Hysteroscopy without anaesthetic is a women's rights issue

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'Being a woman means living with pain!'

Ever heard that lie?

Ever nodded along with it, resignedly accepting some intrusive gynaecological procedure that causes you excruciating pain?

BECAUSE THEY WERE OPERATING ON YOU WITHOUT ANY ANAESTHESTIC?

@AgathaMystery

This thread has been an absolute revelation to me.

Some months ago I went to have a new IUD inserted. When I was in the chair, in the stirrups, speculum in, the gynae asked to do an endometrial biopsy.

I asked why & was told >40, break thru bleeds on mirena, better safe than sorry.

I literally knew this wasn't informed consent (I teach this topic at graduate level) & I still consented. The gynae is an eminent gynae oncologist so of course I wanted him to check this very important thing.

It was beyond hideous. I was sweating. In so so much pain - I needed a vomit bowl at one point. After 2 biopsies i had to tel him to stop. He examined the biopsies & said he wanted to take one one.

I grudgingly agreed as I didn't want an equivocal result.

Finally after 30/40 mins he inserted the IUD.

I bled for 6 weeks. I was absolutely shaken. I needed to go home (I was mid shift at work). I felt ghastly for days.

Months later I cannot believe I had this procedure with no anaesthetic. How on earth did I, an assertive health care professional who works in reproductive health allow my colleague to do this to me?

AND I GAVE HIM A BOTTLE OF WINE AS A THANK YOU.

This equals my experience of a coil fitting; I’m dyspraxic and autistic . Went into discuss a mirena - told I might as well try while I’m here, ‘go and get your trousers off and we’ll get it in’ - I didn’t feel able to say no, being autistic I don’t find it easy to stand up for myself and I kept thinking, she’s a doctor, I have to do what she says .

I remember legs in stirrups so I couldn’t move, she pushed and forced and told me to ‘calm down’ - she kept saying I was being a bit silly as she’d shoved a whole tube of instillagel in - I was sobbing and asking her to stop as I was in agony . When she stuck a needle into my cervix at that point I did unfortunately scream - and she stopped and told me if I didn’t calm down I’d need knocked out, because I obviously couldn’t cooperate .

Had to get up after, bleeding heavily and numb - vagina had a laceration in it that took a week to heal - then get on and complete a 12 hour shift .

Where my colleague publicly berated me for taking ten minutes in the toilet as I tried to clean up .

I remember collapsing sobbing in the toilet after work and scrubbing myself raw in the shower, I felt dirty .

@JellySlice

Are women having private treatment offered anaesthesia for hysteroscopy?

DM has had many steroid injections into joints. NHS injects pain relief at the same time. DM found the steroid+PR injection excruciatingly painful. After a few years she went private and was astonished to discover that the standard procedure was to inject the pain relief first. The injection of steroids was barely more than uncomfortable. For the next few years she had only private steroid injections. The next time she had it on the NHS she insisted on pain relief first. And got it, even though she had to fight for it and the doctor tried to persuade her that made no difference when the PR was injected. With PR first, the NHS injections now hurt just as little as the private ones did.

Yes. I am having one in a couple of weeks and my consultant was very much for a GA

No I didn't make a formal complaint about being pinned down. Probably because I was humiliated at having such a supposedly unusual reaction and treated like a silly little girl making a fuss. It was also pretty par for the course in how I had been treated during my NHS fertility appointments so I think I just viewed it how things are done.

I'm older and wiser now and wouldn't stand for it but I was only in my 20s at the time.

@Iknoww

If you don't mind me asking, do you think from your experience that the consultant was happy to give you an "all-clear" for your cervix from the hysteroscopy?

I ask because I'm trying to decide whether to pay for a private smear test. My last (NHS) result was Borderline - HPV negative which means the NHS won't recheck it. I've since had a hystoroscopy with all results normal so I'm wondering if this means that I'm OK just to leave it?

Hope that all makes sense!

I've read a couple more pages & OMG. I was unbelievably lucky with the departments that did my investigations, operation & later therapy. The difference, I think, is that they were all skilled & patient-centred. I mean, totally. They made me feel like I was the important one, nothing else mattered, my comfort & consent was everything to them, we could stop at any moment, they explained everything & repeatedly checked how I was doing & if I was OK with everything. We even managed a few laughs, in a very odd & actually traumatic situation (the tests revealed I had cancer). I went in terrified & came out feeling like a million dollars. Somebody had trained that department superbly & I will be forever grateful for that.

