HSG - will it hurt (much) and can I do normal stuff right after?

[emeraldgirl1]

I only ask really because I have a funeral to get to the same afternoon as my HSG which means I will have to go straight to the train station and then take a 2-hour train right afterwards... go to a funeral and then head back home on a train again. It has only just occured to me that this may not be that wise - if I am in any pain or discomfort. However, it has been a real nightmare trying to get the HSG booked (long story but it is complicated by my irreg periods) and obviously the funeral has come out of the blue - not a v close family member but I do feel I must go.

Am I being crazy? Or will it be just fine? I suppose I am worried about leakage afterwards, not the most comfortable thing on a train with my in-laws!! And pain too - though I do have a fairly high threshold and will of course take Anadin. Plus am I silly to be worried about hygiene after - using train loos etc?

Anyone who's had the procedure, any advice or info about how it was and more importantly how you felt afterwards? Thanks so much.

Post HSG I walked back to the station in order to get a taxi. I wore some sanitary protection as well as that dye (about a teaspoonful of it is used, think its a light purple in colour) does come out.

Personally speaking only I was just glad to get back home afterwards.

I felt some degree of discomfort during the procedure but that was mainly because of the steel made speculum that is used. It just felt very odd. I was told at the time that both tubes were patent (open). The HSG should not be painful provided the dye is put through the cervical area both slowly and carefully.

I was given a couple of painkillers a short while before this procedure.

HSG is a useful test to have done as it can reveal information not usually accessible by other methods. Deformities INSIDE the tube for instance can only be seen on this type of x-ray.

Good luck with the HSG.

I had it done recently and for me that would have been fine. It was uncomfortable during the procedure and I bled quite a bit so take a pad and also I was given powerful painkillers to take beforehand but afterwards there were just twinges - like not very bad period pains.

good luck. x

My HSG was uncomfortable rather than painful - I also think this was because of the speculum. It is like a 5-minute long smear.

Afterwards I had some very mild cramps, for which I didn't take any painkillers, although I did take a couple beforehand as a pre-emptive strike. I leaked quite a lot and a load of blood came with it, so sanitary towels were a must. But I was able to walk to the tube, get on the train and go back to work for the afternoon, so nothing major.

I think everyone's experience of HSGs is different - helpfully! I found the actual process very painful, but it was a pain that didn't last for a long time.

I was crampy and felt sorry for myself afterwards, but would definitely have been able to cope with train journeys if I had to. Would second what everyone else said about making sure you have plenty of towels, as the dye plus any blood can get a bit messy.

I was advised to make sure there was someone there to pick me up, and demanded that my husband came to the hospital to look after me. I'm very glad I did, as I felt emotionally, rather than physically, a bit shaky afterwards.

Would also say that you'll be prescribed antibiotics and that I was told that they had to come from the hospital pharmacy - which meant a hell of a long wait to pick up the prescription. Just in case you were planning on rushing straight off afterwards to catch your train!

That is interesting ideal camel - I was not prescribed antibiotics post HSG.

Ooh, that is interesting. I was told that because it was an invasive procedure, they were prescribing antibiotics as a matter of routine, although it was low-risk for infection.

When I had an HSG it was quite painful, it turned out that one of my tubes was blocked and as they tried to push the fluid in the pressure built up and was very painful. The good news is that I felt a pop and then a 'whooshing' feeling inside as the pressure built and cleared the blockage. I managed to get pg during my next cycle so it was really worth it.
I wasn't given any antibiotics but was given painkillers that I had to get from the hospital pharmacy.
Felt a little dizzy afterwards but was fine to get home alone, I needed a decent maxi pad (glad I had taken one because the hospital ones aren't too nice) for the fluid they use but also I bled a little too - I'm guessing from the blockage being cleared maybe.
Goodluck!

I found that I had cramping afterwards, but no hygiene issues at all (only light bleeding). I had taken the whole day off work, but didn't go home afterwards - it was a sunny day and DH and I went to the park. So even though it was painful, I wasn't incapacitated.

I was told by my fertility nurse that there is an increase in fertility after an HSG - it's thought that some women have mucus in the tubes that is flushed out by the tracer. That would completely fit with genius's experience. So good luck.

Thanks everyone, this has really helped put my mind at ease!!

There does seem to be some discrepancy over the antibiotics issue - I was told by my doc that he was giving me a prescription for a SINGLE does to take the morning of the HSG but I have just filled the prescription at the chemist and found that they have given me 21 days' worth - I am sure this cannot be right! It's too late for me to call the hospital and find out what to do so I will have to ask them in the morning I suppose...

Also one final question - due to complications from the fact that I have such irregular periods I am having the HSG on roughly CD 20 as opposed to within the first 14 days... is this going to cause a problem? They have been sweet but fairly useless at understanding this when I have called them so i am worried that when I turn up and actually get to speak to someone who knows about this stuff, they will not be able to do the test due to where I am in my cycle. Am having images, entirely inexpertly, of eggs already halfway down my fallopian tube being shoved backwards by some kind of pressure washer!!

I'm having to really cast my mind back here - but I think that the issue is that they don't want to do it when you're pregnant. I had to show them a negative test, done that morning.

Yes, it's definitely a pregnancy thing - I've been told to be prepared to take a pg test when I arrive. BUt I'm hoping it's just that which is the issue re the cycle, and nothing to do with anything anatomical etc that means it's not good or possible to have it done later than CD 14.

I am sure it it just the pregnancy thing.

As for the antibiotics, I was given a large single dose to take the morning of the HSG. If I were you I would call your doctor first thing and get him to redo the prescription - if you pick it up and take it after the procedure I bet it won't matter.

i went back to work straightaway and didn't feel a thing. It wasn't that bad during either. My Dr prescribed antibiotics but only after I asked. no bleeding at all.

I was given antibiotics (those strong ones you can't have alcohol with or you feel sick) and painkillers as a suppository (eek)

Emerald It took me a few months to get mine booked in because of difficulty in finding a date that they had free and fitted with the first 12 (not 14?) days of my cycle. The nurse explained that this was to protect any early pregnancy from cell damage from the radiation from the radioactive tracer used and the x-ray.

They might ask you to do a pg test, although if you were pg, at day 20 I think most pg tests wouldn't necessarily pick it up anyway IYSWIM.

They should have made things clearer for you really so that you needn't be worrying about this. Hope it all goes ok for you.

Hi Emerald, my HSG experience was much like idealcamels. The speculum was rather uncomfortable but fine. The flush of the dye was painful for me but it literally only lasts seconds. The doctor said that by the count of 3 the pain would be gone, at the time I did not believe him, but it was true. The momentary discomfort is worth it when you find out about tubes. As someone has said previously, everyone's experience is different and I have read lots and lots reports of women who felt nothing during their HSG so it is different for everyone. Id you do experience discomfort, have a happy place to think of to distract you. I thought of my last beach holiday!

You will be fine and you will be happy that you have done it as it takes you that bit nearer hopefully to conceiving.

Take care