Can anyone give me a personal perspective on what to expect from a LEEP procedure?
I had a bout with cervical dysplasia about six years ago and my doctor talked to me about LEEP then (actually, he scared me about LEEP, but that's beside the point.) After a colposcopy showed that it was very mild, my doctor and I opted for a wait and see approach instead. It cleared up on it's own and I've had a long run of negative Paps since then. So, I was surprised with an abnormal one a few weeks ago. I had a colpo and a biopsy on Monday and this morning my new doctor said she recommends LEEP. Since this is my second go-round with dysplasia, I'm opting for treatment this time.
I have the information sheet from the doctor so I know the basics about how it works and what the recovery is meant to be like, but I'd like to hear from women who have actually had it done. Was it painful? Did you have much in the way of side effects? How long did they last? Any advice?
2006-10-27T10:52:30Z
I'd particularly like to hear from women who got pregnant after LEEP. My doctor assures me that it won't interfere with my plans to start trying to conceive early next year. But again, a personal perspective from someone who's been there would be helpful.
Thanks!
Anonymous2006-10-27T13:22:04Z
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Hi there. I had a leep procedure done yesterday. My first abnormal pap results came back in August. Since then it's been a rollercoaster ride for my emotions. I could have waited 3-6 months to take another pap or I could take the hpv test. I'm not much for waiting so I took the hpv test. To my disappointment my results were positive for a high risk strand. So next was the colposcopy w/ biopsy. Now the colposcopy wasn't painful to me. I hope you share the same feelings. We all have different tollerences to pain. Anyway, I found out just a few weeks ago that I have cinII or also known as moderate dysplasia. Because I knew very little about all of this and it's effects on cervical cancer, I decided to do tons of researching. I've found all kinds of stuff on the web. But they all pretty much discuss roughly the same thing. The day before my procedure I did just a little bit more researching and found a site that actually rated the pain that women felt. On a scale from 1-10(10being the most extreme), most women said 2. This helped ease my mind a little. The crazy thing was that I had no real anxieties until I walked into the procedure room yesterday. That's when the reality hit. So, about the procedure....the worst part for me was an emotional one and not a physical one. As far as physical pain, I would have said probably a 2 as well. The speculum was more uncomfortable than usual because they are opening you a little wider. And the numbing of my cervix was uncomfortable. That was the longest part aside from their prep time(the actual leep only takes about 10 min.). From the time I was called into my room until the time I walked out was about an hour. The emotional discomfort started when they started the leep. It's kinda noisy because they have a vaccuum in there to suck up the ashes(which is from the wire loop going over your cervix), once it started a million things ran into my mind.....What if I still feel it? How long will it really take? Please don't let there be any pain. I kinda siked myself out for a minute. All I wanted was my husband. It was ONLY at that point that was rough for me. You would think that the numbing would be the worst, but it wasn't. Well I never felt any pain during the leep and it was over pretty quickly I thought. When everyone left and it was time for me to get dressed...that's when I experienced what's called Phsycosis( think) something...which could cause dizziness and to possibly even faint. Well when I bent down to put my jeans on.....it hit me. Cold sweat...and that tunnel vision. Luckily I made it to the bed and started fanning myself to cool off. I told myself Don't pass out! I knocked on the wall so someone would come back in(remember they left so I could change). Once my nurse heard me...she came in, gave me some cool towels and something to drink. She also brought my husband in. That was my RELIEF. The dizziness only lasted a few minutes and I finally regained my strength. I think part of my problem there was because I didn't eat well enough before. Make sure you eat a healthy size meal before and that should help eliminate this. My blood sugar dropped pretty low and that's what caused it. Once we left, I took 2 ibuprofrin for the mild pain I was feeling. I felt light cramping. WHen I got home, I ate a good meal and took 1 hydrocodone. I was fine for the rest of the day.(a little sleepy, but that was it). I had some light yellow discharge too. No blood or anything. Today...I feel fine. The discharge is gone for now and I have 0 pain. So for the most part evrything went fine. I think having a doctor you reaaly like is a key factor too. Mine was great. She was good about telling me what she was doing and what feelings I might experience. She was always asking how I was doing? Big key factors I think because it prepared me better. It's a procedure you will never forget, but it was quick, virtually painless, a little emotional trauma, but it was all worth it. They removed everything that was infected and the chances of it ever evadinor coming back as cervical cancer are slim and none. So I suggest going for it and as far as being able to conceive you shouldn't have any problems if all goes well. Only like 2% of women experience problems from a leep. Keep your head up and maybe have them play some music while your in there. It made the World of a difference. Good luck to you! Hopefully you'll post to us your news.
RE: Can anyone give me a personal perspective on what to expect from a LEEP procedure? I had a bout with cervical dysplasia about six years ago and my doctor talked to me about LEEP then (actually, he scared me about LEEP, but that's beside the point.) After a colposcopy showed that it was very mild, my doctor and I opted for a wait and see approach instead. It cleared up on...
i had to have the Leep procure done about 4 yrs ago. it was not all that bad. It hurt for a short amount of time but after that i had trouble cramps(the ones where ou want to just cry about) the next day i was well enough to go to school, with only a small amount of pain.(the should give you something for the pain and the should numb the part where the scrape)