Painful hysteroscopy? We'd like to hear from you. Help us tackle medical misogyny!

[RhiannonEMumsnet]

Hi there,

Have you had a hysteroscopy?

A new study has analysed thousands of Mumsnet posts from women who have undergone hysteroscopy, a common procedure carried out 71,000 times a year in England.

It found that many women felt unprepared for the pain, struggled to access adequate pain relief, and felt their experiences were dismissed by medical staff.

The findings are being used to push for better care across the NHS. If you have had a hysteroscopy and would be willing to share your experience with journalists covering this story, please reply below, or email [email protected].

Thanks,
MNHQ

I had one in July 2022, while an in patient as part of investigations. I didn't know what a hysteroscopy was, but it was explained as being a quick procedure to biopsy my cervix. I was slightly confused why the nursing staff were seemingly concerned for me, they didn't give me any useful information about why they felt I might find it painful or offer anything to help reduce the pain they anticipated. I have a high pain threshold so, not knowing anything about the procedure, I wasn't overly concerned.
I was taken to a side room on the ward, where the hysteroscopy was carried out. The two women, a doctor and a nurse, were very kind. But it was shockingly painful. I bled a lot afterwards, but luckily had some pads with me as I had been on my period when I was admitted. I returned to my bed and broke down, shaking and crying. The other women on the ward were very kind, but I couldn't explain to them what had happened.

Would it have helped if I had more time and information to prepare? I'm not sure, at least I wasn't frightened going in to it. But I do strongly feel that if the staff are concerned due to their experience of a procedure, about a patient's ability to tolerate it, then they should automatically be offering adequate pain relief. Not just say things like "some women can find it a bit uncomfortable" - what am I supposed to do with that information?

A lot of it is the water they use during the procedure with just a little blood in it so it looks worse than it is and I always personally found it stopped pretty quickly afterwards.

I had a hysteroscopy in 2022 for a thickened womb lining due to post menopausal bleeding, on the 2 week pathway. I was advised to take paracetamol and ibuprofen but these did nothing to ease the procedure. It was breathtakingly painful and I thought I was going to pass out. They offered to stop and put me on the list for a GA but I just didn't want to delay things further as this was suspected cancer. I asked them to complete the procedure though I must have nearly broken the poor nurse's hand when she was holding mine. I was sent to the waiting room with a cup of tea afterwards then sent on my way with no protection to stop the bleeding. I had to waddle my way to a branch of Boots to get sanitary towels.

The post menopausal bleeding occurred again in 2023 and I opted for a biopsy which was a little painful but only very briefly. This time they did think suspected endometrial cancer which I subsequently had surgery for. Whilst I am very grateful for the two week pathway and NHS treatment, the hysteroscopy was brutal.

Not just say things like "some women can find it a bit uncomfortable" - what am I supposed to do with that information?

Someone made the point on the other thread that 'some women find this a bit uncomfortable" actually means "you'll want knocking out for this".

Mine was back in 2004. I told them they wouldn't be doing a hysteroscopy without a GA as smear tests were bad enough. The consultant agreed, I recall he said something about being able to get it done without worrying about me getting stressed.

GA was less than an hour. No problems with hysteroscopy and biopsies. Couple of days to recover.

I have specifically signed up to write this post as I feel so strongly that something needs to be done about the outpatient hysteroscopy.

I had a Hysteroscopy at the beginning of this month as I’d been having lengthy periods - my GP was very good and said I should have a scan rather than just assume it was perimenopausal symptoms. The scan showed polyps and I was advised by my GP that I would need to be referred for a biopsy to rule out anything ‘sinister’. I was referred urgently and my appointment was scheduled within a week.

Before the procedure I was sent an electronic leaflet which advised to take over the counter painkillers an hour before the procedure and said you may experience period like cramping. I was nervous as the internal scan had been uncomfortable and deliberately didn’t google this procedure as I didn’t want to be put off as I was worried it could be something more serious.

I spoke to the consultant on the phone before and she said it was routine and advised putting in a coil at the same time to help with perimenopause symptoms.

When I arrived for the procedure at the hospital the receptionist told me two people had “no showed’ so I’d be seen right away, I was taken to the room - the equipment was behind a curtain and the doctor asked me if I had questions and to sign a consent form. She said it would be possible to administer a local anaesthetic if she had problems entering the uterus - I was nervous but agreed to go ahead thinking it would be similar to a smear.

