Hysteroscopy Pain

[Jo162]

I went for my hysteroscopy yesterday, i found this group & read some of your responses to the procedure that i took on board, the consultant said to take to ibuprofen the night before & 2 an hour before the procedure although i'd asked for General anesthetic, he said it was quicker if i had local. i had the painkillers also 1 diazipam as i was nervous. i went into the room they didnt put Local anesthetic in & started the procedure, Only my experience as everyone is different!!!! it was horrendous, the pain was excruciating & they had to stop although the Doctor didnt want to and asked if she could still remove the polyp & i would have to go back for the rest of the procedure under GA. I told her no and to stop!!! the same day they booked me to have a pre op in the afternoon, when i went the nurse said its a brutal procedure!!!! for me it definately was, so im on an urgent appointment wait within 2 weeks for General anesthesia. Please note everyone is not the same,there was a lady before me come out & she said it was just cramping & she'd had local, so i was fine going in then, but i'd advise asking for a GA from the start.

Your experience mirrors that of my mothers, only that they didn’t stop with her and carried on.

She maintains this was the worst bit of all the treatment she received for stage 3 womb cancer.

I hadn’t read about others’ experiences of hysteroscopies before I had mine a few years ago and didn’t take anything nor was I offered a local or general anaesthetic. The staff doing it were amazed that I didn’t find it painful and kept asking if I was okay, which I thought was odd at the time. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones but I feel for those who have bad experiences. It’s really unacceptable that women are expected to have such painful procedures done with no anaesthetic.

I'm so sorry you had this experience. I'll never understand why women are expected to deal with such unpleasant procedures without adequate sedation/painkillers. I had one years ago. It was deeply unpleasant although I was lucky that, for me, it was more uncomfortable than painful. I wasn't even aware that anaesthetic was an option before hand. I was pretty close to passing out, though (I guess drop in blood pressure or something) - the solution to which was to tip the bed back. The nurse told me that it's not uncommon at all for that to happen. I wasn't told it was a possibility before hand. I was in my early twenties and found the whole thing deeply unpleasant which I don't think I would have if I'd had a more honest heads up before hand

I'm so sorry you've had a bad experience. I had one last year and initially they were going to to do it without any anaesthetic apart from gas and air. I hadn't read any horror stories at this point but instinct kicked in and I burst into tears and refused to let them proceed. I went back on another occasion and had it under GA instead.

I can't believe it's considered acceptable to put women through this.

This is a digusting and barbaric practice. Medieval. It exemplifies the contempt with which women are treated by the health system in this country.

You are right to go for GA for polyp removal. Someone can have bowel polyps removed under sedation as standard during a colonoscopy so why this. It beggars belief.

Fortunately for me they gave up after 20 minutes of trying when it was sprang on me during a gynae appointment and offered a general 4 months later. In some respects I wish I had been awake and my body hadn't retaliated, mores the pity. The only draw back was whilst I was out of it they could wake me up telling me less then the true facts. Never, never, never understood it.

Women's health is completely in the toilet.

I had one of these last year. It was total agony, I was actually screaming. They had to stop in the end. Barbaric is right.

SparkBrickViper, I am truly sorry for what your Mum went through,they should not have carried on. Hope all's well with her now.x Wow i just cant believe it she must of been in agony

If the patient tells the medical team to stop and they don’t, then they are committing assault. It is completely unacceptable. There is no justification for that ever. It is not the doctor’s job to decide what is best for a patient who is mentally competent.

Thank you all for your messages ,this group is brilliant, like i said not everyone is the same & I certainly would not want to worry anyone, but i can only tell the truth of my experience,even today its affected me just thinking about it & i'm 60 had 3 Kids so ive had some pain believe me but this was awful, some people said they had mild cramping so i just thought well i'
ve had abdomen pain since november so i'll be fine .how wrong was I. thank you all its appreciated,.x

It’s also entirely pointless. I’ve heard a similar tale and the assaulted woman in question subsequently suffered greatly as she would not let any medical professional near her ever again. An extreme case perhaps - but even the most intellectually and emotionally challenged medical professional should be able to understand the complete loss of trust and trauma that results from such an assault.

One of the reasons that I elected to have everything (ovaries, cervix) removed when I had my hysterectomy was that I never wanted to see a gynaecologist again. The gaslighting and the contempt with which this area of healthcare treats its patients is horrific.

I wasn’t advocating the way my mother was treated. It’s disgusting.

However When the response was “it’s nearly done”, as a vulnerable older woman she felt unable to demand they immediately stop. At no point was she offered pain relief and the advice she was given was to “pop a few paracetamol before you turn up”.

At the time this is against a backdrop of being told it was likely womb cancer and sooner it was done, sooner she’d be told for definite what was going on.

At the time I wasn’t fully aware of the situation or the procedure so with the wonder of hindsight I’d have been with her and insisted on GA. Since then she’s been through rounds of treatment, some absolutely shitty care by the NHS and also some wonderful care by the NHS.

It’s not until months down the line she told me of how horrendous it was, and only then because she was frightened of another phase of her treatment and if it would be as painful (it wasn’t).

Since my mother’s experience I’ve read up and found out a LOT more and have joined campaigns that this shouldn’t be offered without pain relief. I can’t change what my mother experienced but I can certainly tell anyone and everyone so they are fully informed.

I’m so sorry - my comment was intended to be outrage on your mother’s behalf rather than any criticism whatsoever of you or her.

Doctors need proper consent. If someone tells them to stop even if they are nearly done, they shouldn’t proceed without express and non pressured consent from the patient.

Can I ask - was it when they tried to start removing the polyp or did the extreme pain start before that? With the insertion of the instruments for example? Gives me the fear just reading about it.

Well done for doing what you can. I sometimes wonder what female healthcare workers involved in this feel? Are they speaking up? Trying to make changes happen?

At our local trust it is policy to carry out hysteroscopy under GA, which is as it should be. You’re only under for 10 mins or so.

I think it was when he removed the polyp nut it was all pretty horrible.

For goodness sake!What a stupid thing to say. I had this procedure and was fine, fine having a coil fitted too. It's not barbaric, it's a simple procedure that most women deal with fine, especially if they have had children.

So are you saying we are making a fuss over nothing @amusedgoose ? YOU may have found the procedure pain free, many of us don't. I passed out from the pain the one time they tried the procedure without GA & I am no lightweight. We are not all the same.

She’s in recovery 🤞

Which part is stupid @AmusedGoose ?

Women sharing their actual experiences?

Or assuming all women are the same and what’s a walk in the park for some is extremely painful for others?

I remember I felt like my lungs were being ripped out my vagina. I bled a lot for days after, as well as being very tearful.

I wasn't prepared for it at all

My experience was the same as @AmusedGoose. I didn't find it painful at all, not even uncomfortable to be honest. I took painkillers beforehand and was fine.

Many women do find it extremely painful though, which suggests to me that the option of a GA should always be available for this procedure. My gynaecologist said I could have a GA if I wanted but he thought I'd be fine as I'd given birth three times. He was right in my case.

I’ve had five, all under a GA.