Elliemay

Hi SailSawyer I'm so pleased to hear that the staff at New Alderley House, Macclesfield got it right for you. I've been part of the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy for many years now and its good to hear some good outcomes amidst the ones that make me cringe from the horrors I'm reading. Approximately 1 in 4 women experience severe pain with hysteroscopy, and painful experiences appears to result from many factors - eg Unsuitable candidates for Outpatient hysteroscopy procedures in the first place, time post-menopause, whether we've had vaginal births, how skilled the hysteroscopy team are, how our bodies/cervix/uterus react to the procedure and also whether the Dr/hysteroscopist stops as soon as it is apparent the woman is in pain and reschedules for GA, which some aren't good at doing unfortunately. BTW its not standard practice in many NHS gynae OPHs for the cervix to be numbed either by gel or anaesthetic, so another thumbs-up for Macclesfield as this clearly helped you a lot! Best wishes.

Sorry to hear what has happened to you, Miche. I have been a member of the campaign group that HelenH mentions since it started over 7 years ago. You can see more about the group here: https://www.hysteroscopyaction.org.uk/ or visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HysteroscopyA . If you feel in need of some peer support following your dreadful ordeal, please message the facebook page. Best wishes.

Sorry to hear what has happened to you, Pam. The Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy has a webpage and a Facebook page. If you post on the facebook page you may find people with shared experiences. You can see more about the group here: https://www.hysteroscopyaction.org.uk/ or visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HysteroscopyA . If you feel in need of some peer support following your dreadful ordeal, please message the facebook page - we also have a private page we can invite you to join from there, where women can discuss their experiences without the whole of FB and google knowing about it. Best wishes.

Sorry to hear what has happened to you, Miche. I have been a member of the campaign group that HelenH mentions since it started over 7 years ago. You can see more about the group here: https://www.hysteroscopyaction.org.uk/ or visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HysteroscopyA . If you feel in need of some peer support following your dreadful ordeal, please message the facebook page. Best wishes.

Hello MT So sorry to hear you've had this awful experience. Unfortunately you are not alone in experiencing severe pain and insensitive treatment and left feeling the way you do. I do hope you are feeling better today. Please, if you're on Facebook, the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy has a closed Action/Support group that you are most welcome to join. If you'd like to do so please send me - Elaine Falkner (with photo of lady with white hair) - a Facebook friend request and I'll add you to the group. Best wishes

👍 You can let them know by posting on Care Opinion if you would like to. https://www.careopinion.org.uk/

That's really good to know there are women having a good hysteroscopy experience. Just wondering if anyone spoke to you about likelihood of pain or any alternatives to the outpatient procedure without any pain relief, or asked you questions to ensure you weren't in a high risk group for pain in advance of the hysteroscopy. If they did go through all that with you in line with the RCOG/BSGE guidelines, and you were able to give informed consent, they deserve to know they are getting it right! Which hospital was it, please.

Lisa, what you've written here is wonderful! I experienced a horrendously painful hysteroscopy when I was many years post-menopausal and had had very painful periods before that. I was in a high risk group for pain and this was ignored, as it is for thousands of women in the UK, because the powers that be prefer to say the procedure is well tolerated and most women don't experience pain. The truth is that for most women PROMS aren't sought. To hear you say "If someone is telling me they have pain, my job isn’t to judge or dismiss it," is music to my ears! How can we get other medics to agree with you?

I'm very pleased to hear you had a smooth pain-free procedure, Birdy2020! Excellent! You clearly had an excellent team looking after you! What you are saying about your experience is how it should be for all women! However, this is far from the case. We are all different and women don't need to have an underlying health condition to experience severe pain with this procedure. Research figures show that approximately 30% of women undergoing hysteroscopy in outpatients will experience considerable pain and it is barbaric to carry these out when women are shouting out with pain and fainting, as happens on a daily basis in the UK, Women are also being lied to by the hospital staff when told that the procedure definitely won't be painful, or will be the same as a smear test or maybe period "cramps". I see you took cocodamol and naproxen before your appointment. Most women are advised to take normal doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen which doesn't seem to touch the pain experienced by some. Another factor relating to pain is the type of equipment used in the clinic and the skills of the people carrying out the procedure. The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) acknowledge that training, skills and equipment are all factors relating patients' acceptability of the procedure. I was post-menopausal when I had this procedure, (not an underlying health condition), which the hospital were aware of. The pain I experienced was worse than childbirth, leaving me feeling traumatised and violated. Because of the pain I experienced, the procedure wasn't completed and I had to return for a further hysteroscopy and polyp removal under GA (thankfully I didn't have cancer). If anaesthetics (eg entonox (gas and air), or sedation as used for dentistry, spinal block) had been available in outpatients this probably wouldn't have been necessary. I also find I now have no trust in people carrying out further procedures on my body. I'm not alone with this and there is a risk that women will avoid future visits to hospitals and drs in detriment to their future health. I now campaign to try and bring about change, so other women won't have the same experience, but will be treated with the dignity and respect afforded to patients undergoing other endoscopy procedures, i.e. being able to give fully informed consent and receive appropriate anaesthetic, if that is what the person would like, not necessarily GA as there are other options as mentioned above. This is the current RCOG information for women undergoing hysteroscopy:https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/patient-leaflets/outpatient-hysteroscopy/ and the BSGE issued the following statement to its members: https://www.bsge.org.uk/news/bsge-statement-regarding-outpatient-hysteroscopy/ Best wishes

