Hysteroscopy and laparoscopy experiences

[mummysmagicmedicine]

Hi ladies,

I have recently been advised I may potentially need a hysteroscopy or laparoscopy. Any advice/tips/experiences. I am emetephobia so terrified I may feel nauseous or vomit. Also for hysteroscopy is it better to go under GA or just sedation?

I had mine under sedation, but it felt the same as GA. Definitely don't have it without anything.

I was sick after the sedation, but I generally am after GA (never have been under sedation, that's why I think it was more like a GA).

I had hysteroscopy recently without anything other than 2 paracetamols. I really was under the impression that as I have had children and smears over the years that I would be able to deal with the pain, and initially it was manageable but when the saline water was pumped into my womb and the consultant experienced problems getting a biopsy it all became too much.

I really do believe that they shouldn’t even offer it without sedation or GA as an absolute minimum, so take either!l

I have had two hysteroscopies, one with no anaesthesia of any kind, one with a hastily administered local anaesthetic when I started to be in pain. No feeling of sickness for either.

I had a hysteroscopy and laparoscopy together under a general. I did feel nausea when I came round. They gave me a very effective anti nausea med. I wasnt sick and it worked in about 5 minutes.

I also had an investigative hysteroscopy with no pain relief/sedation. It was fine. It didnt hurt and I didnt feel sick at all.

As to whether sedation of GA is better, it depends very much what they are doing.

I had one in June with a GA. No pain afterwards and no sickness. Just took a full day but so worth it.

I’m just about to have my sixth under GA, I don’t think I could tolerate it without one.

Thank you so much everyone for the positive stories! Hearing so many is really helping

I recently had them under GA.
I wouldn't dream of having such a procedure without anaesthesia.

No problems with recovery, either.

I had it recently just with local anesthetic (injection). It was very, very unpleasant and quite painful. I remember it was painful but pain was forgotten as soon as it was done. But it was quite bad, similar to when I had coil fitted: so bad I sweated and felt sick.

It was also really unpleasant because of the position I was in and the fact that it felt like I'm being tortured somehow - I felt very exposed and vulnerable. However, the Dr and nurses were absolutely lovely and kept asking me if I want it to stop or if I wanted sedation etc.

As I said, it was all forgotten as soon as it was over, and all the time I was acutely aware of the need to have this done asap so psyched myself up to get through it no matter what. I was fine after and went straight to work, I had some bleeding after and some very mild ache but that was all.

But overall, it's a very unpleasant procedure. If I have to do it again I would probs ask for sedation.

Hysteroscopy can be extremely painful. Some women don't feel it to that extent, but an awful lot do. Medics often understate the pain, and are economic with the truth. Having had an outpatient awake hysteroscopy I would definitely advise a general anaesthetic.

I’ve had one without a general anaesthetic. I took both ibruprofen and paracetamol an hour beforehand. I was pretty terrified and in the pre consultation was offered a GA straight off because my last smear was very painful.

However, as I’d psyched myself up so much for the appointment I decided to give a go. It wasn’t pleasant but I felt very much in control and the staff were very kind and supportive, and said I could stop at anytime. The worse bit was the local anaesthetic (I’ve not given birth vaginally and my cervix was very tight apparently) but I didn’t find the rest too bad. I’d compare it to a smear test that lasts a bit longer along with weird period pain and sharp twinges if they take a biopsy.

I would definitely advocate for yourself and choose what you feel most comfortable with. I don’t know why sedation isn’t routinely available like it would be at the dentist?? I also don’t know why they don’t start with the GA as the default option - so you’d have to opt ‘out’ of it, if you know what I mean?

If I had to have another one I’d probably try it again without GA, but only knowing I could stop if it was too much.

If you’re having both a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy then it’ll have to be done with GA. Sedation isn’t that widely used for hysteroscopies alone but spinal/GA may both be an option for a hysteroscopy if cervical local/oral pain killers aren’t right for you.

They routinely give people sedation for a colonoscopy so why won't they give it to women for a hysteroscopy? Neither procedure is very pleasant - although a lot of people can cope. But I would have thought sedation was better than a GA - is anyone on here able to explain why the two procedures are dealt with differently and why you can't have the same sort of sedation for both?

I had one about a decade ago to remove polyps and I had a GA but I had it done privately so it was offered proactively. The consultant asked me fi I was stoic and I said not particularly so got it.

—Partly to do with positioning during the procedure (most people are less likely to obstruct their airway during a colonoscopy)
-hysteroscopies can cause more vagal side effects than colonoscopies & vomiting under sedation in the position you’d be in for a hysteroscopy can get hairy.
-there are more likely to be concerns relating to consent/withdrawal of consent during hysteroscopies than colonoscopies. There is also never a guarantee that there won’t be some recall/ some pain during any procedure under sedation.
-for some people GA/spinal is safer than sedation.

I had 2 hysteroscopy last year. I was absolutely dreading them. I took paracetamol and ibuprofen beforehand and used gas and air.
They were both absolutely fine. I had a polyp removed and a coil fitted during the second one.

Op have you ever had anaesthetic before? I feel very nauseous after them to the point that I struggle to eat for several days afterwards

I'd be more inclined to try the hysteroscopy without it if you have a choice between pain and nausea.

Sorry that doesn't help. I've had hysteroscopy under GA plus 3 other GA experiences and feel the same each time.

I was worried about having one as lots of people told me it was painful. I took paracetamol before and had a local anaesthetic, and it was fine! I’d worried so much and didn’t need to. They removed a polyp. I even watched the screen to see what was happening.
also not had a vaginal birth.
having the coil fitted was a 100 times worse than this

I was fine too. Watching on screen is really interesting and the staff were lovely. I did have to sit and have a tea and biscuit after as I was light headed but otherwise fine.

I’m more scared of sedation or a GA (never had one ever!).

Thank you again everybody for your experiences, this is really helpful to hear.

I have never had a GA so a bit apprehensive but both my parents and sister have had for various reasons and no one’s ever vomited so that’s a relief I suppose.

Thinking if it turns out I need both to do both at the same time if at all possible under GA but they may want to go separately.

I tried to have one with gas and air, way too painful and the procedure was stopped. A few weeks later had it under general anaesthetic – absolutely no problem and I was home within a few hours of the surgery. I felt great for the rest of that day which I presume was due to some medication they had given me! The next day I felt extremely tired so took the day off work and slept and then was back to normal. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a good outcome.

You can tell them you're worried about being sick, they may give you a pre emptive anti emetic.

I’m scared of general anaesthetics so had a local. I was lucky and had no pain at all, only slight discomfort. I think if you have had any painful experiences in the past, go for a general. Also, it’s total pot luck whether you’re going to feel no pain or lots, so if you do opt for local anaesthetic, speak in advance about what will happen if you start experiencing severe pain. I asked and was reassured that I could stop the process at any time.