Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[EllieJ]

I had my Hysteroscopy and biopsy today. I am so angry! I was expecting pain but not that I would scream with it and be left shaking and crying for a couple of hours after! I’m not angry at the consultant and nurses they were lovely, I’m angry because I read that the government financially rewards hospitals that encourage women to have these done in an outpatient setting! They actively reward hospitals for not promoting anaesthesia for this painful procedure! I’m not a wuss, I’ve had three vaginal deliveries- this pain shocked me. I know not everyone experiences it and I really don’t want to worry anyone awaiting one - but I was not prepared. If anyone reading this has a Hysteroscopy coming up you may want to consider asking for pain relief, I was offered nothing!

[Nik2502]

Hi Ellie

I had the same experience last year. I literally thought I was going to die. I came out in shock - shaking, crying, vomiting. No one even asked how I was.
I consider myself to have a very high threshold but I’ve never known pain like it.
It’s a disgrace that they treat women like this. They don’t do prostate biopsies without a general anaesthetic!
There’s a group on Facebook called Campaign against painful hysteroscopy you can join.

Nik x

[CLKD]

Where did U read this info.?  U should too be angry at the Consultant who has no right to put patients at risk of pain - it is unethical for 1 thing.  Bet it was a male?



Your GP should have discussed this B4 referring you.  ?? They wouldn't do procedures on men without discussion ??  MayB write to the Hospital Administrator as well as speaking to a Solicitor! 

[discogirl]

I had my Hysteroscopy and biopsy today. I am so angry! I was expecting pain but not that I would scream with it and be left shaking and crying for a couple of hours after! I’m not angry at the consultant and nurses they were lovely, I’m angry because I read that the government financially rewards hospitals that encourage women to have these done in an outpatient setting! They actively reward hospitals for not promoting anaesthesia for this painful procedure! I’m not a wuss, I’ve had three vaginal deliveries- this pain shocked me. I know not everyone experiences it and I really don’t want to worry anyone awaiting one - but I was not prepared. If anyone reading this has a Hysteroscopy coming up you may want to consider asking for pain relief, I was offered nothing!

Hi EllieJ

I am so shocked at this and you have every right to be angry.

I had a hysteroscopy recently and biopsy; I did initially ask for it to be done under GA however the gynae did mention that it would be about a 3 week wait and that there was an appointment that afternoon, so I opted to have it done without GA however I did get penthrox, which I inhaled through a sort of (although I don't smoke) was a bit like a vape. It wasn't GA however it did help and take the edge off.

I'm so sorry you had this experience, would you consider complaining, no woman should have to endure that pain.

[Dierdre]

My daughter in law went for what she thought was an initial consultation last week as nothing was said in the letter about any procedure.
They told her when she arrived they were doing a biopsy and hysteroscopy and if she wanted general anesthetic she'd have to wait weeks for another appointment. She had no idea what to expect so agreed to have it, they gave her a local anesthetic but she still passed out. My son had to fetch her from the hospital as she had drove there, they left her car and someone had to fetch it later that night.
If she had been notified about this procedure in the letter she would have opted for GA,  Are these the tactics now being used to not tell you until you arrive.

[Wrensong]

Hello EllieJ, I'm so sorry you had to go through this.  I had 3 hysteroscopies over a span of about 20 years.  The first was under GA because they were doing laparoscopy & D&C at the same time.  The 2nd was with local anaesthetic & light IV sedation, straightforward & by far the best of the 3 for me.  The last was in mid 50s, I'm a small woman, no kids, with at the time inadequately treated GSM & increasingly difficult smear tests with cervix always hard to locate.  I wasn't given any option but to have the hysteroscopy without sedation or pain relief, just advised to take 2 paracetamol beforehand which were totally inadequate for the degree of pain.  The attendant nurses were very kind & clearly uncomfortable that women are put in this situation but the shock of the pain, the embarrassment of feeling like a wuss & their kindness combined to leave me in tears to my further mortification so that I actually found myself apologising.  Luckily I've since had a hysterectomy (also not without difficult consequences), but would not have wanted a repeat of the 3rd hysteroscopy experience, which seemed to me little short of barbaric.

Adenomyosis & endometriosis were found on hysterectomy, so if already present at the time of the 3rd hysteroscopy, perhaps contributed to the degree of discomfort.

Imo women should always be given options for how they wish a hysteroscopy to be performed, with advice well beforehand that for some it can be shockingly painful & about what's involved with GA & its variable aftermath for anyone who's never been anaesthetised before.  So, as fully prepared as possible with the outcome being properly informed consent.

