# The dreaded annual gyno appointment.



## sbetsy (Jan 21, 2006)

I had my annual girly-doctor appointment today and I feel all horrible now. The nurse-practitioner lady was nice and mom-like and the office had friendly signs that said things like "Vaginas are cool" and "Hey, the gyno college called and said that the pabst beer was fine - I thought you didn't like beer?" and nothing traumatic happened unless you count having to take off your clothes in front of a total stranger and having them feel you up and then insert some scary metal thing into your you-know-what and then poke around in you. Then I came home and hugged my dog a lot and then I took a shower and cried and then sat on my bed for hours. My boyfriend came over but I didn't want to go out and we just ordered delivery and stayed at home. Grown-ups have these exams all the time and I've had them (almost) every year since I was like 16 (and I'm 29 now) - why do I always feel so wretched afterwards? I think I used to be so much better with it than I am now.


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## Peaches (Jan 21, 2006)

Vaginas are cool! *schoolgirl giggle*

I've never had one, so I cant really comment. I'm partially terrified, and partially lazy. 

What do you think is making you feel wretched? Do you feel you're being 'invaded'? You just need to tell yourself its a perfectly normal thing and without it, alot worse things could happen!


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## sbetsy (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Peaches* 
_Vaginas are cool! *schoolgirl giggle*

I've never had one, so I cant really comment. I'm partially terrified, and partially lazy. 

What do you think is making you feel wretched? Do you feel you're being 'invaded'? You just need to tell yourself its a perfectly normal thing and without it, alot worse things could happen!_

 
Yeah, that made me giggle. 

I guess that must be it. Even though the actual exam doesn't take that long, I worry about it all day (or week) before I go. They can be super nice but I still feel, like you said, "invaded" in some way. But you are right - it is normal to go and bad things could happen if I didn't go. I try to think about women a couple of hundred years ago, dying of cancer because the medical profession didn't know how to take care of them, or even women just 50 years ago, who might not have had the option of having a female gynecologist/nurse practitioner and had to go to a man.


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## lovemichelle (Jan 21, 2006)

i hate going too. i started at 15. i haven't been in a like 2 years though. the lady i have is an asshole and there isn't anyone else around here yet that i've found.


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## caffn8me (Jan 21, 2006)

To be honest most gynaecologists are _still_ men which I cannot really understand (even having been at medical school myself where we had a 50/50 male-female intake)


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## caffn8me (Jan 21, 2006)

Here's one for you.  My sister's mother-in-law is not too bright.  She had seen on the news that there were as a scare involving false negatives in pap smear tests and there had also been quite a rise in the incidence of cervical cancer.  She rang up my sister's husband and told him to go to the doctor to see if _he_ had "caught" cervical cancer as there was a lot of it about


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## caffn8me (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Peaches* 
_Vaginas are cool! *schoolgirl giggle*

I've never had one, so I cant really comment._

 
You _might_ want to consider rephrasing that just a little or have you got something you want to tell us?


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## Corvs Queen (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *caffn8me* 
_You might want to consider rephrasing that just a little or have you got something you want to tell us?  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 





 HA! HA!

That's too funny.


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## Miss Pumpkin (Jan 21, 2006)

My gyno is pretty cool. At first I was a bit worried and stuff but he's a really nice man and makes everything really relaxed and professional.


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## moonrevel (Jan 21, 2006)

I definitely don't like going to the gynocologist.  I've been to several and finally found one that I like.  I know it's completely medical and professional, but it is a sort of weird experience, and it does make me feel kind of vulnerable and violated.  I mean, come on, you're almost completely naked except for a little gown and a blanket, lying on your back with your feet in stirrups while some stranger pokes around inside you saying things like, "Your uterus feels just fine!"  

And could they have possibly come up with an uglier name for a test than "pap smear"?


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## litlaur (Jan 21, 2006)

Last year was terrible for me. I kept getting abnormal Pap results, so I had several gyno appointments while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me. I got tested for every STD they had a test for! They couldn't figure it out, but my symptoms cleared up.

I don't mind the yearly visit, though. I have a male doctor, but he's absolutely wonderful. Even for just regular visits, he makes patients feel comfortable. But he also has a very good female assistant who I see when I can't make an appointment with him.


