Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) - What to expect?

[Castastic]

TTC 3 years now.

My CD 3 and CD 21 Blood Tests came back normal with the exception of my Vitamin D. I am Vitamin D deficient and have to take a super vitamin for 6 weeks then go back for that. My Husband's Sperm Analysis came back normal.

So, I am being sent to have the HSG done. By searching the web, I've found all kinds of good and bad stories about this. I was hoping some of you would have personal experience to share. Will it be painful? Should I take Ibuprofen or Midol before hand? Are the success stories anything to be hopeful about?

I am very nervous.

 

[sammy1987xxx]

Hi.
Please don't be nervous.
I read some horror stories and I was so scared I nearly couldn't go.
But it was fine I can honestly say it felt so dif to a smear.
I think if there is a blockage it may be painful but mine was normal.
I think I took some para's but I didnt need them. I didnt feel the fluid go in or out.
U get to see ur tubes on a screen so it was amazing and I'd def do it again if I needed.
Any more questions? Xx

 

[oneKnight]

I'm scheduling mine after my next period. Kinda looking forward to it coz I'm afraid my tubes are blocked and I wanna know for sure. If they are, all the vitamins, supplements, quitting smoking, thyroid tests, OPKs, etc are useless

I get cysts and debilitating cramps almost monthly and have a prescription NSID for that, which I will take before the test regardless of what anyone online says. My doc just said ibuprofin or similar, which is NSAID too.

 

[Lemonade]

My right tube was fine and while they were checking that one, I just felt a light pressure but no pain. My left tube didn't show the dye straight away, so she pushed a catheter with the dye in (? I think) further down and that was far more uncomfortable but just about bearable. I did forget to take pain killers though, so maybe it wouldn't have been so uncomfortable if I had. Definitely take yours!

I'm really glad I had mine as I now know for sure that both my tubes are open . Good luck!

 

[Canadian]

I did not like this test whatsoever! I found it very painful BUT not long and if I had to do it again I would. Lol. Worth knowing how all your parts look. Take ibuprofen 30-45 mins before and prepare for little discomfort after. Feels crampy. My dr talked to me whole time explaining and I watched screen showing what he was doing so that distracted me from pain.

 

[Blue12]

I've had two. The first one was horrifically painful. Even though I has taken meds before hand. It came back saying that my tubes were partially blocked. But from my understanding tubes can sometimes spasm during this procedure. Years later (just recently) I had the tests again and knowing what was going to happen this time and taking stronger meds it only hurt a bit and it showed my tubes were fine.

 

[Spockette]

Much like yourself, I was googling non-stop before my procedure and started to get soooo nervous. I took two Ibuprofens, a paracetamol and a Xanax beforehand and apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable with the speculum and the catheter, I felt nothing else.....
The great thing about this x-ray is that it's so quick...

Good luck xxx

 

[TTC First]

Mine was good and bad. It was the worst pain I have ever had. BUT It is really quick, doesn't last long at all. I had very slight cramping for a few mins after the test but by the time I left, I didn't feel a thing.

 

[xxshellsxx]

I don't know if it's because i have a high pain threshold or what, but it took 5 attempts to do mine and everything had to come out and back in each time but i hardly felt a thing (i did take painkillers an hour before hand) the only time i said ouch was when she caught the short and curlies when moving the speculum lol My left tube the dye went though on the 2nd attempt and spilled and the right one never had any dye go through at all I had more 'pain' the following days, crampy and achy - but nothing painkillers wouldn't take care of.

I Get the official results on 25th june.. but could see while they were doing it something wasn't right.

Relax, stay clam and i'm sure all will be fine x

 

[want2bmomy]

I had HSG in last cycle...Dr prescribed me Doxycycline(to avoid infections) for 2 days before HSG.You can take Advil as painkiller....but I took it after HSG...as I didnt know about it.
And about HSG,it was very little uncomfirtable and thats it...at least this is my experience.Dont worry....imagine ur baby infront of ur eyes....this pain is nothing as compared to emotional pain we go through.

All the best...

