Problems with internal

CathyMoran

I had a full internal as a result of bleeding that lasted 6 days - however in the end I could not stand the pain and had to stop it, I was crying in agony. I a, now really scared as they said that I need to have one again as soon as possible as they did not find the source of the bleed. I am also worried as I believe that they do these a lot more towards the end of pregnancy - I can not go through this again. Does this mean that I will not be able to get through child birth if I could not stand this pain? Is there anything that I can do? I adore my baby and her Nirvana obsession (she really likes it) but is there any way I will survive the birth.

I do have a high pain threashold normally as I survived what is known to be one of the most painful operations you can have but I am really concerned about ever having an internal again or giving birth. My pregnancy is very, very high risk as most women never have kids with my other medical history and I am getting very scared.

Help!

metrovelvet

What did your OB say?

An epi will stop all pain, the down side is that you feel absolutely nothing from the waist down. Ive never had an internal, but I did have labour pains. The only way I can desribe it is like legcramps but around your entire waist and groin area and intesified by about 500.

Im really sorry to hear you have been going through this. You really are a trooper.

ash23

I had a few internals. Mostly they were fine and no different to having a smear test.

They did one towards the end of the pregnancy which was basically to start my labour ( a sweep ) but they told me it was an internal so I wasn't expecting the PAIN! Jesus, i think he had his whole arm up there :mad:

I've had internal since then and they were nothing of the sort of internal I was given that day.
The fact that you were bleeding, the doctor may have had to have a good rummage around, hence the pain. Normally they just pop a couple of fingers up there to check dilation which doesn't hurt at all.


If you have to have another one, explain to them that it hurt a lot the last time and ask will it be as rough this time. If they say yes, then ask for gas and air while it's being done and ask them to use plenty of lubrication.

Moreso, try to relax. Easier said than done, I know. But tensing will make it worse.
I went into labour but it ended in a section so I can't comment on labour pains really. But trust me, it's worth it

CathyMoran

She used a speculum that was huge! It was like a smear but she went further up...I would never get that done again. I am only 16 weeks - could that bring on labour, am scared now. I have no problems with the hubby but this was horrible.

January

CathyMoran, I had the same problems with internals, had small bleeds as a result of sexual intercourse during pregnancy and she used the speculum, painful as hell. Had to get two done! I ended up with a c section but labour pains were no where near as bad as the pain I had when I was getting the speculum treatment.

Das Kitty

I haven't had one yet but I know some people find it agony, way worse than childbirth.

Did you find out your baby's gender by the way? My little dude loves Nirvana too, and ACDC!

CathyMoran

Das Kitty wrote: »

I haven't had one yet but I know some people find it agony, way worse than childbirth.

Did you find out your baby's gender by the way? My little dude loves Nirvana too, and ACDC!

No, that is not for another 4 weeks...am still very stressed by the whole situation - it was horrible...she forced me to have the exam and expects me to get another one shortly...I cant ever go through that again.

Das Kitty

Maybe it was her technique, I know depending on who gave me smears they could either be agony or totally painless. You should have a talk with her about the experience from your end, maybe there's a way of making it more comfortable.

embee

Cathy, you should talk to your Obstetrician/Midwife about your concerns and discomfort when having internal exams.

If you are really, really upset by the idea of it and can't relax, you could ask if it is possible to have some gas and air (Entenox) as a relaxant? I'm not sure if they'd allow it but from what I recall Entenox doesn't cross the placenta and isn't harmful to your baby. I used Entenox during labour, it doesn't quell pain as such but it quells your awareness of it, IYKWIM. I had to have two or three stitches after delivery and they let me use Entenox for that. No harm in asking, they could say no but at least you'd have ruled it out.

Best of luck.

Just to say, from my recollection I had three internals during pregnancy, all when I was past 40 weeks. One was to attempt a membrane sweep, one to administer the gel at beginning of induction, and one that determined I was 10cm and ready to push. Obviously if you are experiencing a high risk pregnancy you'll have to have more. I know what you mean, they are very very uncomfortable.

Vel

The first internal I had to check how dilated I was was the absolute worst part of my whole pregnancy experience, including labour/giving birth. It was horrendous and I literally still have flashbacks about it. I was on the bus the other day and it flashed into my head and made me shudder.

This might sound strange but it was so unpleasant I almost felt violated. I had to have another couple of internals throughout the night before I gave birth and they weren't half as bad. I would give birth 10 times over then go through that first internal again.

