Warning: this post may verge on – or even cross over into the hairy realms of – TMI and oversharing.
I like to blog about medical and healthcare stuff because I know that when I’m about to have a new-to-me procedure, I go online searching for helpful information.
I write the kind of articles that I search for when faced with a new diagnosis or life experience. My goal is to provide the same kind of helpful knowledge and insights that you might get from a sister, friend or aunt who had the same experience.
Women’s healthcare shouldn’t be a morass of mystery. I believe strongly that we should share information and knowledge to empower ourselves and each other.
I hate going into a new medical situation blind – I want to know everything that I can beforehand. That’s why I’m going to tell you all about my endometrial biopsy and D&C, just like I told you about my colonoscopy and other creepy medical procedures.
I completely understand if you’re not up for reading about that sort of thing; feel free to pass on this one.
My journey to a D&C and endometrial biopsy began on our spring break trip this past March when I unexpectedly got my period for the first time in about five years.
Let me back up – I went through menopause several years ago. Remember, I wrote about it back in 2019? Since menopause generally means you no longer get a period, I’ve been out here just merrily living my life and enjoying NOT bleeding from my vagina.
So, you can imagine my immense displeasure when I shockingly began to do just that after about a five-year hiatus. Since post-menopausal periods can be problematic, I reached out to my medical providers to get things checked out.
My gynecologist recommended a vaginal ultrasound and an endometrial biopsy. The ultrasound went fine and didn’t show anything, but the endometrial biopsy proved too challenging to do in the office.
You see, I’m only willing to undergo so much pain in a medical setting before calling “uncle” and asking for another way. I had just finished listening to the podcast The Retrievals and it made me aware that healthcare providers have earned a reputation for not acknowledging or respecting women’s pain.
So when my nurse practitioner was unable to get my endometrial biopsy done in an office visit without taking “aggressive measures” (her words) – and I was already feeling discomfort from the basic attempts she had made – I tapped out. She suggested that I have the procedure done in a hospital under anesthesia instead, so that’s the option we went with.
I know that some women have their endometrial biopsies done in the office without anesthesia, but that simply wasn’t happening for me. My cervix was closed for business and I wasn’t up for having any painful, invasive procedures done without anesthesia. I may be heavily tattooed, but that doesn’t mean I’m up for medical trauma!
Instead, I got cleared for general anesthesia, reported to the hospital early one morning and had an IV put in my arm while I relaxed in a hospital bed. Then, they wheeled me into an OR and put me to sleep. When I woke up, I felt no discomfort and I was able to go home after just an hour or two. I had only minimal spotting and soreness in the days following the procedure. Overall, I’d say this was a success.
Your mileage may vary; maybe you’ll be able to have an endometrial biopsy in your doctor’s office without anything for pain. For me, I’m glad that we opted to do it under a little general anesthesia rather than forcing myself to submit to something invasive and painful. Best of all, my biopsy results came back as “everything normal” so no more worries about this matter.
On to more fun things – like enjoying summer and planning for our impending happy horde of visitors!
Editor’s note: about three months after writing this post, I was so happy to read this story from AP News about the exact same topic. In this article, the author empowers women to advocate for themselves when they need pain management during a “routine” gynecological appointment. Hooray – the word is getting out that just because women are strong and tough, it doesn’t mean we need to feel pain!
