vaginapagina | Anonymous post: Pap and free Gardasil in Toronto (Reply)

Greetings, Superstars! As you probably know, from time to time the VP Team makes posts on behalf of people who wish to remain anonymous or who do not have LJ accounts. This is one such post. Thanks in advance for your helpful comments.

P.S. For more info on anonymous posts, see this link.

Eli
For the VP Team
contact_vp

I'm 20 years old and in the Toronto area of Canada. I started hormonal birth control just over 2 months ago (Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo) and was given 4 months worth by my doctor. He told me to get a pap smear 'within the next couple of months' as I'm sexually active (with a monogamous partner) now and have never had one done. The thing is, I'm woefully ignorant of how to go about doing this. I don't want my doctor to do it- I'm uncomfortable around him at the best of times (and plan to switch doctors when I move in a year) and would feel super awkward having him do that as I'd prefer a woman, anyway. The only female doctor at my clinic is another doctor I feel uncomfortable around, having seen her once when my regular doctor was on vacation and I was not at all pleased with her.

So I simply don't know how to go about getting a pap smear. I don't have any referrals to a gynecologist and I'm completely ignorant. Would it be possible to go to a place like Planned Parenthood in Toronto and get it done, and have the results forwarded to my clinic? Do I need to call them and make an appointment? I sort of have anxiety issues and the longer I've left this the more I'm getting worried about it. Does anyone have any ideas?

Also, my doctor told me I should get the HPV vaccination. He informed he it's usually given to girls in grade eight for free but I never got one. Then he said I could get one at my university clinic for free but I don't currently attend university, or any school for that matter. Otherwise, he said, I'd have to pay for it and unless I'm highly mistaken it was something like $170 per shot or something like that (when I looked at the sheet he gave me two months ago). Is there any way at all I could get this vaccination for free even though I don't attend school? I really, really, do not have the funds to pay that much money- it just isn't possible and I'll have to do without.

Thank you for all your help superstars!