I hope it helps a little to know you're not alone in feeling angry & as I was assured on the day - definitely not a wuss.
W 

[sheila99]

You have every right to be angry but don't suffer in silence, complain to anyone you can. Perhaps your mp as well as the hospital. It's the only way things will change.

[CLKD]

Iv'e thought about this since reading the thread, in my opinion this may be termed as sexual abuse.  Do write a short letter of complaint to the Dept., copy to your GP. 

[CLKD]

Tnx Nik 2502


Copied from: the campaign against painful hysterocopy

There is a survey to fill in for those who have suffered.  Also a section about how the government is reacting which I didn't read.

The Campaign is made up of a growing number of UK patients, who have had very painful outpatient hysteroscopies and/or womb biopsies.

We are concerned that a significant number of UK hysteroscopy patients (around 1 in 3) will suffer severe pain during these outpatient procedures.

We are campaigning for all hysteroscopy/uterine biopsy patients to have:



Full written information about the hysteroscopy/biopsy procedure including the risk of severe pain.

Safe and effective pain relief.

A genuine CHOICE of no anaesthesia; local anaesthesia; safe monitored conscious sedation; epidural; general anaesthesia.

The opportunity to make a fully informed decision about their treatment.

We don’t advocate a return to GA for all hysteroscopies, but patients have the right to choose how an invasive, intimate and potentially painful procedure is carried out.

 

[bombsh3ll]

This is another appalling incidence of medical misogyny and the high cultural tolerance of women's suffering within healthcare settings.

Men undergoing comparable invasive and traumatic procedures are routinely provided with appropriate anaesthesia. 

I had manual removal of placenta with no anaesthesia at age 18 and am still traumatised by it many years later.

It makes me so angry what women are expected to just grit our teeth and endure when appropriate anaesthesia and pain control is easily available.

If you feel able to, you should definitely make a complaint to the hospital. The more people do this, the more likely practice is to change.

And absolutely nobody should be pressured into a non-emergency procedure that they had no prior knowledge of before the appointment, for the sake of the system's convenience. Valid consent involves being given full and complete information and then being able to take this away and properly consider your options.

[Ayesha]

And still we keep hearing of this totally barbaric treatment of women in the 21st century, women have to be more vocal or this will just carry on.
Articles have been written by well known women on how they suffered, its been written here too about the brutality of the procedure but it still carries on, it has to stop!

[Wrensong]

Nik2502 & CLKD, thank you for posting the campaign detail.
W x

[EllieJ]

I have filled in the questionnaire as part of the campaign mentioned. Initially I was impressed with the amount of literature sent prior to the procedure, but now I’ve reread everything it looks like it’s all a ploy to get women to have the procedure done as an outpatient. The word “cancer” is mentioned many times, they list side effects that are “more likely” under general anaesthetic. They talk about the pain felt by “the majority of women” being mild like period cramps. As a woman terrified already that she’s been put in the two week cancer wait - you just want the procedure done asap to get an answer! They mention general anaesthetic but then that would be a wait of much longer so that’s why you agree to the Outpatient procedure. I wasn’t offered any kind of pain relief - even though the possibility of gas and air was mentioned in the literature. The leaflet I was sent home with is entitled “recovery after Hysteroscopy with local or general anaesthetic” yet I was offered neither. The doctor and nurses were lovely, but they knew what was coming. As soon as the doctor started they were frantically trying to engage me in bland conversation- what are you doing later? When I screamed, one nurse held my arm and just said “yes” and nodded sadly! They knew! The consultant kept saying “do you want to look at the screen?” But I was rigid with pain! What a load of rubbish that risks like perforating the uterus were more likely under an anaesthetic! You would be asleep and unmoving, not rigid and jumping with the pain like I was! Thanks for your support ladies. Recovering today x

[Wrensong]

Bless you EllieJ.  I hope the histology results are good & that you hear soon.
Wx

[CLKD]

There was an article on BBC today about how women are mysogonised in the medical profession, because it is believed that 'we can bear more pain than men'.   

11 December 2024, 10:24 GMT

Updated 5 hours ago

Women experiencing painful health conditions, including heavy periods, endometriosis and adenomyosis, are being dismissed when they ask for help, an MPs' report has warned.

Diagnosis and treatment for these common issues can take years, leaving women and girls in so much pain that it disrupts all aspects of daily life, members of Westminster's Women and Equalities Committee concluded.

Chair Sarah Owen said "misogyny in medicine" was "leaving women in pain and their conditions undiagnosed" - and called for more investment in and support for women's reproductive health conditions.

The government has described the situation as "unacceptable" and said it will "overhaul women's healthcare".

Misogyny is defined as feelings of hatred towards women, or the belief that men are much better than women.