HSG

Msjen11

Hello, ladies.I had my HSG this morning and it was sooooo painful. The radiologist didn't give me the result but it looked like the dye only went into one side.

dadezbombz

Hi @MSjen11- I hear that !!!!!!! I went almost 2 yrs ago, and the pain was excruciating. I have no idea why some women it doesn't bother, but others it does- but I will tell you that was a sharp and shooting pain I was not ready for!! I hope you are at home resting and feel better soon.

Msjen11

dadezbombz said:

Hi @MSjen11- I hear that !!!!!!! I went almost 2 yrs ago, and the pain was excruciating. I have no idea why some women it doesn't bother, but others it does- but I will tell you that was a sharp and shooting pain I was not ready for!! I hope you are at home resting and feel better soon.

I figured it is due to a block. If you don't mind sharing, did you have one? Yes, I'm so glad I took the day off. thanks 

wifeinraleigh28

My HSG experience was excruciating also, and both my tubes were open.  The experience varies so much from person to person.  Sorry you had to go through that!!

Monica54321

My was excruciating as well - primarily due to difficulty getting the catheter placed & the need to use a tenaculum. One of my tubes took a little while to fill, so that was painful as well.

Msjen11

Sorry to hear it was painful for you ladies. I went in positive and got a "nice" surprise.... Heck I almost cursed.

Msjen11

Forgot to mention I have slight bleeding which I was told is normal.

furbabymom2007

**lurker I guess ?  I am active over on TTGP but have been lurking around here as I am now under the care of an RE for infertility 

I figured I could jump in here...

my HSG was also painful because one side was blocked.  As soon as the doc let off the pressure though, it was instant relief.  Looking back, had I been more prepared I feel like I could have taken some more pressure to try to open up the blocked tube.  (My normal RE even confirmed that the doc who did my HSG tends to shy away from causing pain).

at this point I have an hysterectomy scheduled for this Friday.  They want to look at and remove some possible polyps as well as repeat the HSG to try to open the blocked tube.  My RE is still hopeful that the second HSG (where I will be knocked out) will be successful in clearing the blockage as there isnt anything in my medical history to indicate a cause for tube damage. 

Id be happy to answer any other questions! 

Msjen11

furbabymom2007 said:

**lurker I guess ?  I am active over on TTGP but have been lurking around here as I am now under the care of an RE for infertility 

I figured I could jump in here...

my HSG was also painful because one side was blocked.  As soon as the doc let off the pressure though, it was instant relief.  Looking back, had I been more prepared I feel like I could have taken some more pressure to try to open up the blocked tube.  (My normal RE even confirmed that the doc who did my HSG tends to shy away from causing pain).

at this point I have an hysterectomy scheduled for this Friday.  They want to look at and remove some possible polyps as well as repeat the HSG to try to open the blocked tube.  My RE is still hopeful that the second HSG (where I will be knocked out) will be successful in clearing the blockage as there isnt anything in my medical history to indicate a cause for tube damage. 

Id be happy to answer any other questions! 

Welcome and thanks for sharing your experience. I might have to take you up on the offer. I had so much pain... I can't even tell you where it came from. LOL I'm going to pick up a copy of my results this week because of course I refuse to wait till the 18th for my appointment. Also, I prefer to digest any possible news before. Good luck to you on Friday! 

Msjen11

Thank God for technology... My results were just uploaded

Observations: The uterine cavity was normal in size, position and

configuration. There was prompt opacification of the left fallopian

tube which demonstrated free spillage into the peritoneal cavity. The

right fallopian tube was never demonstrated.

Tulips29

Mine was super painful as well, and my tubes are open. I have no idea how anyone says it's just slight cramping. I yelped out in pain until the doctor released some pressure. I also took pain killers beforehand but they didn't do a thing for me. 

