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Virgo86

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  1. Community Post
    I started writing this from my bed at 23:00 having just had my first Hysteroscopy at 15:00 that day. Over 48hrs after now & need to tell my story. I do not want to scare anyone but my story is not unique and I don’t wish this experience on anyone. It should not be allowed to happen in 2022. I am 35 (no kids) & spent the last 1 year+ having appointments and investigations for bleeding between excruciating, heavy periods. The past year was full of issues with missing referrals, and then my pathway documents being ‘lost’ by the hospital. I spent much time on the phone chasing up on my ‘care’ the past year and already had little trust in the clinic (Salford Royal Gynae with it’s peeling walls, mismatched chairs, underfunded aesthetic). I was glad to be going in to remove what was likely a 2cm benign polyp & was hopeful this hysteroscopy would be the final ‘simple’ procedure. When I finally received my pamphlet (the day before!) it was like the advice I had read online from healthcare professionals. ‘Take the pain relief before’, ‘Might experience cramp like pains’, ‘can go straight back to work’ ‘recovery 1-2 days if biopsy is taken ’. Lies! It was grossly downplayed! I turned up alone (mistake), gave a urine sample and sat in a waiting room to listen to smooth FM. I was feeling a bit nervous never having had a hysteroscopy before but the nurse who came to walk me into the room seemed happy and breezy. I thought... can’t be too bad. I entered the room which looked like a large doctors office but with a stirrup chair, curtains and lots of equipment around it. I was telling myself, surely something done in this environment cannot be that bad. The Dr was lovely and chatty, read through a form and I signed. Said I could have a local anesthetic to the cervix and even though I said oh I’m absolutely fine with injections/dentists, have a high pain threshold etc he firmly stated that it would likely be more painful having the injection than just going through it (alarm bells!). I was then asked by a 2nd nurse to change behind a curtain to put on a gown then straight into the chair to be positioned. My heart started racing at this point (natural I thought) and then all of a sudden he was talking, cleaning the outside, a speculum went in then cleaning the inside. All the time the 2 nurses were asking me questions and I was chatting nervously away making jokes and then it happened. The next part is burned into my brain moment by moment. I wanted to scream & cry looking up at the ‘wheres Wally’ on the ceiling (I never ever want to see that book anywhere again). I tried to keep talking sentences but I couldn’t, I couldn’t breathe, I felt out of body at times. I remember looking at the screen and forcing myself to try and listen to what he was saying while I felt every movement a pain I can’t even describe (I’ve had to have morphine in the past for painful injuries and this pain was even higher than those incidences). The Dr said the polyp was a mix with a fibroid and I could see it was large (in the space between my left and right tube) he asked if he could try take more away & I couldn’t believe he suggested it! I said no please stop. When he said it was over I was shaking, cold, shivery & hot at the same time. I joked about not being able to stand up when I was left to get myself off the bed & felt I might vomit. Once changed he said me down & I signed a form for a general anesthetic (shaking throughout). I was in a state of shock for the next few hours. I sat in the sad ‘post procedure waiting room’ where you are left & forgotten about with your hot drink & biscuit, phoned my family, chatting away about it all in a false ‘it was horrible but hey ho’ voice. Then tried to walk to the pharmacy & was shocked to find I could only shuffle, (you should be told you must bring someone with you, I’m a fitness fanatic and this shocked me to feel so weak) to pick up 2 medications for my periods until the GA (the first time since I raised my symptoms over a year ago that I have been offered any medication). Every step was agony in my womb, taking my breath away, I had to keep stopping. The Uber home every bump was agony & I’m still in pain today & bleeding (lies that it’s a ‘little spotting) and can’t walk properly. Not even 1 single woman should have to go through this procedure awake!! Even if 2/3rds find it bearable. Its simply barbaric. The worst part. I feel like I felt when I was raped by a ‘nice’ man when I was younger. Especially when I had the realization that the likely reason for the Dr and his assistants being so nice and chatty was because they were fully aware of the indescribable pain this procedure can cause a large percentage of women. I spent that evening awake at midnight crying hysterically having flashbacks of what happened. This is not like me. Why was everyone so nonchalant during the procedure? I know they are trying to keep you calm but it’s impossible they are not aware that this was trauma pain, I must have been white as a sheet and shaking, why was my blood pressure/heart rate not monitored, where was the gas&air that you get in A&E. Why is it so downplayed and why are women expected to bear this! I cant believe I’m reading stories of women saying it’s worse that childbirth and can’t help thinking if a man had to go through this would it have been banned without GA or adequate pain relief! How do we stop this? Sending love to all who have suffered this x
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