HyCoSy

[Vvvvv]

I’m nearly 41 and TTC. My gyno has requested a HyCoSy at day 6 of my cycle and I don’t know what to expect. How painful is the procedure? Is there a risk to impacting fertility? 

[STBG 2]

From what I have seen the only impact this procedure has on fertility is to perhaps increases the chance of getting pregnant. I have heard the comment 'clean out the cobwebs' which of course sounds pretty blunt but sometimes it can cause dilation of the tubes which may impact the ease that the sperm and egg meet.

Patients seem to report mild period like pain following.

Lots of good luck.

[LemonMyrtle]

I don’t want to scare you, but mine was really  painful.

mine was a bit of a disaster though, it was at a public hospital, I arrived with panadol and ibuprofen on board, but then the machine was broken. We had to wait 2 to 3 hours or so before it was fixed and they were ready. Then half way into it the balloon broke/deflated. So she had to start again.

by the end I was in tears. Thank god DH was there to take me home.

so, don’t go public if you can help it and have strong pain relief. Or, if I had my time again, I’d request to be knocked out for it. 

I’ve had 3 mirenas swapped and none were as bad as the Hycosy 

but people do have much better experiences than me! 

[Yogaalaates]

20 minutes ago, Vvvvv said:

I’m nearly 41 and TTC. My gyno has requested a HyCoSy at day 6 of my cycle and I don’t know what to expect. How painful is the procedure? Is there a risk to impacting fertility? 

I didn’t find it overly painful (Mirena was worse). And I got pregnant soon afterwards. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Yogaalaates

[SleepyBear]

I had one done ~6 years ago as part of TTC. I can't fully remember and am about to use very lamens term's......but it was a  moderately painful during the procedure as one side was basically blocked and the procedure unblocked it. I was uncomfortable on that side for the rest of the day and had a few days of period like cramps. 

I conceived naturally within 6 months after it so it potentially made a difference for me and was useful for my dr's for diagnostic purposes. 

[Ozgirl]

Ive had 2, a good 5yrs apart.

Neither were terribly bad. But you could have the experince of @LemonMyrtle or if your tubes are blocked it can be painful. 

My second one it was explained to me that naprogesic was better to take than ibuprofen. 

So panadol and something to help the cramping it can cause. If you are in pain after take so ibuprofen. You can take all three. 

And if you are super ner vous and have a support person, it is absolutely acceptable to ask for val ium. And after if you are in pain, call your FS and ask for a pana diene forte script. 

I no longer worry about asking for alllllll the drugs. There is no shame in it. 

But yes @STBG 2 is right a lot of studies say it can improve your chances and if your tubes are blocked can fix an issue relatively simply. 

but if you are contemplating a lap, i'd just go stright for that. And they can flush your tubes at the same time. Im all for jumping right in and not delaying procedures. 

[Paddlepop]

I’ve had the x-ray version (HSG) twice. Some mild period-type cramping during and afterwards. There was a speculum involved. Nothing painful for me. One of my tubes is blocked so there was quite a bit of fluid flowing back out of my vagina because they kept introducing more fluid to try to force it through my blocked tube. I had to rinse off my lower body in a shower afterwards to get the sticky liquid off me. The radiology place had a shower and towels ready for this. 

My tube didn’t unblock either time and I didn’t become pregnant naturally after the procedures. IVF however did get me pregnant and gave me my DD. Without the HSG I wouldn’t have known that my tube was blocked.

[Ozgirl]

35 minutes ago, Paddlepop said:

Without the HSG I wouldn’t have known that my tube was blocked.

It blows my mind that clinics suggest IUI on someone without doing a one first! 
 

it’s a pretty cheap procedure considering. 

[Wolf87]

I had one back in 2014, I’ll be honest - I found it incredibly painful. Very short lived though. And don’t panic if it does hurt, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong - my tubes were fine despite the pain. Didn’t help us though as we needed Ivf due to other factors. I was told to dose up on Naprogesic (sp?) before the procedure. Good luck! 

