Hysteroscopy

[Rainagainandagain]

Been referred for hysteroscopy straight after ultrasound for hysteroscopy for thickened womb lining and polyp after ultrasound where a massive internal probe was used for imaging. It was huge and she waved it about hard inside me. . Lower tummy pain now. There was no consultant available so spoke to harsh junior General doctor who said I need hysteroscopy and dismissed my concerns when I said I was worried about pain. I asked if there was an alternative and he frowned at me like I was an idiot! I'm 47 no children but dss and dsd's asked if had periods and he was shocked when I said yes! Said it could be cancer. I am scared of hysteroscopy as it can tear cervical tissue. Any alternative? /advice?

I hope it all goes very well for you, and you are right to get GA if that's your preference.

I posted earlier in the thread. I have now been told that I am to have a hysteroscopy together with D&C under general. This was arranged very quickly and I'm having it on Saturday. Naturally I'm a bit all over the place especially since it's happening so quickly, but am glad, and am grateful for the speed with which they are dealing with me.

Anyway, nothing I can do until it's over. Onwards and upwards eh?

Asking for a GA given your anxiety is a good idea. Don’t worry too much about it, I had it under GA and had period-like cramping afterwards but no tearing or anything like that. The main thing is that they (and of course you), want to rule out cancer. A hysterectomy is probably not appropriate clinically, it’s generally a worst case operation and is likely to have more side effects than a less complex hysteroscopy.

Op I would ask for (demand) a G A. I’ve just had this done, I was terrified. GA fantastic and obviously didn’t feel a thing!

I hope all went OK for you 💗

Ah, thanks. Well I survived it, but it turned out to be a bit more involved than expected. I don't want you to think this will happen to you, it was just my circumstances on the day. So what should have been a straightforward d+c/hysteroscopy (in at 9 home at 4) turned into a resection of the endometrium. They found things they didn't like so got rid of the womb lining and polyps. Doc said it looked OK visually but obviously pathology will tell all, and hopefully it will be OK.

I take aspirin for another reason so had to stop that pre op to prevent excessive bleeding. But OMG the post op experience was horrendous I'm afraid. I bled and bled, they had packed the area with gauze and I was even bleeding through that. They took it out and I screamed, it was fkn barbaric! Anyway the bleeding wouldn't stop so I got tranexamic acid IV and eventually it eased off. But the pain was unreal, until they eventually gave me oxycontin. I was in hospital for three days. I also had a catheter and I think trying to pee was worse than the contraction pain I had. Awful.

Sorry for my tales of woe, but all in a good cause in the end I suppose, and I'm feeling ok today even went for a walk!

Please come back and tell me yours was fine. Just in case I need another procedure 😊Wishing you well.

Oh @oscallah your poor thing, that sounds wretched! I am glad you are feeling a bit better.
@Rainagainandagain hope it goes well for you. I had mine under GA and they removed the polyps, put in the coil and did my smear all at the same time. It was great!

Your experience sounds very similar to mine. I had a thick lining due to Tamoxifen for previous breast cancer. I also had 18 polyps and one they couldn’t remove entirely so that will need dealing with at some point. No cancer when pathology came back. Short 15 min op became 1.5 hours. I was so shocked when I came round. I hope you recover well. I had no bleeding post op and was back at work straight away. I’m sorry you had such an awful post op experience 💐

I’ve recently had 2 hysteroscopies and had polyps removed during both and whilst not pleasant they were bearable. For the 2nd one I was told I could request gas and air, and I did, and it helped a lot. You can request a general anaesthetic but I should imagine that would delay it for a while so you might just like to get it over and done with.

Good luck! x

I'm having a hysteroscopy and biopsy next week under GA.
I'm not dreading it and I believe I'll be back to normal the next day.
I've had one before (35 years ago) which was also under GA.
Very uncomplicated recovery.

Thanks all! I got it done. Cramps after but no bleeding? Bloated tummy. I am worried all the blood is stuck in. Few period cramps but that's all. Consultant said I had thick lining that would cause very heavy period I thought they were normal but consultant said everyone's normal is different..

They inflate the uterus with CO2, which causes the bloating.
Any blood within will just come out, the same way a period does.

It went a lot better than expected. Thanks

Mine caused a lot of post-op pain and bleeding yesterday. I had it done under GA and they took biopsies.
They gave me very good pain relief though, and I was allowed home after four hours.

Most of the time medical folks loose empathetic touch while working. I prefer doctor's who are empathetic towards their patients. You should change doctor and see if they give answers to your questions.

They offered me midazolam but in the end I asked for a Anaesthetic and it went OK.

Hi. Mine went OK. I had some polyps removed. Sorry to hear yours was painful xx

Hi. Mine went OK. I had some polyps removed. Sorry to hear yours was painful xx

Hi. Just to let you know it all went ok thanks under GA in the end and there was another lady having one and hers went ok too but hers took longer but was all ok, Hopefully next one will be ok.🙂

Thanks for this thread and for sharing your experiences.

I'm having a hysteroscopy tomorrow, with a general anaesthetic. Tried it a week ago with a local anaesthetic but found out that I have cervical stenosis and some adhesions and it therefore needs to be done with a ga.

I'm looking forward to it being over with. Hoping to be well enough to go for a strenuous 10 mile hike in the South Downs on Tuesday - or is that maybe a bit too optimistic? Oh well, fingers crossed anyway.

"is there a huge difference between the smear test and a hysteroscopy?"

Totally different. As someone else has answered in more detail, a smear test is for the cervix whereas the hysteroscopy involves inserting a tube/wire right into the womb.

I had one and while I coped with the pain for mine, which was just to have a look and not to 'do' anything, I would refuse to do it again. I also had piriformis problems for month after it.

"I'm 5ft 3 and weigh 8st 2"

I'm a similar size, but I don't see what this has to do with how comfortable or not the vaginal ultrasound would be.

?? Hmmm. The radiographer was the one who brought my size up.. not me! she said it may look intimidating as it was quite a large probe.. guess different hospitals use different equipment. she said it may be painful as I'm ''petite''🙄..

For future reference you can get Vagifem pessaries which reduce discomfort. Iirc you use them daily for two weeks before a procedure (eg a smear).

Thanks so much! I'll definrtley be purchasing these thanks to stop me hurting and to help relax. Thanks🙂