My fantastic PCP, I found out, is leaving private practice.
She called this week to check up on me and I told her the sweet news that my guts are on the mend, it seems. But I ran something by her offhandedly - the fact that twice in the past month, I have had vaginal bleeding after sex. Both times were nowhere near my period and it seemed like quite a bit of blood...that has never happened to me before. I didn't really think anything of it but thought I'd mention it. She said I should get my annual gyn exam with a Pap as soon as possible to check things out. After we got off the phone I remembered that about
two years ago I had an abnormal Pap that was never really followed up on. I had called my doc at the time and they told me not to worry about
it too much, just go in for another Pap the next year. Oh, joy, I thought, could waiting too long be coming back to haunt me? So I went in for the exam yesterday with a nurse practitioner. She thinks it could be cervical dysplasia. Or perchance - mmm, love this one - chlamydia! Or - even more delightful - cervical cancer! Good gracious. I've never been promiscuous and am always safe, so I think the chances of having an STD are pretty slim, but am having the test done anyway of course. She also did a Pap to check for dysplasia or cancerous cells.
I'm sure this is something totally benign but jeez louise, I thought I'd go doctor-free for at least a few more months! Isn't it funny how something you think is totally benign has everyone all up in arms...and then when there is something horribly wrong (like having D 30 times a day!), no one seems worried about it at all? Crikey!