"Traumatic hysteroscopy"

In October 2021 I reported abnormal bleeding to my GP. She said to keep an eye on it, so when it recurred in May 2022 I reported it again. By this stage I was feeling generally unwell - exhausted, with pain and heavy, very irregular periods - and like something could really be wrong. I was given an appointment for an ultrasound set for August (i.e. three months away), but was concerned and got an ultrasound done privately as soon as I could. It showed my womb lining at 0.9mm and the sonographer said I likely had a polyp, which should be investigated to ensure it was not cancerous.

I raised this back with my GP. She referred me for hysteroscopy at Torbay Hospital, part of Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust. She made the referral urgently since I have a family history of ovarian cancer and was concerned about malignancy. The hospital downgraded the referral to routine so she had to write back again, asking them to reconsider, and I was eventually seen about six weeks after the first referral was made, on July 28.

I expressed to my GP that I wanted general anaesthetic because I'd had an abortion in the past and am a survivor of sexual assault - the idea of an intra-uterine procedure made me feel queasy. She said she was sure this would be possible, but when I received the referral letter it came with no information - no leaflet, absolutely nothing. I called the hospital to ask for information and said I wanted general anaesthetic. They said I needed to show up on the day and ask for it.

I showed up on the day and asked about general anaesthetic. The consultant said that it would save me having to go through the surgery route if I just had it that day without general anaesthetic. I was so tired of advocating for myself with the GP for these past months. From the minimal information from the consultant I was left feeling worried about a longer wait if I didn't have it that day, plus I was right there and he wanted me to do it. I was asked to sign the consent form and told there was some risk of pain but that we could stop immediately if so. Don't be brave, the consultant said. I was asked if I had taken pain relief, and I said I had not (again, I hadn't received a leaflet, so did not know that I should have). No paracetamol etc was given but I was offered gas and air as a reassurance.

Once I got into the room, a nurse was set by the bedside to hold my hand. The looks on their faces told me that this wasn't just some minor risk of pain they were talking about, but something which was normal to them - they seemed almost braced for it. I felt weird about the vibe in the room and began to wonder what I was in for. I took the gas and air and to be honest the relaxation that came from that was the only reason I let them near me by that stage. I felt like I was high.

Very soon, I was in extreme pain, dizzy, thrashing around. I said "I am near my pain threshold." Then again, when it didn't stop, I shouted: "I have to stop." The problem by that stage of course is that there are already instruments in your womb so it's not just a case of the pain immediately ceasing. When the consultant was able to remove them I sat up and was sick several times - first, down myself because there was no bowl. Then I was sick in the bowl when it was brought.

I was taken through to recovery where my blood pressure read low - I recall it was 83 over a value in the 50s. I felt extremely unwell and stank of vomit. I was given an injection to stop me vomiting. I was asked again if I had taken any pain relief and said no, and it was only then that I figured out with a nurse that I should have received a leaflet. She said they had "let me down" by not sending it. My mother had been brought through to the recovery area by this point and witnessed this as well as the blood pressure readings. She and the nurse said I had completely drained of colour but it was returning. The nurse also said women are not normally referred straight in for a hysteroscopy like this directly from the GP. I was given some paracetamol. It took about two hours sat there for my blood pressure to come high enough for me to go home. I felt humiliated, weak and in pain. I still smelled of vomit.

Nobody else really seemed surprised or particularly concerned about what had happened. 

I wasn't informed of the risk of being sick from the gas and air and I certainly don't think I was fully appraised of the risk of extreme pain. It was mentioned but almost like, you might feel pain, we can stop if so. I didn't really feel like I'd been genuinely given the option of general anaesthetic even though I'd expressed an interest. I also didn't have the patient information leaflet so didn't know to take paracetamol, or really anything about what was going to happen that day.

I don't use the word lightly but I am traumatised by the experience. I will never forget that kind of pain being calmly inflicted in such an intimate/invasive way by a group of people who appeared to know more than they were letting on to me.