Leep Procedure

Hi Everyone!

I had the LEEP procedure done back in August of this year (2007) and did my fair share of research as well on the causes and effects, etc. Found this site and was truly grateful.

One thing that is surprising is the number of folks on here who said they were awake. My GYN (male) didn't even provide that as an option! He said most folks don't like to "hear" nor "smell" the procedure being done. So, he always suggests in and out surgery. It was my first surgery ever and it was a piece of cake. I went through pre-op, was given anesthesia, and it was done without me knowing anything. I had no cramping and was back home in time for Oprah!

The discharge the weeks following (about 4 or so) was annoying, but not painful. I'm headed for my follow-up in December and pray all is still well. I had CIN 2 and it can progress quickly, so I'm staying as proactive as possible. So don't delay on any coposcopies or LEEPs your doctor wants to do.

My only problem now is that although I'm on birth control, my cycle seems to begin in a "spotting" fashion a few days before its scheduled time. I asked the nurse was that normal and she SAID it can be, but I'll be sure to ask my GYN.

Saying all this to say 1) if you're given the option for in and out surgery, TAKE IT; and 2) don't waste time thinking about such procedures if its suggested you have them. Time, in these instances, is not your friend! My mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1999 after only missing ONE pap test. She fought it best she could but lost her battle in 2003.

Like everyone, I was nervous at first and still am on some days, but keep a positive attitude. It's your best defense in situations like this. Because of all I saw my mom go through in her fight (hysterectomy, radiation, chemo, double ostomy), I'm not about to get weepy over what can be a simple procedure that can save lives.

Stay positive, ladies; stay beautiful; stay strong; stay prayerful; and be blessed! See your experience as a way to bless others with your knowledge; not as a burden you must carry. Hugs to all!

 

Oh thank God for Google and the warm statements of someone who can relate...

I also watched my mom go through everything you mentioned hysterectomy, radiation, chemo...finally I lost her when I was 14 she was only 42.  I am now 29 and have 2 children of my own and found out today that I need to have a LEEP procedure done and to put it lightly I'm scared to death.  I know and believe all of the positive vibes attract positive things but, right now all I'm picturing is them without me like I was without her.  The thing is, is I have CIN ll my mother had ovarian cancer, my great grandmother had breast...(Excuse the pitty party but, I need to vent).  My colposcopy came back with no signs of HPV.  As well as having to schedule a LEEP tomorrow morning I have to sign up for Genetic counseling.  The test we've all been hearing about over and over again on the radio and tv.  My doctor said nothing about being asleep during the procedure and I wish he had.  I will find out tomorrow.  My husband and I were just about to start trying for a 3rd child when this came up.  I pray there are no complications from this but, my doctor assured me that he had never heard of a woman not being able to carry a child after this.  He just had to go through all of the risks because they are in the paperwork. 

He also suggested I have a hysterectomy when we are finished completing our family.  I'm scared, reaching out and appreciating this message board and the words at the end of last message more than you could imagine.   

 

I had this procedure done three weeks ago and found it very traumatizing, so I understand your concerns. It is, unfortunately, the best american medicine has to offer. Although it is important to go through with it, I think it is more important for women to fight to have research money funneled into quickly creating a more efficient and reliably thorough medicine. STD's that effect men, such as gonhorrea and clymidia, have medicine, now. HPV should have had one created, by now. It is frightening to know something this dangerous is that common, and the only treatment available is to cut it off and hope for the best. This is unacceptable. It's time to fight for change!

 

In the meantime, bring somebody close to you into the doctor's office to hold your hand. I had mine done under general anesthesia, and it made a difference to awaken in recovery and have somebody there.

I had LEEP done a few weeks ago (no more than 3) and when I went to the doctor for my 1 week post op visit.  The dr. said everything went great, but I was VERY concerned with the discharge (sorry for the TMI).  I didn't know how to approach him about it because I have never had that problem.  I thought the smell was gross.  He could tell I was concerned by the look on my face and me asking how much longer would it last.  He came back in the room without me saying anything else about it with an antibiotic cream.  It's only one dose and it eliminated the odor and most of the discharge.  I am now spotting a little but I much rather have "normal" spotting than what was going on before.  I hope this helps.

