Is a uterine biopsy the same as an endometrial biopsy? Because I’m having one of those next month and I was planning on going by myself. If I’m going to be miserable after, I’ll want my husband to drive me home.
Yes, it’s the same.
I was on my own and ended up feeling yukky on the train. It would have been nice to have had a friend with me. (In Japan the men don’t go with the women for such things, and in most cases the women don’t want the men there anyway. In my clinic the other day there was not a single willy in the building! There will be when I get my results, or it might just get chopped off!!!)
Yes, I believe it’s one and the same. So definitely plan on having someone to drive you home! In my case, instead of driving me right home, my hubby will take me down to the outpatient surgery clinic (right downstairs from my doctor’s office) where I will have an IV iron transfusion. But I can sit in a recliner and relax while they’re doing that. I’ll be taking extra pain medication with me in case the morning’s dose wears off while I’m getting the transfusion.
Simulpost! Never done that before!
And to make this worthwhile - I still have heaviness and crampy feelings on Friday night, so three full days later. Still not bad enough for a painkiller though.
Like just about any medical procedure (or maybe just about anything?), this is going to vary a lot from person to person. Try not to go in there thinking it will be horrible. It always seems to me that the people most likely to recount their experiences in situations like this are – for perfectly understandable reasons – people who had an unusually difficult time. I had a whole bunch of uterine biopsies a few years ago. They were definitely painful/uncomfortable, but not unbearable and brief enough that it just didn’t matter. I took a couple of advil beforehand, didn’t really have any cramping or anything unpleasant afterwards. When it was over, it was over. If I had to have another one today, I really wouldn’t think anything of it.
Obviously, you can’t know what it will be like for you until you have it. But the odds that it will be really awful are quite slim, and a relaxed state of mind can only help. So maybe the valium or Xanax is a good idea after all, if you are really worried about this.
AuntiePam – yes, uterine and endometrial biopsy are the same thing.
I’ll use as much of my pain medication as I need. I’m a wimp! I’ll make my hubby cook dinner that night, too.
I often wonder about this myself. I remember years ago when my mom had a spinal tap done, and she’d asked about the pain (we had heard it hurts a lot). I asked her doctor why they don’t use some sort of anesthesia, and he said “because it’s just not that painful”, so I asked how he knew it wasn’t that painful, and he said “Because if it was, they’d anesthetize you” :rolleyes:
Circular logic, much?
They can stick anything they want in my uterus once it’s out of my body! 
This is excellent advice. Thank you.
I know when I had to have a blood gas test a couple of years ago, I remember my mom talking about how horrible they were, and I got myself so worked up over it that I had to ask my doctor for some Ativan to take beforehand. It did hurt, but it just wasn’t all that bad.
Oooh, too bad if they can’t do you vaginally. I had mine that way and had almost no pain, and was back at work in two weeks!
Girl, take the drugs.
Oh, you bet I will! As many as I feel I possibly can without crossing the line between “well-sedated” and “unconscious”!
I’ve actually put it in perspective, though, after reading this morning about a friend’s husband’s prostate biopsy. He said they took about ten samples, and every one felt like a bee sting!! :eek:
My biggest concern is that my biopsy will be particularly difficult because I’ve never delivered a baby vaginally, which means my cervix has never been fully dilated. The furthest I’ve ever gotten is 3CM, and it doesn’t seem like that’s enough to help in this case.
This is one of those things that varies entirely between people. My mother, who has dealt with 4 c-sections with only paracetamol (acetominophen) and has had root canals without anaesthetic because she doesn’t like feeling numb, found this procedure so horrible she was unable to drive herself home and then vomited all over my dad’s car.
I’ve performed this procedure on a patient who refused analgesia, didn’t want to lie down afterward and left the clinic chatting to her friend on her phone.
Most people are somewhere in the middle, and the most common thing people say is “that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be”, but that’s probably because I’d offer them painkillers before I’ve even discussed what the procedure involves!
It’s easier for you and the operator if you have an easy to find cervix, have had a few vaginal deliveries, are in the luteal phase of a cycle or menstruating and have a high pain threshhold, but everyone is different.
The equipment used is usually a Pipelle sampler. Here is some info about the procedure.
The Pipelle sampler itself is a thin tube about the diameter of a matchstick but long, like a drinking straw. It has holes at the top and a thin stick up the middle. The sampler is passed through the cervix and the stick is pulled down to create a vacuum in the sampler. The sampler is then gently moved against the sides of the uterus as it is removed, in order to suck some of the tissue into the tube.
