lemichele
09-07-2004, 06:40 PM
Hi everyone,
I just had my LEEP one week ago today. I was a bit freaked to have this done - how much will it hurt? Will I be sore for days and days? Etc, etc. I know everyone has different experiences, but thought I'd share what I went through to perhaps calm the fears of people who just found out they need to have this done.
Before the procedure I was given a pill called "Bextra" that is used for either arthritis or menstral cramping. Once on the table, they used the scapula (sp? - the thing that holds you open so they can see). This was the most painful part of the whole procedure for me. I have a tilted cervix, so these always cause me bad pain, and for a LEEP they usually need to use larger ones than are used on you during a PAP. I'm thinking that for most people who don't have tilted cervix's that this wouldn't be painful, just uncomfortable.
They put a rubber strip thing on my leg - it was used to ground me since the LEEP is electrical.
The doctor then sprayed the area she would be working on with an anesthetic, then it was time for the numbing shot. I hate needles bad. (once passed out when my dog got blood taken!) She had me cough while she did it - great for distraction, and helps them do the shot faster. This did hurt. But this hurt WAY less for me than the biopsies I had done. And it numbed me fast.
I sat there waiting for her to start, seemed like she took forever. Then she said "I'm almost done". Wow - what a great shot she had given me - I felt nothing at all (except that awful scapula!).
That was it - it took about 30 minutes. I got up, a little shaky (my body was reacting, but still felt nothing). She told me the shot she gave would wear off within 3 hours. About an hour later I got some cramping, it got worse as the day went on, but was no worse than bad cramps I would get from my period. The shot she gave also made it so I wouldn't start bleeding for a little while. I started bleeding about an hour later, about the same amount with the biopsy. I was pooped, I went to bed early.
The next day I had mild cramping, and more discharge and bleeding. By the third day cramps were very minor. I'm still bleeding slightly, and I have a lot of discharge (and gross too - very very smelly). But I'll trade that for pain any day!
The results came back saying that there were no abnormalities, but my doctor believes that either she missed the areas that needed to be removed or else the lab results are wrong. I had severe dysplasia according to the biopsy and she didn't feel confident that she had removed everything during the biopsy. She does not trust these results, so chances are good I'll be having another LEEP done soon. Sigh.
So, the moral of the story is that a LEEP isn't as scary as it sounds. Not that I'd wanna go and do it tomorrow or anything, but don't stress too much about it - I've had more painful things done to me in doctor's offices. And again, I know everyone has different experiences.
I just had my LEEP one week ago today. I was a bit freaked to have this done - how much will it hurt? Will I be sore for days and days? Etc, etc. I know everyone has different experiences, but thought I'd share what I went through to perhaps calm the fears of people who just found out they need to have this done.
Before the procedure I was given a pill called "Bextra" that is used for either arthritis or menstral cramping. Once on the table, they used the scapula (sp? - the thing that holds you open so they can see). This was the most painful part of the whole procedure for me. I have a tilted cervix, so these always cause me bad pain, and for a LEEP they usually need to use larger ones than are used on you during a PAP. I'm thinking that for most people who don't have tilted cervix's that this wouldn't be painful, just uncomfortable.
They put a rubber strip thing on my leg - it was used to ground me since the LEEP is electrical.
The doctor then sprayed the area she would be working on with an anesthetic, then it was time for the numbing shot. I hate needles bad. (once passed out when my dog got blood taken!) She had me cough while she did it - great for distraction, and helps them do the shot faster. This did hurt. But this hurt WAY less for me than the biopsies I had done. And it numbed me fast.
I sat there waiting for her to start, seemed like she took forever. Then she said "I'm almost done". Wow - what a great shot she had given me - I felt nothing at all (except that awful scapula!).
That was it - it took about 30 minutes. I got up, a little shaky (my body was reacting, but still felt nothing). She told me the shot she gave would wear off within 3 hours. About an hour later I got some cramping, it got worse as the day went on, but was no worse than bad cramps I would get from my period. The shot she gave also made it so I wouldn't start bleeding for a little while. I started bleeding about an hour later, about the same amount with the biopsy. I was pooped, I went to bed early.
The next day I had mild cramping, and more discharge and bleeding. By the third day cramps were very minor. I'm still bleeding slightly, and I have a lot of discharge (and gross too - very very smelly). But I'll trade that for pain any day!
The results came back saying that there were no abnormalities, but my doctor believes that either she missed the areas that needed to be removed or else the lab results are wrong. I had severe dysplasia according to the biopsy and she didn't feel confident that she had removed everything during the biopsy. She does not trust these results, so chances are good I'll be having another LEEP done soon. Sigh.
So, the moral of the story is that a LEEP isn't as scary as it sounds. Not that I'd wanna go and do it tomorrow or anything, but don't stress too much about it - I've had more painful things done to me in doctor's offices. And again, I know everyone has different experiences.