For the ladies... in office ablation

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Anyone have an in office uterine ablation done? For a variety of reasons my doctor wants to do it in the office, VS having anesthesia and doing it in an OR.

What are your experiences with this? How painful was the procedure in the office? She does numb the uterus with 4 injections and she does premedicated with prescription pain pills and xanax.

THe endometrial biopsy was painful.... I'm just REALLY worrried about how painful this is going to be. I'm not a wus, I can usually tolerate pain, but I was surprised how painful the biopsy was. I guess I just need a guage to prepare myself, and some reassurance!

 

[DebbieB]

Anyone have an in office uterine ablation done? For a variety of reasons my doctor wants to do it in the office, VS having anesthesia and doing it in an OR.

What are your experiences with this? How painful was the procedure in the office? She does numb the uterus with 4 injections and she does premedicated with prescription pain pills and xanax.

THe endometrial biopsy was painful.... I'm just REALLY worrried about how painful this is going to be. I'm not a wus, I can usually tolerate pain, but I was surprised how painful the biopsy was. I guess I just need a guage to prepare myself, and some reassurance!

I had discussed having one with my doctor but in the end we decided to wait because it looked like I was going into menopause. She said she only does it under anesthesia in the hospital.

 

[luvavacation]

If you can have it under general anesthesia, and you had a bad endometrial biopsy, go for general!

I have had two C-sections, so my cervix never dilated. When it was time for my biopsy, the pain was excruciating as the dr. dilated the cervix before the biopsy. I was crying, shaking, whimpering, etc. Odd, because normally I can handle pain, but this pain was just awful. By the way, I was given a shot to numb the area prior to the procedure, but that was no help. Then when the dr. did the biopsy, I thought I was going to jump off the table!

Afterwards, my dr. said there was no way I was going to be able to tolerate the ablation without general anesthesia, and I am so glad she felt that way.

My ablation was no problem. I went to sleep, dreamt I was on a beach, sun was shining, waves in the background, it was so wonderful. When I woke up in recovery, I was not happy to leave my dream behind! Other than some slight discomfort the first two days (which meant I had to lay around the house and do nothing, something I was thrilled to do!), it was a piece of cake.

Ask the general anesthesia. At least, that is my non-medical, been-there-done-that recommendation!

 

[tigercat]

I just had a biopsy done on Thurs. I don't swear at all and I usually don't yell. I SCREAMED and let go of words I didn't know that I knew at the Dr. I was given nothing before or after to help the pain. I would want something if doing an ablation like a knock out drug..
tigercat

 

[alex9179]

I've been thinking about this for myself. Personally, I'd want to be OUT

First, do you know what type of precedure the doc will be using? Although I would MUCH prefer general anethesia so that I don't know what's going on I might consider local depending on what device they want to use.

Second, cervix dilation is not fun. If you are at all concerned about this find out exactly what the doc will be using for anesthesia.

Finally, general anethesia has significant risks in some patients. If you've tolerated it in the past you have a better chance. If you've never been under, you should look into those risks and weigh them.

 

[taylor3297]

Biopsy hurt that is for sure. The doctor did my ablation at the hospital. I am so glad I had it done.

 

[TxAnn]

Do you know if it would be the heat or the freezing ablation? From my understanding, the heat ablation is a very intense but short pain, while the freezing is a longer lasting but not as intense pain. I too had an endometrial biopsy and it was the worst pain I've ever felt. After that I was very nervous about the ablation, but chose to have it done in office because it was considerably less expensive with my insurance. I had the freezing ablation done. My dr gave me xanax and pain pills but I did still feel the pain. However, it was not the sharp pain like the biopsy. It was more of a achy, crampy feeling. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Good luck with your decision!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Oh no! Now I am scared. The Dr wants to do it in the office because I Have alot of risk factors for anesthesia, blood clots, etc. I will just Have to bke brave I guess

 

[alex9179]

Oh no! Now I am scared. The Dr wants to do it in the office because I Have alot of risk factors for anesthesia, blood clots, etc. I will just Have to bke brave I guess

Your fear is of the unknown. You can reduce it by finding out more information. What procedure is being used, what are the benefits, what are the risks, what type of pain control, what are your other options. The Dr/Patient relationship is coopertive...at least it should be. Find another doc if this one isn't willing to give you the time and info it takes to make an educated decision. But, it's up to the patient to find these things out. You are your advocate.

 

[RF536]

I had the freezing type in my doctor's office. My doctor used a twilight anesthesia, not sure if there are less risks or not. I don't remember anything of the procedure and was able to leave the office within a hour of the procedure.

 

[wdwmom2]

I had an in-office freezing ablation done. I was given Valium to take before the procedure. I might as well have swallowed a Tic Tac . It did nothing.

I had no type of anesthesia. The worst part was when they clamped my cervix. That was quite uncomfortable, but it only lasted seconds. The actual procedure was minimally uncomfortable.

Having said all that, I would not hesitate to do it in-office again. It really wasn't that bad!!!!