I was asked to undress to the waist and get into the chair, underneath was a large red bucked and I was seated on what looked like puppy pee pads.

there were three nurses and they were all so kind, one held my hand and they were all chat ting. I now know this is what they call a ‘vocal local’ distraction technique. It was around five mins or so and the doctor said she’d need to use a speculum as she couldn’t enter the uterus - it was so painful she had to twice change down the size. The nurses were holding my hand and going through breathing exercises with me and chatting about what I done for a living etc.

The pain when she entered was excruciating - I couldn’t think or talk and the nurses were trying to distract me, my legs were shaking so badly and I was gripping the side of the bed so hard my head was cramping.

the sensation of water being jetted into my womb was unpleasant but manageable. She took photos and then said she’d need to do the biopsy- she was struggling to grasp the first polyp as it was large - it was honestly brutal I could feel it being ripped off. When it was over she said there was another polyp so she had to enter a second time to take a second biopsy - she said she could stop but there was no way I’d be coming back to do this a second time and I feared not having the biopsy in case it was something serious. Again, I could feel everything and it was excruciating. The whole thing took around 30/35 mins - double the 10/20 mins stated in the leaflet.

when it was finished the nurses asked me to stay in the chair and offered me water. Once they cleaned up they said to slowly get up and get dressed - I was shaking like a leaf and felt sick - I was bloody and wet and had to clean myself with one of the ‘pee pads’. Once dressed the doctor showed me the pictures and said she’d send for biopsy - she said she had NOT used a local anaesthetic and I was shocked as she had said she would, she gave me an aftercare leaflet and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. When I walked out of the hospital I vomited into a bin which just added to my embarrassment.

I felt shaky in pain and sick and called my stepdad for a lift home as I’d taken public transport to get there as the leaflet suggested you’d be fit to carry on normal activities or work afterward which is utter nonsense - I have had painful periods all of my life but this was next level - I was in no fit state to work afterwards and have spent 4 days recovering - my tummy still feels oddly bloated and uncomfortable! They really should be honest about that and advise people to make arrangements for transport home. The only reason I didn’t drive myself was because of the parking situation being difficult - It would have not been safe to drive myself home.

I was in pain, oozing blood and felt totally traumatised - I couldn’t sleep that night and felt I must have been a complete drama queen so decided to look it up to see other women’s experiences it wasn’t until I looked it up on google and found this is common and there is even a campaign about this which I think started in 2020 and clearly nothing has changed!

I do not feel like I was given enough information to have made an informed decision on this procedure - in fact, I feel lied to! The consultant did not even discuss options of pain relief like gas and air or general anaesthetic. The leaflet didn’t cover how a biopsy may be more painful than just an investigation.

The procedure is played down in the leaflet. I cannot even imagine why they’d do this and think that a couple of painkillers would suffice! Ripping polyps from the womb without pain relief is utterly barbaric! It felt like medieval torture technique - I felt so vulnerable - no one should have to see a bucket placed underneath them to catch blood and water and clean themselves with a pee pad!

I since read that the local Anesthesia in the cervix would not have stopped the pain from the biopsy so I guess that is why the doctor didn’t give it to me.

I accept that this may have less risks associated than general anaesthetic but I doubt very much they would attempt to do a similar procedure on a male patient without anaesthetic!

I feel like they rely on the fear of cancer to coerce women into having this very painful procedure without giving adequate information or choice - it’s utterly sickening that this is still happening!

I’d challenge anyone who thinks this is ok to have a mole torn off of their body without local anaesthetic!

thank you for raising awareness of this - I only wish I had investigated more before I had it done. I will never make the mistake of putting my trust in a doctor again.

This is what worries me, I was horrified when I read others stories - had I looked this up before I’d never have gone through with it - by not being entirely honest they are putting people in danger.

