel like I am being gaslighted as all I get is 'it shouldn't hurt'.

Hi, I am so happy to have found this !

I am 57 and have always found the smears uncomfortable but this time it was so painful we had to stop.

We tried different sized speculum but as soon as she tried to open it the pain was unbearable.

She thinks I may have a prolapse ! 

I have another appointment for weds.....am dreading it.

I've just discovered this thread today. I am almost 59 and have had a second attempted smear test this afternoon which was so excruciating that I yelled out in agony. I have had smear tests regularly since I was 20 and have also had colposcopies, hot loop biopsies and punch biopsies in the past as I had pre-cancerous cells in the past when I was in my 20s. Not one other procedure has caused me as much pain as the last 2 attempts to do a smear test. The nurse was very kind and patient and explained that it's very common in older women to struggle with the pain of smear tests due to lack of oerstrogen and vaginal atrophy post menopause. After the first failed attempt in December 2021 she put me on Vagifem pessaries to see if they would help to prepare me better for the next attempt, which was today.

I am sick of hearing from people in person and online that 'it shouldn't hurt', 'you should be able to cope as it's very quick', 'if you could just relax', 'put your hands under your bum to lift yourself up', etc. I am someone who has endured several ghastly medical procedures in the past including a gum graft which involved having a strip of skin cut from the roof of my mouth and sewn onto the top of my gums to 'help' with receding gums (it didn't). I was in labour with my son for 30 hours, was in the pushing stage for an hour and 15 mins and then had to have an emergency C-section, and still the pain was not as bad as the pain I had today during the attempted smear test. The nurse used the smallest speculum she had and at least this time it went in - the last time she couldn't even get it to go in. It was when she tried to open it up that I thought I would die. I swear it felt like she was twisting the whole speculum sideways but she said she was just trying to open it. I really, really tried to keep going but just couldn't stand the pain and we had to stop. She's now booked me in with a GP in 3 day's time for another attempt and if that doesn't work I have to be referred to gynae to use a special chair which is supposed to help. I left the clinic today crying, scared and feeling like a complete failure. I'm totally dreading the GP appointment and don't know what to do.

Hello and thanks for posting,

as I am sure you can see you are not the only one who finds this procedure uncomfortable but I am so sorry to hear about your particular experience.

I am at a loss to know what to add to try and make your experience more comfortable but I did come across this blog on Jo's Trust website which you may find it helpful to look at here

I do so hope that you have a chance to chat through your concerns with the GP before they attempt to do the procedure.

Don't think you are a failure as there are many others in a similar situation. It may be that seeing a gynaecologist in a comfortable chair may be the best solution.

Do see how you get on with your GP in the the next couple of days and please don't be hard on yourself.

Take Care,

Catherine

Thank you. I appreciate the kind reply. I really don't know if I can cope with this doctor appointment coming up. I am getting very traumatised just thinking about it. I'll just have to see how I feel on the day if I can even go through with an examination. I just hate the thought of it all hanging over me if I can't get the cervical test done because then I'll worry about cancer, but I'm just not sure if it can physically be done at all now.

So many real horror stories on here. It's an absolute scandal that women are treated like this in 2022. Sadly it suggests a historic institutional and cultural misogyny persists in some parts of the NHS. Clinicians need to be fundamentally challenged and re-educated to take women's pain seriously.