Just had a hysteroscopy

[TheGander]

And it was all right really. Posting here because I had read some horrific stuff in the BBC Scotland website of women describing their agony. The gynaecologist also took an endometrial biopsy. I dropped a couple of codeine tablets 2 hours before and it was uncomfortable but manageable. I didn’t even swear which I invariably do when in pain.

Good for you. Did they offer General anesthetic if you wanted it at a later date?

I have one tomorrow under a local at dpu. I'm glad it's OK thank you for sharing

I wasn’t given much info before mine - it was okay. I told them I was going camping that weekend (that afternoon) and was told I would be too sore etc - I went camping! It was fine.

I've had a couple too, both times taken Cocodamol beforehand but they've been manageable.

I've had 2, both were manageable. Wasn't offered any pain relief the first time bit offered local/ general the second time so went for local anaesthetic which definitely made a difference.
I feel I was very lucky compared to some poor women's experiences.
Coil fits on the other hand, severe pain and fainting!

I've had one without painkillers and had polyp removal and it was absolutely fine.

They said if I was too anxious a GA at a later date was an option, I declined it as I wanted to get it over and done with.
I posted because a lot of the hysteroscopy posts are stories of horrendous pain and I wanted to provide some balance. Hope it all goes well tomorrow @GrandmotherStillLearning .

My friend had one under no pain relief etc. for polyp removal. She went grey and they had to stop.

She reckons she had a high pain tolerance.

Everyone's different. She had to wait a further few weeks for her under GA.

Yes, mine was fine too. I think the choice should be available if women want to have them under general anaesthetic, but that also has its own downsides and wasn't my preference. I turned out to have cancer, and the other thing that there's a lot of hyperbole around is cold capping with chemo, lots of us find this absolutely fine as well but you wouldn't think so reading some of the mainstream media that talks about it as excruciating, and I often hear people say they didn't try it because it was going be so painful.

I had one under GA. It was the three days of cramps so severe afterwards that floored me. GP prescribed codeine the next morning. I was on the ceiling with the pain afterwards.

Gynae apologised and said he was quite rough with the uterus as he did a D&C. 😱

Glad you are OK. Op and hope you stay that way.

All of the things that people are saying further backs up the theory that nobody knows how they will be. Some are totally fine. Others are not. You don't know til you're in there.

The main thing to remember seems to be don't be afraid to tell them to stop, and rearrange a GA instead.

That's what my pal did. The doctor says her 10 year old coil had embedded and, after gentle pulling, it wasn't for shifting so she's getting a GA. He knew when to stop rather than go on and hurt her.

We are in Scotland. It's currently a 'three to six months' wait for an appointment.

Hope everyone on here going for one soon gets on ok.

I'm having one next week to remove a large uterine fibroid and large endometrial polyp and some biopsies. I'm having done under GA.

I have had a few hysteroscopies due to post menopausal bleeding. With one exception, they were excruciatingly painful and I had to ask them to stop and get them done later under GA. I haven't had children so I have wondered if that makes a difference.

Everyone is different but I'm glad I'll never need another one as it turned out I had cancer and had a hysterectomy.

I had one after initial
meeting with gynae doc , no warning and no pain relief and it was fine

That's great to know TheGander - that you had the choice. As others have said, it's hard to know how it will feel until they try it.

Totally agree.

Sorry that came out wrongly - I wouldn't be prepared to try a local anesthetic/painkillers for hysteroscopy as I'm likely to struggle with it for various medical and mental health reasons.

Some women sail through but others are traumatised - good that they are offering a choice.

@TheGander I wanted to thank you for posting this. I had the procedure done today and have been very anxious leading up to it. Your post helped me a lot!

Mine was also very manageable and the doctor told me if it was worse than a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale he would stop and I could have it done under a general anaesthetic.

Thanks again for sharing

So glad to hear @tiredmumma8696 . I think it's more common to post stories of terrible healthcare experiences rather than good or manageable ones so I’m delighted I was able to help others by posting.

I read somewhere about the percentages of women who have mild pain, those who have moderate pain and those who have severe pain. I seem to remember it is about 1/3rd for each. However the important thing is that it has nothing to do with your 'pain threshold' and it is crucial that consultants recognise that for a minority of women it is incredibly painful.

I think my experience was positive because the consultant reassured me that she would stop at any time, offered me all the pain relief that she had available, and treated me with kindness. If she had not been like that then I would have definitely been traumatised by the experience. Instead I 'survived' it but would only have one again under GA.

The Lack of clarity was more disappointing to me when attending an appt I was told “oh we usually do this for those symptoms”. So why not have that on the appt letter to prepare people? Why expect women to just accept a possibly painful
procedure like a biopsy without prior warning?

If you’re going to faint then often it can happen without much warning… so too late once a procedure starts and you’re one of the 1/3 it’s excruciating for.

I had one many years ago and inserts in my tubes for sterilisation. I'd given birth just with G&A and a shot of something that did nothing so I know pain!
I felt horrendous pain during the procedure and passed out after. I wouldn't go through it again without anaesthetic.

I'm glad yours was OK, but it is important to remember it is not a competition and for many people they are genuinely painful. Everyone;s anatomy is different and it isn't acceptable that women get pressured into tolerating severe pain just to access healthcare.

There is something toxic in the idea it is better to do these things without pain relief.