"You walk in to the room and only expect discomfort"

In May this year I attended Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield for a Hysteroscopy following an ultra sound which showed evidence of fibroids and a thickened uterine lining. I did not feel unduly worried about the procedure and had just been told to take 2 of my normal painkillers. The diagnostic part was painful and a polyp was located. The Dr attempted to open the cervix wider without anaesthetic. This was extremely painful and I immediately felt sick and faint. The procedure was halted and the nurse said she needed to take my BP after taking my pulse. They could not get a reading until the nurse had taken my BP 3 times. My BP had gone right off the scale, I was told I would need to go back within weeks and they would use local anaesthetic.

After cancelling the next appointment I attended again in September. This time I had a local anaesthetic. The Dr said had she known how anxious I was she would have offered a GA. However, as I was there, she wanted to attempt the op and I could stop her anytime if I was in too much pain. Although it was still not pain free I just wanted to get it done and without feeling faint I managed this time and 2 polyps were removed. Thankfully, they were reported as benign.

The staff were very pleasant and one nurse in particular tried very hard all the way through to distract me by talking and asking questions. This did help, but I would not like to have to need this procedure doing again. The main concern I have is that you walk in to the room and only expect discomfort. The extreme pain is quite a shock and I know the first time I felt more worried when I came out than I had felt before I went in as I knew I had to go back. All that evening the events played back in my mind and I could not sleep. As my next appointment approached I became extremely anxious. Afterwards I was relieved and pleased I had just had the local anaesthesia. I experienced some cramps afterwards which I expected but everything was fine.