"A hysteroscopy and biopsy."

I am 55 years old and was referred to a hospital in Bristol for this procedure due to post-menopausal bleeding. On my first visit the doctor exclaimed that my cervix entrance was extremely small, probably due to never having had children, and that she was not prepared to continue without injecting anaesthetic into my cervix to numb it as I would find it too painful otherwise. I was told to go home and await another appointment, which arrived in the post for a few weeks later. I then received a phone call as they'd had a cancellation for the next morning. In the meantime I had had an internal ultrasound scan at another hospital which had revealed fibroids. I readily accepted this early appointment as I am terrified that I may have cancer and realise that the earlier the diagnosis, the earlier the treatment and the more chance I will have of survival. I had already been advised to eat breakfast as normal and to take 400mg of Ibuprofen an hour before the procedure, which I did. 

I arrived for the appointment dreading the idea of a needle going into my cervix, but grateful for the pain relief it would give me. I saw a different doctor this time, and there were 3 nurses in the room as well as a student. This doctor explained that she didn't want to give me an injection of anaesthetic as she thought that would be too painful for me as the procedure was bound to be 'uncomfortable' as well. She asked me to trust her professional judgement, which I did, and told me that she could stop at any time. 

As the procedure started I was told that a jet of cold water was going to be applied to my cervix to force it open, the water would then be used to fill my womb and a camera would be inserted and a biopsy taken. In all my years I have never experienced pain like it. I am someone who doesn't like taking tablets for anything and I consider myself to have quite a high pain threshold, but this pain was like nothing else on earth. I was howling and yelling and squirming and was absolutely shocked that this was being done to me. I am still in shock really (it was done the day before yesterday). The nurses were great and were desperately trying to distract me by talking about my crystals etc, but every time I tried to answer a howl would come out instead. The pain was so severe. Eventually, after about 5-minutes I could bear it no longer and had to stop it. I was so upset with myself but feel like I would have passed out if it had continued. I have now got to wait for another appointment where I will have the procedure done under general anaesthetic instead.

This was a brutal procedure for me indeed, and the level of pain was completely off the charts. And I don't think I will ever be able to trust a doctor's professional judgement ever again!