QuestionAs of right now i do not know why my cervix is inflammed. I was never told but i did get tested for chylamdia and gonorrhea and it was negative. Its not herpes either. So as far as anything else i was not told. I had a few bacterial infections when i was a teen but as far as i know i haven't had one in awhile. It was discovered through a pap smear and when they touched it, it hurt. So they sent me to get checked further. They did what seemed to be another pap smear and of course did the biopsy where they took a piece from my cervix and it came back as chronic inflammation. Thats all i was told and when i asked what to do because it was still painful they said take advil. But that barely helps the back pain. I am also itchy and stinging. I did only talk to the nurse so i guess now i will call my doctor and hopefully get a chance to talk to her. Thank you for your help i do at least feel better about persuing this more. I do have to add you were helpful and very nice. Thank you. Shara.
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Followup To
Question -
I am 24 years old and recently had a cervical biopsy done because of a bleeding cervix. It came back as chronic inflammation and i was wondering what can be done for that? My doctor did not talk to me about it but what little i have read says some procedures can be done. my sister said she had it and got one procedure done and has been better since. I am still hurting during sex and have lower back pain like crazy which gives me cramps in front. i have felt my discharge has been heavy for awhile now and never knew why. It is all still this way. I tried for almost a year to have another child with no luck and i read it can cause difficulty. With my first it only took a month to conceive. So really what i am wondering is should i ask my doctor to do something or can not much be done to help it? I know what i read, but are there instances when nothing helps? I really just want to feel better. Thanks so much. Shara.
Answer -
Hi Shara,
You have a compelling problem. I am sorry to hear about your discomfort. While chronic cervical inflammation can be a challenging and persistent problem, there are definite treatment strategies that should be offered to you. Given the persistence and severity of your symptoms it would be worthwhile to consider one or more treatment options.
Each of the symptoms that you described is directly related to chronic cervicitis. Your description of back/abdominal pain, pain with intercourse, and chronic vaginal discharge are all related to chronic inflammatory cervical changes. Additionally, the fertility issue that you described suggests that the inflammatory changes may be creating a component of cervical outlet obstruction.
You mentioned a cervical biopsy. I will assume that came from a colposcopy for an abnormal pap, and that the tissue diagnosis from pathology was returned as ?chronic inflammation.? A tissue section from colposcopic exam is required before a treatment regimen can be started.
Treatment methods of cervicitis are selected based on the cause of the inflammation. The most common cause of cervical inflammation is infection (bacterial or fungal). Other causes include foreign bodies (IUD?s), trauma, and chemical irritation. Treatment goals are to remove the inflammatory agent (bacteria, foreign body, etc.) and then remove the inflamed cervical tissue.
Infectious causes are treated with antibiotic or antifungal medications. After a course of antibiotics or antifungals, a procedure to try to reduce the inflammatory lesions on your cervix might be considered. These are ablative or destructive treatments where the goal is to destroy abnormal tissues that are causing problems.
Cryotherapy, LEEP and cone biopsy are treatment options that are most commonly used in the treatment of cervical dysplasia, but can be used in the management of cervical inflammation as well. If your recent firtility issues are from an obstruction caused by cervical inflammation, then it may be one of these procedures that may help to resolve that problem.
Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to destroy abnormal cells. Freezing the cervix will destroy the first few layers of cells. These are the chronically infected cells which make your pap smear abnormal. LEEP (Loop Electro Excision Procedure) involves using a hot wire loop to resect a section of cervix containing abnormal cells. Cryotherapy and LEEP are typically done in the office as an outpatient. The most invasive of these procedures is conization (cone biopsy). In this method a relatively large section of the cervix is removed. The cone biopsy can be done for tissue diagnosis and for therapeutic intentions by removing abnormal cervical tissues. This is usually done in the OR.
Chronic cervical inflammation can be uncomfortable, annoying and unpleasant. It can be challenging because it is sometimes hard to treat. But it is treatable. Given the nature of your symptoms and the impact it must be having on your life, I would be aggressive in identifying a therapy that offers you some relief. Because it is complicated, has several different procedural options, and requires close follow up, it is critical to closely coordinate your care with your proivder.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any follow up questions you might have.
Dr. Tim
AnswerHi Shara,
The elusive nature of cervical inflammation is that it can be very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause. What is clear is that there is an inflammatory process of the cervix and that process causes a constellation of symptoms which include lots of discharge (some patients soak several pads per day), backache, abdominal pain, itching and dyspareunia (painful intercourse). As I recall you had most of these. The good news for you is that all of your symptoms can be explained by one diagnosis which leaves me to hope that you might get much of them to resolve with the right treatment regimen.
The trick will be finding the right treatment. It sounds like you have a good relationship with your doctor and that is great. Patients always do better when the patient-doctor relationship is sound.
Thank you for your nice comments.
Dr. T
