Has anyone had a hysterosalpingography?

[MrsFogi]

I'm booked in for one this week and have had no explanation except for being told that it is not pleasant. Can anyone give me a bit more detail of what happens, how uncomfortable etc. it was + if you found it helped with ttc?

[Geordie]

Hi mrsF

I was booked in and fell pg before i had one....
it involves dye being inserted up thru ur cervix and then you having xrays that show up the tubes and womb...it's a first step to ck the tubes basically. I have heard that it is uncomfy and that it causes period like cramps....I was advised to take a painkiller beforehand and then a couple of hours after.

I have however heard that the dye can give the tubes etc a good clear out and some women fall pg within the 3-4 months following a HSG.

I hope they find clear tubes and the 'clear out' gives your fertility a boost ine the coming months!!

G

[BeckiF]

I've had one! No probs! I got myself worked up into an absolute state before hand and it was absolutely fine! Here is my experience:-

Went to hospital with dp, and was taken into an x-ray type room (dp has to wait outside). I was laid on an inspection couch (that's what I call it!) and positioned as though I was having a smear. It was all ladies with me, which was great. The main lady inserted a long slender metal tube up into my vagina and passed it through my cervix, which as my gynae doc promised is mostly insensitive. She had a bit of trouble passing it through but it still wasn't painful. Once the tube was passed through the dye was injected into my womb/tubes and at this point I got a cramping sensation. It took me by surprise which made me wince, but it didn't hurt really, it was just like a period type cramp. Whilst they were doing this they are x-raying you to watch the dyes passage. When they are done they remove the tube and off you go. I had a bit of spotting for a couple of days where she had caught my cervix and it was sore to sit down for the rest of the day. After that, no probs! So don't worry, that just makes it worse! It was fine, I promise, and I am the biggest wimp ever (hence the panic before and all the tears!)

[Eeek]

Hi

i found the worst bit the waiting anxiously before hand! In my local hospital you were sent into a broom cupboard by one door, told to undress and leave by another wearing their robes. I found walking into what was basically a theatre very unnerving. Not what I'd expected although I don't know what I did expect. And I was panicked about the staff - they treat it as completely normal! Then as BeckiF says you're put in the smear position. They pass a tube up into you and put something (like a cap?) over the cervix to stop the dye coming back out. I felt it as a sudden sharp, pinching,pain. It was like something suddenly clamping into place - probably exactly what it was! I didn't feel the dye or anything else at all. They warn of spotting and cramps later but I didn't get any of that. I'd describe it as unpleasant but no more. And I've got to go for another one soon so it is on my mind!

[welshmum]

I've had one too and like you BeckiF I worked myself up into a right old lather. I didn't find it painful at all in the end - rather an indecorous position though. Bit more extreme than a smear - ahem....'put the soles of your feet together and then draw them up as near as possible to your fanny and drop your knees' Anyway the procedure was fine - and the ladies commented later that I was very flexible and asked if I did yoga.......
(Got pg pretty soon after by the way - good luck and try not to fret too much - easier said than done I know)

[elliott]

I've had one too and can't add to the excellent descriptions of the procedure given here. For me, I didn't feel the tube going through the cervix but I did have pretty painful cramps (worse than a period, not as bad as labour!) when the dye was pushed through. It didn't last long though. If you normally get bad period pains I would suggest you take some painkillers (ibuprofen and/or paracetamol) half an hour before.
Good luck!

[MrsFogi]

Thanks - that's a real help to know what to expect as I think I was starting to get worked up with the fear of the unknown.

[malinki]

Hi, I had mine done in October, like the other ladies, I was a wreck driving there thinking the worst that I was going to be in pain etc etc, and to my honest shock, it was like having a smear, I was taken into the x-ray dept told to undress and put on a robe and hospital gown, I was then taken into a very big room with a operating table and I panicked and started to cry, this lovely nurse asked me if I wanted her to hold my hand and this american chap called Dr Fraser Khan entered the room, I just thought my world was ending, I was ushered up onto the table, told to take the smear test position, or legs spread etc etc and a green sheet was put over me, then they explained to me for the millionth time what they were going to do and I felt like passing out, I had worked myself up into a real state, so there I was lying on my back when this thing moved above me and came very close to my pelvic region, (it was the x-ray machine, but nothing like I've seen before), then my tubes appeared on a black and white tv screen, they talked me through everything, they even unblocked my left tube with saline solution and to be honsest I never really felt anything, other than you would at a smear test, the Dr even told me to cough to make the equipment come out of me, he told me there and then that my tubes were both perfect. Please please don't worry....

[Morgan]

I too had a positive experience. They held my hand and everything. Didn't get results there and then but no pain or even discomfort. Don't worry!

[CountessDracula]

I had one, it was fine. A little bit of pain for a few seconds, that's all

[greenbug]

after having the procedure done, can one still ttc for that month or is the month waisted? It's usually done a day or two after af, right?

[MrsFogi]

Had it done - it was fine (in case anyone else is having one!). Bit annoyed to find that during my d&c they managed to leave me with scarring which may make it more difficult for an egg to implant/increase the risk of an eptopic pregnancy if I do manage to conceive (maybe I should have waited for nature to take its course when I had a m/c rather than have the d&c but too late now).
Greenbug - you can get back to bding 24 hours later.

