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	esclaramonde 2007-05-10 12:41 am UTC (link)
	I'm really glad you posted it, though, because it helped reassure some of my (ridiculous) fears about gynos. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	seiberwing 2007-05-10 01:29 am UTC (link)
	It's not fun, but you live. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	esclaramonde 2007-05-10 01:34 am UTC (link)
	The "ask for a children's speculum" one in particular was good, as my ~~goddamn stupid~~ roommate was all, "Lol, it hurts so much when you go to your first gynecologist. What, you haven't gone before?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	seiberwing 2007-05-10 01:39 am UTC (link)
	I wish my mom had told me that. Why yes, she was in the room. Like hell I'm going in alone. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	esclaramonde 2007-05-10 01:44 am UTC (link)
	I think ... I may do the same. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	seiberwing 2007-05-10 01:46 am UTC (link)
	It was comforting. She was off to the side behind the sliding screen thingie and I had someone else to make conversation with besides the person inspecting my naughty bits. (Reply to this)(Parent)

keri
2007-05-10 04:12 am UTC (link)

Ditto

seiberwing. Even at 23, I never go to the gyno without my mom, because she holds my hand and helps distract me from Dr Kimberly poking around down there. And it's a habit - I started seeing a gyno when I was 13, and she HAD to be in the room with me because I'm terrible with remembering things to tell doctors and she had to authorize various test and stuff, as my guardian.

Also, the speculum isn't so much painful as it is cold. Make sure the gyno warms it up first. Seriously. And make sure s/he warms up the lube, too, if s/he has to use it. You're already sitting in the stirrups freezing, you don't want icicles poking you!

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	demonbean 2007-05-10 04:52 am UTC (link)
	Didn't hurt much for me, though it WAS cold. I only have one piece of advice: take off your socks. I know they say not to, but you feel an utter fool wearing nothing from the waist down ... and socks ... ...was that TMI? (Reply to this)(Parent)

snacky
2007-05-10 01:34 pm UTC (link)

It's really not that bad. It hurts, sure, but think of it as something akin to going to the doctor and getting blood drawn, or going to the dentist to get a cavity filled.

None of them are fun activities, there's some pain involved, but nothing you can't live with, and it's usually over pretty quickly.

Bear in mind, I'm terrified of the dentist, but I'm also taken aback at the thought of adults needing their mommies go to the doctor with them, for something routine.

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esclaramonde, 2007-05-10 01:38 pm UTC

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snacky, 2007-05-10 02:22 pm UTC

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esclaramonde, 2007-05-10 06:09 pm UTC

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snacky, 2007-05-10 06:35 pm UTC

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esclaramonde, 2007-05-10 07:17 pm UTC

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funwithrage, 2007-05-10 04:21 pm UTC

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come_love_sleep, 2007-05-10 04:58 pm UTC

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funwithrage, 2007-05-10 06:23 pm UTC

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come_love_sleep, 2007-05-10 11:05 pm UTC

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snacky, 2007-05-10 06:34 pm UTC

	dragonfangirl 2007-05-10 10:26 am UTC (link)
	I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for it, but all I can think is "WTF, why is there a children's speculum?!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	b_jellybean 2007-05-10 10:36 am UTC (link)
	I am assuming sexual abuse cases as well as possibly freak cancer things :( (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sidewinder 2007-05-10 12:05 pm UTC (link)
	as well as possibly freak cancer things Yeah, there's a type of cervical cancer caused by a nasty, no-longer-used pregnancy drug that generally hits girls before they're 18 (only knows this because my mom was given said drug and I had to be paranoid about cervical cancer because of that from an early age. Fun, that...) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	shaysdays 2007-05-10 03:48 pm UTC (link)
	Kids stick things up their nose... I can easily imagine some kids trying to put things other places. (I knew a kid when I was little who pushed pennies up his butt for a dollar. I wonder what happened to that kid.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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the_mouse, 2007-05-11 06:48 am UTC

