Hysteroscopy - I'm terrified!

I am sorry you are so frightened. I have no medical knowledge but I am sure your last experience of a this procedure will be on your notes. While the hospital may usually perform this without any pain relief there will always be exceptions. I am sure you could request sedation/general anaesthetic . Can you discuss this with your GP? Thinking of you.

HI alita

My friend has just gone through this procedure. Sailed through it but mentioned one lady who had needed to call a halt to proceedings due to intense pain. She was given a new date to come back for a GA.

Seeing as you've had one and it was very painful I'd hope your doctor is aware of this happening and maybe made necessary arrangements.

If not, tell them as soon as you arrive at your appointment and take it from there.

Just as an aside, not sure when your appointment is but could you ring your GP and explain the issue?

Everybody’s bits and pieces are different. Different sized openings or width tubes, angled differently etc and so forth. This procedure is bound to be a different experience for different people. For you it’s painful and this should be taken into account.

I had one of these a few years ago for unknown bleeding and it was like torture. I can usually tolerate pain well. I did manage to let them complete it only because they saw nothing that they wanted to biopsy which would have extended the time.
I had taken a paracetamol and one codeine as guided by the patient sheet. I tried to regulate the pain by my breathing exercises.
I had a vagal response and my blood pressure dropped. After it was finished I couldn't control my body, visibly shaking for 5 minutes. The nurse and consultant were amazing but I still found it a very traumatic experience.
I was not offered any sedative/relaxant as this would involve patient aftercare and a bed!
I, personally, would refuse a repeat one.
I did tell my GP afterwards, that this was incredibly painful.
At the moment you only get a general if they fail! Look up Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy.
I would recommend trying meditation and breathing exercises and take the strongest painkillers you can get your hands on, GP may help. Also , phone the hospital and explain that they failed to complete it last time and you had a general. The very best of luck, sending positive vibes and hope you get sorted. Please update us.

I have one every six months. The last time I begged the consultant to simply remove my womb regardless of whether it needed to be taken out or not because I couldn't stand the pain of yet another biopsy. He immediately asked if I wanted a local anaesthetic. Speak to the clinic in advance. Tell them that you can't go through it about without a local and arrange it in advance. I can't say that having the local injected is fun but it's far better than having the biopsy without it. In fact after the local was in, I didn't even feel the biopsy.

Thank you so much for all your helpful comments. It is clear from what other people say I'm not being a complete wimp about this, I'm not on my own!

With the helpful comments in mind, when I got my appointment letter, I rang the hospital to say that I wanted to have a general anaesthetic and couldn't contemplate the procedure without.

A couple of days later, a nurse from the department rang me, and arranged for me to have a scan, which I had a couple of days later. Then she rang me yesterday and said, after having looked at the scan, that everything looked fine, and there was nothing to suggest I would need the procedure and that the bleeding would probably stop if I reduced my HRT. (which I have, and it has).

She advised me to ring my GP if I had any other issues, but said for now, there was no cause for concern. She also said that if I did need the procedure in the future, there would be no problem having a general anaesthetic. So a massive result, and thank you all for your comments. I don't think I would have stood my ground without them.

Good news alita, mega relief, thanks for posting the outcome.

We’ll done alota for making sure you got the correct treatment. I had an agonising outpatient hysteroscopy and will never, ever have another. I’ve lost all faith in the gynae department at my local hospital.

The power of patient consent has not been used fully by women. Tell them. preferably in advance, that you will only
consent if given a general anaesthetic.

You can ask for a local anaesthetic to numb the area involved. The procedure doesn't take very long and gives immediate results.

I had one which was a bit of a shock as I thought I was only going in for a chat! No painkiller - wasn’t painful although they did take a biopsy of the lining which was a bit uncomfortable but bearable.

I have recently gone through this a second time. The first resulted in a GA and I was dreading a repeat.
I had a different consultant this time and despite the discomfort it was not at all painful.
I thanked him after that it had been so much better than before and the nurse said "yes, he's very gentle" seems it can depend on the consultant.

I can fully understand your concerns - I had that procedure done 5 times when I was suffering with very heavy periods (I had a late menopause, was 59 1/2 when periods stopped).

It was the worst pain I'd ever known. The consultant anaesthetised my cervix on one occasion, but it made no difference.

Could you ask for it to be done under general anaesthetic? Eith that or say you don't want to have it done? Good luck x

Insist they give you a GA. Ring them and say it causes you immense pain and psychological trauma.

I had one that lasted over an hour and half and I have to say I didn't find it painful, just a bit sore but I was aghast and quite traumatised that they do them without pain relief in a surgical setting. Mine was quite recent though and they do numb your cervix now with something

MN are currently discussing this issue in terms of womans rights, it's interesting to read. It's not an unusual occurrence for it to be painful/traumatic.