 

[LoveInshallah]

I was beyond petrified going into it. I am currently living in a developing country and I don't share a language with the doctors here, so I feared the lack of communication or them being unsympathetic. I also had a relative with a deadly reaction to contrast dye and I came up with nightmare scenarios about that. Plus, I'm generally squeamish about pain and paps, and I have a tilted uterus that I've heard will make it worse. So with all that + Google horror stories I was literally shaking on the table....but for me, it was a breeze. I took 4 Advil (and 2 benadryl to calm me down) about 30 minutes before. It took longer than what I've read, because my cervix is abnormally long and tight. The doctor had to call in a second doctor and they both worked at dilating me for a few minutes. With the English to say, "your cervix is..." and then the doctor clamping and squeezing his fists on top of each other, I was braced for terrible pain! But they were so gentle. The dilating did not hurt at all, I couldn't feel it. I felt one or two very small and fast cramps that were more mild than an easy period. Mostly I just felt foolish for being so scared! My tubes were clear. I did have cramping later that evening and the next day or two. It wasn't horrible, I just felt kind of weak and achy generally down there.

I think it has to do with the doctors who perform it. My doctors were so amazing. I just had an IUI recently and it hurt far more. The clamp hurt, the dilation reeeeeally hurt and the liquid through the catheter really ached, and I spotted some after. But I had read IUI's are virtually painless? Go figure??

Good luck!! I hope your HSG is as painless and uneventful as mine!

 

[River54]

I had a prescription for an antibiotic to take for 7 days starting the day before the procedure.

Oh and I got there, and they were all very nice. They asked oh if he'd like to watch and be there, he said sure. So they put some lead? jacket on him, and he stood beside me and held my hand.
The doctor had a hard time getting to my cervix, apparently it had moved? over somewhat which he said was normal. When he did finally inject the dye, it hurt alot. I kept saying ow ow ow loudly for about 20-30 seconds. Oh actually got dizzy and had to sit down during this 20-30 seconds, so the nurse took over and just told me to breathe. But that was it. about 20ish seconds of pain. The doctor then finished, and showed us both the uterus and the spilling of the dye from both sides. He said it looked great, so we knew it was clear before our fs told us later. I found it interesting to see how long the tubes actually are, I thought it was amazing.
There was a washroom off the procedure room just for clean up, and a pad and towel waiting for me if I needed it.
I cramped a bit, and oh drove us to starbucks. so, all in all, it went well.

 

[Castastic]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I feel a bit better knowing what to expect and knowing that many of you made it through ok. My "big day" is tomorrow morning so fingers crossed it goes well-ish.

 

[Canadian]

Good luck!!

 

[beagleowner]

I definitely do not have a high pain threshold and I was absolutely terrified to do this test. I almost fainted when I was walking in.

It was almost completely painless. I did feel some pressure, comparable to mild pressure or cramping from a period maybe. Lasted a couple of minutes and it was over.

I had taken a couple of Advil (ibuprofen) previous to the procedure, but didn't really need them at all.

 

[Rishy223]

It was the worst pain I've even experienced! Luckily it only lasted 45 seconds!

 

[BabyHopes1974]

I too was nervous but I had a very positive experience. My doctor's were very good. I took Advil beforehand and only felt a little pain. I loved seeing the images of the dye going through!

 

[esmeralda74]

I had my this week and did not experience any pain at all, after the procedure and sitting up I felt the dye (which is a clear solution) come out, they only put 7 to 10ml (teaspoon) inside. That was it, no pain, spotting afterward, I'm feeling very lucky as all was clear too. Is was the most amazing this to watch, as I watch it happen live with the doctor. Totally amazing and don't worry about it.

X

 

[Castastic]

Hi Ladies, I wanted to report back and share because you were all so kind as to do so with me.

I was very prepared to be in pain and made sure to take two Motron (IB) about one hour before my appointment. Everyone was very nice and understood how nervous I was. My husband got to come back with me as well. This made me feel a thousand times better. He has a way of calming me down in my most anxious of states.

Anyway, it was actually 100% painless for me and I only felt a pinch when the catheter was passing through my cervix. This felt very much like the pap smear brush to me. The nurse stated, from her own personal experience, women with painful periods usually come out with he least amount to no pain. As I do have painful periods, I wonder how true this would be if we all took a survey?

What amazed me most, was being able to see the fluid fill up my uterus and spill out on live screen! I'm always amazed by these things.

