How painful is uterine biopsy? (Maybe TMI)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Due to a bunch of issues I’ve been dealing with lately, it looks like I’m going to end up getting a hysterectomy next month. I’m cool with this. I’ve got all the kids I want, and I’m 46, and frankly, the idea of not having to deal with periods any more is quite appealing!

But before she’ll do the hysterectomy, my OB/GYN has scheduled me for a uterine biopsy. She does it right in her office, no anesthesia (I think). She did tell me I can take two Darvocet the morning of the procedure.

When I told her I’ve heard it’s very painful, she said “Oh, it’s not that bad”, but I’d really like to be prepared. So, Doper girls, if you’ve had one, please share your experience with me.

2

Well, it was an extremely, extremely uncomfortable experience. So much that I started bawling uncontrollably. It’s not that I felt sharp pain or stabbing, just a highly very strongly uncomfortable sensation. I’m sure my mental state at the time didn’t help things. And my cervix would not dilate and it was very distressing having the instrument put up there. The doctor kept saying she’d never had anyone be this uncomfortable for it, and it took well over an hour because of the cervix. I did not take anything for it that I remember though. And I have not had children so maybe that makes a difference. It was mainly the cervix part that I did not do well with. I can’t even remember the uterus part.

But everyone is different. I think Darvocet would help. How about some Valium? I don’t know if those can be taken together; I’m just thinking out loud.

I really think my extreme anxiety over it caused a lot of my unpleasant experience. And that damn mini cervix.

3

I had one unexpectedly this Tuesday. It happened so fast that I didn’t know it was happening till it was happening and I am grateful for that, as I had no time for panic!

I was in the stirrups and she’d done a pap smear, then she said that due to my uterus being swollen and a wierd discharge coming out, she’d have to do a uterine biopsy.

As she said it, the kit was in her hand, and she gave me no time to object (well, I could have told her to stop but it had to be done!) I had a moment of absolute fear because I have also heard how painful it is, and then she did it.

Mine was that slim plastic tube thing they stuff up and then withdraw a plunger to pull out cells. That is the smallest and least invasive I found out afterwards. Some clinics have a vaccum extractor that is more painful, and if a bigger sample is needed then you need more pain relief but it sounds like you won’t get that as you’ve been told to take pain relievers before you come.

To be absolutely honest, while it was happening, I couldn’t really tell what was going on - there was rummaging but not hard, and it felt a bit weird but only a bit more than a pap smear. I was frightened because I my cervix has never opened - both my kids were born by cesarean so it’s all tight and virginal down there!

Right after she withdrew the tube, the cramping began, but not too bad. She said “It hurts, doesn’t it?” and when I agreed she offered me a suppository of some painkiller/anti cramping thing. I got the name but I’m in Japan and it’s Japanese so I couldn’t find it in Engish. It was called Fentaren - not sure of the spelling and I guess it was something fairly strong as I got quite sleepy. The cramps built like the onset of a period, but by the time I was feeling like I might want to lie down with a hot water bottle, the suppository kicked in and the feeling went way down to just grumbly.

I did come home and go to bed, but it was more due to that moment of sheer, pouring sweat panic that I had when she said she’d do it, and for the worry that I might have cancer (many of my symptoms point to it but my demographic is off so who knows??). I slept for a couple of hours just to escape, and then woke up feeling perfectly fine, physically.

I think that it is going to be the waiting that will be the worst thing - the nurse told me to relax really well and if I felt resistance or pain (I didn’t really) to pant like in childbirth. So that might help…

Good luck! It needs to be done. Grit your teeth and think of England (or something!)

Let us know how it went, won’t you?

4

I got a hysterectomy BECAUSE the alternative was having a uterine biopsy every 6 months. Sorry if this makes you anxious, but I found it to be extremely painful. Like flaming blue lightening painful. The only good thing is it doesn’t take very long. Ask your doctor if she’s ever had one. If she hasn’t then she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I mean, I didn’t shriek or anything, but then I don’t shriek easily. I’d rather deliver a baby than have had another one of those.

5

Anyone having trouble getting the hubby to go get a prostate exam? Print out this thread and hand it to him!

6

Personally, if I ever had to have one again, I’d take at least 10mg of Valium. Probably more.

I remember I cried the whole way home, on the T, from stress and the cramping. I don’t remember if she gave me pain meds right afterward but she probably did seeing the state I was in. If possible, get someone to pick you up.

7

The doc tried to do one on me, once. My cervix said “nuh-UH!!!”. I remember feeling extremely lightheaded afterwards.

The doc needed to do a D&C and hysteroscopy anyway, so she did the biopsy then (that process was done under sedation at the hospital).

8

Well, thank you all for sharing your experiences!

missbunny, she didn’t say anything about Valium, but I am in possession of some Xanax, and am planning on taking some of that with my Darvocet. She asked if I’d had any of my children vaginally, and I said no, so I wonder if she was wondering if getting me dilated is going to be an issue?

As for having someone pick me up, we scheduled it for a day my hubby can go with me. He’ll be with me the whole time, and I’ll have his hand to squeeze during it.

Hokkaido Brit, your post makes me feel somewhat more reassured. I think I will call her office and ask if they use that kind of extraction you had. If they do, I’ll breathe a little easier. Her office does seem to have a lot of the “latest and greatest” technology kind of stuff.

MLS, that does make me a little anxious, but, I do have Xanax to deal with that anxiety. Also, since I’m definitely getting a hysterectomy, I’ll only ever have to do this once. In addition to that, I’ve dealt with seriously painful things before, and I can do it again. But I need to know what it is I’m preparing to deal with!

