Biopsy - going by myself

[WineBeforeWhine]

I live alone, and don’t have anyone close, this week I’ve got to have a skin biopsy. Has anyone here had one? How was it? I’m nervous about it. How long before you get the results?

mine was fine.

brazenly asked the nurse if i could hold her hand as i was scared. she said yes and talked to me right through. took about ten mins if that from entering the room.

i was allowed to wear my headphones if i wanted but i chose to chat.

numbing jag. felt that as you usually do, just a pinch.

punch biopsy.

no pain at all. paracetamol later when it was a bit sore.

one stitch. which i could feel like it tickled.

no bother at all. i drove there and back.

i think the results were about two to three weeks but i’m in scotland so yours may be quicker.

Thanks for that, gives me a bit of confidence. I hope you got a positive result. I’ve been feeling sorry for myself today, I need to look out my big girl pants for tomorrow.

What’s a punch biopsy?

I had one on my shin just before covid, it didn't hurt at all. The doctor numbed the skin and I could feel her touching me faintly, but no pain. I got my results 2 weeks later and it was a benign naevus. My GP had told me that they refer a lot of skin problems under the 2 week rule to rule out cancer quickly, and that very few are actually cancer.

not altogether sure!

i iimagined it was like an ear piercing gun that it just does what it does when she pushed it. wham bam it’s over. phew.

i heard a click. it didn’t hurt. i presumed it pushed out a tiny bit of the suspicious area and she put that into a container to send to the lab.

it came back it was something whose not cancer. phew.

Thanks that is reassuring.

Ta, I’ll have a google 😀
well done on your result.

Had one last year, they numbed me up and I couldn’t feel anything just a light tugging and I had the blue cloth thing over my face with a hole cut in where they were taking the biopsy from. Wasn’t painful and I was told to say if it was painful, the punch one is like a little hole punch type thing they twist to get the biopsy, it didn’t hurt, I was then stitched up and had a dressing put on, took about ten minutes all in, probably less actually.

I've had one for a breast lump so not quite the same, but it was pretty much painless. First little jab of anaesthetic, I could feel a bit, but it was just a tiny sharp sensation and then all numb really quickly.

The biopsy, vaguely aware of some pushing and moving but no pain or discomfort at all. The biopsy needle makes a clicking sound when they take the samples. I had a few stitches and a small dressing, no problems at all. Staff were all lovely and kind.

I went on my own on the tube there and back. Treated myself to a coffee at Pret afterwards.

Hope it all goes well, you'll feel like a warrior after it's all over!

Be careful driving yourself there and back, if you were to have an accident, your insurance may not cover you if they know you’ve had a local anaesthetic. We usually advise our patients not to drive themselves if possible and either get a taxi or a lift from someone. Also, we get a lot of patients that feel shaky after their anaesthetic.

A punch biopsy is where a small circular tool is pushed into the skin and twisted, and then a small circle of skin is taken as a sample.

Results in our area are currently 4-6 weeks.

I had one and promise it wasn’t painful at all. After the initial numbing (which wasn’t bad) I didn’t feel a thing.
Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I was told by the consultant I’d be ok to drive myself and tbh a taxi would be prohibitively expensive and there’s no bus that would get me there.

I'm sure you'll be fine. I had one last year, and have another next week. Not painless, but not too bad at all. So long as it's nowhere near an eye (or under a driving foot) there's no reason you can't drive.

I had a biopsy on my cheek last year. I got a lift because it was quite close to my eye and also a longish drive because it was done at a little hospital on the other side of the trust’s catchment area. It was completely fine, I could easily have driven and it took about 10 mins once I was in the actual procedure room. Mine was a BCC, which confirmed both my GP’s and the plastic surgeon’s suspicions. I can’t remember how long the results took, maybe a couple of weeks to a month.

This doesn't sound right to me. If you're having sedation you can't drive, but having local anaesthetic on its own is just like going to the dentist.

Hope it goes well OP

Thanks everyone, I’ll report back once I get back home.