Sorry, not much help or reassurance from me there

Chesty LaRue

CathyMoran wrote: »

No, that is not for another 4 weeks...am still very stressed by the whole situation - it was horrible...she forced me to have the exam and expects me to get another one shortly...I cant ever go through that again.

Has the bleeding stopped? If so, maybe no need for another exam?

CathyMoran

Chesty LaRue wrote: »

Has the bleeding stopped? If so, maybe no need for another exam?

I am not sure yet.

littlebug

With my first I didn't have any internals until I was actually in labour and they were uncomfortable but not too bad. Second pregnancy I had an internal scan at about 22 weeks which was very uncomfortable and mortifying but I woudn't say very painful. When I was in labour with the second I had an internal to check dilation and sweet-mother-of-jebus-it-was -agony :eek: I ended up going from 2cm dilated to 10 in next to no time and honestly it felt like the woman just friggin' stretched me herself.... //shudders at the thought//
Labour wasn't nearly as bad.....
I do think technique is part of it. Lube??

TargetWidow

I agree. My first internal (a sweep at 40 wks) was horrible. The technique was fine but if you had to ask me exactly what the problem was I suppose I would say I wasn't expecting quite so much rummaging around. I remember squirming away from her. I think I was utterly unprepared for it. In hindsight the experience itself was fine but I remember leaving the consultants rooms that day and saying to my husband that if I wasn't pregnant I'd be having a stiff drink to get over that and that I felt almost violated by it. Absolutely no problem with the consultant though, just like I said wasn't expecting it to be like that. Had several over the two long days of labour (in the end I joked that if there were any handymen/maintenance men out in the hall outside the delivery room that looked like they had strong arms could they come in and pull her out!) I was so used to them after 6 or 7 of them that couple of days that I wouldn't worry bout it again. And as others have said if I had to do it once a day for my little one, I would do it. But maybe with more KY jelly and warmer hands!You will be fine Cathy, remember that they don't do these things easily and they only do any interventions if necessary.Good luck babe!;)

ebmma

I didn't have an internal, but I know from other people's experience that antenatal care in Russia is waaaaay more invasive and they give women internals all the time, so don't worry about it bringing on labour. Your doctor wouldn't do anything like membrane sweep at 16 weeks!


Also that's probably not a huge amount of help, but there's no point comparing an unnatural pain from an invasive procedure with labour pain. It can be bad, or you can be absolutely fine, because it is a 'good pain', useful pain, rather than 'bad pain' like from breaking a leg or smth.

hope you're feeling better...

beachbabe

Cathy,
Have just posted on the general pregnant thread. I had our baby on wed, only used gas and air as the labour was very fast, no time for epidural, went from 4 to 10 cm in 20 mins. The labour may have been fast, but belive me the pain was felt!
The gas and air really helped with it all. I found the intense pressure sensation worse than the pain.
It is amazing what you do when you just have to. Your body takes over. This time last week I was terrified at the prospect of the pain, and never thought I could do what I did.

crazy cat lady

Internals with the speculum are horrible and can be very uncomfortable, especially as you were probably already feeling very tense and I can only imagine that once they started poking around you tensed up even more which unfortunately heightens the unpleasantness!

When it comes to diagnosing labour, you are more likely to be examined by a midwife than a doctor, and trust me, we're alot kinder! For a start there is no need for a speculum, and there's never any stinginess with the ky!

Did the doctor doing the internal the last time explain what was happening and talk you through the process? Sometimes just being told what is happening can put you at ease and make the experience that bit more bearable.

RuthieRose

OMG - I had an internal done last night. Lightsaber from star wars is what she used and it was horiffic. The good thing about it was it put my mind at ease and I could see something on the screen which was mad and amazing. MY OH stood there with his mouth wide open.
Then she checked around manually which was strange but ok.
It was worth it. Please god everything will be ok for you. Try to think of it as the lesser of two evils. Take any drug going to help with the pain. And the best of luck with it.

ash23

crazy cat lady wrote: »

Did the doctor doing the internal the last time explain what was happening and talk you through the process? Sometimes just being told what is happening can put you at ease and make the experience that bit more bearable.

I have to agree with this. When i was having my sweep, I wasn't told. I was just told it was an internal. They asked if I wanted gas and air for the internal and I was thinking "what the hell would I need gas and air for, they must think I'm a wimp!" as i had internals before with no issues.
I nearly died with the pain and I did feel violated. I was also dreading my next internal (which was fine and not painful).

I feel that if they explained what was going to happen and warned me it would be unpleasant and painful, I would have handled it better and been less afraid and left less worried after.

