On Cervixes, And Mine In Particular

I always thought I had a pretty good idea of what’s going on in my lower abdominal region. The Netherlands have very decent sex education so I’ve known quite a bit about the anatomy of my reproductive organs since my early teens, but I had no idea how much I still had to learn until I went off hormonal contraceptives a little over a year ago. Deciding to stop using the NuvaRing meant changes were about to happen in my body, and I wanted to know what I could expect. When I started doing a bit of research and talking about my decision online, I came across more and more information and ultimately purchased Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. That book taught me everything about exactly how ovulation works, all the hormonal changes involved, everything that can go wrong in the female reproductive organs, and how to properly keep track of what’s going on down there. It also contains a list of symptoms you really shouldn’t ignore when you start to experience them. 

There are many conditions your reproductive organs can go through. Some are pretty common, some are more rare, some are harmless and some can be dangerous. In any case, when in doubt, it’s good to get a professional’s opinion on whatever it is you’re experiencing. Since going off hormonal contraception I experienced many changes that you can read all about in the updates I wrote on the topic. Most of these were clearly just my body adjusting to regulating menstruation on its own again, but there were some little things I found a bit worrisome. My biggest “issue” was spotting, bleeding outside of menstruation. As this can be a sign of some pretty serious conditions like STI’s or early stages of cancer, I decided to have it checked out even though I was fairly certain I didn’t have either of those two conditions. I booked an appointment with the doctor and the first step was to get me a pap smear: a test that checks a sample of cervical cells for abnormalities.

The recommended age for starting regular pap smears varies from country to country. In the Netherlands the letter that invites you to come for a screening arrives when you hit age 30, which is pretty late in my opinion. Anyway, that does mean I’d never had a pap smear yet, and I have to admit I was pretty nervous about it. It’s often made out to be this big, uncomfortable thing and it was something I had been dreading ever since I knew I’d have to do it at some point. Now let me tell you, guys… It was incredibly underwhelming. Of course this will vary from woman to woman and discomfort isn’t something you can really compare, but it was SO much less uncomfortable than I was expecting. As someone who had been using a NuvaRing and menstrual cup for several years, the feeling of the speculum getting inserted wasn’t as foreign as it might be for some. I didn’t find the procedure painful in the slightest, and it was over before I knew it.

Luckily for me the results came back negative (which is positive), no abnormal cells were found. This did mean we had to look elsewhere for the source of my spotting and I was sent to see a gynecologist. Another first-time thing. 
The gynecologist was quickly able to tell my spotting comes from a harmless condition that’s brought on by hormonal changes, doesn’t affect anything medically and doesn’t require treatment.

I was very relieved of course, to hear that everything’s ok and to be assured that I don’t unknowingly suffer from anything that needs medical treatment. The whole process of finding the cause of my symptoms did however open my eyes to what gynecological examination is like, and greatly decrease the barrier I always felt towards getting those examinations. According to my gynecologist’s website, 75% of women get a positive pap smear with at least a few abnormal cells in the course of their life. Usually that’s not a problem and the body will clear the cells and the HPV virus that causes them on its own, but sometimes further treatment is required and in that case it’s always good to catch it early. 

How often you’re recommended to get a pap test also varies from country to country, generally it’s every 3-5 years. The standard over here is once every five years, and since I’m now 25, I should be good until my invitation letter comes. When it does come, you can bet I’ll book an appointment to get checked out again. I’d like to strongly encourage all uterus and cervix owners to get regular checkups too, and especially when you notice something’s off. 

Now that I know my reproductive organs are alright, and since my period is getting more and more regular and seems to be settling into a pattern, I think this will be the last of my post-hormonal-contraceptive-updates for the time being. I’m still happy with the decision I’ve made, although I have to say it hasn’t impacted my life much. Which might actually be a good thing. It feels good to know my body’s doing its own thing, and that everything’s functioning the way it’s supposed to (as far as I can tell now). 
As always, I’d love to read any thoughts you have to share on this topic in the comments below. Feel free to do so anonymously!