#pelvicexam

Many women wonder, what’s the right age for your first pelvic exam and when should they consult a gynecologist. A pelvic exam is an important part of women’s healthcare that helps monitor reproductive health, detect potential concerns early, and provide guidance on menstrual health, infections, and overall wellness.

I saw my first GYN at 17. These were back in the bad old days when you had to have a pelvic exam to get birth control. But not being on birth control at the time just wasn’t an option as I knew I’d be sexually active soon with my then (and now) sweetheart.

I wasn’t nervous at first. My mother had taken me along to one of her appointments when I was younger, so I knew what to expect. (In the intervening years we’d moved five states away. So there was no way I could see her longtime doctor.) And I had asked the women and girls I knew who they went to. I chose someone with unanimously glowing reputation.

Now, I say I wasn’t nervous at first, because I did not expect the doctor who walked in to be a seven foot tall behemoth of a man. I don’t think I’ve seen a larger human being in my life. (You would think all those people I asked would mention something like that!) So, yeah, the nerves came on hard. Fortunately, he was also a lovely doctor with decades of experience. He’d gone into the field largely for obstetrics, but you could tell he genuinely loved his job. His bedside manner was the best I’ve ever experienced from any doctor. He knew all the right jokes to crack to keep me calm and had no judgement at all when I asked for my prescription.

I made the point of going back to see him a few times through college and a little while after until he retired at the end of 2007.

I’m so glad to hear that even though he made you nervous originally he proved to be a good, caring, provider!

I was 17 when I went to my first GYN appointment to get on the pill. In all honesty, it was a little awkward - the doctor was male and he’d seen my lady bits 17 years prior when he was delivering me from my mom’s lady bits 😂He was very professional though, and since I was only 17 at the time I didn’t need a Pap smear, it was just a normal pelvic. I was a little nervous beforehand, but it wasn’t painful at all and he assured me that I was healthy.

I’m glad to hear everything was okay and that things worked out in the end.  This sort of stuff can be so scary!

I didn’t see a GYN for the first time until I was 25. I was so terrified and I wasn’t sexually active, so I just put it off. I finally got a friend/coworker to recommend someone. I am, and always have been, fat, so going to the doctor is always a really anxiety-inducing experience for me. I also have a history of breast and uterine cancer in my family, so that was a little scary for me too.

Thankfully, the doctor was super nice and supportive. She talked to me for a long time about my medical history (including my anxiety and if that was being properly managed,) asked if I was sexually active and if I had had the Gardasil vaccine, and when I told her I wasn’t sexually active and had had all three Gardasil shots, she told me, “the odds of you having an abnormal pap in that case are pretty much slim to none. In fact, if you’re too uncomfortable to do a pap, we will stop and try again next year.”

She was really great and talked me through what she was doing, it was over really quickly, and she told me about what I could expect in the coming days and weeks in terms of results, but she was confident that everything would probably be normal.

A couple of months later I decided I wanted to start birth control, because I have really horrible cramps and my weight was fluctuating a lot each month because of my period (and I’m on a weight loss journey.)

She listened to my concerns/symptoms and told me that she was a little concerned with putting me on estrogen because my blood pressure was just slightly elevated, but acknowledged that it could be because of my anxiety, and asked me to take my BP at home and come back in a few weeks. When I went back she said the numbers were still a little high, so we talked about it a lot and she put me on a progestin-only-pill. She said she COULD put me on estrogen with my home numbers, but she didn’t want to put me at risk for a clot or a stroke (and as an already anxious person I appreciate her caution.) She was also THRILLED about my weight loss (I’ve lost 60 pounds,) but she only brought it up to ask if I was still losing and how everything was going. She has never once been judgmental or negative about my weight.

I went back a month after that for a follow-up and had more BP numbers, and she said she would be open to putting me on estrogen. We’re going to talk about it when I go for my yearly check-up in January.

Overall, it has been a pretty positive experience, especially knowing what some of my fat friends have gone through as far as medical care.

It is always amazing to hear about good, actually fat positive providers.  I’m so glad you could find someone who would care for you with the respect you deserve.

So my first appointment: I was 16 and I had started having sex with my then-boyfriend (he was my first time) and I got like TWO uti’s in two weeks so I told my mom and she got me an appointment. I got in, I was quite scared but the least pleasant thing was the speculum for the Pap test (negative!!) the rest was quite interesting and not that uncomfortable, I got to see my ovaries through the intra-vaginal ultrasound!! I also got a prescription for birth control and he told me that having uti’s was normal and that I was not cursed to pee blood every time I tried to have sex, and that we just needed some lube, writing me a sort of prescription so I wouldn’t even have to say it out loud to the pharmacist!! He was the gyn that followed my mother when she was pregnant with my sister.

Awesome!  He sounds super understanding and supportive.

Submitted by @sciencebeam

My first GYN appointment was when I was 19 and had just started college. I only went because my period wouldn’t stop - very light bleeding but it continued consistently for a total of 34 days. I figured while I was there I might as well be responsible and do the whole annual checkup and had a PAP smear done. The actual appointment was fine, the doctor was a lower-middle aged woman and she talked me through what she was doing. It was still embarrassing, but overall I was comfortable. But then it gets to the end of the appointment, I’ve re-dressed and the nurse comes in to give me a sample of the birth control I’d been prescribed (as a solution to the bleeding), and right at the end she says “next time schedule your appointment when you’re not on your period.” I looked right back at her and said “I only came in at all because it’s been going for more than 20 days and won’t stop.” She didn’t really reply, just left. I’m still bitter about that nurse. The doctor was fine, but that nurse made me wonder if any of them had actually read any of the notes I’d already filled out when I got there.

Oooh that’s so frustrating!  At least she could have responded and explained what she meant, or apologized if she had gotten the situation wrong!  I’m glad the exam itself was fine.  :-/

When I was 14, I came home from a visit to the beach and couldn’t urinate without pain for a week. I got an appointment with the nurse practitioner at my mom’s OBGYN’s office. My main memory is that the intake questions were confusing. I was questioning my sexuality, I had just had my first kiss, and I didn’t know what they meant by sexual activity. I remember blurting out, unprompted, “I masturbate sometimes, but nothing else!” Goodness gracious. The nurse was very nice and ultimately determined that sand had entered and irritated my urethra. Ouch! I was given a cream of some sort & told that everything would sort itself out soon.

Luckily, my first pap smear appointment went much better. My doctor kept saying, “Oh, gosh, I should be talking you through this more! You’re doing so great that I keep forgetting that it’s your first one!” It might have just been a strategy to get me to relax, but it worked either way.

It’s kind of wild how vague our memories can be of something so intense, and of how scary and disorienting it can be to be a young person at the GYN clinic for the first time.  I’m so glad it went well for you!