Mumsnet has always been useful for me as a lurker but I could really do with a second opinion on this. Apologies if this is a long post.
After over year of problems on the mini pill (increased frequency of irregular bleeding to just bleeding all the time) which led to multiple exams/tests and changing the dose and brand, my GP said to stop taking it and look at the copper coil instead. GP doesn't offer it so went to the local GUM clinic.
I had a pre-coil advice appoitnment with a nurse and was booked in at a local hospital FPC. I went along for my appointment yesterday and the nurse was really abrupt. No eye contact when calling me through, just walked ahead of me etc. I even told her I was pretty nervous about it all. She questioned why I was having copper instead of mirena and explained my history and she told me that GPs don't know anything, that they know better because they are the experts which kind of ruffled my feathers. Anyway, on to the procedure which hurt like hell. I have never had children and was nervous which no doubt affected my experience. I lay down, she shoved a finger in (which hurt!) and then put the speculum in. With no lubrication. The nurse then applied some local anaesthetic and it continued with the fiting. I opted for deep breathing and felt as though I was going to pass out, which I told her. I was given a glucose tablet, told to lay down for 20 minutes and sent on my way. I wasn't given any aftercare advice - and from what friends and the internet have said, it seems most nurses are slightly kinder and give you at the very least a sanitary towel to deal with the bleeding that occurs after.
Today I rang my local GUM clinic to find out where I could go for my follow up so I could avoid this particular nurse (they work on rotation in the area) and try to get an appointment rather than a walk in as I work FT. During the course of my conversation with the receptionist, she encouraged me to make a complaint and passed my details on to someone more senior, who rang me this morning. This person apologised for the nurse's manner and also said the following to me:
- they don't use KY jelly for speculum exams as it affects test results so don't order it in [I should mention that I had one at my local clinic last year and they used lubrication]
- that mirena is not hormonal and they prefer to fit that over the copper coil
I've never had a speculum exam without lubrication before (I've had about 4 in the last year) and the mirena is a hormonal type of contraception. I can't help but feel like I have been fobbed off a little. I don't want to be awkward or difficult but part of me feels as though I should complain formally to the NHS Trust because I would hate for someone else to go through what I went through.