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## turtle_pixie_ (Jan 21, 2006)

Meh I'm too scared to go, creeps me out and makes me feel all shivery.


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## pumpkincat210 (Jan 21, 2006)

Scoot to the front of the table. aah man.  I have 3 kids.  It doesn't bother me anymore because I feel like 985794759 have seen me and prodded around in there.  Lets see you go once a month when you are pregnant and during the last month of pregnancy you go in weekly for exams.. and when you have the baby.. hey its open house.
Anyways I definately go to women doctors. They also have smaller hands than men. The guys seem like pervs to me.


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## beckasings (Jan 21, 2006)

Ugh, I was having really horrible stomach pains a few years ago and I had to go to the emergeny room and I had this *very* cute doctor... and of course, the first thing he did to find out what was wrong with me was a pelvic exam and a rectal exam! *cringe* The hot doctor's fingers went where no fingers had gone before...!


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## sbetsy (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *lovemichelle* 
_i hate going too. i started at 15. i haven't been in a like 2 years though. the lady i have is an asshole and there isn't anyone else around here yet that i've found._

 
That's what happened to me!!! I hadn't been in 2.5 years. I had this sorta incident (this is embarassing)... I had a -gasp- threesome! And then I had some yucky ictching. I went to the clinic and she asked how many sexual partners I had in the last month and I said "2, but they were at the same time?" and she starting lecturing me and making me feel like a horrible slut. I didn't have sex again for 6 months.


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## docmaria (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *sbetsy* 
_That's what happened to me!!! I hadn't been in 2.5 years. I had this sorta incident (this is embarassing)... I had a -gasp- threesome! And then I had some yucky ictching. I went to the clinic and she asked how many sexual partners I had in the last month and I said "2, but they were at the same time?" and she starting lecturing me and making me feel like a horrible slut. I didn't have sex again for 6 months._

 
Oh no - that's terrible. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I know, work with and have personally seen some unbelievably judgemental doctors and I strive to avoid the same attitude.  I just give advice about condoms - hope it doesn't sound like a lecture though.

I'm a gynaecologist myself and it's difficult but helpful for me to read this thread.  Sorry everyone. <group hug>

As for Pap smear being an ugly term - they could have used his whole name and called it a Papanicolaou smear instead!


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## docmaria (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *pumpkincat210* 
_Anyways I definately go to women doctors. They also have smaller hands than men. The guys seem like pervs to me._

 
Bahahahahahaharrrr!

Totally agree on the smaller hands thing - some of the men I work with are 7 foot tall and have hands to match. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Whenever I think that my male colleagues are pervs, I think to myself - well what the heck am I, then?


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## lovejam (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *pumpkincat210* 
_It doesn't bother me anymore because I feel like 985794759 have seen me and prodded around in there.  Lets see you go once a month when you are pregnant and during the last month of pregnancy you go in weekly for exams.. and when you have the baby.. hey its open house._

 
I hear that! Nothing at the gyno bothers or embarasses me anymore. And ho lordy, when I had the baby, it seems like damn-near everyone saw my bajingo.


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## sbetsy (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *lovejam* 
_I hear that! Nothing at the gyno bothers or embarasses me anymore. And ho lordy, when I had the baby, it seems like damn-near everyone saw my bajingo. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 
You guys are making me laugh! A friend of mine had her first baby with a million doctors and hated it. She had her next two at home.


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## moonrevel (Jan 21, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *docmaria* 
_As for Pap smear being an ugly term - they could have used his whole name and called it a Papanicolaou smear instead!_

 
Hahah, but it's the "smear" part that bothers me.


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## Pink_minx (Jan 21, 2006)

Thats funny how they have those signs like that.  I should be getting mine sometime this year eh! Its hard trying to relax having that thing inside you and you are all like "open" you know ehh.  Well my doctor is a lady so im more comfortable having a lady doctor.


