Hysteroscopy

Be sure to tell your doctor

• If you could be pregnant
• Blood thinners
• Allergies to medicines
• If you have discharge, itching, or pain now. It may be an infection
• Heart disease or diabetes

How to prepare

• When. It is usually done in the first half of your cycle, a few days after your period ends. Your doctor will set the day.
• Tests. Usually a swab and blood tests are needed. Your clinic will give you the list.
• Pain relief. A short exam is sometimes done without anesthesia. A treatment procedure is done under anesthesia through a vein. Your doctor will tell you which you will have.
• Food. If you will have anesthesia, usually no food or drinks for 6 hours. Your clinic will give you the exact time.

What to bring

• Your referral and test results
• Pads
• Someone to take you home, if you have anesthesia

How it goes

1. You empty your bladder and lie on the gynecology chair
2. If you have anesthesia, medicine goes into a vein and you fall asleep
3. The doctor puts in a speculum and cleans the cervix
4. A thin tube with a camera goes in through the cervix, and fluid is used to open up the womb
5. The doctor looks at the womb and, if needed, takes a sample or removes a polyp

What you'll feel

• Without anesthesia: a pulling pain, like period cramps. Tell your doctor
• With anesthesia: you usually feel and remember nothing
• Afterwards: mild cramps low in the belly

Afterwards

• Light bloody spotting for a few days is normal
• Usually for up to 2 weeks: no sex, tampons, baths, swimming pools, or saunas. Your doctor will tell you how long
• After anesthesia, do not drive for the rest of the day
• Sample results usually take 1 to 2 weeks