@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.