Hysterosalpingogram

   I would like to describe my experience having an HSG. This is a retro - post as I had the HSG many months ago. I had this procedure because I had been unable to get pregnant for over a year. I had no diagnosed medical conditions at that time other than dysmenorrhea.a
   The decision was an easy one to make. I wanted answers. This might provide them and might lead to pregnancy.
   An appointment was made at the hospitals radiology department. It was an early morning appointment because that best allowed my husband to be present. I was very thankful he was there. I was quite nervous and his presence was very helpful. I checked in and was taken back to the room very quickly. Once in the room, I was asked to change into a hospital gown and given a blanket to cover up with. It was quite chilly and the blanket was not quite enough. The nurse present saw me shivering and gave me a blanket from the warmer. The table was a bit hard but not terrible for the short amount of time I was on it. There was a bit of a problem with insertion of the speculum. This is a problem pretty unusual, my husband and I have believed that I have a condition called vaginismus for a long time. This condition makes penetration very difficult as the muscles tighten involuntarily. When a long narrow speculum is used I normally have fewer issues but the only speculum the radiology department had was the standard one. My doctor tried for a long time to insert this speculum before conceding that it wasn't going to work. It was very painful and he could not see what he needed to. He asked the nurse to get the correct speculum from the OR.So I waited, the correct speculum arrived and we continued with the test. After the speculum was in place, my cervix was washed with a betadine solution and then a long slender catheter was placed through the vagina, through the cervix, and into the uterus. Fluoroscopy was used to visualize the structures. The catheter caused some cramping, but the next step was injection of the dye. this caused some pretty painful cramps. My fallopian tubes were flushed and my deemed clear. The catheter was removed, the speculum was removed. I was sent home very soon after with only some discharge and cramping in the afternoon. It was not terrible, not too painful, and worth the information it provided.