First gyno visit - will there be an internal exam?

[Fionathepink]

I have my first gyno appointment on Monday. It just occurred to me they at want to do an internal exam.

I'm dreading it. I had one at the doctors this week before my referral and I am still feeling deep pelvic pressure and pain afterwards.

My doctor was great, said she could see it was painful and agreed it was likely endo but if it really can only be diagnosed with laparoscopy, is an internal exam at the gyno essential?

I can't face the pain again so soon. The speculum, while not my favourite thing

[Fionathepink]

Posted by accident. It wasn't the speculum but the checking if there was movement in my uterus. It hurt.

[Hazel173]

I never got an internal exam the first time x

[milly89]

I had one at my first appointment, however brutal it feels just think about how it’s contributing to getting you a step closer to being better, or getting the help you need. Dose up well with your regular pain relief half hour before your appointment (with hindsight this would have helped me, though I wanted them to see it as it was, which was me in tears at points with the pain)

Hope it all goes well for you x

[Abigail16]

When I saw a general gynaecologist he did one - I don’t know why because like you say it can only be diagnosed through a lap. When I saw my specialist he said because I’ve had one before and know it hurts he won’t do it because there would be no benefit just unnecessary pain for me. Just make sure you tell them it will hurt and I guess it depends how understanding they are and what they deem necessary at the appointment but hopefully they won’t do one, good luck 😊

[Holly235322]

I had a gynae appointment after my referral and she just wanted to talk about my symptoms and the laparoscopy as a procedure etc. There was no internal exam, may just depend on the gynae though. Good luck x

[Fionathepink]

Thanks guys. After a bottle of wine and thinking about it, unless he can give me a convincing reason about what he might see over my GP, I am just going to decline it.

[princessk09]

I have an internal pelvic exam at every gynae I’ve seen which is 4 haha and they hurt like hell for me. However the endo specialist at spire was the mixed guy ever and understood the pain so was talking to me throughout and making sure I was okay even though I was like shit that hurts haha.

He found the most tenderness compared to others which was helpful but I feel the pain up to a week later. The internal exam is quite helpful for feeling for cysts on the ovaries and stuff like that

Just talk to the gynae and explain and you can actually refuse to have one done if you don’t one it xx

[Char411]

I had one like yourself by my GP when symptoms first started progressing. I didn’t have one at my gynaecologist appointment as he said there’s no point as he had scan results in front of him which were clear, he said he wouldn’t see/feel anything by doing an internal and sent me for an MRI instead and booked a lap. I know the dread of an internal as it’s exaxtly what I had before the appointment to the point where I couldn’t sleep, so was super relieved he didn’t do one.

Sending hugs x

[tinkerbell971]

I’ve never had an internal off my gynae I’ve only had the one done in my gp xx

[h_grahh]

I had one at my first gynae appointment... although it can hurt it's a crucial step towards diagnosing endo, as often they can feel endo lesions during a full pelvic. Any doc doing it should be understanding of the pain that it can cause and you should 100% let them know when it's sore - they should stop or give you a minute to recover. Yes, the only true way to diagnose endo is with a laparoscopy, but a pelvic exam is a crucial step in doing so.

[Lulububs]

Yeh i got one at my first gynae appointment, it was ok. They may just do a ultrasound but most gynaes like to feel about to make sure there not another problem.

It was good thing i did as i had a enterocele and a deep cut up there so he diagnosed that which was good.

I got sent to physio ,womens health physio and its helped me alot.

I had lap and there was nothing he thought it was the enterocele that had played me up for years !

[Fionathepink]

Thanks for your support everyone. He was super understanding and said as I'd had an exam on Thursday, it was a bit much to do another today and he could do an exam at the start of the laparoscopy.

Now I'm just flapping about that. He was very thorough about what would happen. I'm squeamish so probably not the best to look at photos and hear about titanium supports.