C.B.
Mine was 11 years ago and not bad at all. My paps went from normal to severe dysplasia in 1 year. Colposcopy first showing some unusual cells, then LEEP to remove them. My doc asked if I wanted to be aware or asleep, and I asked for asleep. Day surgery at a hospital, with several hours in the recovery room. Then home for 48 hours under supervision. Hubby stayed home since youngest was less than 1 and oldest just over 3. I do not recall any bad bleeding at all. So far in all those years I never had another bad pap smear (knock on wood). You do get put on a pap smear schedule every 3 months for 1 year, then every 6 months for the next year, and then back to yearly. I agree with the other poster who said there are many more LEEPs done than cases of cancer. That is the wonderful nature of pap smears - they detect minor cell changes, that could POSSIBLY lead to cervical cancer but even if you did nothing it does not necessarily mean that your dysplasia would turn into cancer. Dysplastic cells can be very slightly abnormal or very severely abnormal. If they are very severely abnormal, a cancer is more likely to develop from them in the future (but not guaranteed). If they are only slightly abnormal then they may go back to normal on their own. But this depends on what type of cells they are and how many of them are abnormal. I personally think there is a big connection between emotions and illness, so the best you can do for yourself is trust in your doctors and in the perfect outcome of this procedure for you. Wishing you the very best.