I’m home and I have to say I need not have worried. All went smoothly, it stung a bit when they anaesthetised the area but other than that I didn’t feel anything.

I hope you don't have to wait too long for the results and that it's all fine.

I was told it would be 6 weeks! Apparently there is a huge backlog.

My elderly mum had one recently on her own as I couldn’t go with her. She was fine, and she’s not brave. It’s a nick and a stitch. Results were quite fast as I recall. ETA she got a taxi in case she was wobbly but was actually fine. It was on her chest.

The waiting is the worst. Try to stay positive; statistically it is very unlikely to be malignant.

It will be fine. Dh did drive me because mine was on my head (quite close to my eye) so was worried with dressings that I wouldn’t be able to see or they wouldn’t release me to drive myself home. In the end, I was fine and I probably could have driven myself.

Waiting is stressful. One thing I would say is that if you notice any other areas of concern or have new symptoms appear, contact the consultant’s secretary and let them know.

I was told up to 8 weeks for results. I had a painful lump appear in the meantime (which turned out to be a lymph node where the cancer had spread). I annoyed them with updates about this lymph node weekly and it got my results rushed through in 3 weeks, and then everything came together quickly after that.

Be a squeaky wheel if you need to be. If you end up worried about something that turns out to be nothing, well, then fine. My care has been excellent all the way through and everyone has been very lovely and supportive. Hopefully it will be nothing, but if not, chances are you will also be well looked after.

Solidarity with you OP. I had an excision biopsy on a lump in early December and am now approaching week 5 of the results period. I was told 6 weeks at the appointment itself but the subsequent letter said 6-8 weeks. Have mostly been able to put it out of my mind over Christmas but it does feel like a big cloud over my everyday life.

Some procedures under local are now being advised as not to drive

i had a MOHs BCC removal and a further biopsy on another dodgy skin legion, at same time. Becuase I had a hefty dose of local in order to keep t numb during repeat incisions for the MOHs I was told not to drive

also a nurse tend of mine, said not to drive is now standard for a lot ofvthings

yet when I had a very large lipoma and 4 other BCCs removed seperately under local going back 20 plus years, it was deemed fine to drive

id be inclined to try to get a lift, OP. is there no one , a friend or neighbour that could collect you ? however,r if not an option, talk to your insurance company and check they’re happy with consultant saying you’ll be fine. Cover your arse in other words.

As an aside, if there isn’t I’d be a little motivated to build networks and friendships locally. Offer to take people to appointments etc and in turn you can call on them .

I’ve had 7 Basel cell carcinomas . (Honest I’ve never sun bathed, burnt in sun as young child is literally only time, but have pale non tanned no skin and vitamin D diffciency due to lack of sun🤦🏼‍♀️🙄

so lots of biopsies under local as they’ve checked other turned out to be benign. And then locals to remove the BCC. The latest using MOHs.

the staff are normally lovely. If you say you’re a bit anxious or scared, they’ll look after you. The worse bit is the local going in. Depends on where the area is. Mine were all on face, and some had to be accessed through mouth . Yep, it stings. But it is over quick. Ask to hold someone’s had or grip the chair arms, breathe steadily out and in and focus on breathing.

after thst, they’ll wait a few mins before starting. You won’t feel anything then, other than maybe a bit of numbed pulling. If at any point you start to feel stinging let them know immedately. They’ll top up local if needed

it is quick. Ven with my MOHs I was in and out each time in 20 mins, the removal even under such careful process only took 19 mins of that ,

the local will numb pain for a few hours after. Then take paracetamol or other anti inflammatory. Don’t wait to see if it’s painful. Get in some co-codomol for the night in case you need it.

biopsies haven’t needed stitches. You’ll get a dressing on it. And you’ll need to keep it dry for a few days usually (they’ll tell you). Depedning on where it is I’d get some additional sterile dressings and surgical tape form chemist too as these dressing can fall off (my MOHs was round my nose and mouth and was a challenge for any dressing to stay on very long 🤣).

results should be 2 weeks normally. Maybe it’s longer now!