Hysteroscopy - go private?

[WartOrNot]

I had some post-menopausal bleeding and the GP referred me under the two week wait. 15 days later I had an ultrasound where the consultant couldn't find anything of concern, but as she hasn't been able see everything she needed to see, she referred me for hysteroscopy.

If I was willing to have the procedure without anything, I would have been having it at the next appointment, still on a two week wait. But I absolutely refuse to be awake for it, so I have had to be referred to general gyne, for them to arrange the procedure.

The gyne appointment is exactly 15 days after the scan. No doubt insisting on GA means that the hysteroscopy itself will be even more delayed.

If I go private, will it be any faster?

I know that the vast majority of 2ww referrals find nothing of concern. But I cannot forget my colleague, who was having a hysterectomy 6 weeks after reporting an instance of post-menopausal bleeding - cancer had been found.

Is there a reason you refuse to be awake for it?

I had one whilst awake with no pain relief and it was absolutely fine. I know everyone is different but honestly it wasn't that bad. Slightly uncomfortable when the biopsy was taken but that's all.

I'm not sure how soon you would get seen if private, in some cases I've heard that the waiting time is no better than the NHS.

I hope you get sorted whatever you decide, fingers crossed all is ok.

I've had one while awake. It's very similar to a smear test. I mean it's not fun but it's quick and not as scary as I thought

I had an attempted one with no anaesthetic and it was insanely painful and wasnt completed. I went private and had GA, it was a long time ago now and can't remember the wait period, a few weeks possibly.

I had one with nothing. Piece of cake. There is a lot of scaremongering BUT it can be painful. If you've had children and no history of extremely painful coil fittings or smears I would defo give it a go. They can give you an idea of how it's looking as well as the biopsy. I obvs had to wait for the results but there and then the hysteroscopust said the endometrium looked normal.

I had one a couple of months ago for very similar reasons to you.
Smears are usually painful and having a coil fitted last year was almost as bad as childbirth for me, I was calling out in pain.
Had the hysteroscopy with just paracetamol, it was completely fine, I honestly could hardly feel a thing. The doctor carrying it out was really clear that if the pain was too much he'd stop, the nurses were also very kind and supportive.
It just didn't hurt at all.
A friend of mine requested a general at the hospital, so presumably if you want or need to you could do that, without needing to go private?
Good luck x

Although I was given GA for hysteroscooy, other internal examinations were painful. Although never advised to, I took strong painkillers before appointments and it made it bearable. And no, I don’t know why they can’t just give something like gas and air!

hope all goes well for you, I’d do whatever it took if it gets you a firm diagnosis sooner.

I had gas and air for mine as they needed to do a biopsy and I found it too painful without the gas and air. I had taken paracetamol beforehand.

I was booked for a hysteroscopy a couple of years ago and they had to stop it early as I was too stressed about it and worried about the pain. On another occasion I’d had one done without anything so I assumed the second time it would be ok, but it really wasn’t. I was booked in later for a GA at the hospital and then it was all done really quickly and painlessly. I think it was a few weeks’ wait, but in the end there was nothing wrong at all, so all that stress for nothing.

Re going privately, you can find a private hospital yourself and get it done, just google local private hospitals near you and I’m sure they’ll be able to give you a price over the phone. Then if you want to go ahead you can book it straight away. I’ve made private appointments with only a couple of days notice, although a GA might need to be booked a bit further in advance. It’s easy to ring and find out though. You don’t need to get your GP to refer you, you can do it yourself.

Please stop talking about how easy or how hideous it is. I know. I've read the threads. It's not what I'm asking on this thread.

Or continue. But I am now going to hide this thread and start again, this time asking, please, no horror stories or comparisons!

With the 2 week pathway, it doesn't mean that all your treatment is within those 2 weeks, just that your symptoms will be investigated to find out what is wrong. If your hysteroscopy falls outside of the 2 weeks it won't make much of a difference in terms of what your results may show - your lining will already be thickened or not - it won't suddenly become more thickened if you're not seen within the 2 weeks.
For what it's worth, I was on this pathway last year for the same thing, my hysteroscopy was booked 5 weeks after my initial GP appointment (this confirmed cancer) and my hysterectomy followed a month after that. I needed radiotherapy as the cancer had spread. I was treated on the NHS

Well actually how easy it can be is relevant. Having it without GA is quicker. I thought that was what you were asking?