Abnormal lab results...

[catnapper]

As part of the normal exam the dr. did on Ashley, they did a pap smear. THREE WEEKS LATER, they called us today to say the results came back with "abnormal A cells". and now we have to wait another full 2 weeks to go for further testing.

Those of you who have had babies, is this normal.... can the pregnancy throw off the "A cell" reading? Are they just being overly cautious with something that is fairly common or is this something to really stress about?

Now all I'm going to do is worry for the next two weeks.

[king2005]

sorry to hear that. Hopefully its nothing to worry about, fingers crossed.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Try not to worry - pregnancy does very odd things to you

[moosmom]

Kim,

I don't think it's anything to worry about. If it was, the doctor would've had the re-test done right away as opposed to putting it off. Hormones do strange things, and that includes an abnormal reading.

Take a deep breathe. It'll be okay, HONEST!

[Glacier]

Has she had paps before? For some women, myself included, an "abnormal" result is actually normal. I've never had a normal pap in my life, never will. If it changes from what is normal for me, then my doc would be concerned. I had paps every three months for a couple years, just to make sure. Now I go every six months. I have some issues & potential issues due to prenatal exposure to DES that require closer monitoring. That's why I can't go once a year, not related to my pap results.

[Vela]

She probably has early mild dysplasia, which is nothing to really worry about. It becomes worrisome if it develops into high-grade dysplasia, which is precanerous and often caused by HPV. This isn't always the cause though, sometimes it just happens. Did they do a biopsy for HPV or are they going to wait until after the birth? Also, there is a tremendous variation between labs on how many Pap smears come back and with what reading. Some labs will be very liberal in calling normal variations "atypical," which causes women to worry needlessly. Other labs have stricter criteria for this classification. It's probably nothing to worry about if it's low-grade. I have often done charts on patients who have an abnoraml Pap and the next one comes back with perfectly normal results. I wouldn't worry unless they tell you it's high-grade.

[JenBKR]

((((hugs)))) I know that something else to worry about is the last thing you need right now. How frustrating this must be for you! I agree with what everyone else said, i would think that if it was serious the doctor would want her to come in right away. Try not to worry too much, and you don't want Ashley to get stressed either.

[Cataholic]

WAH! Dern doctors!! I would go with Moosmom's explanation, really.

As hard as it is....don't worry too much. But, I think a few more belly shots are in order!!!

[My Peanuts]

I don't know much about pregnancy and abnormal results, but I've heard of abnormal results for other reasons. Maybe you should look up HPV. I've had a couple friends that had it and as long as it's not the cancer causing strain (rare) then it's no big deal.

[My Peanuts]

I just realized Vela said what I said. Sorry for saying it again.

[*JTM*Coco*pi*Caramel*]

I would agree with moosmom, if it was really something to worry about they wouldnt have you waiting! I know it is hard not to worry but try and many hugs coming from the cats and I

[Vela]

Just to clear things up, they do make you wait several weeks, even with high-grade changes. Even if it's high grade and "scary" it isn't going to develop into anything directly serious or anything else in that time period. I had a friend who had high-grade dysplasia during her first pregnancy. They didn't do anything about it, just kept checking it, through the entire remianing 5 months of pregnancy. After she had the baby they took care of it with cryotherapy and she just had her second baby. Her's was the HPV type though (yes gross but it's genital warts and can pop up even if no warts every do). It's not cancer, just changes in the cells on the surface of the cervix. It can develop into cancer if left untreated (when it is high-grade) at all but is nothing to worry about, even if high-grade (which her's isn't) at this time. They will just have her come back in for checks every three months for a while then every six and then a year and unless it changes or becomes high-grade they won't do anything about it. Somtimes, like Glacier said, some people just have "odd" cervical cells and it always comes back abnormal. It's really not a big deal since it's mild. So you really don't need to worry. Another thing, the pregnancy itself won't necessarily cause the cells to change, sometimes it happens even in women who are never pregnant or even sexually active.