	eilan 2007-05-10 03:24 pm UTC (link)
	Didn't hurt for me. While my first time sex was really painful. Go figure. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tiye 2007-05-10 08:20 pm UTC (link)
	Yep. And that "OMG MY HYMEN" girl probably doesn't have much to worry about, because mine was sure as hell still intact as of the first time I had sex, and this was after my first pap smear. [/TMI] (Reply to this)(Parent)

	rachel_pi 2007-05-10 08:20 pm UTC (link)
	The "ask for a children's speculum" one in particular was good See, I wish someone had told me this before the first time that I went. My doctor finally suggested it because she thought I was going to cry during my exam. (Reply to this)(Parent)

queencallipygos
2007-05-10 01:40 pm UTC (link)

Using the only vaguely sexuality-related icon I have...

One thing you may want to consider is specifically going to a female gynecologist; in addition to the absence of the weird factor (yes, we're all intellectual and adults and you know that he's a doctor and he has to do this, but sometimes it does feel slightly weird to have a guy checking out the hoo-hoo when he's not about to do sexy things to it), if you think about it -- a female doctor not only would be a gynecologist, she'd have to be the patient of a gynecologist, and so she would know what all the tests feel like. Not that male doctors aren't gentle -- I've been to both male and female gynecologists -- but female doctors just get it on a level that male doctors can't, so I've found that they're slightly more careful.

Not that guys are all wham-bang torture; they can also be gentle too. This is a subtle thing, but it can be something else you can try to do to control the situation if you're still a little nervous.

(And I'll chime in on the pain factor that -- there isn't much, really. I'd actually kind of compare it to a mosquito bite on the pain scale.)

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chaos_theory
2007-05-10 02:13 pm UTC (link)

Or like a pretty stress free tooth cleaning is what I think. I always think it's weird more because you have to sit really still and let a virtual stranger poke and prod you and you not only have to let them, but you have to be grateful and polite because they're only doing it for your benefit. Of course, if you're all freaked out and tense and clamping down, then I can see it getting uncomfortable.

Female gyno is a serious must. Actually, the best exam I ever got was from a female registered nurse at the Planned Parenthood. Since she gave a million pelvic exams a day, and usually was dealing with crying teens who were scared they were knocked up or had the clap or something, she was so happy to be dealing with a calm adult with no problems that it was the easiest and most stress-free exam ever. Also speedy and free from weird "So, now that I have my hand up your vagina...how's things?" conversation.

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	marciamarcia 2007-05-10 03:09 pm UTC (link)
	Word to that. Plus female gynos have always actually listened to me when I try to explain issues I had with my hoo-ha. The two male gynos I've seen were both really dismissive and demeaning. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2007-05-10 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	I do see a male Gyno, and I have no issue with his gender. The only issue I have is that men's fingers are significantly larger than women's, and that makes quite, quite, /quite/ the difference. -Ah Nonny Maus (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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chaos_theory, 2007-05-10 06:45 pm UTC

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queencallipygos, 2007-05-10 07:35 pm UTC

	(Anonymous) 2007-05-10 04:59 pm UTC (link)
	Just because there isn't much pain for you doesn't mean it won't hurt like hell for someone else, though. I've never been able to have a pelvic exam finished on me because even the smallest speculum hurt like a butcher knife in my groin. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	queencallipygos 2007-05-10 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, I'm not claiming that my experience is the same for everyone by any means. I do indeed understand that it can be painful for some. I would say it's safe to assume, though, that a painful experience is the exception and the "not as painful" experience is more the majority experience. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	honorh 2007-05-10 08:09 pm UTC (link)
	Ditto. I hate pelvic exams, and I always get the smallest speculum. Hell, I even find removing tampons unpleasant. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	chester_w 2007-05-12 12:30 am UTC (link)
	I don't mind if my twatdoc is male or female, as long as they're hot. It's much more pleasant having a good looking person poking at your bits. Makes it easier to think happy thoughts. Why yes, I'm aware of just how shallow that is. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	nekoama 2007-05-10 07:55 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, really. I'm still terrified to go, though. :/ (Reply to this)(Parent)

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