[Paddlepop]

The doctor who did mine said I should have had some whisky (or brandy or something) beforehand. I guess others had found it quite painful. I didn’t. Pretty sure I didn’t have any painkillers either. A blocked tube doesn’t mean that it’s automatically going to be painful. I don’t find Pap smears painful and Mirena insertion is only very briefly painful for me, with mild pain afterwards. 

 

[pippityroo]

Mine was 3.5 years ago, on cycle day 10, and I remember it being uncomfortable with some pain, but I can’t remember exactly. I was told to take 2x naprogesic an hour beforehand though. 
 

It didn’t help me, it just confirmed what I already knew; my remaining tube was blocked, and they were unable to unblock it.

 

Although, and it has now just clicked, I did get pregnant 8mo later, but it was only brief and unfortunately ended in an early miscarriage. No clue how I managed that though, I only have 1 tube and it’s definitely blocked  So no idea if it flushed it a bit, but unlikely as I’ve not gotten pregnant since.

I’m currently on the public waitlist to have a laparoscopy; 6 months & counting…

Good luck!

[Paddlepop]

@pippityroo Why not go straight to IVF? One tube and it’s blocked, so IVF would be ideal. It’s exactly why it was invented. You don’t have to have a laparoscopy to do IVF. I certainly didn’t. Once I found a fertility specialist I was comfortable with I went straight to IVF. 

[Ozgirl]

11 hours ago, Paddlepop said:

@pippityroo Why not go straight to IVF? One tube and it’s blocked, so IVF would be ideal. It’s exactly why it was invented. You don’t have to have a laparoscopy to do IVF. I certainly didn’t. Once I found a fertility specialist I was comfortable with I went straight to IVF. 

I’m team lap before IVF. 
 

2 friends have just found out they have endo and ademmyous (however you spell it) after spending a lot of money on IVF. 
 

um pretty sure a lap doesn’t guarantee that they can unblock a tube so their may be other reason for doing the lap. Especially since @pippityroohas already lost a tube. 

[pippityroo]

@Paddlepop & @Ozgirl

My fertility specialist (different to the one that referred me to have the HyCoSy) recommended a laparoscopy, and I agree with her. It’s to check my remaining tube, and if it’s blocked and no good, she’ll take it out; I don’t like living in fear of it. 2 traumatic ectopic pregnancies is enough for me.

She’ll also check for suspected endo at the same time, and do whatever needs to be done if it is indeed there.

IVF was recommended a few years ago, but it’s not something we’ll do. We started TTC in 2016, but the last few years we’ve eased off actively trying (but not preventing), and while I desperately want another baby with all my being, DH doesn’t any longer, so decided IVF was a no for us.

So the lap is pretty much for my piece of mind and to help me to begin moving on and away from my TTC journey, if my tube is in fact blocked and then removed. 

[Ozgirl]

31 minutes ago, pippityroo said:

@Paddlepop & @Ozgirl

My fertility specialist (different to the one that referred me to have the HyCoSy) recommended a laparoscopy, and I agree with her. It’s to check my remaining tube, and if it’s blocked and no good, she’ll take it out; I don’t like living in fear of it. 2 traumatic ectopic pregnancies is enough for me.

She’ll also check for suspected endo at the same time, and do whatever needs to be done if it is indeed there.

IVF was recommended a few years ago, but it’s not something we’ll do. We started TTC in 2016, but the last few years we’ve eased off actively trying (but not preventing), and while I desperately want another baby with all my being, DH doesn’t any longer, so decided IVF was a no for us.

So the lap is pretty much for my piece of mind and to help me to begin moving on and away from my TTC journey, if my tube is in fact blocked and then removed. 

Totally get that. 

[Paddlepop]

@pippityroo That’s completely understandable, especially the fear of another ectopic pregnancy. I hope that the lap can help to give you peace.

[MumtoLeo19]

I found mine to be incredibly painful.  I am so sorry to have to say this but it was one of the worst things I went through including IVF.  I didn't have blocked tubes. I feel I should be truthful with you as when you read about it online they seem to play down the possible pain of it with "some mild discomfort" and take panadol before. That did nothing for me and I went to the appointment by myself thinking it wasn't going to be too bad but it was terrible. I wish I had DH with me. 

Anyway I hope you don't experience this but that was my experience.