Carrie

Sorry to have to welcome you to the club.

Sadly IUD fittings are not the only painful procedures that we have to endure despite being led to believe that they just might be uncomfortable or 'like period pains'.

My hysteroscopy and biopsy experience now mean that I no longer go for cervical screening and found even Covid-19 vaccinations traumatic. Why? because I can not trust the NHS staff to tell the truth.

I have recently binned the bowel cancer screening kit. Why? because it might mean that I have to go for a colonoscopy. Again NHS information tells us that it might be uncomfortable, but friends' experiences do not match that information. Therefore trust goes out of the window.

A friend working for the NHS is frustrated by her female patients not coming forward for screenings. And why is that? because her patients have had traumatic and painful experiences.

I am no longer prepared to be told to 'be a good girl' or 'be brave'.

But do I have to die for it???

NHS needs to get its act together - yes, offering pain relief might be expensive, but how much more expensive are the treatments when someone's cancer or other disease has progressed further; diseases that could potentially be treated more easily and cheaply the sooner that they are identified. 

We need a joined up campaign to raise awareness around all potentially painful gynaecological procedures to ensure that everyone with a womb has access to effective and supportive health care for that part of our bodies that are at the core of how we see ourselves.  

Thanks to Dr Sundir for speaking out.

I too had an excruciating OP hysteroscopy last summer. It was difficult to effectively prepare for the procedure, such as writing down any questions, as no information was sent prior to the appointment. I was left feeling traumatised and have lost trust in NHS staff: I was lied to about the levels of pain and now can not trust what NHS staff say.

This has implications across all my health appointments, including Covid-19 vaccination which was yet another traumatic experience because of the memory of the hysteroscopy. 

I still suffer with the symptoms that I had last year which triggered the hysteroscopy appointment. I just hope that there's nothing 'nasty' going on. 

Would I ever go for another one? No! Not even under GA.

What's more I tell all my friends about the experience - so maybe they won't attend a hysteroscopy appointment either. 

Things have to change - but I suspect that as we're women things will not change as the men, who appear to make up the majority of gynaecologists, will not even care and the violence inflicted by 'professionals' against us will continue. 

For ladies like myself the damage has already been done.

I will never go for another hysteroscopy again, not even under sedation or general anaesthesia as I can't trust medical staff.

The trauma is with me with every medical contact; what I experienced means that I don't feel I'll be able to attend any gynaecological appointments again, not even cervical screening . Even the flu vaccine was traumatic so I dread to think how I would cope with a Covid-19 test - unknown practitioners so not to be trusted.

Of course all my friends know about my experience so are now wary of this procedure, which in turn may negatively impact on their health. 

I struggle on with what's happening to my body, let's just hope it's the menopause and not womb cancer.