LEEP PROCEDURE-DOES IT HURT

I had my leep this afternoon, and I hope this puts some people at ease- Besides the pinch from the two shots and the heart racing (an effect of the anestesia) I didn't feel anything beyond that. The noise that the machine makes sounds like a drill, it sounds worse than it feels. I did experience some cramping afterwards, but it was no worse than regular period cramps. There's really nothing to worry about or lose sleep over, the entire procedure is done in less than 10 minutes and its basically just uncomfortable. Hope this helps!

Okay...First of all I just want to say I had my LEEP done today @ 11:45am and it's 2pm now. I searched the internet to find out what other women were saying about the process. THAT was the worst thing for me to do. I read more horror stories than positive. NOT that I am discounting anyone's experiences by any means. I was so worked up and stressed by the time I got to the office I felt like I was going to pass out.
I have nothing bad to say about having it done. If you ever had a colposcopy (I've had 5!) this is easier! The only issue for me was the shot which only pinched a little bit, after that I felt NOTHING!!!! The whole vacuum sound and smell was worse than any of that. I now have a metallic taste in my mouth from injection which is normal. When you get a shot...you can experience rapid heart rate..people get that in the dentist office (I used to work in one). I have very little cramping as of now. I took 800mg ibuprofen before I went and the doctor said just to take that every 6 hours.
So..relax!! you will be fine, I was so worried I tightened my legs and how they hurt! and my hands sweated. If you had kids..this is a breeze. GOOD LUCK
p.s. I was done in 10 min from start to finish!

So the doctor called yesturday with results of my LEEP. "Severe changes" so I have to go back in 4 weeks for another LEEP that will be "deeper into canal" and if those results are bad then...hysterectomy!!! Im 38, haev my kids so I say let's do it!!! My oldest sister had her removed when she was 32 (she's 45 now), my 42 sister has stage 4 breast cancer. SO needless to say...I don't want to risk my luck!

I recently had a LEEP, and I felt the need to come back onto these boards to clear up some misconceptions that are being spread around about the procedure. I went into my LEEP terrified because I'd read so many posts on boards like this one saying it was horribly painful. My fear was compounded by the fact that not only do I have a low pain tolerance, but I also have a pain disorder that causes me to feel pain more acutely than the average person, so I was sure the LEEP would be excruciating.

What actually happened? I went to the hospital for the procedure, my ob-gyn explained the procedure to me, and explained that she'd give me 4 shots of local anaesthetic to numb my cervix. This was the only part of the procedure where I felt any pain at all, and it was very minor - it felt like a very mild period cramp. My ob-gyn then ran a q-tip over my cervix and poked and prodded a bit while asking if I felt any pain, to ensure that the anaesthetic had taken hold, which it had. There was a nurse in the room chatting with me through the whole procedure because she could tell I was nervous. After a few minutes on the table, I asked my ob-gyn when the actual LEEP was going to start, and she laughed and said she was already finished, and she was just cleaning up. I felt NOTHING during the entire procedure, totally painless. I had some mild cramping later in the day, but it only lasted a few hours, and I was back to normal the following day.

When I mentioned to my ob-gyn all the horror stories I had read about pain during the LEEP, she was adamant that the LEEP should be more or less painless (minus the small pinch for the anaesthetic) unless the doctor performing it is incompetent. She also reminded me that the people who are coming back onto LEEP message boards AFTER the LEEP are typically the people who have had very negative experiences with bad doctors, and probably represent about 1% of all women who have the LEEP, the other 99% have a quick, painless procedure, and never think about it again, and therefore never come back to LEEP message boards to report on their simple, painless procedure.

So moral of the story? If you're scheduled for a LEEP in the near future, don't panic. Go to a doctor you trust, and you're pretty much guaranteed a quick, mildly uncomfortable but essentially painless procedure. The people telling horror stories on these boards represent a very tiny minority of LEEP patients who were unfortunate enough to have their LEEP performed by a terrible doctor, but the vast, vast majority of LEEP patients do NOT experience anything like the horror stories above. Take a deep breath, it will be over in a few minutes, and you'll be fine :-)

I had a LEEP procedure done just yesterday. After everything I read on the internet concerning the pain and recovery period, I was scared to death. All I have to say is DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET!!!!

The most uncomfortable thing (not painful) were the injections to numb the cervix. All I felt was pressure...no pain. The procedure was NOT painful. I have very little bleeding today but I will follow my doctors orders of no heavy lifting, etc.

The worst thing was trying to get dressed afterward. I was shaking so bad from the stress and expected pain I had read about that I could barely get dressed. After I left the dr's office I felt fine and went grocery shopping. :-D

I had the LEEP yesterday and it was excruciating. Everyone has a different experience, but why risk it? Discuss pain management with your doctor and request more anesthesia than you think you will need just for peace of mind. I will never forget the pain of having the tissue cut. My c-section was a piece of cake in comparison. I did have lidocaine, but it clearly wasn't enough. I spent all day feeling traumatized. Why with this particular procedure is there not more of a practice of providing adequate anesthesia?

I just had leep done today! It was not bad at all for me luckily instead if goingvto the normal small clinic I go to my doctor did it at a hospital. I did it bright early in the morning at about 645. The nurses made it really easy for me actually. I don't really like needles so the nurse who was in charge of my IV she numbed my wrist before she stuck the needle in, and before we went to the surgery room I was giving something through my IV to make me relax. Gladly that's all I remember! About an hour later I woke up in recovery thinking I was about to get surgery but it was already done. They gave me a general anethestic. It worked great! But please do not get new piercings right before you go because they will try to take them out! I'm okay now I took a nap just a little sore now. But I'm glad I got it done! Good Luck Girls! It will be OKAY!