If I needed to have this again I’d demand a GA - it was the pain inflicted during the procedure and lack of anaesthesia that was the problem for me - wishing you all the best 🩷

Omg I am so very sorry to read your experience. You have been through a horrific ordeal and credit to you for sharing it. What they put us through is just barbaric and just shouldn’t be allowed to happen. Please have a look at the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy on Facebook. There is so much support there from women who have experienced the same thing as you. Me included. There is also a private FB group if you should wish. Have you considered making a complaint? There are advocacy groups around the Uk which can also help support you through the process. I’m in Wales and am waiting for their response to mine but they’ll have a fight in their hands if they think I’ll go away quietly. Please take care of yourself. X

Thanks so much for your kind words, it makes me so sad this is happening to so many women - I think I will make a complaint as I’d hate other women to experience this - or be scared to have it at all and risk their health - thank you ❤️ xx

Also important to make sure that people who live alone aren’t forced into having one without GA or sedation because of no one to look after them. I may need one soon but have no friends or family to stay with for 24 hours and some hospitals won’t let you have a GA if you don’t. I had other (unrelated, surgical) procedures recently and for one of them, they let me stay in overnight, and for the other, I was convinced to have only a sedative that I was allowed home alone afterwards. I don’t want that to be what happens if I do need a hysteroscopy. I don’t mind staying in if they can make provision for that, but don’t want to feel forced into choosing no anaesthetic or sedation because they can’t keep me in and won’t do it if I have no one to stay with me. Or threatened with a long wait until they can organise for me to stay in. Those of us who have no support system shouldn’t be penalised further by having to have procedures without anaesthetic.

Mine was 5 years ago and has left me with PTSD.
I had some post menopausal bleeding and was sent to gynae on the two week pathway.
I have vaginal atrophy, and find smears excruciating.
First stop, pelvic scan. Tolerated it, but was sent for a Pipelle biopsy due to slight thickening of the uterus wall.
Told the consultant about my atrophy etc. I was refused a local because "we don't do that in this room".
I screamed with pain, couldn't keep still, and he gave up. His words were "I'll book you in to have it done with a LA.
I thought I was well prepared, taken Naproxen and Diazapam.
Really confused because I went into the same room. Female consultant. I burst into tears straight away and said I felt I wasn't listened to about my atrophy.
I 100% believed I was going in for a 2nd attempt at a Pipelle.
She was really rough, and I screamed in pain, couldn't struggle because my feet were up in the stirrups. She got irritated, and then said she'd try with the smaller speculum. I was in so much pain I didn't even feel the LA as a separate pain.
Then she said I may feel discomfort as the water went in. And that is the point I knew I was getting a hysteroscopy. At no point was I asked for consent.
I've never known pain like it.
I was yelling STOP STOP STOP, FUCKING STOP, and was shaking violently.
Eventually the nurse told her to stop.
The two of them went over to the desk and started chatting shit about their lunch breaks, and left me in the stirrups, unable to get down because of my hip arthritis.
I was told then that I could have it done under GA, but that the cannula would be far more painful than a hysteroscopy ffs.
This was a room just off the waiting room, if I'd heard someone screaming like me I'd have got up and left.
I wrote up my experience on the CQC page and was contacted by PALS. I wrote a long complaint to the hospital. I got phoned by the head of gynae, who said some doctors asked for consent, some don't (WTF?). She had a bit of a shock when I said I used to work in Women's Services, and it was drummed into us that at all times we introduced ourselves and asked for consent for everything.
I consider what I went through as assault.
Compare this to my gastrostopy experience in the same hospital.
I needed both ends scoping. When I checked in I was told I could have a choice of throat spray or sedation. Went into the room and got a bit panicky as last time I'd had one, even with sedation, I choked and panicked when they were bringing the camera out, and got shouted at (different hospital). They let me have both, max amount of sedation, and were really nice to me.
For my colonoscopy, I've had several and found them just mildly uncomfortable. But I'd had a couple of major surgeries and got adhesions.
As soon as I yelped and said that hurt, the camera was taken out and I was straight away booked in to have it done under GA.
If that's not medical mysogeny I don't know what is!
Scunthorpe hospital, do better!.

It isn't just not being honest.

It is a strategic decision to not only not tell you, but to not tell you it is a potential procedure that might occur when they send you for the initial scan. It is a press gang 'sign this and we can do it now otherwise who knows how long you will have to wait' system that saves them the hassle of having to give anaesthetic and being told to grit your teeth this might hurt a bit when they have 4 nurses there waiting to hold you down. And a room to the side for those who need time to recover before they can even sit up again.