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## IslandGirl77 (Jan 21, 2006)

Man, everytime I go to the gyno they always comment on my shoes. Oooh I love your shoes where did you get those! LOL I'm thinking that this is just to wierd and uncomfortable. The last check up I got the Dr. was talking about my make-up. Then during the exam she tells the nurse to look at my make-up! And was like it's so nice, I wish I knew how to do my make-up like that. I just want them to hurry up and get it over with. I suppose they do that to try and take away some of the tension. Worse of all though, this one time the Dr. had a intern in the room with us. She was like he's just here to watch. Next thing I know, she's handing him the speculum and telling him to do my exam!!!!!! I was like WTF!!! Man I hate those visits. I always feel uncomfortable.


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## tayliah (Jan 22, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *pumpkincat210* 
_Scoot to the front of the table. aah man.  I have 3 kids.  It doesn't bother me anymore because I feel like 985794759 have seen me and prodded around in there.  Lets see you go once a month when you are pregnant and during the last month of pregnancy you go in weekly for exams.. and when you have the baby.. hey its open house.
Anyways I definately go to women doctors. They also have smaller hands than men. The guys seem like pervs to me._

 

i had a baby too so i am feeling you on that part.  i actually had to go a lot more because i was high risk.  it doesnt even bother me to go anymore after living through that...LOL


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## joytheobscure (Jan 22, 2006)

I haven't went since 2001 (third child) every time I go to the gen. clinic I get told I should make an apt. at the women's clinic.   I'm worried about my lungs working... not about paps...  I'm sorry you are uncomfortable, I dont like going I'd go for pregnancy thats about it.   My current medical trauma is I'm finally getting all my teeth worked on.


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## caffn8me (Jan 22, 2006)

This might sound a little extreme but if anyone really has serious anxiety about visiting the gynaecologist they might speak to their regular physician first and get a prescription for an anxiolytic drug such as diazepam to calm their nerves.  It's often given orally prior to minor procedures.  In extreme cases an intravenous injection of midazolam may be indicated as it causes something called retrograde amnesia - the patient loses their memory of events for a few minutes after the injection _and_ the few minutes before.


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## blueyedlady87 (Jan 22, 2006)

I hate it. I'll never get used to it. I will only see a girl. I think my fear stems back to me being molested when I was younger. So it brings back memories of that, having a stranger poking around and stuff. I only go b/c its a requirement to get my birth control pills. Otherwise, I wouldn't. Anyways, I totally know what your going through.


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## MisStarrlight (Jan 22, 2006)

Gah!  I just went to mine yesterday.  I refuse to go to a male dr-not even a regular doctor.  the fact that my dentist is a male kinda bothers me, even.
The first time I went I was away at college...freshmen year, no car to go off campus, 6 hours from home & barely 18...and they only had one crotch dr...and of course, it was some old dude with facial hair (hasn't it been proven that people don't trust guys w/ facial hair?)
I nearly had a panic attack right there in the little room.

Since then I've had about 12,000 abnormal pap smears, the clippies, the freezies, the burnies. (Biopsy, colposcopy & the lazer thing) so I've gotten pretty used to it all.  But you can be sure as hell that I've switch to a female doctor when all that started happening.


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## AlliSwan (Jan 22, 2006)

I remember being pretty damn nervouse about going the first time, but it's just part of life and it ended up being NOTHING. I did really like my gyno, though, but then she retired last year grrr....I ended up going to see my mom's gyno, a man she'd been going to since before she was pregnant with me! Even though I always swore I would NEVER go to a man, he's awesome. There's always a female nurse in the room with him (some b*tch tried to sue him, saying he violated her, and he was more than willing to go to court to prove his innocence and integrity and she dropped it bc she was lying anyway), and he's very soothing, very understanding, just in general a great guy. Of course, I'm really not shy about much of anything, so....maybe I'm not the best one for a pep talk! 

But yeah, it's not crazy to ask them about anxiety and perhaps getting a mild anxiety treatment/pill (um...I took a tiny shard of a xanax before my piercing and each of my tattoos) before the exam. Just find a doc you trust before getting on the table. It's over SO quickly!

Just please promise me you won't be like this girl I grew up with (but don't talk to anymore). She's 22 and has never been to a gyno and is DEFINITELY sexually active. Her mother is a NURSE. WTF!!??!


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## Peaches (Jan 22, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Corv's Queen* 
_






 HA! HA!

