(no subject)

[erinpinkhair.livejournal.com]

I'm having my first girl doctor appt and I'm scared to death. First of all, the gal gyno is on vacation this week so I've got the boy. I am not comfortable at all with having a boy look at me *down there*, and I also believe that a gal would better cause em, well.. she has a vagina.

So what can I expect? I'm also planning on going on the pill (the main reason for this appt). I was just wondering if there are any questions I should ask while here, or is everything pretty self-explainatory?

Again, this is my first time, I'm 19, and I'm scared to death.. my mom refuses to come with me.

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

You can postpone it a couple of weeks if you really want to see the woman, no?

I've had female and male gynos. On average, I've preferred seeing women. But the worst I've seen was a woman, and the best I've seen was a man.

Do you have a good friend who can accompany you?

Ask the doctor if there is anything you should know. Ask the doctor to show you how to examine your own breasts. Is there anything you're wondering about your own body, hormones, parts, cycle, etc.?

Male gynos...

[bagira.livejournal.com]

...are on average better than female ones. (This is gathered from various women in my family, and my personal experience supports it too. I love my gyno to death, and it's a he. The only female gyno I had was completely incompetent.) Yeah, women have vaginas, but men get to explore them more often and up-close. So chill and don't worry about it.

As far as questions go, make sure that your doctor gives you a breast exam, too--some don't. Ask him about any interactions that anything--like antibiotics--may have with the Pill. Ask about any side-effects--even the annoying minor ones (after I first went on the Pill, I spotted for two months and had yeast infections every couple weeks).

Good luck and relax.

[euthanasia.livejournal.com]

Im 17 and i went just a few months ago. Its very scary yes but its over fairly quickly..atleast mine was..and I had a lesbian doc. not that i have a prob. with it, its just ya' know.
So i went and it was done. Its somehting everygirl has to go through so just take a deep breath and get some pills and have lots and lots of protected sex ;)

[winterknight.livejournal.com]

most male Drs are required to have the nurse come in with them when they examine you. you can ask about that if you're uncomfortable. i know my Dr always has his nurse come in with him when he does exams.

don't make any assumptions between male and female ob-gyns. i had a female Dr who was a total bitch (telling me i was too fat for the Pill to work, which was an outright lie given my weight) and i had two (count 'em TWO) midwives who were horrendous to me. so, there's no telling. my male ob-gyn was fantastic and my family Dr isn't bad. my ob-gyn is one of the few people not to make me feel stupid for being anxious about the Pill, bless him. he had ultrasounds done on my legs and everything to make sure my veins were okay and that they weren't the source of my pain.

people is people. and, you can always walk out and make another appointment. :)

good luck!

No worries!

[linzbinz.livejournal.com]

I think -everyone- is freaked out the first time they go get a pelvic exam, but it's SERIOUSLY not bad at all. I'm a total wimp, and it doesn't bother me. Maybe if you're nervous about seeing the guy doctor, you should wait for the woman doctor to get back...the less nervous you are, the less your muscles are tensed up, which makes things go easier. :) It goes fast though- mine have all been about 5 minutes, 10 minutes tops. They check the outter parts of your vagina, then put in the speculum (which isn't nearly as freaky as you'd think), and most doctors will put it in warm water first so it doesn't feel cold, then they put KY jelly on it, just so it goes in easily. After that, they look around inside of you, makin' sure everything looks ok, then they'll stick a finger or two inside, feel around for anything abnormal, then push on your lower stomach, to feel the shape of your cervix and all that, then they'll do a pap smear and maybe an STD test...the STD test usually consists of a cotton swab being rubbed around inside, and the pap smear doesn't usually hurt...it just feels like a little scratch...it feels weird more than painful, and then you're done! *Laughs* Wow, this is long...I hope it helped! *Hugs* Good luck!

Re: No worries!

[delicata77.livejournal.com]

It helped me!
I am going to be going soon.....
I am 24!
A little late, but at least I am going!

[michelleybelle.livejournal.com]

The most important thing to remember is RELAX RELAX RELAX! It really does make everything so much easier and not at all painful. I know it sounds impossible, but you actually have to concentarte on MAKING yourself relax. And if you're really scared, just tell him up front that you're pretty nervous about this and ask him to explain what he is going to do "down there."
Good Luck, I'm sure everything will go great :o)

[sour-grrrl.livejournal.com]

I had my first pap when I was 15..same story though, woman dr. wasn't in so I had it done by a male doctor.
I don't know if you meditate at all, but when I'm having anything medical done (exams and such..) down there I try to just breathe and not think about it at all. Just try to focua on something else.

[goodjoan]

It's totally normal to be scared, but like everyone has said, it's not so bad! Just tell the dr this is your first pelvic exam (though he Should have reaed your history!) and ask him to just tell you what he's doing.** In my experience men are better than women gyns. True women have vaginas too so they should know what hurts, but alternately, men do Not so they tend to err on the gentler side. You might feel a little cramp when they do the pap smear, thats usually the worst part.

** A decent Dr should talk you through whats going on but some can talk Too much! I had one dr who was trying to be really sensitive and she was saying "This is just my hand...This is the speculum...This is just the trashcan..." At the word Trashcan I must have jumped because up till then everything she prefaced with "this is just the..." was inserted into my body! She went on to explain that the trash can lid made a really odd squeaking sound that had a tendancy to scare people who didn't realize she was trowing away the pap swab. I felt better then!

[isolt.livejournal.com]

1) Make sure your doc talks to you, and doesn't interrupt you or cut you off. I'm in a sociolinguistics class right now, so I'm hyper aware of the sorts of things that men, esp men with power like doctors, tend to do. Anyway, make sure that any concerns you have are voiced. Make him listen to you, and be annoying if you have to. You're *his* client.

2) My only other piece of advice is, if you're a virgin, ask about a smaller speculum. I was a virgin at my first exam, and the regular size one was too big for me.

[shaunna.livejournal.com]

i know what you mean.
any doctor i have has to be a girl doctor.
especially a psychiatrist.