If you can’t tolerate it, the procedure will be abandoned. Most women are OK with some OTC painkillers, a glass of water and 10 minutes to sit down afterwards.
Most women are able to drive themselves home (but if you’re taking Xanax and Darvocet, bettter not), I’m sure many don’t want to.
The Pipelle sampler is smaller in diameter than the introducer for an IUD and is supposed to be similar in terms of discomfort to having an IUD inserted or removed.
Having said that, I can’t comment on the experience personally, just on procedures I’ve performed and patients I’ve seen.
Irishgirl, I appreciate your input. I doubt I’ll be menstruating at the time of the procedure, because I’m just finishing a period now, plus my GYN just started me on progesterone (just until my hysterectomy).
I definitely wouldn’t drive myself home after taking the Darvocet and Xanax. I have a pretty high tolerance for narcotics (years and years of kidney stones, don’tchaknow), but I don’t drive when I’m under the influence of them. But hubby going with me is no problem at all. He’s off that day anyway. And like I said upthread, I have to go to outpatient surgery right afterwards for an iron transfusion, so I can rest and relax during that. I’ve already warned him that I might have some really bad cramping afterwards, and if I do, it’ll be up to him to fix dinner and such that night. He’s really great about stuff like that!
I had one of these a few years ago, and I don’t remember it being that bad. No meds at all, my Dr. decided to do it while I was there for my yearly pap, because I was having some weird bleeding. I had no warning, just “here’s what I’m getting ready to do”, and she did it. I had no time to work up a good sense of dread about it, which may have contributed to my feeling that it wasn’t a terrible experience.
What I remember is that the actual biopsy was like a bad pinch, but it was over really quickly. I had a little cramping for a few hours afterwards, but it was certainly no worse than a regular period. I may have even gone back to work afterwards- I don't remember doing anything special in the way of recovering from it.holy shit, I had one of those …
It felt like she was jamming a hot wire along the interior of my uterus … and i had blood and cramps for about 3 days, and for almost a month afterwards I could still feel the occasional twinge flashback that felt like a thread of fire along the wall of my uterus 
:mad:
BTW, norinew, I’ve never given birth vaginally, either. (I’ve never given birth at all.) If I’d have had even a Tylenol before the procedure, I would’ve been fine. For me, darvocet would’ve been a little much, but the procedure with no pain meds beforehand is just mean, imo. (I didn’t have any warning, really. And didn’t have any reason to expect it would hurt that much. Duh, biopsy means taking chunks of flesh!)
Afterwards I got on the bus and went back to work. I felt like I’d been punched in my uterus the rest of the day. Like cramps, but different.
To my mind, it’s in the same league as when I got a ton of stitches removed. Not blinding pain, but would’ve been nothing if I’d just had an Advil beforehand.
This makes me feel better. Thanks!
And I agree that doing it sans any pain meds is mean and uncalled for! I have a special kind of hate for doctors who have a “just suck it up” attitude!
If what Irishgirl says is true and a uterine biopsy is roughly equivalent to getting an IUD, then I can share that my experience getting an IUD definitely hurt, as I was told it would, but it wasn’t unbearable. I just kept focused on my breathing and it was over quickly. Anticipated pain, IME is always worse than the actual pain.
I am secretly hoping Irishgirl is correct because my doctors are on a mad quest to find out what’s going on with my lady parts and it is not unreasonable to suppose I will have to get one of these things done soon.
Totally off topic, but norinew, is your user name pronounced “norine double-u” or “nori-new”? Cuz, I gotta tell ya, I call you “nori-new”. 
Well, you see, when we first got the internet, about 18 years ago, our ISP provided me with my first email addy, which consisted of firstname, lastinitial @whateverisp.com. Thereafter, being lacking in imagination, when I needed a username, I’d use my original email addy name. It never occurred to me that people would read it as “nori-new” until Dopers started calling me “nori”, then it hit me. Since then, I’ve thought about changing it, but never have. At dopefests, though, I often introduce myself as “nori-new” and have even begun to think of my username that way myself!
I had a uterine biopsy a few years ago, I took xanax and hydrocodone before and it was really not much more uncomfortable than a combination of a pap smear and cramps. I had some hydrocodone to take afterward, and was glad that I did for the cramping, but I have had monthly cramps by themselves which hurt worse. Best of luck to you, and I hope that your test is clean.