I'm wondering whether the fact that it CAN be done without anaesthetic (given the right level of skill & attitude to the patient) means that on some level every hospital thinks that THEY can do it without one, when they don't have the necessary skill & attitude. But they don't want to admit to that, & it's easier (& cheaper) to blame the patient if it goes wrong.

It's fucking barbaric the way women are treated. The only way we can protect ourselves is to keep ourselves fully informed, and stand up to the bullies working in medicine.

But what about more vulnerable women? Or younger less experienced women? Who is standing up for and protecting them?

It totally boils my piss.

@HPFA
I think, (please make all your medical decisions not on my experiences) they were able to see the clear result from the hysterscopy, though the iffy result and the hysterscopy were within weeks.

When I went back for my next check up which was a few weeks later they said all was OK and anyway I would be getting another biopsy during a laproscopy and ablation/hysterectomy depending on findings within 3 months.
Again, I was treated like an inconvenience and wasn't allowed actual time to speak properly because I had dared to have the coil removed after only 3 weeks (after they had fitted it wrongly) and so was NOT following their instructions.

Then covid came and I am still waiting. My GP has chased it up throughout the pandemic so I hope it's been OK to be left.
I got a call a few weeks ago saying they would either have the operation done within the next 3 months or would phone me again in 3 months time just to assure me again they would one day do the operation

I'm in NI though and our waiting lists were disastrous before Covid and truly shameful now.

[quote Iknoww]@HPFA
I think, (please make all your medical decisions not on my experiences) they were able to see the clear result from the hysterscopy, though the iffy result and the hysterscopy were within weeks.

When I went back for my next check up which was a few weeks later they said all was OK and anyway I would be getting another biopsy during a laproscopy and ablation/hysterectomy depending on findings within 3 months.
Again, I was treated like an inconvenience and wasn't allowed actual time to speak properly because I had dared to have the coil removed after only 3 weeks (after they had fitted it wrongly) and so was NOT following their instructions.

Then covid came and I am still waiting. My GP has chased it up throughout the pandemic so I hope it's been OK to be left.
I got a call a few weeks ago saying they would either have the operation done within the next 3 months or would phone me again in 3 months time just to assure me again they would one day do the operation

I'm in NI though and our waiting lists were disastrous before Covid and truly shameful now.[/quote]
Thank you so much for answering. I'm very sorry about everything you're being put through.

I was lucky - I was one of those women who didn't really have any pain and they said I didn't need a biopsy as it was all normal.

The consultant was very confident I didn't need a smear - it just seems odd that they put me through a load of expensive investigations to rule out one form of cancer but don't want to do a cheap and simple smear to rule out another one!

If you're worried you could always get a smear done privately. I did this once as was getting symptoms but NHS only test for HPV, which I've never had and been married for 20 years and GP didn't think a smear was needed. I can't remember how much it was but definitely under £100.

@Greenelefant

If you're worried you could always get a smear done privately. I did this once as was getting symptoms but NHS only test for HPV, which I've never had and been married for 20 years and GP didn't think a smear was needed. I can't remember how much it was but definitely under £100.

Thank you, yes, I'm looking into this at the moment.

Just that after getting the all clear from the hysto I'm finding it hard to push myself into going through the stress of another test, especially when the entire medical profession seems convinced I don't need it!

Totally understand that. I suppose you have to weigh up the stress/anxiety of worrying that you need a smear for peace of mind vs going through the appointment/waiting.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

It's true you don't get a GA for colonoscopies, but you get a LOT of sedation and pain relief in an IV. I was given something really strong for all of mine, and if I asked for more sedation or pain relief not a problem - it was topped up. Spent a couple of hours recovering in the outpatient ward then went home. It's insane that gynaecological procedures are not treated similarly.

That's because men have colonoscopies.

I was given sedation for colonoscopy. It wasn’t enough. I was in agony- told them I was in extreme pain, no response, told them it was agony. At no point did they say I could have sedation topped up, . I was told I had been sedated, that it wasn’t that bad and I wouldn’t remember once sedation wore off. I remember everything.