That's too funny._

 
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. OMG hahahahahah. 


Can't stop laughing!




I have a lovely vagina.


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## sbetsy (Jan 22, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *caffn8me* 
_Here's one for you.  My sister's mother-in-law is not too bright.  She had seen on the news that there were as a scare involving false negatives in pap smear tests and there had also been quite a rise in the incidence of cervical cancer.  She rang up my sister's husband and told him to go to the doctor to see if he had "caught" cervical cancer as there was a lot of it about 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 
Nice! Hey, thanks for your caring comments. You know, my current nurse practitioner was really, really nice and professional and yet it was still creepy. It's just a tough situation for some of us gals, but we do appreciate kindness from our doctors


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## sbetsy (Jan 22, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *barbie_doll_713* 
_I hate it. I'll never get used to it. I will only see a girl. I think my fear stems back to me being molested when I was younger. So it brings back memories of that, having a stranger poking around and stuff. I only go b/c its a requirement to get my birth control pills. Otherwise, I wouldn't. Anyways, I totally know what your going through._

 

That makes sense. I'm sorry that you had that experience - I've got something similar in my past too. Maybe that's it. Hhhmpfh.


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## Beauty Marked (Jan 22, 2006)

i went bc i have horrible cramps...they sometimes come with fevers... in highschool i always had to go to the nurse and she knew me by name and knew why i was there...so i went to see if i could go on birthcontrol bc i heard that helps regulate periods and relieve cramps...exactly what i needed... since i was on my period at the time the only thing he did was check my breasts...he had the coldest hands ever... and then i was all nervous bc he was feeling up on me... and he was like "you have beautiful breasts" i was like wtf? and i never went again...i think i'll stick to midol thanks.


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## sbetsy (Jan 23, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Beauty Marked* 
_i went bc i have horrible cramps...they sometimes come with fevers... in highschool i always had to go to the nurse and she knew me by name and knew why i was there...so i went to see if i could go on birthcontrol bc i heard that helps regulate periods and relieve cramps...exactly what i needed... since i was on my period at the time the only thing he did was check my breasts...he had the coldest hands ever... and then i was all nervous bc he was feeling up on me... and he was like "you have beautiful breasts" i was like wtf? and i never went again...i think i'll stick to midol thanks._

 
CREEPY! That's horrible. I'm so so sorry.


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## caffn8me (Jan 23, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Beauty Marked* 
_the only thing he did was check my breasts...he had the coldest hands ever... and then i was all nervous bc he was feeling up on me... and he was like "you have beautiful breasts" i was like wtf? and i never went again...i think i'll stick to midol thanks._

 
That is almost certainly what medical students sometimes call a TUBE - a Totally Unnecessary Breast Examination.  It may amount to gross professional misconduct in your situation and quite possibly assault.  You should report it even if that was years ago.  That's horrible.


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## blueyedlady87 (Jan 23, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *sbetsy* 
_That makes sense. I'm sorry that you had that experience - I've got something similar in my past too. Maybe that's it. Hhhmpfh. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 
Thankx so much. I'm sorry to hear it happened to you too. My parents wrote it off as "They were both kids" and i was like, 'he was 16, i was 9. wtf?' i had to get on the pill, my cramps were so killer I could barely get out of bed.


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## jmdulock (Jan 23, 2006)

I don't think anyone "likes" going. I deal with it cuz it's 10 minutes once a year. My gyno won't refill my bc prescription unless I go so I HAVE to.


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## sbetsy (Jan 23, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *barbie_doll_713* 
_Thankx so much. I'm sorry to hear it happened to you too. My parents wrote it off as "They were both kids" and i was like, 'he was 16, i was 9. wtf?' i had to get on the pill, my cramps were so killer I could barely get out of bed._

 

That sucks. I wish that it was more rare than it is, but I bet most of us have something sketchy in our pasts.