I am so sorry to read this, Claire - what a nightmare situation for you and your family (you showed me your husbands lovely sculptures when we met in Bath). You say staff are frightened, and It must take a lot of courage to put yourself out there on the front line at the moment, day after day. Huge thank you to you and your work colleagues for doing this. Petition signed. Best wishes xxxx

I hadn't met the hysteroscopist or the 2 nurses before I entered the room for the procedure. Also had no idea what was about to happen as hadn't received any information.

I had a hysteroscopy and have to say it was the most painful experience of my life. I was 65. I had been fitted into a cancelled appointment, for which I was grateful but this meant I hadn't received any information and didn't know what was about to happen. I am not an anxious person and I'm not a wimp where pain is concerned. I delivered 2 children on gas and air, but I shouted out in pain and was reduced to tears both during and after this procedure and on occasion felt I was going to faint. It was commenced without any anaesthetic or analgesia. It soon became clear that my cervix was very tightly closed (evidently because menopause had occurred approx 20 years previously) and I was in excruciating pain as attempts were made to dilate it to gain access to the uterus. Anaesthetic gel was applied to the cervix followed by a local anaesthetic. This procedure was far from pleasant and not without pain. (I didn’t know at the time that at least 10 minutes following administration was needed for this to be effective, but this time lapse didn’t occur and the procedure was started again almost immediately). Entry through my cervix was exceedingly painful, way beyond what would have been controlled by ibuprofen, and I felt I was going to faint. Eventually access to my uterus was achieved and the polyp was in view. Then the saline solution was introduced causing a searing pain through my abdomen and up my side making me shout out and cry - it felt as if it was touching my ovaries! Because of the pain I was experiencing the water pressure used had to be lower than normal which meant that the biopsy sample was very small and there was a chance it wouldn’t be sufficient for the purpose. It wasn’t possible to remove the polyp as planned. During this time of unbelievable pain the two other nurses in the room were attempting to make light hearted conversation with me, presumably to distract me from the pain and to ensure I was still conscious! At the finish I lay there and cried. I felt that I had been subjected to a barbaric procedure. I was escorted by one of the nurses to another waiting area where I was given tea and biscuits. She told me she was amazed I had managed to tolerate the procedure given the pain I was in. I sat there until I stopped shaking and felt able to walk back to find my husband who took me home. I retreated under a blanket for the rest of the day in a state of shock having been totally violated by this abusive procedure. The information, which I didn’t receive beforehand states "The procedure takes about five to ten minutes to complete..." Mine was much longer. Also "Before attending for the procedure it is advisable to have eaten breakfast/lunch." Luckily I hadn't as I'm sure I would have been sick. Also "taking Paracetamol or 400mg of Ibuprofen one hour before the procedure will help to alleviate any cramping pains that can be experienced during and after the procedure. You do not require any anaesthetic for the procedure, but you should bring someone with you who can drive you home." I didn’t experience cramping pains. I experienced the worst pain of my life! This pain would not have been controlled by over the counter meds! As the polyp hadn't been removed in the end, I had to return for a GA procedure. I couldn't face returning to the same hospital and had to be referred elsewhere. This procedure was like a stroll in the park, with only mild cramps for a few minutes when I came round from the anaesthetic and fully recovered in a couple of hours. How dare they say that all women prefer OP procedures. Are all women saying they prefer excruciating pain? No other painful endoscopy procedure is carried out without anaesthetic/sedation being offered. It smacks of gender inequality and an assumption that because women experience childbirth they can bear any kind of pain thrown at them. I understand its between 25% and 30% of women experience severe pain. I am so angry that this happened to me and is still happening to other women on a daily basis. It's a scandal! Thanks for giving space and time to this appalling procedure.