The responses to the other question got me thinking. I'm on an every-three-years pap smear schedule. I'm 37, have given birth four times and have never had an abnormal test. After my last one, I was told to not worry about getting another for three more years. Does anyone else wait that long? A lot of the answers to that other question mention it as a yearly thing.
@TF sorry if this is a TMI question but did you get a full hysto? What the heck is he testing if you don't have a cervix?
I am 43 and have one done every year in the same month. I have a history of having a few abnormal pap smears, but have had a normal one for the last 7 years or so. I don't risk it. Annual mammogram/pap smear without fail.
I do it yearly so I can get my HRT patch!
I thought I'd get the every 3 yr deal after my hysterectomy but nope... he still insist on yearly. :(
After my MIL's diagnosis of ovarian cancer I'll be going every year regardless of what my doc suggests. Ovarian cancer is usually caught too late and the 5 year survival rate is extremely low.
I go every three years, just like you I have never had an abnormal pap and I am in my 30's. I was offered an HPV test and if that comes out negative having a pap every 5 years is sufficient. I declined the HPV test.
I happen to agree with recommendations that suggest that too much screening is counterproductive and can do more harm than good. I am also not planning to get any mammograms until I turn 50 (I am at low risk, no family history... yada, yada) and then only get them every two years unless there is actually a medical indication to get them more often.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for screenings and preventative medicine, I just happen to believe that we should look at the evidence when making and following recommendations. Studies have shown that there is NO additional benefit from pap screening for low risk patients if you go every year... quite the opposite you may be harmed by unnecessary interventions.
Everyone need to make those decisions for themselves based on their own health and history.
Good luck!
Every three years. I'm 38, given birth once, no abnormal tests. There's a new test out there that allows people with low risk factors to go three years... it's not just the same test, but doing it less frequently. I used to go every year but my OB said after my girls were born that the new test allowed it to be every three years. Just FYI.
We get them every year in Canada because that is what medicare covers.
I sell paps to physicians (the lab I work for does the testing) and I personally go every year because my Aetna PPO will pay for it. There is a trend now (ages >30) with gyno guidelines and insurance coverage if the patient has had a three consecutive normal paps they may move to the three year protocol. It is recommended every two years for women 21 - 29. This is not a new test, just new practices.
Women 30 and over (according to the guidelines) will also be tested for HPV at each pap. Women 21 - 29 will be tested for HPV if they have had abnormal cytology (this is called reflex testing).
Three years is the new protocol.
But since I had a precancerous condition once, and I have a crush on my gyn, I do it yearly. :)
Never had any problems, so every 3 years (give or take, and I'm a bit behind now actually).
I'm 43.
It's good to be proactive. On the other hand I think our society gets a bit too enthralled with some of these guidelines. It's almost a "feast or famine" thing. Either you are over the top with preventative health care, or completely careless. At least that's how it seems to me among my family and friends.
JMO.
I get them yearly regardless if they were normal,i'm at the age of getting them every 3 yrs. had 4 babies but I still will continue to get them yearly,in my opinion I want to catch it early at a treatable stage than wait that long to see if it comes back normal or abnormal 3 yrs to me is to long of a wait,plus my insurance pays for it so why not,it's yearly for me
Annually. I'm 38, one child 23mo.
I haven't had one since my endometrial ablation six years ago.
Exactly what Christine W said is what I was told by my PCP.
I get one every year; I'm 42.
ETA: I've had two abnormal paps; one required surgery to remove cells.
I go every year, because that's what my GYN recommends. My insurance pays for it, so I really have no excuse to to follow my doctor's recommendation. I suppose if I didn't have insurance I might have a discussion with her about what would be the safest/least expensive way to stay healthy.
I'm supposed to get them done yearly.
I have HPV. :( Or at least I did before my youngest was born.
They've been bugging me to get tested again now because my last pap was abnormal. I may have cervical cancer. :(
Per my age group and pap history, I am recommended to receive one every three years. I went fairly recently, and before then it had been three and a half (solid) years.
My wonderfully assertive doctors do a pap every year and a mammogram every year. They just want the data every year and so do I. I know many recommendations now are saying every three years for pap and less than annually for mammograms but I think I'd get very nervous waiting that long. As long as insurance pays for it I'll do both annually -- and if insurance stops, I might just pay for at least the pap each year.
They say you should go yearly. But I have not. And because I didn't go yearly for like 7 years I had a cyst for a long time that could have been taken out a lot sooner than it was. I try to go once a year now!
I've gone annually since I started going...and I'm 40 now! Just what I was always told I guess. I've never had an abnormal, but I have good insurance that pays for annual check ups, so why not!? I also get a Mammo every 2 yrs. Again, good insurance helps. I guess it's all in how comfortable and "normal" you are! :)