I also had the leep procedure done dec 21st 2007. I want to tell everyone that it didn't hurt at all. I was also asleep for the procedure and it was a breeze!!! I agree the worst part is not knowing if they got it all. But we can all only think postive. I know its easier said than done. I had to wait at least a month between each procdure. My doctor hasnt even talked to me since the leep. She didn't tell me about the bleeding, the discharge or when I could have intercourse again. I am running a fever now and I'm not sure if its a cold or something more serious. Its the time of year for colds. Anyway keep your head up just remember your not alone.

 

Hi, my name is Katie and I was just told last Thursday that I have to have a leep procedure done and I am a little scared.   First of all I need to tell you how I found out about this in the first place.  I had an irregular pap and was told my doctor that I had to have a colposcopy done.  This would be my third time to have that procedure done and I was dreading it.  So I made the appointment for the end of November 2007.  When I called to make the appointment I found that the doctor who performed my last colposcopy no longer worked there so I had to see someone new.  Not real happy about that I did it anyway.  So I went in and had the colposcopy done and when it was over he said that the area of bad cells was larger than he had hoped but not any worse than the last time I had had it done.  So he told me that if the test came back alright usually they just have you get a pap in three months to see if it went away on it's own and that's that. Or because this was my third time having to have the colposcopy that he would probably just go in and freeze the area of bad cells and at last case do the leep procedure.  When I left the appointment he told me he would call me when the test results were in and it should be about a week.  After two weeks going by with no word I called the doctors office to see what was up.  He called me back later that day and said that the results weren't in yet and he would call me when they were.  I hung up the phone feeling he was brushing me off and seemed kind of annoyed that I called asking about them.  So another two weeks go by and still nothing.  My fiance every once in a while would ask me if I got my results back yet and I constantly had to say no.  My fiance and I are both the worry type so not having heard from my doctor was very unsettling.  So finally on Jan 3rd, over a month after my colposcopy I called the doctors office again but this time with a little more concern in my voice.  I told the lady that answered the call the it had been over a month and that the last time I called the doctor seemed bothered by the fact that I had called to check up on the results.  She gave him the message and he called me back a little bit later.  He said that I should have had the results back and he would put a "tag team" on it to find them and he would call me tomorrow.  Well he called the next day and said that a nurse had put my file in a hold cue because she thought they were waiting on one more thing.  So to me that sounds like he was passing the blame on someone else when he should have checked on it two weeks prior when I first called.  Anyway he called me back the next day and said that he was going to do a leep procedure because it showed bad cells still.  He gave no detail on how bad they were.  The only thing he did say was that they were nowhere near cancerous which I was glad to hear.  So now I find out that I have to have it done and it only took me a month to find out about it.  Can things get worse in that amount of time?

Hi everybody. After having read the what I perceived to be "scary" entries on this page (for the most part), I felt the need to respond myself. I just had a LEEP done yesterday. I was terrified about the procedure. A couple of weeks ago, I broke down in my boyfriend's arms.  The whole idea of it, and HPV in general, terrified me. In a midst of anger and resentment, all pointed towards myself, he helped me to give my perception of the procedure a full 360.  After realizing that I was in the care of one of the most fabulous doctors in the area, and after trusting that it was the best possible option for one in my position (diagnosed with both mid and high grade cells on the cervix), and after asking several questions regarding my future pregnancies (I am only 21), I was actually able to become positive about the procedure.

