LEEP PROCEDURE-DOES IT HURT

Thank you for your comment. It was beneficial to me

I survived a leep procedure. 6 shots and another hour of sitting in a room after turning as white as a ghost only to get told by the on call nurse they normally don't give pain meds for the aftercare. And after several days attempting to get the pain to go away with over the counter c**p. I now am sitting in the er waiting for them to figure out why the pain Is so bad. I have a hot wire scrap my freaking cervix what do you think caused the pain. Sheesh. Oh and can't forget the having to pee more often than normal.
I'm only 27 here and shouldn't have this kinda pain.

^had. (Had to fix the typo).

I agree. It hurt me a lot too !

Thank you for such a positive and thoughtful post. I am a high anxiety patient and I have been putting this off for two years. I finally scheduled my LEEP for June and since I am unable to afford the twilight sleep I will be doing just the valium and lidocaine injections like you did. Thank you thank you!!

This is so great. Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I had my leep procedure done about 3 months ago and I was very scared. I was not really scared about the procedure but about the word cancer. The procedure was painless. The only weird ting I felt was a big heart race because of the medication they gave me but that was it. I did not even need to take pain medication afterwards. I felt only a very mild discomfort for a couple of days. I decided to be on the safe side so no exercise or sex for 6 weeks (I know sucks...). I came back to repeat my pap last week and the results came back: normal pap and HPV negative! I was a bit surprised since the Dr said the expectation was that the HPV should still be positive since I am breastfeeding and had a baby 4 months ago (so my immune system is not 100% yet). I believe this result was due to a healthy diet I have been eating since the leep procedure. I am a big believer on natural eating and healing naturally so I looked up on Google (but also consulted with a nutritionist) the best things to eat to fight a virus and here is what I ate pretty much every day: smashed raw garlic with my salad, alfafa with my salad, 10 drops of propolis on my milk, apple cider vinegar on my salad, raw dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale and collard greens), oregano (fresh with my salad), lots of water and daily 30 min walks (massages also helps your body to heal through relaxation). The best thing for your immune system is to relax and surrender things you cannot control to God. Be happy. Eat healthy. Serve others and try to make other people around you happy.

Just had my LEEP this morning at Kaiser. I wasn't too nervous since the colposcopy was a cinch for me, and the nurse who scheduled me, as well as the doc insisted that the LEEP would be even less uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, that is not how it played out for me. I grunted my way through the injections, which hurt like bad cramps, trusting that would be the worst of it. But the LEEP turned out to be very sharply painful--enough to cause me to yelp with each pass (I felt three cuts, and another searing pain for the cauterizing). By the end I was shaking all over and wiping away tears that had streamed past my temples while I laid on the table.

I understand my experience may not be typical, but I wish I had at least prepared myself mentally for the pain. The surprise made it worse than it needed to be.

Thank you for this! You helped put me at ease and gave me a chuckle :) I think I'm more nervous about the results and the cells coming back in the future than the procedure itself. Any wise words concerning that? Note that I am a 2 (sin or cin? Can't remember)

I just had my LEEP procedure yesterday, and I need to share my experience for women like me who scour these forums.
So I was incredibly anxious. I get anxious about pretty much anything down there, including paps, so getting the LEEP done was my worst nightmare. I'd been dreading it for months, I'd lost my sex drive and felt generally uncomfortable any time I thought about it.
I was prescribed T3's and Ativan for the procedure, partly because the interaction between the two should make you quite drowsy, so I could really relax during. I took the T3 30mins prior, but this is the second time I've noticed they really don't effect me. Once with the nurse, I took one Ativan, but she warned me that my extreme nervousness would likely cause it not to kick in until after the procedure...so basically I did this procedure without anything.
I didn't mind the larger speculum used for the procedure, I just tried to completely relax those muscles. The cleaning up of the area didn't cause me any pain, they said the vinegar solution could hurt but I didn't really feel much. They had me cough during the injections, which is a good distraction, but I definitely felt the full pain of these injections. It's not too bad, I'd compare it to getting a needle before a filling (which I also hate, but I'm a baby). The adrenaline in the shots made me feel very light-headed and my limbs felt shaky, but that wore off in about 30seconds.
Now on to the LEEP. I didn't really feel it! Honestly, I had to ask them if they'd started and if they were finished, because I couldn't feel a thing. It only lasts for around 1 minute!
I did have one thing happen that I'm sure isn't common: the electricity arced and shocked me. I thought this might be pain from the samples my DR was taking, so I was on edge throughout the rest of the procedure, but once I found out it was just a fluke arc, I felt much better. This arc was the only real pain I felt the entire time.
I hope someone can gain some piece of mind through my story. It really isn't going to be as bad as you think and you'll be happy once it's finished :)

I was terrified. Worst part was the needle - it hurt. The epinephrine with the lidocaine almost made me pass out. After that, didn't feel a thing. 3 days post op I'm not really bleeding although little "bits" for lack of a better term, come out here and there. This forum had me terrified but everything was pretty easy.