Tusername

The HSG has been the most painful part of the entire process for me so far and both tubes were open. But it was over so quickly that maybe I can now say my recovery from ER was worse only because it took days. 
I hope you're feeling better!

furbabymom2007

@Msjen11 my doc said she would repeat the HSG during the Hysteroscopy (and I won't feel a thing). If that doesn't unblock it, she will make a judgement call on whether or not to do a tubal cannulation.   She will get a look at the tube.  If it looks Otherwise healthy (no damage) then she may try to unblock it.  If not then she won't, because there is no point in unblocking a damaged tube, it just causes large ectopic risks.  At least this is all my understanding.

once I get through this and the pathology comes back clean then we are moving to a couple medicated  (and monitored) cycles prior to iui (my request). Assuming worst case and she can't unblock the tube, I want to get at least one try on the "good side".  Once ( if... Always hopeful)  we get to the iui she will monitor me and we will know what side I am ovulating on.  Obv won't do an iui if ovulating on the blocked side. 

I had my HSG on a Tuesday and managed to get in for a follow up with the Re on that Friday.  I had no interest In waiting either! 

Msjen11

@furbabymom2007 Thanks for sharing your plan it sounds well thought out and brings me comfort that we have options. Yes, I read about the ectopic pregnancy risk when unblocking the tube. Mine is blocked right at its origin. Unfortunately I was not able to bump my appointment up. I'm actually glad I was able to get them to do my US today. Also, SO needs to do his SA Friday and then Wednesday our follow-up.  Im hoping that it works out for us. When is your hysteroscopy ?

furbabymom2007

@Msjen11 the Hysterosopy is Friday.  The RE wanted to do it on day 5-10 so the uterine lining was at it thinnest and she could see the suspected polyps better.  

Fwiw I don't think my blockage is near the opening to the uterus.  It is farther back 

Msjen11

@furbabymom2007 good luck Friday and keep me posted!!

Toby102008

I'm so sorry to hear. I have heard that it tends to be more painful for women who have blockages. But it varies from woman to woman. I just had mine a week and a half ago and it wasn't painful but I have been bleeding/spotting ever since. Not sure if that is normal or not. Best of luck to you!  

FatPony

Mine was also excruciating and both tubes were open AND I had taken a T3 beforehand. The nurse was amazing. Very sympathetic and held my hand during, lol, I think I almost broke it

LizzieJ13

Jumping on to follow this thread as I'm scheduled for an HSG if my current cycle isn't successful. I've seen mostly a 50/50 split of painful/not painful elsewhere on the Internet but here it seems like all agree that it hurts!!

furbabymom2007

@LizzieJ13 don't be scared!  Just be expecting a little temporary pain (for me it was more pressure than a sharp type of pain).  They kept trying to get me to cough to try to help work the fluid through the blocked side.  And that was scary.  I felt like a balloon that was going to burst. 

The pain is totally temporary though.  The minute the doc stopped trying to push the fluid, there was relief.  Looking back I feel that had I been more ready for it, it would not have seemed so bad.   

Just ask your doc to explain what he is doing what he expects you to feel.  Then you won't be caught off guard.  

LizzieJ13

Thanks @furbabymom2007 ! Fingers crossed I won't need it, but I'll be a little more prepared now. The hospital in my area only does HSGs a couple days a week, and so far none of them have lined up with good times in my cycle (too close to ovulation), which is why I haven't had it done so far. So in a weird way I'm kind of looking forward to it, just so I have more information!

Msjen11

@LizzieJ13 don't be scared like furbaby said it goes away right away and after you're just going to feel soar for a few hours after about 8 hrs I felt no discomfort, I just have light bleeding and remember everyone is different. Most importantly fingers crossed you get your BFT. 

Msjen11

@Toby102008 I was told a little bleeding is normal. Pantyliner type. 

Toby102008

@msjenn11 I'm only concerned because it has gotten worse than it was the first day or two after. And I developed a yeast infection from the antibiotics they gave me to help prevent an infection. I treated it myself OTC, but will bring it all up to my RE when I see her tomorrow. It's one thing after another I swear! 

Msjen11

@Toby102008 I understand and definitely discuss your concerns tomorrow. Good luck  

Sapreenamaree

I didn't have any pain during the HSG, but extreme pressure and the annoyance of having to constantly move around and lay in different positions! There was, however, extreme cramping afterwards... They gave me a CD of the test images, which really wasn't too helpful. I had NO CLUE what I was looking at! But, have since found out my right tube was holding fluid and inflamed and the left was totally blocked. It wasn't until my appointment with the RE that she showed me pictures of what it SHOULD look like, versus what I had going on. The hydrosalpinx was also why I had to move around so much. They had to make sure that the fluid wasn't moving or just blocked, so after a few positions and the shape of the fluid remained consistent, they were able to determine that the entire tube was swollen with the fluid. It honestly looks like a sausage in the images LOL!