The radiologist said it looked very good to him but that he'd take a closer look on better screens and get the results to my doctor. I should be hearing from my doctor no later than the end of this upcoming week.

I want to thank you all for sharing with me again. You all really helped to prepare me for what I would see and/or feel.

 

[oneKnight]

Ok, mine is long. It was frustrating the hospital we went to. The clinic told me to check in at radiology. Which I have done at other places for unrelated tests, and I figured no need for fuether explination....we couldn't find radiology!!! The lady at information at the main hospital just said go check in at the main desk. I asked the lady at the main admissions where to check in at radiology and all she said was put your name down here. I assumed that meant we were in the right place, but really that wasn't very helpful!! I didn't need to be admitted to the hospital, just an x-ray!! So we waited in the big front waiting room for 30+ min, me stressing if we were even in the right place! Finally we go back to what looke like triage. This must be electronic records, instead of the old fill out a clip board...they verified my name and addy and took my DL and insurance cards. I told them my insurance covers nothing infertility-related and I was prepared to self-pay. They called and talked to the insurance co for another 20 minutes.....and somehow got them to cover this with the only hang up being that it will use up my maximum benefit for the rest of 2013. (Toldja I have pretty low-ball insurance). I had to pay a deductible and 20% which was $221, still better than paying it all. And finally I felt releived that somebody here knew what we were here for and that we were in the right place and it would be ok. The lady doing the actual paperwork was great.
After that it went pretty quick. A few papers about allergy info and medications at the radiology department and off to change clothes. I got a lovely gown lol I was expecting just a towel like I got for my vag u/s, so I guess a gown was an upgrade LOL the nurse thoroughly explained the procedure and she was great.
Then we went in the actual room. I started to get a little scared that it would hurt, and I hadn't had lunch yet so I was afraid I was getting a little shakey.
I had my doctor's associate doing it, not my actual dr, but they're all together, it was just the first time I met him and he was fine. He kinda ran through the procedure again, and we got started.

First they had me lay flat for a minute and set up the machine over me. The I had to scoot down to the end of the table like any other pelvic exam except my head was kinda under the x-ray machine now. I just kinda tried to relax and close my eyes a lot.
He washed me with iodine solution, did a shot of novicain in my cervix - for that part he had me cough hard for some reason, but it didn't hurt or anything. Then some sort of small clamping pliers on my cervix - which was now numb and I didn't really feel it. Then they moved the table around to position me under the x-ray and it extended so I could put my legs out straighter.
When he put the dye in I didn't really feel much, he said the right side went in easy, but the left was being stubborn so he got more dye. After the second "shot" of dye I felt bloated and a little pms-y but not really pain. I was afraid it would hurt if he pushed a blockage out of the left side, but nothing really.
Then he had me tilt a little to each side to help move the dye around. It was hard to tilt much with him down there, but he said ok so I guess it worked. When I tilted the second time the speculum or something external kinda pinched me as I moved and I said ow! But I moved a bit and it let go of me. Other than that little pinch I haven't had much pain.
He showed me the pictures after. My uterus looked different than I expected and the tubes seemed smaller than I expected, but he said all was well. In the first pic he said see here where it didn't come out the left side yet. But then the next pic he added more dye (looked brighter in my uterus) and the pic after that it started coming out my left side too. So both sides clear!!
After I got out, I felt a little crampy kinda like impending pms that starting bloated/crampy feeling that signals I should go take a pain pill and put on a pad. But instead of getting worse and turning into full blown cramps like AF, that was all it was. It really didn't get any worse than pre-AF bloat/cramp.
Cleaned up in the bathroom and I was bleeding a little after. The nurse said it was normal to need a pad today and tomorrow, but just watch for any sign of infection, fever, or serious bleeding. The nurses and doc were great. He gave me a script for Vicodin just in case and said I could take it with ibuprofin (which I already knew) if I needed.

I should add that we took my hubby's sample for SA an hour before my HSG was scheduled and I took 15mg Meloxicam before we left the house. 15 Meloxicam is a 24-hour dose for arthritis and so it's long-lasting. I took one of the Vicodin after I got home and ate - mostly at hubby's prompting. I'm not used to taking narcotics and it made me a little sleepy.