"Painful hysteroscopy"

I found the procedure to be extremely painful. Although it was short lived and was over just as I felt I might pass out, the intensity of the pain came as a complete shock. I have recently had a HSG where a tube is inserted into the cervix in order to inject dye. This process was also described as "uncomfortable" in the patient information leaflet, which I felt was fair. The hysteroscopy on the other hand was excruciating. I began to hyperventilate with the pain, I was sweating and shaking and I believe I had gone into shock.

The two ibuprofen I had taken in preparation were never going to be enough to combat the pain, and there was no mention of the gas and air described in the leaflet. The consultant did mention numbing the cervix, but only if he struggled to get an adequate view, not to prevent potential pain. Like many others I feel we should be better prepared for this, acute pain for even a short time would be more bearable if properly advised, not to mention with the option of proper pain relief.