Toby102008

My spotting finally stopped a week and a half later! Has anyone else read that a lot of women end up pregnant after a HSG? Something about it cleaning out any gunk in the tubes. I had never heard of this until a friend told me. I did a little searching and it seems to be true. That women are extra fertile the first 3 months after their HSG.  Maybe that's what all of us needed. Fingers crossed! 

Msjen11

I stopped Wednesday so two days for me. And yes FX... I know I need progesterone though

furbabymom2007

Had my Hysteroscopy and repeat HSG today.  They were able to clear the blocked tube and remove a couple of polyps. Painless because I was out for the whole thing.  Just hanging out on the couch with cramps and a heating pad now.   

Msjen11

furbabymom2007 said:

Had my Hysteroscopy and repeat HSG today.  They were able to clear the blocked tube and remove a couple of polyps. Painless because I was out for the whole thing.  Just hanging out on the couch with cramps and a heating pad now.   

Yay!!!! Congrats! I'm literally smiling from your amazing news. You go, girl!

LizzieJ13

I wanted to update here since I was following the thread -- had the HSG today. Inserting the catheter was painless for me, not even that uncomfortable. When the doctor pushed the dye through it felt almost like strong gas pains to me. It wasn't unbearable for the short time it took, but if it had lasted any longer I would have been seriously uncomfortable.

I took 800mg of ibuprofen about 40 minutes before the test.  I'm bleeding a little bit but otherwise feel fine. The good news is, everything looked totally normal to the doctors -- uterus & tubes are all good. So that's crossed off the list!

GirlTraveler

Hiya, 
I had my HSG in January, and had heard a mix of oh-it's-no-biggie and I-thought-I -was-gonna-die stories. I got so worked up about it, I ended up asking my doc for an anxiety reducer beforehand. (And I'd never taken anything like that before.) I just had a feeling something wasn't going to go right, which is silly, as I don't believe in psychic abilities or anything like that. Anyway... it didn't go well. I passed out briefly, and I strongly suspect they pushed the fluid through too quickly. I base that on other women's experiences that I've read. Everything was clear and the results were great, so the pain wasn't from blockage. That's another reason I suspect they pushed the fluid through too quickly. There was a medical student in the room, and I wonder if they let him 'push the button', so to speak. Who knows. Annnnyway... the good news is the pain is very temporary.   
I wish you the best.

JESSABER0414

My HSG was in December and kind of ironic, the RN said it will feel like labor pains- lol - obviously I have no idea what that feels like ! Then the MD didn't say a word while he spent 10 minutes repositioning the speculum.  Then a few seconds later said ok, we are done. I had no pain, but anxiety since he didn't say they were clear nor explain why it wasn't painful. Turns out my cervix is so hard to get to, that he didn't wait until he is in the uterus and without inflating the balloon, injected the dye.  The nurse showed me it worked, flowed right up and both were fine. But if not for that, and the recent IUIs I would never have known my positioning might be another obstacle.  No thanks to the GYN I saw for 16 years never mentioning it to me even after she said I needed clomid to get pregnant.  
Good luck to anyone preparing for HSG, I think it was totally worth it. But didn't help me get pregnant in three months like the optimistic nurse said it could.  

Msjen11

My HSG was done using a balloon and found the information below.thought I would share ....

Some radiology centers perform HSG by inserting a balloon catheter into the uterus so they can inject the dye quickly. This can cause the uterus to expand rapidly and result in tubal spasms that may be uncomfortable.” He continues, “The reality is that the test is much more reliable and effective when the dye is injected slowly, and it’s more comfortable for the patient.”

This explain a lot

Colleen0516

Worst pain in the world  
A friend told me, "I don't think it was too bad" She had one 3 years before. Well, she clearly did not remember correctly because it was excruciating.