"Painful hysteroscopy without general anaesthetic"

I just wanted to share my story of my hysteroscopy procedure  at the University hospital of North Midland [Stafford] My first point is to the staff. I cannot find words to say how wonderful they all were. They were kind Friendly super efficient nothing can be changed there it is absolutely spot on.

I was unfortunately one of those women who found the dilation of the uterus in prep for the hysteroscopic investigation incredibly painful. Its a difficult one to predict really but it is quite a common problem from what I can gather. The information leaflet didn't really prepare me for the fact that I may be one of those ladies who would have an extreme reaction to the procedure. It described the pain as being like mild period pain. It wasn't. As someone who does have severe period pain [and therefore used to a fair bit of pain  on a monthly basis] it was much worse. I did take the recommended NSAID analgaesia which may have helped but it was still very painful. I was vomiting and had to be given an anti emetic injection so that I could take more analgaesia to get me comfortable enough to return home. I was in recovery for nearly 2 hours. I'm not really sure how the staff could have made it any more comfortable.

 

It may be though that women like me who have painful periods [due to the fact that we have more pain receptors than average]  have a uterus that contracts very strongly and adversely to the part of the procedure that expands the uterus. There is research out there that shows that some women have a uterus that has more pain receptors and that this is linked in with dysmenorrhoea. I was never once asked if I suffered from painful periods. My sister had exactly the same response, she has a similar problem with period pain, her procedure was carried out at the Royal stoke[City General Hospital] - University Hospitals of North Midlands. Now unfortunately she was made to feel as though she was making a fuss and told that  ";,..no one else has found this an uncomfortable procedure ..." ?! They really did treat her appallingly.

I had a D+C in my mid 20's but had a general anaesthetic that was a pain free procedure. I only had very mild period like pain on waking. Obviously a general anaesthetic carries more risk and is more costly and the NHS is very strapped for cash as we all know. There has to be a much more comprehensive discussion about this element to plan the procedure more carefully There are ladies who have had this procedure that actually stated that giving birth was less painful ! .

The passing of the instrumentation through the cervix was fine, the burning and removal of the polyps and taking of the biopsy sample were all fine too, only  the expansion of the uterus was painful. Its obvious that a certain gynaecological profile means that some women are more likely to need a general anaesthetic or a different way to inflate the uterus to prevent it being a horribly painful experience. If I have to have this procedure again I would be very apprehensive. But again in praise of the staff they made the whole thing bearable.