Leep-2Nd Opinion Help

Can anyone please tell me the proper procedure for getting a 2nd opinion.  I had an abnormal pap in april...a colposcopy and another abnormal pap in June.  The results of my colposcopy showed "scant minute detached squamous fragments w/ atypical features consistent w/ high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion...these fragments are minute and detached which hampers for evaluation for grade but the findings are consistent w/ high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion".  Goes on to say part of surface is eroded but features are consistent w/ CIN-II or CIN-III.  Well....I am scared ot going into this LEEP procedure.  This is my 1st abnormal pap...and I had to call my dr's office to get my colposcopy results..talked w/ the nurse who then told me the dr wanted to perform LEEP.  I was nervous and scared so I made the appt.  Then I came across this website...and all the stories..so I cancelled the appt, made a consultation appt w/ him (which I think he should have wanted to make one b4 throwing this LEEP stuff my way).  In the meantime, I am seriously considering getting a 2nd opinion.  My question is - I have my lab reports (obviously from above description), do I need to just have a consultation w/ new dr and have her review the records, or make an appt for another pap or colposcopy?  I am confused and frightened.  Please advise.

I am so glad you got your lab reports! Contact your primary care physician, today, (or as soon as the pcp's office is open, tomorrow morning) and get a referral. Tell the new office your case is urgent, and the doctor will make room for you. Since you have your medical records, it will be very quick for you to even fax them to the new doc's office. I did that when I learned my first doctor was planning to do a cone biopsy while I was under general anesthesia without telling me. The only reason I even found out is because her assistant let it slip. I had LGSIL with focal HGSIL in two quadrants or less. When I demanded an explanation, the doctor wouldn't give me one. So, I immediately got a referral to a different doctor. I saw the doctor the next week. After I finally saw the lab report, I realized there was no dysplasia in the endocervical canal, and there certainly wasn't any glandular involvement. What she was going to do would have been malpractice. By all means, get a second opinion. But from the sounds of it, I think you should just get a new doctor.

Out of curiosity, did your doctor discuss the alternatives to LEEP before scheduling it for you? According to the medical guides I have been reading about LEEP, one of the requirements is to tell you about the alternatives. Never trust a doctor who tells you there is only treatment option available. They all have the same success rate, although cryosurgery is not very successful for more extensive cases of dysplasia. But what you have will determine which would be best for you. The new doctor should go over all of that with you. It's a requirement.

Something to keep in mind is that LEEP is inexpensive, so insurance companies like doctors pushing it on women. It's neither the best nor the worst choice. It's just another option with risks, benefits, and the same success rate. For some women, it's the best choice. For other women, one of the other treatment choices are the best. It all depends on what a woman has and what kind of body she has.

Regardless of what you choose to do, if you are that frightened, consider having it done under general anesthesia or with an IV drip with a sedative for in office. A lot of women have done that, myself included, and it makes it much easier to get through. There are always risks with doing that, but there are definitely risks with a frightened patient. Do what is best for your body, your health, and your comfort level and not what is convenient for the insurance company or your doctor. Your body is too valuable and deserves the very best!

I'm going to give you some websites. Not only are they informative about treatment options, but if you follow the website links, you'll also get information about dysplasia itself.

http://www.gynalternatives.com/cervical_dysplasia_treatment.

This is older, but it's still one of my favorites because it's very concise.

http://www.mjbovo.com/Women/DysplasiaRx.htm

And here are some others.

http://www.imaginis.com/cervical-cancer/treatment.asp

http://adam.about.com/reports/000046_7.htm

http://www.jotrust.co.uk/about_cervical_cancer/cin__pre_canc

I hope this helps you! And I hope all of this turns out well for you.

After reading your story I wanted to share mines with you. 

In January of 2008 I had my yearly pap smear test and my test came back positive for HPV. My doctor then told me I needed to get a Colposcopy test. My results came back positive for CIN II. My doctor then recommended I have a LEEP and some Laser treatment to kill the abnormal cells. I scheduled the procedure but I started to research more about CIN II. I started with one website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_papillomavirus ) and I focused more on the nutrition part. I read about all the different vitamins the body might be significantly deficient. Eventually I came across another website that made me question the procedure even more (http://www.pap101.com ). I realized I didn't need much convincing on NOT wanting to have the procedure done. I read about some doctors prescribing natural ways to deal with CIN II and CIN III. I decided to schedule a consultation with my doctor because now I had many questions. I brough up the article where I read what vitamins I could take that would take away the CIN II. I remember my doctor telling me that if I wanted to try and re-test in 3-4 months that we could, but that it was not reccomended for someone in that stage. She also said she did not believe that it would go away but that it was my decision to make. I decided I would wait and re-test. I followed what the article said. I started taking Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, folic acid and even some CoQ10(I read in the wikipedia that women with CIN had lower levels of CoQ10 in their blood). I wanted to try anything I could to prevent from having to get the LEEP done. I rescheduled my pap and colposcopy for 4 months later. It has been 6 months since this all started and I went to get my results today and everything has come out NEGATIVE. I was so happy I just wanted to get out of the office and start dancing. My doctor said, "Whatever you were doing, keep on doing it". I didn't rub it in her face and I don't even feel is her fault. She was following what doctors use as a guideline on what to do for women who get CIN II. Now I just have to go back in 4 months to retest. My boyfriend was so upset, he told me I need to share this information with other women. So here I am telling you all my story because there may be someone out there that is not ready to get this procedure done, like myself, and wants to try something else. I don't know if it was the vitamins or something else but my tests results are clear and I hope the same happens to someone else who wants to try this out.

The thought of having to have the LEEP done was very scary for me and I had it stuck in my head that I would not go through this procedure no matter what my doctor said. I am so glad that I didn't have to go through it.

Good luck!