My hysteroscopy experience felt like gold standard

Summary

This account was shared with by Louise, a patient who recently underwent a hysteroscopy in Liverpool. Having read about many negative experiences, she wanted to share her positive and painless experience, highlighting the need for less variation and better experiences for all women. 

Content

I was saddened to read the horrendous experiences of hysteroscopy shared by women on this site and only discovered the accounts shared here after my procedure yesterday.

I am 54 and underwent a hysteroscopy including biopsies (polyp) and a Mirena fitting after experiencing irregular perimenopausal bleeding. I have one child who was delivered by emergency C-Section 12 years ago (which was truly horrific and is a whole other topic and hospital).

My hysteroscopy procedure took place at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and I can only describe the whole experience as gold standard. I was seen and treated under the 2-week target for referrals.

When I arrived the gynaecology outpatient  department was calm, relaxing and well-staffed by very caring and attentive nurses.

I was offered a Saturday morning appointment that meant no time off work, which was a plus for me.

Each stage of admission, observations, pain relief, preparation and the actual procedure was carried out with care and absolutely everything was explained to me in great detail. I was made aware during my referral appointment a few days previously about the possibility and levels of pain to expect and the pain relief options that would be available. I was expecting the worst, although I did feel mentally prepared.

Pre-op I was offered ibuprofen and a diclofenac suppository which I took and during the procedure I had a local anaesthetic and plenty of gas and air. The local anaesthetic was akin to how it feels at the dentist, weird but I found it bearable.

I was welcomed into the theatre by a very friendly female consultant and three nurses who explained everything and put me totally at ease.

My experience of the actual procedure and how it felt was a level up from the initial speculum exam at referral stage and it felt scratchy and pinchy rather than painful, saline was introduced to help with the imaging (which I chose not to watch on the screen but could have if I wanted to). The gas and air helped massively (I took so much it made me burst out laughing and the team were worried I was crying!).

It was over very quickly - I would say 15 minutes. The consultant asked me when I was dressing how my pain was on a scale of 0-10 and I answered honestly that it was 0. I experienced no bleeding at all. I was then asked to relax on a recliner in recovery with tea and biscuits and I was monitored for approximately 30 minutes.

From arrival at 8.00am to discharge at 10.30am I felt looked after, cared for, respected and treated with the utmost dignity and compassion.

I didn't need to stay in recovery long as I felt so well but I feel they wouldn't have discharged me in a hurry if there had been any signs of anything worrying.

I was a bit anxious how I would feel after the diclofenac wore off (which I was advised was 16 hours) but I have woken up this morning with no pain, no bleeding and just a sense of how fortunate I have been to be treated at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

It really concerns me to hear of so many awful experiences around the country and just wanted to highlight for balance how well the experience went for me. I am lucky to live in Liverpool, and my heart goes out to those women who have been traumatised. Care shouldn't vary depending on where you are treated.

Thank you for reading my story.