There was no pre procedure question about whrthr you had ever had a baby or a coil or anything else that might have suggest that you would or wouldnt have pain when they shove a camera through your cervix. When they take anything out they just slice it off.

I mean it is barbarism. And they know it. And they know if you have any time to research it, you'd very quickly find out that it isn't 'painless and you can get the bus home and a paracetamol will deal with it'.

Thank you for campaigning about the pain of hysteroscopy done without sedation. I endured this barbaric procedure 3 times last year following an ultrasound showing a mass around my ovary. The first time was a nurse-led procedure. I was called a few days before to ask if I had questions and to remind me to take pain relief before I came. At the appointment the lead nurse was respectful and clear that she would stop if the pain was too much. She took a biopsy and removed 2 polyps. It was very painful but I endured it because I didn't want to complain and was scared I had cancer. I managed to compose myself until I got to a bathroom where I vomited and felt faint. They let me rest in the recovery room until I felt ready to drive home. I had cramps and bled for a couple of days afterwards.

At the second appointment was with a consultant. I thought I had come to get the result of the MRI and biopsy but I found out that the MRI had shown the mass was a fibroid which he was not interested in discussing as it was only 6cm and "some women have them taking up their whole abdomen". He was more interested in fitting a Mirena coil which I refused. The reason he wanted to see me was to do a myosure hysteroscopy as the MRI had shown there was a remaining polyp that had been missed on the first procedure. I consented to go ahead despite not being prepared for it. This time it was much more painful, the support staff had to hold on to me. Noticing the pain I was in I was given penthrax (green whistle ) which was supposed to be like gas and air. It had no effect on the pain at all. The consultant was struggling to remove the polyp, he had to remove the device and insert it again. I asked for it to end. The consultant was keen to keep going but the support staff did back me up. There was a lot of blood from the procedure, much more than the first time. I had cramps and continued to bleed for a week afterwards. It was a horrific procedure that I feel traumatised by. I was given a cup of tea and left to sit until I felt ready to get myself home.

I finally had the polyp removed with third hysteroscopy this time under GA as a day patient. With fentanyl as pain relief I felt fantastic afterwards.

The whole experience has made me sceptical of gynaecology in the NHS. It makes me think they are trying to save money and that causing unnecessary pain to women is justifiable for this aim. There is a claim made that only a few women experience pain. I do wonder where the evidence for this has come from. I suspect it is anecdotal and used to keep women from complaining for fear of being unusual or weak. I am much less likely to seek help in the future as a result of this experience.

My hysteroscopy was done under general anaesthetic. Offered as standard in our NHS area. This is really the only way forward.

You are the only other person where I have read that went underwent a myosure hysteroscopy to remove a fibroid. Mine was in February this year and it was absolutely barbaric. I have never experienced pain like it and has left me with such trauma - I was given injections in my cervix which were allegedly meant to prevent pain. They did nothing at all & I felt every second of it. It was violating. I am currently waiting for the response to my formal complaint. I hope you are doing ok now.

Prompted by this, I had a look on MyChart, to see if there was anything on it about my hysteroscopies. I had my last one in 2024 and the notes on MyChart noted that my uterine lining was still thickened, despite the Mirena coil, and recommended a referral follow up with gynaecology. This has never happened. I will now have to chase it up with my GP surgery.

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for your responses on this thread. The University of Reading published their study yesterday - you can find more details and links to coverage here.

Thanks,
MNHQ

Instead of starting a new campaign, Mumsnet should be throwing their weight behind Hysteroscopy Action, who have been campaigning about this for years.
https://www.hysteroscopyaction.org.uk/

Hi @FictionalCharacter, thanks for your post. Our new campaign is about Medical Misogyny more widely but as part of that we are working with other organisations - including Hysteroscopy Action - on specific issues like this one.

Thanks,
MNHQ

Hi everyone,

BBC South are interested in running a televised piece on this story, and they are looking to speak to someone in their area who has been affected by their experience of hysteroscopy.

If you're in Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Berkshire or Gloucestershire and you'd be willing to speak about your experience on camera, please do get in touch via [email protected]. The BBC are looking to film during the first half of next week.

Thanks,
MNHQ