In truth, the needle probably scared me most. My doctor had promised that I would experience such little pain following the procedure that I would not need one Advil.  Because of information online, information given to me by my doctor, and information in the brochures I was given, along with questioning the nurses surrounding me prior to my surgery, I was completely unsure as to whether or not I would be receiving general or local anesthesia.  I figured either way would freak me out a little bit, be it an I.V. in my hand or a shot in my hip.  I had been asked to arrive at the surgical center (not hospital, so less serious to me, and thankfully so) by 7:15, and my procedure was scheduled for 8:00.  I was taken at 7:35 to finish insurance information, and was taken back for the I.V. that I found out I would be getting with "local max" anesthesia (where I was told to expect "grogginess" and an "in and out state") when we were done at about 8.  After becoming very warm and faint-like due to my own fear of needles following the start of the I.V., and after being visited by every professional under the sun from my doctor to nurses to the anesthesiologist, I was taken back for my procedure at 8:25.  My doctor held my hand (he told me he has a daughter my age), promised everything would be fine, made me giggle about something I cannot recall, and I was out.  Thirty minutes later they were finishing wheeling me into the recovery hall when I came to.  My procedure was finished, I was in no pain whatsoever, and I couldn't even fathom how I had possibly just had a procedure done.  Thankfully, I had been out the whole time.

I was anxious to leave, and I'd say it took another half hour only from that point until I was dressed and walking out of the surgical center.  I had been offered a wheelchair, but I declined due to my lack of pain and utterly refreshed feeling.  I still had my mom to drive me home.  Overall, she had been in the waiting room from 7:15 until 9:30 when we left.  A little over two hours is ridiculously fast for pre-op, op, and recovery, as one could imagine.

 Today, I have had the slightest amount of dried blood discharge, which was confirmed to be totally normal when the surgical center called to check in on my recovery today.  I think it's an overstatement to even call it such!  I have been pain-free since I woke up from surgery, and that is in no way an exaggeration.

You can see, then, the responsibility I felt in making this post. I figured the other entries might terrify someone considering having the LEEP done.  Certainly, every doctor will suggest or automatically practice something different, and that's why it's okay to shop around.  This particular doctor had been my second opinion in the first place.  Request that you be put to sleep, and obviously consider every option before deciding to go through with the LEEP.  Obviously it will be some time before I know for sure whether or not the procedure was successful, and maybe it wasn't.  All I know is that I feel better for making a healthy, responsible decision.  We're not all dealt a winning hand, but it's the decisions we make in the game of life that can still bring us out on top. 

 

 

I had this procedure done today.  I was a little worried going into the procedure exactly how it was going to be.  My doctor assured me that it was no worse than a colposcopy, and it wasn't.  The procedure was performed in my doctors office - I did not have to go to the hospital or anywhere.  It was just like going to a normal appointment.  I was awake for the procedure - I did not have the option of being put to sleep.  I walked into the doctors office at 8:30am and was out by 9:10am.  She walked me through the entire procedure and what she was doing.  The preparation took longer than the actual procedure itself!  There was some mild discomfort, but I didn't feel that it was any worse than a pap smear, just a little longer.  I have had a little of cramping today, but nothing that was extremely uncomfortable.  I'm supposed to hear back in a week regarding follow up actions that I will need to take.   I hope this helps for everyone out there!!!

Hi ladies,

I had this procedure done a couple days ago and it really wasn't that bad. Although I think the degree of discomfort and recovery varies depending on the individual case and how serious your condition is. I had a mild case of dysplasia (non-cancerous).

The procedure was performed in my doctor's office and I was administered a local anesthesia. Receiving the anesthesia was actually the scariest part of the whole experience because it makes your heart beat really fast and my body was also shaking a little from it. The procedure itself though was really quick! I only felt a little heat and pressure...but NO PAIN! My doc made me feel really comfortable throughout the entire process and kept checking on me to make sure I was doing alright, which was nice.

After the procedure I had some bleeding which was a little heavy at times...and some mild cramping. I didn't have to take any pain relievers though. I mostly have just spotting now but no cramps.

I am going for my post-op appointment in a few weeks and I will have another PAP test in about four months. Hopefully my next PAP will come back normal & I hope the same for all of you!

Was your doctor against putting you to sleep? I op for that but my mother is totally against it. I don't handle pain well and I think this is the best option. Could you please give me some advice?