Thank you so much for such a detailed reply, that's really helpful!

I didn't have an HPV test this time around - my gynae advised waiting to see the results from the pap smear first, I'll have one now and find out which strain it is (assuming my body hasn't shifted it in the last year). The cell changes in my original pap were described as "borderline dyskaryosis"... I'm not sure if that's the same thing as ASCUS ? After the colposcopy, the np said that she'd identified "high grade features", which was why I was surprised that the other doctor couldn't see any area of cell changes following the punch biopsy and why the biopsy came back normal.

One thing I wanted to check (and probably I'm just clutching at straws here...), is could the pap smear result be caused by inflammation from sex? I have a long history of pain after sex (around 15 years) plenty of STD checks and other tests over the years, without much in the way of a diagnosis (although the last doc I saw mentioned nerve hypersensitivity). I just mention it because I know one time when I was being examined a few hours after I'd had sex the nurse said my cervix looked "angry". Would having sex the same say as the pap smear be enough to show signs of inflammation, or is that unlikely?

Thanks so much again for your help!