Experiences of outpatient hysteroscopy and whether to have it without anaesthetic

Had one in my 40s, it was the most painful procedure I have ever experienced. I nearly passed out, it seemed never ending and cried all the way home.
had to have another a few years later prior to a hysterectomy, I had the GA

Try it in OPA first. Go for the GA if necessary but plenty of women get through it just fine.

Agony. Screamed like a banshee all the way through and vomited when it was over. GA all the way.

I had polyps removed a couple of years ago and there wasn’t even a suggestion that it would be done without a GA! But I’m in France, maybe that’s standard here.

Have you read this recent Guardian article?
www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/16/women-routine-womb-examinations-hysteroscopies-pain-nhs

I've had two, both with biopsy. Second time around I was offered both local anaesthetic and gas and air and took both. After that the procedure was pretty painless although there was some discomfort from the water they squirt into your uterus - like a period pain. I enjoyed the gas and air 🤪. Personally I wouldn't have a GA, with all the risk that entails, for this.

I’m not going to go into detail as I don’t want to worry you. I will say that you should insist on having the procedure with GA.

Good luck.

I had one with no pain relief and was on my period and it was horrendous

Mine was fine.
Hugs to all the women for whom it was awful x

I had one without GA a couple of weeks ago for polyp removal. It was very unpleasant but bearable; however, he couldn't remove the polyp so it was all for nothing and has to be rebooked under GA. Despite being very medically knowledgeable, I hadn't realised (and have never seen explained anywhere) that for safety reasons they can't use certain cutting tools unless you are under GA, so this was actually always a possibility. I knew I had a polyp and have had one removed under GA before, which was fine. If I'd realised about the limitations of conscious investigation and knew it was for polyp removal, I'd have gone for GA again with hindsight.

I had 4 nurses holding me down, gas and air. Had to spend hours in their secret little recovery room waiting on a bad to recover, and I'm couldn't even sit up to take the pain killers they gave me after.

It was one of the most horrific experiences of my life.

I had a positive experience in the end. I had my procedure last year under local anesthetic aged 57. It was slightly uncomfortable but the nurses distracted me with a conversation about holidays which was only interrupted when the doctor showed me exactly what he was doing on the screen next to me.

The procedure had been tried a few days earlier with no pain relief but the doctor stopped after a few seconds stating that it was going to be very painful for me so another appointment was made. He gave very clear warnings beforehand that it was going to hurt so I'm lucky that it turned out not to be the case.

I had a little cramping that evening, but all in all it wasn't so bad.

I’ve had a couple both without GA, just with the local injected into the site that’s the worst part to be honest for me and then I concentrated on some yoga breathing! I had polyps removed and a biopsy on the first and another biopsy on the second. I also take some painkillers before I go. It’s not a pleasant experience but for me I know I can be in and out and on with my day after! I also completely trust the staff and know I can ask them to stop at any time, and will do so if needed.

I had it done recently. In short - ask for the anaesthetic. Preferably general or sedation, local does nothing.

everyone’s experience is really different as you can see from these responses… but knowing how awful it COULD be for some, do you want to risk it?

FYI… I had one recently with GA. For me, even with GA, the pain after the procedure was so mind blowingly sore that they had to give me OxyContin in the hospital just to handle the hours afterwards. I was in agony! And that was just the pain on waking from the procedure. I truly can’t imagine having been awake during it. I did have a biopsy done.

Mine was surpsingly painless considering I've never given birth or had a coil etc, and am a wimp. I think I took paracetamol before, and had a local anaesthetic in vagina before the procedure, which included removing a polyp and a biopsy. It really helped that the staff were lovely and said at any point I could ask to stop, and they'd book me in for a GA.....so in future I would only have one if this was the case.

I'm 61 and have had two in the last 12 months. First was polyp removal and biopsy. For me, they were both fine, virtually painless just slight discomfort.
The staff were lovely, and driving home afterwards was not a problem. Smear tests at this age have been another story!
Reading others experiences, it seems impossible to predict.

I had two in my late 40s. Both times they took a biopsy. Really didn't have much pain, and was back at work within an hour both times. I don't do well with GAs and so really didn't want one. No pain relief was offered and I forgot to take the recommended ibuprofen beforehand.

Apparently about 70% of women find them ok, and 30% find them very painful. The problem is that you can't tell in advance which group you're going to fall into.

I've had all of mine without.
All ok except the last one really hurt but that was because she was in and out multiple times removing lots of small polyps and taking a biopsy. (Which she said couldn't possibly be causing my symptoms and almost refused to remove, except now my symptoms have gone 🤔). Sometimes the little ones cause the most bother, I had a 40 minute one to remove a huge fibroid and that was fine in comparison.

I'm a bit scared of GA's, they're not risk free and I'd rather not have one unless absolutely necessary.
I've had light sedation for other procedures and that was great! Felt nothing.

I had an outpatient hysteroscopy a couple of years ago and it was truly horrendous. It was undoubtedly the worst experience of my life. Definitely go for the GA.

I had one n mid 50s to remove polyps. I thought I would die from the pain. Get the GA!

I had one a few months ago. I opted for a local anaesthetic to numb the cervix which I think helped put my mind at ease more than anything. Gas& air were available, though I didn’t feel I needed it (and having used it in labour, in find it makes me very dizzy!)

I’m not great with pain (I have passed pit when having a piercing and when I had my first blood test!) but found it a manageable procedure. There was certainly some cramping, very similar to period pain or early labour pains. But only a very short burst of any kind of ‘sharp’ pain.

The nurses/doctors talked me through everything and said I could stop at any point. I took my husband with me and he stayed by me throughout the procedure, which I found reassuring.

The cramping lasted a few hours after and I was glad I had taken the day off work so I could just rest (I’m a teacher so would have been going back to full on lessons with 30children with no way to rest.)

After trying without any pain relief I had to stop as it was unbearable. At hospital I
asked anaesthetist on day of procedure for sedation rather than GA. Was fantastic. Completely out of it unaware. Came round very quickly afterwards and went home much sooner than the others who all had GA.

I had 3 hysteroscopies last year. The first one as an outpatient with paracetemol/ibuprofen was painful but tolerable. The second was horrendous and was eventually stopped after 15 minutes of what I would describe as torture. The third was done with GA. If I were to have to have another I'd only do it under GA. Based on my experience I would say that the level of pain depends on where the problem is in the uterus and also on the technique and skill of the person doing the procedure. But there doesn't seem to be any evidence published to support any theory. I hope all goes well.