I've just got home from my hysteroscopy appointment. I'd like to start off by saying that everyone I saw today was lovely and couldn't be faulted. That being said, it goes down as the most painful experience I've ever had. I went into the appointment thinking it would be a little painful but that I would be fine. I have a high pain threshold and I had taken two codeine tablets an hour before. The consultant injected a local anaesthetic into the cervix (relatively painless) and then proceeded with the camera. This was where things began to hurt. The consultant asked me several times if I was ok and did I wish to stop. I asked him to keep going as I really wanted to push through and get it done. When I saw on the screen that the camera was inside the womb, I thought the worst was over but I couldn't have been more wrong. I have a large submucosal fibroid which takes up most of the womb. As fluid was pumped in to make more space, the pain became unbearable. The camera was only able to advance a short distance before I couldn't take anymore and the procedure had to be halted. I am so cross with myself for not being able to push through the pain, but it really was on another level. I had a colonoscopy last year and refused the offered sedation. It was uncomfortable and a little painful, but nothing compared to today. I questioned this with the consultant, and he said that's completely different, a hysteroscopy is a much more painful procedure. My question would be, why then, is sedation the norm for a colonoscopy, but for a hysteroscopy (recognised as being much more painful) woman are told to 'just take a couple of paracetamol before you arrive'. I would be happy to never hear the word hysteroscopy again, but the consultant has booked me in to have the procedure under a general anaesthetic as he really wants to get a biopsy. In summary, the staff were amazing, and stopped the moment I said it was too much, but the procedure was incredibly painful and really shouldn't be downplayed by likening it to period pain that may need a couple of paracetamol...
