HSG Hysterosalpingogram Experiences ...

amysbabies · Post by **amysbabies** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:31 pm

I'm scheduled for an HSG next week and was wondering what your experiences with it were... I've heard some horrible pain stories and am getting anxious about it. My clinic is sending me to a radiologist for this procedure ... were all you ladies sent to radiologists too?

katie99 · Post by **katie99** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:57 pm

Hi Amy - Yes, its done by a radiologist. My RE insisted to see the actual film himself, he wrote it in the prescription. In my opinion thats the best way for it to be interpreted, otherwise, the RE is going to diagnose you based on the radiologists findings. If your tubes are patent (open) the dye will spill in to your uterus. Mine were completly closed so the radiologist ran the dye through 3 times! Its more uncomfortable than painful. In my case it turned painful by the 2nd time, but since I knew why he tried 3 times (they were hoping to not have to tell me I'd be sterile now) I just gritted my teeth through it. I hope that you have patency & they only run the dye once. Good luck

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:07 am

Hi Amy, I had mine in January. I guess it is a routine check at the beginning and I agree with Katie it is more uncomfortable than it hurts. If you take the advil/ibuprofen they recommend an hour before you should be more than fine.
Good Luck
Annette

shelbyrn0214 · Post by **shelbyrn0214** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:23 am

I've had a biopsy of my cervix before and it's definately not as bad as that. I had a lot of 'pinching' sensations so I guess I would describe it as an extra long pap smear? Ibuprofen before sounds like a really good idea. And my RE did mine in the office.

lauradc · Post by **lauradc** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:14 am

My RE did the test but that sounds like a good plan to have a radiologist do and interpret the test. I would for sure take ibuprofen before hand. I thought it felt like really bad af cramps but once it was over and I could stand up, I felt fine pretty quick. Good luck!

rsdrisco · Post by **rsdrisco** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:33 pm

I don't mean to scare you by posting this, but I had the procedure prior to having my son back in 2004. I took no ibuprofen or any other drug prior to the procedure. It was VERY painful for me and they had to stop before they could get any conclusive result. So it could have been that a tube was partially blocked and that's why it hurt. I don;t know.

But right after, I got pregnant (that ended in miscarriage).
And 4 months later, I got pregnant again with my son.

Then, when we first started the IVF journey the beginning of this year, I had another one done during a routine IUI procedure. I took a valium beforehand and I didn't feel a thing! But I really don't think it was the valium. My tubes were perfectly clear, so maybe that's why I felt nothing.

Note: I got pregnant again during that very IUI cycle, but sadly, it ended in an ectopic.

Anyway, the procedures seemed to be lucky (in a way) for me, as I got pregnant shortly after both procedures were done.

Good luck! And don't worry too much about it. You may not feel a thing.

Mrs Bunny · Post by **Mrs Bunny** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:55 am

I had an HSG done by a radiology center in New York a few months ago.

On my OB/GYN's instruction, I took 2 advil an hour beforehand. The procedure didn't hurt at all, and I felt just a little dull poke when the dye was inserted. It takes only a few minutes and then it's over.

A few tips:

--Be sure you lie in the position they tell you to, so they get a good picture to show your doc. They may ask you to turn to the left side or right side **slowly** to help the dye move around.

--In the changing room, they should provide maxipads to catch the dye (and any spotting) afterwards. Bring your own if you prefer your own brand. Don't use a tampon.

--Remember to pick up the x-ray film before you leave! Bring a big tote bag or shopping bag if you don't want everyone to see the giant "XYZ Radiology Center" logo envelope when you go back to work.

Afterwards, I took prescriptioon antibiotics (doxycycline?) to prevent infection from the procedure. Good luck!

cymplicity27 · Post by **cymplicity27** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:43 am

I had one in Jan 09 and it was horrible! It was done by a radiologist. They say I was cramping a lot and my left tube was blocked which all could have contributed to the pain. I took 600 mg of Ibuprofen beforehand and it did absolutely nothing!!! I read stories all the time about it not being that bad. I must have been a rare case because I cried on the table and if they wouldn't have finished when they did I would have stopped them. Actually DH would have stopped them...it was killing him to see me in that much pain. And I'm usually pretty good with pain.

Oh, I also have a tilted uterus so they had to use some instrument to hold my cervix straight/uterus in place. I swear the tech injecting the dye just could not keep still and was twisting and turning my cramping uterus all over the place. THEN they ran out of dye and I had to sit there in pain while they refilled.

I don't mean to scare you but I've read women having experiences from one extreme to the other and everyone's body and circumstances are different. I hope yours is a breeze!

amysbabies · Post by **amysbabies** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:43 pm

Thanks so much for sharing all your experiences ~~ I really do appreciate it

I'm having it done on monday and I am a bit nervous hearing the pain stories...but then again it's only like 15 min of my life on my way to getting pregnant. I'm going to try to think positive and not be so anxious...

My radiologists office called and said that the morning of the HSG I need to do something called Fleet/Anema? and not eat or drink 2hrs before the procedure... has everyone here done the same thing to prep?

deftonesmo · Post by **deftonesmo** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:41 pm

No enemas for me . . . I wish I had taken some advil, not that it would have done any good . . . both of my tubes were blocked and it was PAINFUL! I am big wuss though

Mrs Bunny · Post by **Mrs Bunny** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:56 am

No enema either.

No eating or drinking before. That rings a bell!

Definitely took a pee before doing the procedure.

redzipper · Post by **redzipper** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:21 pm

Does anybody know if you have to have this test if both of your tubes have already been removed? I know I have a tilted uterus, but it hasn't been a problem in the past.

amysbabies · Post by **amysbabies** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:41 pm

redzipper wrote:Does anybody know if you have to have this test if both of your tubes have already been removed? I know I have a tilted uterus, but it hasn't been a problem in the past.

I think the hsg is mainly for checking the tubes... when my RE wanted to check my uterus he did a water sono on me which is basically the same procedure I think except that saline solution was used instead of dye and it wasn't an x-ray but a sonogram.

cymplicity27 · Post by **cymplicity27** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:03 pm

amysbabies wrote:
redzipper wrote:Does anybody know if you have to have this test if both of your tubes have already been removed? I know I have a tilted uterus, but it hasn't been a problem in the past.
I think the hsg is mainly for checking the tubes... when my RE wanted to check my uterus he did a water sono on me which is basically the same procedure I think except that saline solution was used instead of dye and it wasn't an x-ray but a sonogram.

...exactly what amysbabies said. I also had the water sono (painless) to check the uterus. HSG was for tubes.

redzipper · Post by **redzipper** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 2:42 pm

Great, thanks everyone!

HSG Hysterosalpingogram Experiences ...

HSG Hysterosalpingogram Experiences ...

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