I know it's been asked a bajillion times - HSG

ColindaP · December 2009

So my HSG is set for Thursday afternoon now, yippee skippee. Uterine Invasion MMIX commencing in approximately 52 hours. Anyway, I'm really really nervous about it. I don't even like having paps done, so the idea of this freaks me the fvck out. What were your experiences? How bad was it? I asked when I made the appt if I should take anything and how much it hurts, and the girl says "Oh, I don't know. Yeah, you could take some Motrin or something." So we have all the regular NSAIDs, plus some Percocet or something from when hubby had oral surgery. Should I take the narcs instead? And she said to bring a pad -- umm, am I going to be leaking dye or bleeding?

KelinandKevin · December 2009

I took 2 tylenol before mine and it hurt like an SOB. Not even kidding. When those women tell you that it feels just like a pap - they lie. I about came off the table screaming in pain. Ok, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but it did hurt. Best of luck - for me the pain was worth finding out that I had a problem with my tubes that can be fixed.

megjr8 · December 2009

I had quite a bit of cramping during and after so I took 3 advil I think it was. Cramping ceased in a couple hours, but I had a bruised/sore feeling in my ute for a couple days after. I also had this weird gritty discharge. Yes, I recommend a pantiliner. I didn't leak any dye, but with discharge and a little bit of clear fluid leaking right after it was nice to be protected.

ERICA21779 · December 2009

Hi,

I can certainly relate to your fear, I was a nervous shaking wreck prior to the procedure. I promise you that it will be ok. I took advil as directed by the girls here/and my dr about an hour in advance. It is never a comfortable situation having someone poking around down there who isn't your dh but with that being said, I found it to be a little uncomfortable when they injected the dye, very similar to mild period cramps. The pad comes in handy because you may bleed a little bit and the dye does leak out.

The girl should have suggested you speak to a nurse instead of blowing you off!!! GL and I hope all is clear!!

ColindaP · December 2009

ERICA21779:

Hi,

I can certainly relate to your fear, I was a nervous shaking wreck prior to the procedure. I promise you that it will be ok. I took advil as directed by the girls here/and my dr about an hour in advance. It is never a comfortable situation having someone poking around down there who isn't your dh but with that being said, I found it to be a little uncomfortable when they injected the dye, very similar to mild period cramps. The pad comes in handy because you may bleed a little bit and the dye does leak out.

The girl should have suggested you speak to a nurse instead of blowing you off!!! GL and I hope all is clear!!

Could yours have maybe been not as bad since you've had a baby before though? I'm not so worried about the dye part, I'm more worried about my poor virgin cervix having a tube crammed through it....

cour10e · December 2009

I also had myself thoroughly freaked out before mine. It was not as bad as I was afraid it would be, not at all. I took 800 mg of Motrin beforehand, which the Dr. prescribed me. It was not pleasant, but it was totally manageable. I wrote a pretty detailed blog about the experience. Here's the link if you're interested:

https://talesofthelatetwenties.blogspot.com/2009/07/through-ttc-looking-glass-and-into-if.html

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

CLAYLIOVER · December 2009

ColindaP:
ERICA21779:

Hi,

I can certainly relate to your fear, I was a nervous shaking wreck prior to the procedure. I promise you that it will be ok. I took advil as directed by the girls here/and my dr about an hour in advance. It is never a comfortable situation having someone poking around down there who isn't your dh but with that being said, I found it to be a little uncomfortable when they injected the dye, very similar to mild period cramps. The pad comes in handy because you may bleed a little bit and the dye does leak out.

The girl should have suggested you speak to a nurse instead of blowing you off!!! GL and I hope all is clear!!

Could yours have maybe been not as bad since you've had a baby before though? I'm not so worried about the dye part, I'm more worried about my poor virgin cervix having a tube crammed through it....

This was pretty much my experience as well. I have never had a child. My cervix was a virgin as well.

rjl07 · December 2009

It sounds like I am in the minority here, but I had no pain during or after. I took 3 advil about an hour before it which I definitely recommend. They gave me a pad there, but bring one just in case. I don't think I had any bleeding, just a little bit of dye afterwards.

