Hysteroscopy without anaesthetic like being flayed alive
Undergoing a medical procedure without an anaesthetic felt like being "flayed alive", according to Dee Dickens.
The 53-year-old is one of many in the UK who have reported having a hysteroscopy, which is used to examine the uterus, without enough pain relief.
Clinical guidelines say patients must be given anaesthetic options before the gynaecological exam.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board said it was concerned by the experiences of Ms Dickens and urged her to get in touch.
Ms Dickens, from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, had a hysteroscopy as an outpatient at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant after experiencing bleeding despite being menopausal.
Ms Dickens said her medical notes and past childhood sexual abuse were not considered and she was not offered a local anaesthetic prior to the procedure in October 2022.
Due to underlying health conditions, including fibromyalgia and Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), she was reluctant to have a general anaesthetic as it would have left her "poorly for weeks" so she had the hysteroscopy on painkillers only.
"Everybody's bustling, so it's really difficult to advocate for yourself," said Ms Dickens.
When the procedure began, she said she felt extreme pain, adding: "I was very aware that I was a black woman who felt like she was being experimented on with no anaesthetic.
"They took out my coil and then they started on the biopsies and good God, that felt like being flayed alive. It was awful.
"It was like having my insides scraped out and blown up all at the same time."
Source: BBC News, 27 November 2023
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