Heritage Album

Why would there need to be recent records of a pap smear for a routine Depo Provera shot?

Okay, here's the deal. I've been taking Depo shots for the past 9 months (or more) with a prescription from my Family Physician. I also go to an OBGYN and have gotten pap-smears from him for the past 3 years. I'm in my first year at college and am due for my shot on October 14th. I went to the campus health facility to make an appointment for my shot and the receptionist told me that they needed record of my pap smear in order to give me the shot. I had my OBGYN fax over my records of the last pap smear (which was less than a year ago; will be a year at the end of the month). The nurses said my records were outdated and that I need to get another pap smear before I get my shot. This would make sense, but they scheduled my pap smear and my shot for the same day. This means that the results of my pap smear have nothing to do with whether or not I can get my shot because you obviously have to wait for the pap results. My question is what does my pap smear have to do with getting my Depo shot? The major problem with this is that my OBGYN is over 4 hours away and there is no way I can get there or get an appointment by then, and my mother wants to keep me with the same Gynecologist. Is there a valid reason for the health center to request the pap smear?

Public Comments

1. The reason for asking for the pap smear results is to make sure that there are no other problems going on that could affect you getting your shot as can occur with cancer of the female organs (an example only). I would recommend calling your doctor's office on Mon to let them know what's going on with the health clinic to see what they suggest. It may be necessary for your doctor to talk to the Nurses in the health clinic.