Hope this info helps

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Your fear is of the unknown. You can reduce it by finding out more information. What procedure is being used, what are the benefits, what are the risks, what type of pain control, what are your other options. The Dr/Patient relationship is coopertive...at least it should be. Find another doc if this one isn't willing to give you the time and info it takes to make an educated decision. But, it's up to the patient to find these things out. You are your advocate.

My question wasn't really about the procedure, but rather the pain associated with the procedure. I have worked in the OR and in recovery room and day surgery sending patient's home with this type of procedure. I am awared of the procedure. However the patient's have been under anesthesia. I discussed with the MD my options, we did discuss the pain, we discussed the risks because of my clotting factors etc. What I was asking was how is the pain when done in the office from people who have had it done.

I had an in-office freezing ablation done. I was given Valium to take before the procedure. I might as well have swallowed a Tic Tac . It did nothing.

I had no type of anesthesia. The worst part was when they clamped my cervix. That was quite uncomfortable, but it only lasted seconds. The actual procedure was minimally uncomfortable.

Having said all that, I would not hesitate to do it in-office again. It really wasn't that bad!!!!

Hope this info helps

Thank you, this does help!

I am surprised to read how others felt the biopsy was very painful too. I guess it is reassuring in a way that it wasn't just me, that the procedure itself is painful.

 

[Jeafl]

I've had two ablations, both in the hospital under "twilight sleep" as opposed to general anesthesia. There are less risks with the twilight because you aren't as far "under", and you come out of it more quickly.

I, too, thought the biopsy was very painful, so you guys are not alone in that.

 

[wdwmom2]

Thank you, this does help!

I am surprised to read how others felt the biopsy was very painful too. I guess it is reassuring in a way that it wasn't just me, that the procedure itself is painful.

I also had a biopsy done years ago. The ablation was less uncomfortable than the biopsy. I would definitely choose the ablation over the biopsy, as far as discomfort goes.

 

[jsmith]

I started to have an in office ablation-i was on the table medicated and good to go but when she got the scope in she saw some polyps-so she stopped and we did it in the hospital so she could do a D and C and remove the polyps at the same time. There was nothing about the procdure that i thought was intolerably painful up to the point where she decided to stop. I will caviat by saying i didnt think the biopsies were all that horrible -ive had three since the 1st of january

 

[minkydog]

There is no way I would have an ablation done in a doctors office. No way. I've had several endometrial biopsies and found them to be very painful. Ablation is like a biopsy *on steroids*! I had uterine ablation under anesthesia about 8 years ago. Afterward I had several hours of severe cramping, for which I took a strong anti-inflammatory(*can't think of the name now.) I basically slept off the pain and anesthesia the rest of the day and the NEXT day I took my kids camping in the mountains.

I'm with the previous poster--get a 2nd opinion. This is 2012. There has to be a way to do this without you biting a bullet and gulping down a shot of whiskey.

 

[alex9179]

My question wasn't really about the procedure, but rather the pain associated with the procedure. I have worked in the OR and in recovery room and day surgery sending patient's home with this type of procedure. I am awared of the procedure. However the patient's have been under anesthesia. I discussed with the MD my options, we did discuss the pain, we discussed the risks because of my clotting factors etc. What I was asking was how is the pain when done in the office from people who have had it done.

Then you are aware that there are 4-5 different options. If you are in recovery, then you've seen others' reactions.
Your first post came off as someone who WASN'T aware, and frankly I'm not sure you know about the other options since procedure was singular. No crystal ball here. Different docs prefer different methods. Look at the other methods and consult other docs.

 

[grafxgirl]

I am 37 years old, and had one done in an operating room under anesthesia 5 years ago. I have had endometriosis since I was 14, gave birth to two children, and still had major issues so my doctor advised me to have the uterine ablation instead of a full hysterectomy. I'm glad I did it! Afterwards, I had a few days of cramping. Reminded me of real bad menstrual cramps.

 

[grafxgirl]

I am 37 years old, and had one done in an operating room under anesthesia 5 years ago. I have had endometriosis since I was 14, gave birth to two children, and still had major issues so my doctor advised me to have the uterine ablation instead of a full hysterectomy. I'm glad I did it!

 

[HamTown]

I had mine done in an outpatient surgery center with short term anesthesia. My OB won't do an ablation without the patient or her spouse having been surgically sterilized so we did a tubal ligation and NovaSure at the same time.

As everyone else said, the biopsy beforehand was awful but luckily I premedicated with 800mg of Advil and knew to have my DH drive me home.

As far as the procedure itself, I had some cramping which was sort of like the afterpains you have after childbirth but I had a lot of trouble with the abdominal gas from the tubal ligation. My shoulder hurt so bad I didn't even think about my uterus!

It's a great procedure but if I had a lot of risk factors I might want to do it in a place where everything could be monitored and have all measures available if there were a complication. Definitely have a second conversation with the doctor and maybe even the anesthesiologist.