My RE did mention that she numbed my cervix - not sure if everyone gets that done or not. I didn't have issues with the dye, but I know some people say that can be very painful. If there are blockages in the tubes there will also be some pain. Mine were clear so I'm sure that helped. The hard part for me was they wanted me to tilt to each side to make the dye flow. It didn't hurt, but it's hard to tilt your hips when you have a speculum and catheter shoved between your legs.

It's a really quick procedure so by the time you feel any pain it will be over. I could have gone to work after it, but I had already taken the day off so I didn't. It is also pretty cool to watch the screen - I'm usually pretty squeamish so I wasn't sure about that, but it was fine.

Good luck!

ERICA21779 · December 2009

ColindaP:
ERICA21779:

Hi,

I can certainly relate to your fear, I was a nervous shaking wreck prior to the procedure. I promise you that it will be ok. I took advil as directed by the girls here/and my dr about an hour in advance. It is never a comfortable situation having someone poking around down there who isn't your dh but with that being said, I found it to be a little uncomfortable when they injected the dye, very similar to mild period cramps. The pad comes in handy because you may bleed a little bit and the dye does leak out.

The girl should have suggested you speak to a nurse instead of blowing you off!!! GL and I hope all is clear!!

Could yours have maybe been not as bad since you've had a baby before though? I'm not so worried about the dye part, I'm more worried about my poor virgin cervix having a tube crammed through it....

I don't know the answer to that............but Im thinking your cervix doesn't loosen up just because you've had a baby, once you have the baby it closes up again. You will be very surprised at how thin the catheter is..........I was thinking it was like the size of a garden hose but in reality it is the size of the little thingy in a pen that holds the ink! Either way I hope it goes well for you!!!

Pamela05 · December 2009

I had an HSG attempted by my gyn and a SHG completed by my RE. The setup is pretty much the same, just a different dye and imaging device (x-ray vs u/s). The HSG was holy hell painful and I felt nothing more than minor discomfort with the SHG which was done a couple of days later. I think it was all in the skill of the doctor. The first woman tortured my cervix for 30 minute trying to get the stupid cathether in and the RE was able to get it in on the second poke. I took Alleve and Advil before the first but didn't have any warning for the 2nd to do that (we were sitting in his office, telling the RE the story about the 1st and he said "wanna try again").

Long story short, as long as your doctor is proficient it probably isn't too bad.

kew243 · December 2009

rjl07:
It sounds like I am in the minority here, but I had no pain during or after. I took 3 advil about an hour before it which I definitely recommend. They gave me a pad there, but bring one just in case. I don't think I had any bleeding, just a little bit of dye afterwards.

My RE did mention that she numbed my cervix - not sure if everyone gets that done or not. I didn't have issues with the dye, but I know some people say that can be very painful. If there are blockages in the tubes there will also be some pain. Mine were clear so I'm sure that helped. The hard part for me was they wanted me to tilt to each side to make the dye flow. It didn't hurt, but it's hard to tilt your hips when you have a speculum and catheter shoved between your legs.

It's a really quick procedure so by the time you feel any pain it will be over. I could have gone to work after it, but I had already taken the day off so I didn't. It is also pretty cool to watch the screen - I'm usually pretty squeamish so I wasn't sure about that, but it was fine.

Good luck!

ditto this.... not a lot of pain... mostly uncomfortable. I took 800mg of ibuprofen a hour before hand. No bleeding, but did leak dye for almost 24hrs. They gave me a pad, but you may want to bring one just in case. It is pretty messy afterwards. For me both literally and emotionally. I probably could have gone back to work, but it was nice to be comfortable and lay around in sweats. A co-worker of mine did go straight to work afterwards... that was a little crazy!!!

Good luck with everything!

hopingwaiting · December 2009

I took ibuprofen 800mg an hour before the procedure. I was freaking out from reading the stirrup queens' blog of women's experiences, but mine was only marginally less comfortable than a pap. The catheter in the cervix didn't hurt at all (and I nearly passed out getting an IUD inserted back in the day). I just had some very minor cramps with the dye injection, but nothing I would call pain. I walked 6 blocks back to work and worked a long half day immediately afterwards. Main discomfort was wearing a pad for dye leakage. I hate pads.

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I know it's been asked a bajillion times - HSG

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