Nevyn

Are internals new?
I didn't have any ( ok it's been 9 years) but neither did anyone I know who gave birth in the last 5 years.

Ladies a internal should not be painful, ask a heap of questions of the person doing them, ask them how many they have done in the last week, if you know which sizes speculum is better for you tell them, be vocal if your not happy or they are doing it wrong.

Gas and air for an internal I am shocked.

CathyMoran

Thaedydal wrote: »

Are internals new?
I didn't have any ( ok it's been 9 years) but neither did anyone I know who gave birth in the last 5 years.

Ladies a internal should not be painful, ask a heap of questions of the person doing them, ask them how many they have done in the last week, if you know which sizes speculum is better for you tell them, be vocal if your not happy or they are doing it wrong.

Gas and air for an internal I am shocked.

She said that they only had one size speculum and I was shocked, even my local gp has a small one. She still wants me to have one when I next see her and I am deeply upset and still very traumatised over the issue.

ebmma

Thaedydal wrote: »

Gas and air for an internal I am shocked.

this all sounds like some form of torture

Nevyn

CathyMoran wrote: »

She said that they only had one size speculum and I was shocked, even my local gp has a small one. She still wants me to have one when I next see her and I am deeply upset and still very traumatised over the issue.

That is not good enough and it's an ob/gyn hospital they have them on the site. She should have had all the kit she needed and there are 3 standard grown up sizes and there is no good excuse for that.
Cathy if I were you I'd be making a complaint to the hospital in writing.

CathyMoran

Thaedydal wrote: »

That is not good enough and it's an ob/gyn hospital they have them on the site. She should have had all the kit she needed and there are 3 standard grown up sizes and there is no good excuse for that.
Cathy if I were you I'd be making a complaint to the hospital in writing.

Thanks for the advice - am somewhat clueless about these things I am ashamed to say. Will see if they can change it so that she does not do my 20 week scan, I honestly feel that I would scream if I saw her again. I almost feel that because I am viewed as a medical oddity that she actively treated me differently.

Nevyn

Well you are a complex case but that is frankly no excuse for the lack of professional preparedness on her behalf. IF you don't feel up to making a complaint as your Hubby to do so as he is your medical next of kin and can make the complaint on your behalf so you don't get upset doing so as the less stress on you and your pregnancy the better.

embee

Most women don't have internals until they're in labour, or possibly overdue and they do a membrane sweep. You'd only be having an internal if you had some sort of issue, like unexplained bleeding in Cathy's case.

But if it was that painful and you are that traumatised Cathy... well, I would suggest that maybe it was done incorrectly. I'm no midwife or doctor but even a gentler touch and a smaller speculum could make all the difference?

I hope you manage to get through it next time, I know they're uncomfortable but they'd only be doing it out of necessity.

aniascor

Hi cathy
sorry you've had such an awful experience. Let me reassure you though that your ability to handle this pain has no bearing on your ability to manage labour. I have spent the past 12 hours complaining about the pain in my arm from the swine flu injection and yet I laboured drug free. Labour pains didn't feel like pain as such to me. I experienced them as strong pressure. I think it was the gentle birth techniques that helped me have that experience. Perhaps you should try something like that to help you have a more relaxing pregnancy. With such a high risk pregnancy I would imagine that anything you could do to help yourself worry less and stay calmer would be great.

With regard to the internals, I agree with others on here that you should make a complaint. And definitely ask for a different person to treat you next time because there is no chance you will be able to relax if the same person does it again. Hope you're ok.

CathyMoran

I think what made it worse was that she said that the pain was minor and indicated that I was acting like a baby...I am still getting nignmares over it. I have had major post-operative pain before but this was in another league...

I am trying to keep low stress, it does fail sometimes...thanks.

barb

I've been a lurker here for just under 9 months, learning so much in that time!

I wanted to add to this thread as I never had an internal throughout the pregnancy and had been building it up so much in my head, to the extent that I was dreading it as much as the actual labour.

I had my first internal in the emergency room in the Rotunda as my waters broke early last Friday morning. Having an understanding midwife is essential, there's no doubt about that, but as has been said before, the internal can be uncomfortable, but should not hurt. It was not nearly as bad as I'd expected, mainly because there was now such an important context to what was happening.

The actual labour itself was fairly eventful (my husband has posted about it in "The Father's Thread" http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63201401&postcount=164), but we are now heading into our third night at home, and we have a gorgeous baby girl who is worth everything in the world.

CathyMoran

Am actively avoiding her, she made me feel uncomfortable from the begining...have had smears but was shocked by her.