Endomitrial Biopsy: What The FUCK!

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

I wasn’t sure if this should go in General Questions, Mundane and Pointless, or The Pit. If it needs to be moved, have at it.

Okay…so menopause hasn’t been all that good to me. The doctor decided to do an endomitrial biopsy to determine if the dreaded “atypical” cells are present.

“Yeah, it’ll be a little uncomfortable, so you might want to take a Motrin before you come in.”

Jesus Fucking Christ. It was A LOT uncomfortable, to the point where I was near screaming. I asked for pain meds and she said it wouldn’t be necessary. I asked her two more times, and she refused to give them to me…before or after the procedure. I spoke to two other women who had the procedure, and both of them said it was pretty sucky.

What’s the deal? Why would she put someone through pain if she doesn’t have to? Can a medical person please explain this to me? What. Fucking. Gives?

Anyone else out there in Old Broad Land have this done? What was your experience?

#2

I forgot to add that it’s this kind of shit that keeps people from keeping up with their personal health care. I’d be hard-pressed to go through this again.

#3

I had one a couple of years ago. Doc said it wasn’t TOO painful for an in-house procedure; “It’s like a more intense pap smear.” As I talked to the nurse about scheduling, she said it hurt like hell, “Ever had a root canal? Same premise, different location.” I proceeded to schedule it for when my husband could drive me. So I walked in all nicely fuzzy from darvocet from home. And Doc totally killed my buzz, then I cramped for 2 days. Not too painful, my ass.

#4

Thank you for the reinforcement! No drugs for you, either. It’s a conspiracy…I can see that now.

#5

Kal - hope everything turns out ok - you’re in my thoughts - if you need anything let me know - I’m close by. :slight_smile:

#6

I seem to see a lot of “No pain meds for you!” from gynecologists more than from other docs, and I just don’t get it. While I hate gender stereotypes, it feels like the male gynecologists can’t relate to our pain, and the females relate all to well, and think, “If I can take it, she can take it!” But the upshot is that every single one I’ve had has not medicated appropriately.

I had a cervical biopsy (basically a long pair of toenail clippers which nipped off a piece of my cervix for testing) and later a cryro-something, where my cervix was frozen with liquid nitrogen, and both of those were horrifyingly painful for me. Yet they refused even so much as a Tylenol 3. When I got a large scratch on my leg, the ER docs (I went there for a tetnus shot) were all pushin’ the drugs when I was in hardly any pain at all. What the fuck?

I understand that some people are drug seekers, and that you can’t believe everyone when they say it hurts. Fine. Take my blood pressure. Is it elevated? Is my heart rate up? Am I flushed or pale? Are you doing a procedure that lots of people say hurts? Then I bloody well hurt, dammit!

And you’re totally right, Kalhoun, that this sort of thing keeps women away from regular care.

#7

In the last three months, I have been back and forth with three gynecologists for what has, at various stages, been suggested to be ovarian cysts, frickin’ appendicitis, and now endometriosis. Only when I went to the emergency room for the pain did anybody suggest that maybe I deserved an Anaprox or two. In researching endometriosis, I read an article that condemned the world at large for assuming that any kind of pelvic pain was “normal” in women.

I say you find yourself a buddy with some vicodin left over from an oral surgery and good luck!

#8

Thanks, dear! I’m sure everything will be ok. This is standard “procedure padding” and was most certainly designed by a man who just lost everything in a sticky divorce. :wink:

#9

I will NEVER do another procedure without the benefit of decent pain drugs or STREET DRUGS if that’s what I have to resort to. I’m not kidding. It was torturous. Plus, she couldn’t get enough tissue off the first try, so she did it TWO MORE TIMES. I swear…what the fuck was she thinking? She sees women writhing in pain every fucking day from this. I don’t give a shit that the pain goes away in a couple days. It’s PAINFUL NOW and doesn’t need to be.

(Back in the day, I could find a handful of vicoden with just a few phone calls. I need to start hanging out with better people!)

#10

I have often heard this about this procedure. When I had it done, I was given the Advil advice and all and the doctor was all apologetic. Meanwile, I didn’t feel a thing, I swear.

#11

My gyno, a guy, was the opposite - he did a pap smear type thing where he took a piece of my cervix off, and he tried to prescribe me vicodin for the pain.

I’m allergic to vicodin, and most narcotics. It’s in my record. I can’t have vicodin. Or codeine, or really anything that might fuck you up. And my dad’s a hydrocodone addict (hydrocodone being the main ingredient in vicodin, vicoprofen, and several other drugs) so I won’t take vicodin home that I’m not going to use, be in pain, and then have my dad steal my drugs.

I got him, after hours of talking, to go down to prescription-strength ibuprofen, which is really the only painkiller that works for me. Now I sorta wish I’d taken the vikes, so I could send them to poor Kalhoun. :frowning:

~Tasha

#12

I want to be you.

#13

I’ll be waiting by my mailbox if you’re able to scare up a couple. :wink:

#14

Kalhoun, IANAD, as you know. However, I’m going to pass on the regimen I was on after my c-section. Take it or leave it, it’s all legal OTC drugs within regular dosage guidelines for healthy people. Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you have any health conditions:

3 200mg ibuprofen every 4 hours
1 500 mg (“extra-strength”) Tylenol every 6 hours

I took these while in the hospital and also on Vicodin, but when I was discharged, my husband lost my prescription for the Vicodin, so I kept just taking these and I was fine. Just remember to take them on time - it’s much harder to eliminate pain once it’s present than to keep pain away.

In a recent thread, one of our Doper docs said something about acetomeniphen (Tylenol) potentiating or “boosting” the effectiveness of the ibuprofen, so that’s why they told me to take both.

#15

I did have a balloon inflated in my uterus once - not for fun or anything, but for diagnostic purposes. THAT hurt like a motherf***er if that helps any.

#16

Thanks for the tip! I’m doing Walgreens’ brand Nuprin, and it is helping somewhat, but I think I may have a couple prescription somethings of my husband’s that I will pop shortly. (I took his last couple vicodin recreationally a few weeks ago. That’ll teach me.)

#17

I’ve got me a goooood doctor. Not my gynecologists, but if my gynecologists, dentist or any other member of my medical posse, put some pain on me and refused to give me anything for it. I could call up my family doctor, and he’d not only perscribe it but call it in to the pharmacy.

I’m sorry you had a difficult time Kalhoun.

#18

Well, I’ve never had to strap on the knee-pads for painkillers before this relatively new doctor. I think she knows her stuff, with the exception of the pain management thing.

#19

Wow. What was that for? It sounds positively dreadful! Poor you.

#20

Caffeine will boost the effects of most OTC pain meds.

OTC Migraine relief is; 250 mg Acetaminophen, 250 mg. Aspirin, and 65 mg. caffeine. Good stuff! I use it instead of tylenol, for all my severe ouchies.