[greenbug]

Cheers MrsFogi,

How did you know you were left with scarring after the D&C? did they tell you after the procedure or you found out at the hysterosalpingography?

[MrsFogi]

Greenbug - they noticed it during the hyst... It seems it could mean implantation is more difficult and/or a higher risk of eptopic pregnancy - just what I needed to make this ttc more difficult! Not to mention the fact that one of my tubes is a bit too narrow (no idea what problems this will/could cause so any views on this welcome!) - another point that showed up in the hyst...
So all very informative but not the positive "Oh MrsF you just have a bunged up tube which we've washed out now so there'll be no problem conceiving from now on" I was hoping for!

[greenbug]

I know how you feel, MrsFogi!

I have worked up myself so much with this ttc business, that absolutely anything can set my mood up or down.


I am a bit confused whether I should go through it. my doctor gave me an appointment for it only because I asked what exactuly it meant.... so he said "Here, you can do it, but I don't see the point". Go figure!
I am to start Clomid next cycle, but i don't know whether you can take clomid and at the same time have the hyst done. so if i do the hyst for the next cycle, i waist another month of not taking clomid.

[hmb]

Mrsfogi, I had a lot of scarring after a d& C following a mc. The scarring was so bad that it blocked the cervical os and even though I was having a period each month I couldn't bleed it was very painful. The Hysterosalpingogram was also very painful. I needed another d & c to break down the scar tissue, an IUD to keep evenything 'open' and hormone treatment to reline the uterus. this took a year. I then went to to concieve 2 children quite naturally and carried them with no probelms. I was also warned that I could have problems, but in the end I didn't. So it can be OK, and I had quite a had case. Hope that everything goes well.

[munnzieb]

girls, does this thing happen after your first visit to the gyno?

[munz]

i'm resurrecting this thread if u don't mind girls, I have mine next week and i'm petrified they'll find something bad going on down there. i'm so scared about it all. how long after having it done did u all fall? is it worth having that day off of work? how long did the whole thing take? I only ask cos I don't want my work to know just yet about the tests we're having done.

[Nik72]

It took an hour though the actual procedure itself was fairly quick. Worth taking some ibuprofen first as it's a bit crampy. Not sure about taking the day off - I drove myself home afterwards but it depends how you feel. The radiologist showed me my tubes there & then (they were fine) but if they'd been blocked I wouldn't have wanted to go to work straight after. Fell pregnant 4 months after the HSG ( had been trying for over 3 years) after a course of reflexology.
Good luck, it's not that bad.

[munz]

thanks nic, i'm petrified they'll find somehting bad as i've only got one tube, I think i'll try to get the apt for as late in the day as poss so then I can go straight home if it is bad news cos I won't wanna go to work either if it is. will keep u all posted thou. at least my cervix looks healthy!

[Nik72]

That's what I did, had it at 5pm or so.

[zippy539]

Hi Munz

Mine was a bit of a nightmare to be honest - they couldn't get the tube up - said the entrance to my cervix was too smal!!!! Anyway, it was eventually done at the same time as my lap. I was pg the next month!

[munz]

well AF turned up all be it late, but it's here booked in at the hospital next thursday will only be CD 8 so there's still a chance that this coming month will be lucky hopefully as long as nothings blocked up!

[dizzy36]

Hi, I've got my HSG on Friday (13th!). I've been getting myself in a right state about it - reading this thread has made me feel a bit more positive about it now that I know a bit more about what the procedure involves. Have not been thinking too much about the results - too be honest have been focusing on the worst case scenario and looking into IVF - at least then if its good news (please, please) it will be a bonus! will be having it done on day 11 so at least can still ttc this month, I assume can bd same day as procedure? surprised and pleased to hear that the procedure may even help things a little bit, got to be more than a conincidence that some ladies have got pg shortly after the procedure... heres hoping! such a releif to have this site and see that other people having similar experiences and subsequent positive result. Best wishes to all having the test soon, let us know how you get on. I shall let you know as soon as I get home on Friday.....fingers crossed for everyone

[munz]

diz - i'm told it's a deep breathing excersice! lol, and take some pain killers. I'm worried about mine mainly about the pain i'll be in, but i'll allow DH to buy me some choc (sod the diet!) lol.

mine's tomorrow, will report back exactly what it's like. good luck with urs.

[dizzy36]

Just got home, tubes are ok!. Procedure wasn't as bad as I thought - didn't feel anything once equipment was in place. How was yours munz? I hope you had good news too. Was so releived when told me all was ok (treated myself to fish and chips on the way home for lunch!) but now am just confused as to y can't get pg again. Have been thinking about it and the last time got pg we'd been trying for a year and the month we conceived my dh went away for a few days around time I ovulated so I assumed we'd missed it for that month and the whole pregnancy thing went out of my head and I didn't think about it at all until my period came, which of course it didn't - can only think that the key is not to think about it all the time like I have been doing and just chill out - what else can I do.