Has anyone had a hysteroscopy?

You will be asleep. You won't feel a thing. I promise you. They will put you to sleep. No sooner they put you to sleep in a flash you will be waking up. You have nothing to fear.

@kpm77 Thank you! I am in Ontario, Canada, and the procedure will be done in a clinic - not in a hospital. Would I be put to sleep in a clinic? I have been given no instructions for preparation before the procedure.

I would have preferred to have it done in a hospital, but no hospitals in my area perform hysteroscopies.

@rashida I had a hysteroscopy as a same-day procedure in the hospital. I also had anesthesia so I didn't feel anything but I was uncomfortable when I woke up because air is introduced into the uterus in order to inflate it a bit to allow the doctor to look.

May I ask why you hare having the hysteroscopy?

Also, can you call the doctor's office and ask if you will be given a sedative or light anesthesia before the procedure? If none is planned you can definitely ask for that. The more you know about the procedure ahead of time the less anxious you might feel.

@naturegirl5 the procedure will be done at a clinic which sounds like just a regular specialist’s (gynaecologist) office.

I just called the office. Neither doctor or her nurse is in today. I asked what I need to do before the appointment and she said just take Advil or extra strength Tylenol an hour before the procedure. I asked if the doctor will be using local anesthesia and she said the doctor does not administer anesthesia for this procedure. She also said I can eat or drink as usual before the procedure.

My own GP also informed me only Tylenol is required. However, on the Internet everywhere I have read they say the doctor administers anesthetic. I’m in Canada - so I guess they do this without any. My GP has ordered this procedure because the transvaginal ultrasound was not clear enough - and she mentioned my uterine lining is very thin.

I have had random spotting for the past two years. I moved a year ago and it has taken this long to find a new physician.

@rashida This is very puzzling to me. Most everyone I know of here on Mayo Clinic Connect has said that they had light sedation/anesthesia that was administered by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist for a hysteroscopy. It just seems to me that you don't have enough information about what will happen tomorrow to make a decision on how to prepare or what questions to ask.

Are you menopausal or post-menopausal? Or are you of child bearing age and interested in getting pregnant? I had a hysteroscopy with dilation and curetage because I had spotting. I was post menopausal and the ultrasound showed thickened uterine lining which is suspicious for endometrial cancer.

Could you call your GP and ask your questions? Where are you located? Is it possible to drive to a city with more options for you?

@naturegirl5 I am 77, post menopausal and I have had random spotting since the past couple of years.

I had a transvaginal ultrasound in Toronto when I had random spotting in early 2022 and based on my ultrasound report my doctor at the time in Toronto took the “wait and see if the problem corrects itself” approach. She must have known the hysteroscopy is done without anesthetic and knowing how much pain even a Pap smear causes me (which is why she stopped doing them when I turned 70 - apparently post menopausal women don’t need regular Pap smears after that age).

Then I moved to Kitchener in October 2022. I had random spotting again in early 2023 but I hadn’t found a GP here yet. I finally found one in early November 2023 (I am one of the “lucky” ones - there are still people here on waiting lists, looking for a doctor and they have been living here longer than I!) and she sent me for a transvaginal ultrasound. Based on that report she decided to send me for this hysteroscopy.

My GP tried to get me to a hospital but none of the four hospitals in Kitchener, Guelph and Cambridge she referred me to, do hysteroscopy anymore so she found this clinic in Waterloo where a doctor performs this procedure - but in office, and no anesthetic!

My GP did suggest morphine, but morphine makes my body jerk involuntarily - not good during a procedure! So the only alternative, since I have adverse reaction to hydrocodone and codeine, is extra strength Tylenol an hour before the procedure. My GP gave me a prescription for just one 0.05mg. Ativan - to be taken with the Tylenol tomorrow, to calm my nerves - but I won’t hold my breath!

Needless to say, I am bracing myself for a very painful procedure tomorrow nonetheless.

Americans think we are lucky to have “free “ healthcare (not! We pay for it through our already high income tax system) and the government decides what prescription medications or procedures it will approve. With overflowing hospitals, a lot of procedures - like the hysteroscopy - that used to be done in hospitals are now being done in diagnostic labs or by specialists (often with long waiting lists - again, my new doctor managed to find this “in office” clinic).

I have been referred for a colonoscopy and that, too, will have to be done at a clinic outside of hospital, as there is a six month plus long waiting list for one in any hospital.

@rashida You've been very persistent with your health care. Good for you that you got in with a GP when the wait list is so long. I have dual citizenship - American and naturalized in Canada. When I lived in Canada I was furious when anyone would comment that I got "free health care". First of all, nothing is free. Secondly, my taxes in Canada and Québec were more than double what anyone I knew paid in their taxes in the States.

There are many clinics here in the States that do procedures such as hysteroscopies , colonoscopies, and orthopedic procedures, such as total hip replacements, in an outpatient surgical center. It's not the hospital but these outpatient, one day surgical centers are equipped to do these procedures where you are in and out in one day. I would think that any clinic will perform a colonoscopy with anesthesia so hopefully your clinic will do that.

As for today, I hope the Ativan helps. I've been prescribed Ativan for procedures and while it doesn't do anything for pain it significantly lowers my anxiety so I can get through the test or procedure.

It sounds to me like you are an excellent advocate for yourself. Please tell the doctor and nurses about your pain and how you are feeling. I suggest that you tell them before the procedure begins. In as matter-of-way as you can. That's what I do and then I feel like I've put my anxiety out there which helps to lower it. I hope today that you will have compassionate and kind nurses and doctors who will make you comfortable and will listen to you. I'm thinking that the doctor will take a biopsy during the procedure and I hope that the results will come back quickly.

What time is your procedure today? I will hold you in my thoughts, Rashida.

@naturegirl5 thank you. My appointment is for 1:00 p.m. today but we will need to leave early because the weather is nasty.

@naturegirl5 it turned out to be a wasted trip. Doctor just couldn’t do the procedure without causing extreme pain despite my dutifully taking pain killers and Ativan - which didn’t do anything for me either. She agreed with so much pain caused, the procedure should be done in a hospital, under sedation. Duh! Of course!

Not to try and find a hospital that will do the procedure under sedation … so back to the drawing board!

@rashida I hope that the doctor who decided not to do the procedure will find a hospital for you and refer you soon. Does the doctor agree to do this? This is so frustrating. Perhaps the only hospitals that do this are in Toronto? There's a lot of traffic between Kitchener and Toronto but not that far away from you.