Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone can tell me how many times it is normal to go through this process. I go on the 17th to have a second LEEP procedure. I have already been through this once, with the pap, the colposcopy, and the LEEP... now I have again had another pap and colposcopy. This time my doctor did not take any biopsies with the colposcpy tho. She said she couldn't see enough, which I thought was weird, and didn't really understand. Plus I had to still pay for the procedure. No insurance at the time. So, she scheduled the LEEP. Shouldn't she have just gone straight to the LEEP? I don't get it.
Anyway, the more I think about it, I am wondering what is the progression of things here? I know I will have to go every 4 months for a pap, but if they keep coming back abnormal--do I just keep doing this over and over?
I like my doctor, but sometimes when I ask her questions, it seems like she is not answering the same question that I asked. Hopefully, this time will just take care of everything, but if not I would like to know how this works.
Would appreciate and help,
zoeee

Hi, i also had a LEEP done, and now have to have a second proceedure as well, most likely (still waiting for results from my second pap + colp+ biopsy). Unfortunately, while many women do get "cured" with one LEEP, a lot of women have reccurent or persistent dysplasia, especially if it is caused by HPV, and need to have several proceedures.

Your doctor was right to give you a second colposcopy before she went directly to another LEEP. Once you had an abnormal pap, she wanted to do a colposcopy to determine more carefully what was up with your cervix. the colposcopy is much more precise of a diagnostic tool than the pap, and by doing it, she was able to see more clearly what kind of abnormal cells were on your cervix still, whether they were low grade or high grade for example. However, i am not sure what she meant about not taking a biopsy because she couldnt see clearly. It may be because the abnormal cells were further up your cervical canal, which is hard to reach by biopsy and colposcopy. But I would advise you to deifnitely ask your doctor again about what she meant when she said that.

Unfortunately, many women will have to go through several LEEPS. Another possibility is having a cone biopsy, which is just a bit more aggressive than LEEP. Ask your doc to discuss your options with you. Some women way down the line opt to have a hysterechtomy, but doctors usually advise that if you have children and are sure you dont want any more, unless it is absolutely necessary for more serious cases. To reduce your risk of the dysplasia coming back, docs recommend eating multi-vitamins, a folic acid supplement, stop smoking immediately (has been linked to cervical cancer) and eat a healthy diet full of veggies, fruits, oats and such. Also, you should know the risk of reccurence of dysplasia is higher in the frst 2 years after it first appeared, but again if you have HPV there is always the risk of it coming back, so its very important you keep follow it all your life with the doctors.

Finally, if you dont feel your doc is answering your questions, get a new doc! i felt the same way as you, and i chnaged docs and am much happier now. its your body, you shouldnt feel uncomfortable!

You caught this early, like me, so as long as you keep going to the doc and taking care of yourself, you should be fine :)
Best of luck to you!
Alex :)

Thank you so much Alex!
That makes alot of sense. I have not gotten even half this much insight from my doc. I truly do appreciate it. :) It's nice to have a clearer picture of things.
It would be nice to have a doc that I could communicate with better. I do feel comfortable with her and her nurse tho. I would hate to leave her and wind up with someone worse. lol I think she is overall a good doc, I just don't think she knows how to realte things on a personal level? Just a flat answer for everything...sounds like an answer she would give to any and everybody who asked a question remotely similar. So it leaves you like.. 'well, that is kind of what i'm talking about...'

I feel so much better.. just the fact of having an idea of where I'm going with this...and even some preventative measures I can take myself..
Actually getting my question answered, and not having to fill in the blanks!
What a feeling! :)
Thank you again!
zoeee

Sure thing, im glad i could help. i felt very confused too when all this first started. i did not expect it in the least (well who does!) and i felt so young to be going through all this (i'm 22). i felt just how you do about my old doc, the way you described her it could be the same woman! she was very good and reliable, but just did not know how to talk to patients...i realized the best way to feel in control is to educate yourself at the same time about all of this, and thats what ive been doing for months now, and if ive had a question, these boards are great. you should try to go on Google and search "cervical dysplasia" or "cervical cancer" and you will get a ton of information! if ever u want to talk, im here! take care, Alex :)

Hi Alex,
I did do some research about this in the begining, but mainly found descriptions of the procedures and descriptions of the different degrees of dysplasia, stuff like that. I actually didn't go to my current doc till quite a while after my first abnormal pap, and that was because of abnormal periods. That was taken care of with birth control pills... I guess it was low estrogen, I had like a never ending period going on. It scared me tho, especially since I had taken my time to do anything about the first pap. I thought it was all related. I guess I should still be finding out all I can...for a while I just didn't even want to think about it. I was hoping this time my pap would be ok.

I think message boards are great. It helps alot to hear from people who have experienced the same things. I really feel much better now... it's still something I am going to worry about, but at least I can have an idea of how it goes and maybe ask better questions next time. One's that she has to give specific answers to. lol

I will have to try the google search and see what else I can find.

Take care, good to know you're here, :)
zoeee

Sounds like you should get a second opinion. If you do not understand what your doctor is saying, do not get surgery until you fully understand. you are paying for her services you deserve to understand what your condition is. you don't want to take leep to lightly, I got it and now my cervix is short. But I got it because the doctor was absolutely sure it was needed. best wishes