Mama Zappa, she was talking about doing a D&C and hysterescopy as an alternative to a hysterectomy, and said that if we had done that, she’d have done the biopsy at the same time. But since we’ve decided to go with the hysterectomy, we’ll do the biopsy as an in-office procedure.

9

And you became the envy of all the vag delivery women and their husbands out there, everywhere.

10

{{{everybody in this thread}}}

11

[quote=Hokkaido Brit**I did come home and go to bed, but it was more due to that moment of sheer, pouring sweat panic that I had when she said she’d do it, and for the worry that I might have cancer (many of my symptoms point to it but my demographic is off so who knows??). I slept for a couple of hours just to escape, and then woke up feeling perfectly fine, physically.[/quote]

Oh, yeah, there’s the other thing: I can’t plan on going home to bed afterwards. I have my uterine biopsy at 10AM, then an appt. for my iron infusion at 11AM. I’m anemic right now (probably from bleeding so damned much, which is one of the “issues” I’m having to begin with), and my doc says she can’t even think about surgery on me until we get my blood count up again. So I have a series of six iron infusions coming up.

12

Ha!

I was very smug the night we first did it after the surgery. No change down there I thought, and no cuts or stitches to worry about. OMG it HURT LIKE HELL.

(Soon got better though!) :slight_smile:

13

Ask the clinic if there’s anywhere you can lie down for a while - that will help. It should reduce to grumbly period pain type stuff within an hour.

I should have said this right up front - I have been having these symptoms for probably a year now and have only just got my arse into gear about getting them checked out. Up till the past few days there has been little or no pain so I didn’t feel worried. Also I haven’t had a gyno check of any kind for four years.

Now I am left with a lot of symptoms of endometrial cancer and a ten day to two week wait for the results. I am so miserable and the worst is that a lot of the worry is self-inflicted.

PLEASE PLEASE go and get the checks - icky they are but you don’t want to feel like I am feeling right now.

14

Oh, that waiting really is horrible, isn’t it? Big hugs to you!!

Believe me, I’m going! In the past week, I’ve had two full pelvic exams, a pap smear, a pelvic ultrasound and a trans-vaginal ultrasound. And on the 21st, I’ll have the biopsy.

I’ve been doing some reading online (I wonder if docs hate the internet?), and apparently, some docs advise no sex for a few days after the procedure. Well, I’m having mine on a Monday, then Tuesday morning, hubby will leave for work, and he works out of town and won’t be back until the following Friday night. So, all I need to do is cancel my dates with my boy-toys for the week. . . :wink:

15

Actually, now I’m curious: if you’re going to have the hysterectomy anyway, why bother with the biopsy? Would they not be able to look things over after the surgery when your uterus is in a Zip-loc and you’re on Good Drugs anyway? I imagine there’s some good reason for doing the biopsy separately, I just don’t know what it is.

16

Obligatory warning: make sure (check with pharmacist and/or doc) that it’s OK to do this combo of meds. I’ve never had Xanax but presumably both of them might make you loopy and the two close together might be too much.

If the medical folks say that’s OK, then by all means take all the happy pills you can get. When it comes to medical stuff, I’m a biiiiiig fan of Better Living Through Chemistry!

17

Well, I wondered that myself. But my OB/GYN says that she doesn’t want to open me up and find a “surprise” cancer. She wants to know ahead of time if we have cancerous cells (I don’t think there are, but she’s the cautious type). I guess I can understand that.

I’ve used them together before, prior to other surgical-type procedures. With the knowledge and consent of my doc. So it’s fine. Yes, I’ll be loopy. But my hubby is driving, and the doc told me to take a double-dose of the Darvocet, so obviously she doesn’t have a problem with excessive loopiness either. (As an aside, I remember receiving instructions from my weight loss surgeon when I was going to have my staples and drain removed; he told me to take a maximum dose of pain meds before I left my house-it’s about a two hour drive to his office- then another dose an hour before the appt. I told him that would exceed the maximum dosage on the label, and he looked at me and smiled and said “I’m the doctor, not you; I tell you what to do, you don’t tell me!”)

Ha! You and me both! :smiley:

18

I wonder how much a uterus weighs.

My mom had a hysterectomy. Her uterus was chock full of fibroid cysts so they backed out of the vaginal removal and had to cut her open. Super! I sure hope they can do it vaginally to you.

Which is a super weird sentence to type.

19

:smiley: I already wondered that myself! Hubby and I have decided that, between this and the WLS, once I get my tummy tucked, I could have something like a 12" waist, because there won’t be anything else taking up space in there. :wink:

The doc and I haven’t discussed this, but I suspect I’ll have to be open. I have lots and lots of uterine scarring from delivering three children via C-section, so there are lots of adhesions to work around. Easier to do that if I am open. The other thing that makes me believe she’s planning on doing it open is that she told me to plan to take at least 6 weeks off work. Fortunately, that’s not a problem, since I don’t work outside the home, and the money we make off my little ebay business is “gravy” anyway. Also, thanks to the fact that hubby works for the feds, he is allowed to use his sick time to take time off to stay home and help me. He won’t need to use up his vacation time. But of course, I have EtherealFreakOfPinkness, who is 16, to help me. Even mudgirl is eight now, so doesn’t need intensive one-on-one care.

Yeah. Maybe I’ll get a T-shirt to wear to the hospital that reads “Do me vaginally”. :stuck_out_tongue:

20

Its quick, but painful. Plan on having someone drive you home. The pain goes away fairy quickly (i.e. I had maybe eight or ten hours of the worst cramps ever). I’m really not sure why they don’t drug you up better than they do for these. That and some other work I had done left me with the mantra “don’t let anyone stick anything in your uterus” and a firm believe I’m a really bad candidate for an IUD.