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## Beauty Marked (Jan 24, 2006)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *caffn8me* 
_That is almost certainly what medical students sometimes call a TUBE - a Totally Unnecessary Breast Examination.  It may amount to gross professional misconduct in your situation and quite possibly assault.  You should report it even if that was years ago.  That's horrible._

 

o0o i told my mom and she was like duh u're young and they're big and perky...he was just saying that they're healthy and fine...but i asked her for a girl dr. instead next time i need a check up
p.s. he's also the same doc that recieved me at birth and he knows my whole family..they're all patients of his as well thats why my mom said that it was innocent and i shouldnt worry


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## christineeee_ (Mar 4, 2008)

i'm scared and don't wanna get my pap done :S


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## _su (Mar 4, 2008)

Am I the only one who doesn't mind gyno appts? Maybe cuz I've had so many (more than I can count TBH).

I especially don't mind male gynos, and kind of take offense when other women do. He's a doctor. This is his JOB. It's just a vagina, get over it (I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but I absolutely adore my current male gyno-- he's gay and flamboyant and the last time I came in, he saw me and shrieked at the top of his lungs "OMIGAWD YOUR HAIR IS SO RED! I LOOOOVVVVEEE IITTTT!!!" He's just so cute.)

And, ladies, I have HAD the awkward old men gynos. One even told me I was "unusually small" down there and they had to use the smallest forceps in the whole office on me. Hahaha is that supposed to be a compliment?

Another funny GYN story: I had to have a minor surgery to remove some pre-cancerous cells. I was put to sleep for the whole thing, because they basically turn you upside down to get in there. Apparently, while I was out-cold, I started muttering about my "highly-placed cervix" and how I hoped I wasn't too much trouble for everyone in the OR. My mother had an absolute field day when my doc told her this story =)


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## CantAffordMAC (Mar 5, 2008)

^ lol. I'd probably love a gay gynecologist. Thats too funny

I hate going. I don't dread it. But I hate scooting and having everything just out. it gets easier but it sucks. They tell me the same thing: Scoot scoot scoot, way far down put ur butt to the edge. Okay now relax ur legs I gotta get in there! I know its hard but please relax your legs.

Um seriously shut the hell up. how bout you just tie my legs down and make it easier for the both of us. Or get my bf in here and have him climb on top of me, maybe I'll be more comfortable then lol


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## eastsidesunset (Mar 5, 2008)

One time my gyno complimented me on my toe nail polish....during the exam. It was very uncomfortable, haha.

I've always had problems with going, and it's only gotten worse since my last check up when the doctor casually announced she thought I had HPV and I would have to get it lanced off. Let me tell you this, thank god that nurse was quick with the shot she gave me, because I damn near kicked her in the face, haha.


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## Paramnesia (Mar 5, 2008)

I really don't care about getting examinations down there. I'm pretty used to it, I've had a few problems (periods and such, nothing contagious lol) but omg  I hate pap smears. I've had more 'invasive' tests before but I really cannot deal with pap smears. The first one I had, I went home and cried my head off because I felt so violated. My doctor was rough and kept telling me to relax. How do I relax when I have something foreign up my private part.


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## xJUDYx (Mar 10, 2008)

i'm going on thursday..its been a year and a half! eek!


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## xiahe (Mar 11, 2008)

Wretched?  Well I hate gyno appointments, too.  I hate being touched down there unless it's myself [lol...admit it! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





] or my boyfriend...because it's not like EVERYONE is always touching you down there or w/e.  Luckily they're only once/year but I still dread them.  I've had them twice already...the first time I had it done, the nurse practitioner was very quick and to the point.  There wasn't a lot of discomfort.  The second time...I had a different NP and although she was very nice, she wasn't nearly as quick.  She had troubles getting the speculum in the right position [she kept claiming that my uterus was a little lower than normal???] so she had to take it out, try again, take it out, try again, widen it some more, take it out, put it back in and widen it, over and over and over until she FINALLY got it...and then there was a tiny tiny tiny little splotch of MY blood on the floor.  It wasn't PAINFUL, it was just uncomfortable.  Hopefully I won't have her again =/


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## Chikky (Mar 16, 2008)

I don't mind going. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. Plus, I have some problems so now I _have_ to go. But it's ok. I like my doctor (though he's a tad crazy... In a good way!) We joke around, laugh and all that. I would really prefer a male over a female, personally. But I prefer that in about everything, so that may just be me.


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## user79 (Mar 17, 2008)

I just set up an appointment for May, damn that's a long way off.


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