Unknown side effects of 50,000 women every year

When Rosie opened a message and saw the phrase “abnormal cells” I felt pure panic.

“I did not think that I would be in this way,” said 38 -year -old for a metro. “No one actually explained the meaning of these words. All I got was a number to make an appointment to remove them.

The message, which Rosie Dixon received in 2018, invited her to undergo a large loop of the Lletz to remove some pre -cells that were discovered in the cervix.

When you specify the appointment, you claim that there is no room to question the procedure because it was transferred through an effective “conveyor belt” system to remove it.

“I can only ask questions as soon as you are already in the room; there is no prior point where you can talk to the doctor and explain your concerns.” I asked what the cells would become cancerous and are there any alternative treatments, but they were unable to answer them. I felt that doctors were very prepared and that if I did not do it now, there is an opportunity that I have not seen. It was as if they were surprised by anyone who would question this process.

Rosie says she also felt that they were forced to move forward because her loved ones were afraid of the phrase “pre -cells before cancer” with a true sense of urgency. “I do not blame them – doctors or my loved ones – but I felt that there was no room to take a different option or at least slow,” she explained.

In addition, she adds, there was a side effect that was not discussed at all: sexual imbalance.

“Just tell me about the short -term side effects, such as bleeding and increasing the risk of working before the period. In their opinion, there were no long -term side effects. However, now, after having sex, I am often tested cramping, and feels that there is something wrong inside me. I also have chronic pain in the sink that started after Lletz.

“I made the link with a psychological question, when was the last time I felt the movement and free of pain? It was before the procedure.

Every year, previous cancer cells are removed from 50,000 cervix in the UK through circumcision of a large loop of the transformation area, known as Lletz.

It has become a standard measure usually under a local anesthetic, designed to remove cells often due to high -risk strains of HPV before developing into cervical cancer, which is the fourth most common of cancer in women in the world and the fourteenth in the United Kingdom.

The procedure uses a thin small wire with an electric current to burn abnormal cells; Dr. Olawatopi Adisania, a general doctor who has a special interest in women’s health. It is successful for nine in 10 people they have. The entire system is an excellent examination program for cancer because it is preventive.

With NHS aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, there is no doubt that it is a tremendous victory for women’s health; However, some patients, such as Rosie, claim that they face long -term side effects that greatly affect their sexual lives.

Maadi Brown*, 43, was the procedure in 2022.

It was a positive experience and went well. “I was given leaflets with a lot of information. Metro. However, during the next year, I noticed a side effect that is not included in the publications.

“Initially, I didn’t notice anything because I was celibate, but when I started seeing my partner in 2023, I immediately realized the differences in the feeling,” the civil employee of Wales explains.

“I put it with a new person, but as soon as our relationship became more exciting, I started wondering what was happening. I had no high sexual campaign, but I noticed a decrease, and I could no longer ecstasy sexual orgasm anymore.

“Fortunately, my clitoris is still working, but I did not expect something like this and I only did the link after I searched for symptoms and found other women on the Internet to take place the same experiences like me.”

Although her partner always understands, the effect on physical confidence is important.

“What I enjoy has changed,” she confesses. “Especially since we are able to find our relationship at this stage of our lives, and everything else works well. Sometimes we will never have the rapprochement and intimacy that I really look forward to.

“I am keen not to postpone people from obtaining a procedure if this is what they need, but this is not a really informed approval if you do not know how it can affect you.”

Searching in the effect of LLLTZ on sexual imbalance is limited, which makes it difficult to determine exactly how common the problem is. One of the studies published in the Korean Medicine Journal showed that up to 65 % of women suffer from a degree of change in sexual sensation after Lletz, while a Thai sheet of 2010 found that the procedure is linked to “small but statistically significant declines in comprehensive sexual satisfaction, vaginal flexibility, and euphoria.”

Despite these results, these side effects do not appear in any literature given to patients before or after the procedure. It was also not mentioned on the NHS page about Lletz. However, the Royal College of Gynecology and Gynecology mentioned sexual imbalance in relation to the procedure, with symptoms including lubrication, pain during sexual intercourse, changing sensation of orgasm, and a feeling of decreased sexual satisfaction.

The pharmacist Anna, 30, was Lletz procedures in 2014 and after a decade, in 2024.

“After both, I had no desire, and he struggled with lubrication, and while I can feel excitement and euphoria, it looks completely different – as it does not happen to me,” I told. ” Metro From her home in Cardiff. I also felt pain and some bleeding after sex. I did not realize that this would be a problem because no one mentioned it. I felt fully prepared to find signs of infection, but not that.

“Now, I often feel self -awareness, and worry that this will harm me when I have sex or that my partner will feel the difference. I don’t feel comfortable or exciting.

As a person working in the field of health care, Anna was surprised that there was no opportunity to ask questions before and after the procedure. “I am reluctant to criticize the concerned persons because I know what is like pressure, but it seemed as if it were a conveyor belt and a kind of tick box,” she confessed.

One of the problems is that the process is mainly simplified by time and cash restrictions. The cervical offers are made on 3.5 million women annually, and any unnatural results are followed, NHS is very pressure to treat these matters quickly, which means that patients may not discuss the procedure with their GP before or after that.

Patients will have a short consultation directly before Lletz, but there is no follow -up date for patients to discuss concerns. All results are connected by a message or text, and the follow -up cervical examination is performed after six months.

In an ideal world, most healthcare professionals want to prior sales and after -sales. “You want the patient to feel that they have more self -judgment and selection,” says Dr. Edisania.

Without any GPS access registration, Rosie, Maadi and Anna have discovered their newly sexual disruption on their own by finding a Facebook group that includes approximately 9000 members who support people who heal from Lletz procedures. There, they faced many other women with similar side effects.

Many publications share conflicts to restore pleasure after this savior procedure, often without supporting doctors. Even after confirming the originality of their symptoms, women did not feel comfortable reporting them, and they are afraid of separation, disbelief, and permanent stigma about a woman’s sexual life.

Dr. Olivia Giovante, an assistant professor at the University of Queen in Canada, who conducted many studies on the long -term effects of Lletz and the available information, believes that medical women’s hate may play a role in the problem.

You say to Metro.

“I get responses, especially from the elderly men, such as” well, my patients never complain “or get the defense, saying that cancer treatment is more important [than sexuality]. Although the greatest good is to always remove cancer cells, this does not change the fact that some people return to the house unable to communicate with their partner or feel that they have lost part of themselves. “

Dr. Addisania adds that more advice should be provided to women.

“They have been trained in our minds that when you ask for a blood -related blood test, you are advising them to inform them of what this might mean with regard to hospital dates, biopsy, and procedures,” she explained. Do we say this routinely for women when they are invited to examine the cervix? no. Certainly it must be done in terms of educational awareness.

While Rosie acknowledges that Lletz is likely to save for life, it will reject the procedure if you can do this again.

“If there is 1 in 100 chances of cancer, what do you prefer, or, or out of every 10 that you will bleed emotionally, physically scars?” , Ask. “I would like to go with the possibility of breaking it because for me, the quality of life is more important than its length.”

Meanwhile, although Anna is angry at her treatment, she will continue to do it again if she is aware of enough, as she admits. “A tested cervical examination and human papillomal virus vaccine are amazing services that help identify and reduce the risk of cancer,” she says. “I would have felt more prepared to how to deal with side effects if I was told. I would feel less on my own.

A NHS spokesman told Metro: ‘

“We will encourage all patients to discuss any concerns about this procedure with their doctor so that they can make an informed decision on moving forward.”

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