We recommend you to take simple pain relief such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen about an hour before your appointment - if you have taken these before without any issues.
It is not possible to predict exactly how painful the hysteroscopy procedure will be for you.
The procedure may cause:
period-like cramps
pressure or discomfort
stronger cramping when the hysteroscope passes through the cervix
more significant pain if a biopsy or treatment is performed.
You do not need to 'put up with' severe pain. Please tell us if you are in pain.
You can ask us to stop the procedure at any time.
Pain relief options
Local anaesthetic gel
This is a cool gel with a local anaesthetic that is administered into the vagina to numb the area. We can avoid putting in a speculum, and there are no needles required to administer this.
Local anaesthetic injection
This injection is given with a needle in the cervix (neck of the womb) to make your hysteroscopy more comfortable. We would need to use a speculum to see your cervix.
Inhaled pain relief (Penthrox)
This medication is similar to the gas and air (Entonox) used by women in labour, and can make you feel more relaxed and ease discomfort. It can occasionally make you feel dizzy, but the effect wears off very quickly when stopped. You are in control of how much you breathe in. We would need to go through a safety checklist before administering this, to ensure that it was a safe option for you.
General or regional anaesthesia in an operating theatre
We would need to give this to you in the operating theatre, as you would need more monitoring during and after the procedure. You can be asleep (general anaesthetic) or have an injection in the spine to ensure the procedure is pain-free.