I don’t have low pain threshold generally, walked around with fractures on 2 occasions for weeks, was dealing with extremely painful gut issues at the time without much meds.

Doctors are not taking note that everyone’s body is different. We experience pain differently in different places. They won’t listen to an outlier who does experience accuse pain, if most of time most people have no issue. I think that’s particularly true if it’s a woman who is saying it’s unbearable.

Oh, I had to have my psychiatrist go to bat for me, April, to have a full GA for a colonoscopy because I have complex PTSD.

I find the UK vastly undermedicates for almost everything. They say it's because it's best for the patient, but it's about saving £££ mostly.

Are women having private treatment offered anaesthesia for hysteroscopy? yes I’ve had 2 privately under GA.

Hi, my mum had a hysteroscopy on last Thursday which started off being uncomfortable but then the doctor proceeded to try and take a biopsy of a polyp inside her womb which my mum hadn't expected & without warning of the pain it may cause.
Well it was apparently excruciating for my mum & the procedure had to be abandoned.
A general anaesthetic was offered & luckily there was a slot on day surgery this Tuesday so mum took it.

The leaflet apparently says to take pain relief before the hysteroscopy but paracetamol & ibuprofen just don't cut it really especially when like my mum you have a tilted womb, are 20 years past menopause with no HRT, also have memories of past trauma.

Anyway after the op on Tuesday which went well my mum is waiting for the biopsy results.

I remembered seeing this thread on active threads and found it and read it out to her, it really resonated with her.
She says the nursing staff in the hysteroscopy suite were lovely but the doctor (a man) should have given better explanations of what to expect.

Which would mean two trips to the hospital so two taxi fares for one procedure.

JenniferBooth ·

Had a letter from the hospital for appointment in gynaecology but it doesnt say exactly what the appointment entails. Says if you have to bring your kids to bring another adult with you. To bring any medication with you. And that its best for planning for your children to be cared for at home should you require further investigations during your appointment.
surprise hysterocopy?

Im told i need this appointment because of unexplained bleeding I was on HRT for 3 months and its common to bleed between 3 and six months on HRT and i started to bleed bang on the 3 month mark. i stopped taking it a week later They are saying its because ive had a bleed after no bleeding for two years + Well thats because ive been on the mini pill for three years which has stopped my periods, I feel a bit gaslit

And one of the injuries women are suffering is loss of sexual function. But they seem too prudish to discuss it and/or too misogynistic to care

Had a phone call last Friday i was right It was going to be a surprise hysterocopy. Thats why the letter was so vague.

Their cost benefit analysis
https://x.com/Tiffywren/status/1847558233155625343

Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy has now collated 7500 cases of women undergoing painful hysteroscopies without anasthetic and in some cases told to put up and shut up. One medic even admitted that they would not be attempting the equivilant procedure without GA on a man.

Video
https://x.com/HysteroscopyA/status/1850447745506525290

This was exactly my experience (no offer of anaesthetic, though). I also had ultrasounds done before the hysteroscopy. The most I got was a dull ache like a mild back ache & then a bit of a twinge when they took the biopsies. I felt all the staff were totally patient-centred & at the start of every different procedure they told me what they were about to do & asked for verbal consent.

I'd been so terrified of pain because of the accounts I'd read on line that when it was over & there had been no pain, I felt euphoric with relief. So much so that when the consultant told me I'd got cancer but they could get rid of it with a hysterectomy, I just said, "Yeah, fine"!

Didn't realise I replied upthread 3 years ago!!

I think the key thing if you decide to go ahead without anaesthetic on the basis that you might be one of the claimed three quarters of women who don’t experience bad pain, is that you’re confident that they’ll stop immediately if told to do so and that they do do that.

Neither my doctor - nor my medical negligence litigator friend (!) have been shy about clarifying this with the doctor in the room before getting on the bed - the litigator saying -“ don’t mind me, I’m just paranoid; of course you wont keep going without my consent- that would be assault “. I didn’t go quite that far and found it nippy only - but I was asked when I winced slightly if I wanted him to stop and at all times felt in control.