I'm 30 years old and have never been pregnant. Yesterday I went for a routine checkup, and the doctor told me I have a cervical polyp - I didn't notice any symptoms. She said I will have to go to the hospital for an operation under general anaesthetic, which seems to be the standard treatment here. That news shook me so I didn't think of things I now want to ask:
1) The cause - I've read that the cause isn't exactly known, but could be due to infection, chronic inflammation or increased oestrogen. Is there any way to find out what the cause is for me? I guess my concern is that the polyp was caused by something that should be dealt with. Also, I'm on the pill (have been for about 13 years with no problems at all) and wondered if that could be a factor - and if I should take a break from it, either now or after the surgery (my doctor said to ask at the hospital).
2) We were planning to start a family very soon (next 6 months or so) - I had planned to stop taking the pill in about 3 months. Could either the polyp or the surgery affect our chances? I've always had a vague gut-feeling that getting pregnant would not be easy for me (no reason in particular, just one of those feelings), so this has hit me harder than it might have otherwise.
3) If I do get pregnant (either soon or later), could this cause any complications? My main reason for asking this is that pregnancy and birth here is far more medicalised than I'm comfortable with, and if at all possible I would prefer alternative options. However that's something I will probably have to fight a bit for, and any complication could mean that I have no chance.
I would like to ask my doctor these questions, but doctors here are sort of held on a pedestal, so it's not easy to get to them. I will try asking doctors at the hospital but from previous experience I don't expect them to be too forthcoming. All the info I've seen online is the basic what-why, and doesn't really answer my questions.
Thanks for any help - I'm hoping to be able to get this off my mind so I can focus on what I *should* be doing (like work...).
1) The cause - I've read that the cause isn't exactly known, but could be due to infection, chronic inflammation or increased oestrogen. Is there any way to find out what the cause is for me? I guess my concern is that the polyp was caused by something that should be dealt with. Also, I'm on the pill (have been for about 13 years with no problems at all) and wondered if that could be a factor - and if I should take a break from it, either now or after the surgery (my doctor said to ask at the hospital).
2) We were planning to start a family very soon (next 6 months or so) - I had planned to stop taking the pill in about 3 months. Could either the polyp or the surgery affect our chances? I've always had a vague gut-feeling that getting pregnant would not be easy for me (no reason in particular, just one of those feelings), so this has hit me harder than it might have otherwise.
3) If I do get pregnant (either soon or later), could this cause any complications? My main reason for asking this is that pregnancy and birth here is far more medicalised than I'm comfortable with, and if at all possible I would prefer alternative options. However that's something I will probably have to fight a bit for, and any complication could mean that I have no chance.
I would like to ask my doctor these questions, but doctors here are sort of held on a pedestal, so it's not easy to get to them. I will try asking doctors at the hospital but from previous experience I don't expect them to be too forthcoming. All the info I've seen online is the basic what-why, and doesn't really answer my questions.
Thanks for any help - I'm hoping to be able to get this off my mind so I can focus on what I *should* be doing (like work...).
I can't address your medical questions per se, but I can address the pedestal issue and offer an alternate source.
You are clearly literate in the area, have you considered going direct to the source, and medical journals?
If doctors won't talk, they do love to publish and be recognised.
If this doesn't help, please feel free to delete this post, and/or re-post to invite alternate opinions.
For a non 'generalist' reply, as you yourself noted, it may be worth trying their 'ask a doctor' service.
You are clearly literate in the area, have you considered going direct to the source, and medical journals?
If doctors won't talk, they do love to publish and be recognised.
If this doesn't help, please feel free to delete this post, and/or re-post to invite alternate opinions.
For a non 'generalist' reply, as you yourself noted, it may be worth trying their 'ask a doctor' service.
Thanks for the suggestions. I have never looked at medical journals, but I'm guessing that finding the small pieces of information I want (without knowing my way around the journals themselves) might actually be harder than getting the information out of the doctors.
You mentioned an ' their ask a doctor' service - whose do you mean? If you mean a local one, the only thing like that here is a nurse hotline where you can ask if your problem is serious enough to go to the hospital. But I don't think they'll answer any more specific questions.
You mentioned an ' their ask a doctor' service - whose do you mean? If you mean a local one, the only thing like that here is a nurse hotline where you can ask if your problem is serious enough to go to the hospital. But I don't think they'll answer any more specific questions.
You know, that's a good question. I was reading about it on here, assumed it was the link at the top of the page (Find a Doctor) - check out their FAQ - indeed, about two thirds down 'Ask Experts' (sorry, serves me right for typing from memory). I hear you on the journal, didn't like to say, but if you hit the spot, it works, but there's an awful lot of jargon if not!
Hmm, odd. I can find reference to "Ask Experts" (a paid service) in the faq, but no links and no reference anywhere else.
Perhaps it's an old or upcoming feature, but the faqs are out of sync??
Perhaps it's an old or upcoming feature, but the faqs are out of sync??
Yeah, I felt a twitch when I saw it... if that was the only mention, it certainly doesn' t have much of a presence on the site, but as I don't own or run the site, felt all I could do was mention it.
Good luck, sorry I couldn't be more helpful
Good luck, sorry I couldn't be more helpful
Thanks for your time, anyway :-)
(I always find it amusing when site's info/faqs don't match up with the actual site)
(I always find it amusing when site's info/faqs don't match up with the actual site)
I found it! Ok, well, I was sending a help request, and the bottom item on their contact us 'subject' box is Ask Expert - gee, high profile huh?