Hysteroscopy

Hi Cggg

Welcome to the Womb group.

I am sorry that you are struggling at the moment and I can understand why. 

I wonder if it is worth contacting the hospital and getting one of the nurses to call you to talk you through exactly what will happen at the appointment. My hysteroscopy was done in outpatients and the day before the nurse who would be leading the procedure phoned me and talked me through exactly what would happen at the appointment and it really helped. I felt prepared and there were no surprises. Although your appointment is to arrange the ga hysteroscopy, there is no harm in explaining that you are feeling really anxious and it would help to know what will happen. It really is normal for ladies to feel anxious before these appointments and they would want to do what they can to help you manage. I remember one of the nurses phoning me just before my first chemo appointment and just having someone to talk through what would happen, who understood how scary it was and who promised to meet me in the am really helped. She arranged that she would be close by for the day and it really helped. 

As the appointment is to arrange the hysteroscopy under general anaesthetic, I would expect it to be a mainly talking appointment- so going over what has been seen on the scans, medical history- focussing on periods, family history of any cancer. I would not expect a gynae examination as there would be no need- they have the scans and the hysteroscopy will provide them with what they need. 

I would instead expect pre med checks- so height, weight, blood pressure, blood test, ECG- so the normal checks that you have before a general anaesthetic. They may also ask about previous surgery. 

I would also expect them to talk through what is likely to happen next. So during the hysteroscopy they will take a small sample of cells that will be checked for cancer. The samples will be sent to pathology and you may be asked how you would like the results. I was offered to either come in for an appointment or to be told over the phone. I opted for the phone call. 

The results from the hysteroscopy should provide a diagnosis either way. 

I hope this helps a bit. 

We do have a Support Line that you are welcome to call if you feel like you need to talk things through. The number is below. 

Jane

Thank you

Hi, it may well just be an informal chat or it could be a pre op assessment - which for me was questions and a few checks including blood test. My hysteroscopy under local anaesthetic failed so I was referred for one under general and it was brilliant, an absolute doddle. It also helped prepare me for my hysterectomy as it meant I was familiar with the day ward and how things worked, which eased my anxiety no end.

Hi just wanted to thank you again and update. I phoned the hospital and explained that I needed to talk to a medical professional who could give me more details about the lesion, the appointment, the impact things are having on me and the difficulty that lack of continuity of staff and hospital creates given my medical trauma.

They will get a nurse to phone me, are trying to bring the appointment forward and are changing the location to the hospital I originally attended. They did try to get the original Consultant to see me but due to annual leave that won’t be possible.

The appointment itself is to talk through the pros and cons of trying the Hysteroscopy again under ga and to sign a consent form if I decide to proceed.

Thank you. I have just phoned the hospital and have been told it will be to discuss the pros and cons of a ga. Due to medical trauma I’m not sure that I could even cope with all that is entailed, the preop tests, the lack of control, the lack of trust due to past experiences but the hospital is going to work with me to try and demish some of these issues.

Hi again Cggg, the pre op tests are minimally invasive such as blood test, blood pressure, ECG, mouth swab. With your medical trauma issues, I’m surprised they didn’t offer you a GA hysteroscopy start with - I could have gone straight to one under GA, and wish I had, as I was devastated to have gone through all that and then have it not work because my cervix was so stenosed that it was causing me too much pain and the consultant was worried I’d faint. But the GA one was so easy and the consultant was lovely. For what it’s worth I had some trauma issues too due to very painful past smears but my consultant was so kind that I felt more confident. I also felt it important to have them find out what was going on inside so that I’d have the knowledge too, which is empowering. If that makes sense. 

I have anxiety around some medical issues so I do have some understanding about how stressful it can be. I do ask in advance what might happen at appointments which I have found helps. I play music through my headphones in waiting rooms and keep a file of photos of good things to look at on my phone.  Sometimes it all goes out of the window and I don't do any of that but it helps me feel I'm more prepared. I do let staff know if there's something they can do to help me or tell them anything that may be triggering. I let them know how my anxiety can present. They seem to find these things helpful and we are then working together to get through something. 

This is a great forum for support and information which can help sometimes with feeling more in control. 

Hi they did offer me a ga but I was clear that it would be more traumatic for me. I also have a problem with minimally invasive tests, they fuel my compulsive behaviours as they feed into some experiences of coercive control. They are also saying they are not confident that they can necessarily succeed even with a ga which is really making things harder. I have to say the Consultant I saw was lovely too.

I have complex PTSD from my childhood with a (damaged) cruel narcissistic mother and I have major control issues. I’m also neurodivergent. However, what worked for me was focussing on being pragmatic - getting done what needed to be done -  that helped the goal of beating cancer become more foremost in my mind than my anxieties. I do also tend to dissociate which often isn’t healthy but it helped me in this. I asked umpteen questions about anything that needed to be done, so that I always knew exactly what was involved, and having that info also made me feel more in control. 

Sounds like we are in similar positions. I’m neurodivergent too and have complex ptsd in art due to my mothers treatment of me. ToI also tend to dissociate and put myself in an empty box in my mind. I tend to get garrulous when anxious and ask loads too.I’m really grateful for your input, it helps to know how others cope