OK i read this whole blog the night before my procedure.. and it scared me to DEATH ... my Dr. was amazing.. he gave me enough shots that DID NOT HURT just the initial one felt like a BABY pinch. then it was just pressure from there.. the entire timeeeeee i felt nothign but pressure except at the end he hit one sensitive spot and went away from it and yeah it hurt for a split second but i want to give other readers some hope becuase it was NOT that bad!! you will be glad when its over, and healthier. i just took a nap after and im ready to go back to work tomorrow!

I had my LEEP procedure done yesterday and I felt NOTHING! I was NOT put to sleep, but they did give me an IV sedation to where I was in lala land.  Since I don't remember anything, the Dr told my husband the procedure itself lasted only 3 minutes!! I had NO pain, NO cramps, NOTHING! And i only spotted a tiny tiny bit! Don't believe all of these horror stories you read! Although, everyone's body may take it differently. If I were you, I would ask your doctor if you could just get an IV sedation to make you loopy. Good Luck! Everything will be okay! 

I am 25. I had my very first LEEP procedure today and let me tell you, it was not bad at all!!! I was SO scared going in, I was ready to run out of the room. I told my doctor my concerns and she said not doing it will leave me worse off in the future. First they attached a grounding pad to my thigh since it is an electrical machine, and they had me hold a small hose attached to the machine. A nurse stayed in the room with me, and actually two MD students watched the procedure lol. I will tell you now-- do NOT look at the instrutments they have set out on the table beforehand. The needle looks big, so it is misleading that it will hurt (unless you have a very low pain tolerance). Anyways they gave me two shots in the cervix (one of epinephrine and one of lidocaine). I told her I was scared about the epinephrine because I get panic attacks and I was worried about my heart beating too fast-- She said "trust me, you DO NOT want to do it without the epinephrine".. It makes the lidocaine take effect in seconds. The epinephrine was FINE. I didn't panic. They had a tv on with music and nature backgrounds so I just focused on that the whole time. The two shots they gave me felt like a MINOR pinch. Nothing bad at all. More discomfort than pain, just because of how awkward it is where they are injecting you. She then coated my cervix with a vinegar solution so she can see the abnormalities. She began to cut off the layer of my cervix with the abnormalities (lasted about 2 seconds) and that was very little pain... mostly discomfort again because I knew what was going on down there. As soon as she started cutting, she said 'almost done' and she was done within .5 seconds. She then cauterized the bleeding. The cauterization did not hurt, I did feel something going on down there, mostly warm/hot pressure which caused MILD cramping. Afterwards I have had minimal bleeding, and mild cramping, like a period (but not as bad). My doctor warned me that the scar will come out in about a week, and look like a piece of gauze.

Just FYI, a GOOD doctor will tell you everything he/she is doing, as they are doing it. And RELAX. It makes it a lot easier for the doctor, and a lot less painful and MORE comfortable for you. Trust me... do not tense up those muscles down there. If you have a GOOD doctor, you should not feel a thing, other than pressure, mild cramping, and a PINCH of pain. Afterwards you will be SO relieved and it will have just been a memory.

Compared to the colposcopy, I would say they were equal for me (although I believe I have a high tolerance for pain). They both lasted the same amount of time (less than five minutes) and neither were very painful, mostly just awkward.

GOOD LUCK!!! :)

Here was my experience. For me, the numbing took a while and the lidocaine they injected to numb me actually ended up giving me a "panic attack" type of feeling. Was pretty horrible. Heart racing, scared out of my mind, uncontrollable shaking and sobbing and hyperventilating. Ugh. And talk about feeling vulnerable. If there is any sort of option to do this without being awake, I'd go with that option because being awake during this procedure is extremely stressful and invasive. And if you have an adverse reaction to the lidocaine like I did, well, to say you will "freak out" is putting it mildly. And no, I never had a reaction to lidocaine in other situations (like at the dentist for cavity fillings).

Omg!!! I'm soooo sorry. Your story makes me wonder if your dr. Is qualified to even do the procedure. From over 6 of my friends that I have spoken to that have had this procedure done there was pain in none of our cases. Even when your awake for the procedure the dr. Is supposed to numb you. You may need to bring this to the attention of someone because from everything I've read and the 4 of of the og/byn doctors that I have asked about this..... They all agree that you should have been properly numbed before this. We believe that you were not properly cared for. Hope all is better know and I would go maybe to a specialist next time if needed (hopefully not needed) and discuss your previous experience with them because this is not a normal realm of practice.

I'm ok now! this experience was over 12 years ago after my 1st child so maybe it was a new procedure at that time or something (?) I don't even remember which OB/GYN I went to for it - I've blocked it from my memory!!! Thankfully, I haven't had any more problems since then although I did have it in between my first child and second child and the way my cervix acted 1st labor/delivery was VERY different from 2nd labor and delivery...and it took 4 years to get pregnant with my 2nd child (and I had 2 miscarriages in between...). Anyway, I'm done having babies and my PAPs have been normal the past 11 years and counting :-)

I admire your ability to do that. I cried during the biopsy. It hurt so dang bad! I'm terrified to go in for this LEEP procedure. He told me he would numb the inside but I am just SICK about it. I am a wuss and don't handle pain well. I am terrified! :(

Wow! You are a God send! Honestly you have really made me feel so much better. Thank you for taking the time to write this. It's nice to know I will sleep a little better tonight! God bless.