I can tell you my story. Everyone says that LEEP doesn't hurt, that they do it under local you just feel the shot etc.. My ob wanted to do it under general, that's how she does it, for all women, not just me. But I thought, I don't need general, I'll go find a doctor who will do this under local, less risky etc (although I am young and healthy so the risk with general is much lower), brave (or stupid) me, right?
So I scheduled my LEEP under local as soon as possible, a week before my LEEP under general was scheduled.. almost walked away from the office cause there was some mess with nurse not showing up etc.. Oh, and they prescribed Xanax for me but forgot to call my pharmacy.. so I totally freaked out.. I also read that Leep is much less painful than colposcopy and biopsy.. so I thought I would be ok.. Not the case! MY LEEP was pretty bad.. first shots felt like someone was sticking knife in my belly, it really hurt. Then right after it felt like someone was pulling my guts out of me.. Of course, girls say "You might feel pulling but not painful".. Well.. I felt pulling and terrible pain.. I said "It hurts!" and she said "It's over", then she just did the last step (cotarizing or something like that). I could feel it and it hurt as well. After she was done my whole body started shaking, even my jar.. I remember I was wearing kitten heels and I was wondering if I will be able to walk in them ;D anyways.. now I am few days after and if I have to do it again, I'l go with general. The best part is that somehow my first ob charged half for the leep (under general) and the doctor who did it under local, so if I went with general, the price would be the same (for leep plus general) as price with my new ob for leep under local.. Anyways.. everyone is different etc.. but I can tell you one thing - my experience - hurt as hell, and although I was so scared of going under general anesthesia, if I have to go it again, I would go under.. Well.. .weird thing is that my heart didn't race or anything like that, only my belly (core) was shaking a little bit but the pain was really bad. I also didn't smell anything and don't remember the noise. But I remember the pad.. it's sticky, better shave your tights, also put it right before the procedure. They put it on my leg and left me there and I had to use the restroom so I took it off and then they had to use a new one. Best luck to all of you ladies.. sorry for scarring you if I did. Another advice is to take Xanax or something if you're that worried.. I tried "natural" calming methods, which for me is working out and worked out really hard the day before and few hours before the procedure.. only made things worse.. I already could feel my heart in my throat before it.. after 20 min of non stop boxing and kicking, could barely talk.. but somehow my blood pressure was pretty low.

So you started lifting weights and running right after?
I am also pretty active, love Orange Theory Fitness and boxing and lift with a friend usually few times a week. I've gotten more sedentary recently and I really feel the urge to get back to being active but it's only few days after my leep. The weird thing is that I barely have any discharge and it I do, it's kind of like dark dried skin, some kind of membrane, a thin layer.. It's just gettin g more today.. But last few das I could easily go even without a liner... I haven't worked out since my leep (4 days) and I feel that I am getting fat.. Do you think I could do at least some light exercises? Only body weight for the whole body and weights for shoulders while sitting? Not working out for few weeks can drive me crazy..

I feel you! I had the same.. So my story is funny cause my ob does it ONLY under general, but I decided since it's just a simple, fast procedure and most woman say you won't feel a thing, I found a doctor who does it under local. It was terrible. Numbing felt like someone stubbed me in the belly and then right after I felt like someone was trying to pull my guts out of me. And then the last part was painful as well. Do you think that maybe my doctor didn't wait long enough for the local anesthetic to work? It was terrible pain and if I have to do it again, I will go back to my 1st doctor and do it under general. Also, afterwards my whole body started shaking, my jar, hands, legs, I could barely spoke.. I think it was my body's reaction for the shock.. Last time I had this reaction was after I broke one of my vertebras in my spine.. And I saw people coming back after surgeries that were shaking like that.. So if it's a piece of cake.. wonder why my body reacted to it like it reacts to a total shock.. anyways I am ok now, I actually went out that night after my procedure to see a friend, had dinner (cause I didn't eat few days before leep, I was so nervous) and had a few drinks. Message to all: if you think that man who complain about leep and had pain are wusses, weak woman etc.. you're not right. The reason why I insisted on local versus general is because I think I have a hight pain tolerance and I am pretty cool with most stuff. I didn't mind colposcopy and biopsy so much, I went back to work afterwards and although it hurt, it wasn't that bad. Leep was bad. If I have to do it again, I'll go back to my first ob and do it under general. I didn't want to be naked with someone messing with my woman's organs, being unconscious and with 5 people in the room, but now I think I would prefer it over the pain I felt that day..

I just had a LEEP done today. I chose to go under general anesthesia, for personal reasons. So I cannot speak to the pain of the actual procedure itself. I was extremely worried of the after effects, though. Over the years my pain tolerance has diminished, so I was worried about waking up in pain or having terrible pain later. I woke up and felt nothing, just felt like someone had been down below, an eerie feeling, but not painful. After sleeping off the anesthesia I woke up just fine. No uncomfortable positions, no cramping, little to no bleeding, just the blackish medication they used coming out. I went for a walk and everything, hope to hit the gym tomorrow for a light workout. I'd say the worst part of it all is having to wear pads, I hate pads, but that's just an annoyance. From what I've read, I'd recommend going under anesthesia, though I cannot speak to not doing that, just my experience and gathered tales of others' experiences being awake. Everyone's experience is different, I know, but this is just mine. I feel just fine. A little discomfort but nothing that even requires Tylenol. I was scared, as I'm sure many people are, so I hope this helps just a bit.

I totally agree!!! It's like being totured!!! I wanted a hysterectomy b/c endometriosis had gotten so horrific I couldn't push through the pain anymore (so I thought). Had abnormal pap, then colposcy came back abnormal, then was told is precancer & then had Leep procedure (healing time a nitemare)!! The results came back more abnormalities & high grade, now being sent to a specialist for a cone biopsy. I don't understand why they won't give me a hysterectomy?!?!?!?