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I was practicaly shitting myself in the office before the Doctor came in. I was so nerveous. I have been on birth control for a year, and after that year is up, I had to have a physical to get another year's perscription.

I had to have a pap smear. Doesn't that sound TERRIBLE? Okay well, it's not as bad as it seems.

This is kind of going out to the girls who may have to see a Doctor or a Gyno soon. Just be calm. If I surivived it, you will too. It will NOT be as bad as you think.

My Doctor asked me if it was my first physical, and if you let your Doctor know, they will make sure to explain everything to you, and make you comfortable.

It's really not that bad. The sad thing was, my doc was an elderly woman with a noticable mustache. She did her pokin' around and all. At 13, I was pretty freaked out. If I can go through that, you can go through one with even a male doc.

Well most doctors (well, gynocologists) will allow you to bring a close friend or a family member (like your mom) into the room with you. They can even hold your hand or stand next to you, if it would make you feel better.

I would definitely mention to your doctor that you were raped when you were a child, because if you're really scared and worked up about it, then the physical will be much harder and your doctor might be wondering why. All you have to say is "I was raped as a child, and I'm scared [or nervous] about the physical. Would you be able to give me some advice about how to distract myself during the exam?"

The key is to relax as much as you can. With my doctor (I guess she's also a gynologist, because she did my physical), she explained what she was doing as I was doing it, and with things like the speculum she gave me an idea of what to expect. When she was using the speculum, we talked to each other, and I wiggled my toes and counted the ceiling tiles (both of which helped).

There's nothing to be scared of. If you can, get a female gyno to perform the physical - maybe it will help you relax. If you need more information, you can check out the sticky in this subforum: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=1183349 (post 3)
You should also do as much research as you can about physicals and pap smears. The more educated you are about what will happen, the less there is to fear. And since you'll need to get them once a year after the age of 18 (or after you're first sexually active, whichever comes first), it's something you'll need to get used to for the sake of your own health.