This Blog Post is About My Cervix
This post is for anyone that has any concern with cervical health, it is a story that is so important and personal to me that I feel that it is my duty to share it with every woman I know.
A few months after I turned 21 I decided to get my first pap smear. The results came back abnormal, I didn't quite know what that meant, but they recommended I get a colposcopy. A colposcopy is an awkward and slightly painful process where a gynecologist sticks different materials on your cervix, and uses a tiny microscope to see the situation. If the tissue is healthy, it has little reaction, if it is unhealthy there is more tissue that gets broken off. *** A few weeks later after a full biopsy with a sample of my cervix taken to a lab, my gynecologist had me meet with her. She sat me down and pushed the box of tissue towards me in anticipation.
My results were not good, I had pre-cancerous cells, also known as Cervical Dysplasia, and from what i understand imply HPV. These are in categories and ranges from not very severe and your body can take care of it on its own, to cancer. I had CIN 3 and this implies that it is a step before cancer cells would grow. It was rare that at my age I had this severe of dysplasia. As I found out, fighting off the tears (because I wanted to prove my doctor wrong) I was told to get a LEEP procedure.
Simply put, a LEEP cuts the lining of your cervix and this leaves space for "healthy" tissue to form. This also in many cases causes premature birth and other cervical consequences…. "but the Leep procedure should get rid of your dysplasia…" I asked about more homeopathic options and she told me that it was too late.
I assumed then to get this procedure, I am not usually one to trust western medicines as I was taught well by many people close to me including my own mama, but I ignored the "should get rid of" and heard "will get rid of it." My doctor made me feel hopeless, and on the other hand I felt that I was undeserving of this unhealthy tissue in my cervix and wanted it to go away instantly.
I google'd it like anyone would and learned about alternative methods, but they all seemed long-term and too much effort on my life. I was a full time student and i worked about 30 hours a week. I thought, fuck this shitty thing happening in my cervix, cut it out and move on was how I was feeling. I then learned that it wasn't so simple. After the LEEP procedure I would still have to get a pap smear every 6 months, and for the next few years my cells could still be read as abnormal.
My mom and I did more research (I am very grateful I had her support through all of this) and we found a naturopath in my area that would help me heal my cervix. When I met with her I learned some great important key aspects of cervical dysplasia that I want every woman to know before they go through this useless procedure that causes this sense of hopelessness. After getting an emotional and slightly rude letter from my gynecologist that recommended the LEEP procedure, I told her to shove it up her cervix and I left. (Forgive me for the distasteful joke hehee.)
I got treatment from this naturopath, and was put on a cleanse (as was my partner). I was also required to take a shit ton of supplements and tinctures, and twice a week I had herbs scraped and stuck up my vagina. It was a hard few months, but my other health problems went away as well (my eczema that I've had my whole life, for instance.) I learned that Diet and exercise are not the only aspects of a healthy immune system. I learned that the cervix is a sponge for emotions. I always thought of my relationship to sex as rather healthy, but through the cleanse I ridded my body of any sexual-emotional pains that I didn't even know were there.
I always liked to look at my diet and lifestyle holistically, but through this process it became very clear to me. To cut something off does not cure the problem, neither does applying ointments, steroids, pharmaceuticals to the body…it just minimizes the symptoms. But symptoms are our bodies way of telling us something is wrong! To suppress that is to suppress our own immune system to fight back. (*cough antibiotics cough*)
After a few months, this is my story now, I just got a pap smear and my results came back normal. NOTHING! Nothing abnormal, no dysplasia. i am so grateful to my amazing family and partner that went through this process with me, and I hope that if any of you are in this situation have this support as well.
So that's it. Listen to your cervix ladies, I am so lucky I did.
****PS I am not qualified to actually tell you what will happen, or what happened when I seeked medical care. This is strictly what I understood and its a pretty confusing process that I am sure a professional can correct me on.
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