Had cystoscopy yesterday

hi everyone, I had my cystoscopy yesterday after weeks worrying about getting it done. I tried to keep myself occupied to keep my mind off it but its always been there. and the night before I had it done I read a few forums here to get some reassurance. so I thought I'd add my experience so people are more prepared for theirs. the ones I read made it look like it would be easy, I got the impression that it doesn't hurt for women but does for men.

anyway, I had mine to look for whats causing the microscopic blood in my urine that I've had for almost 2 years now, good news was that they didn't see anything abnormal, so atleast that's cleared up.

so, my appointment was scheduled for 2.45pm, as soon as I got there I was given a urine sample pot to collect a specimen in, they took it away and tested it but I never heard what the result was. then I got placed in a room where a male nurse came in and had me fill in some forms to consent to having it done and also to put patient wristband on. he then said he was leaving and somebody else will be in after to tell me what was going to happen. as soon as he left another male came in, he was the urologist and he sat next to me and told me what was going to happen, I told him I was nervous as I'd never had anything like this done before and he told me not to worry and that getting a smear test done was actually worse. I thought to myself, how would you know?? he was really nice though bless him, but at first I didn't realise that he would be the one doing the test. for some reason I imagined a woman doing it.

After hed asked me a few more questions about allergies etc, he said come with me and we'll see if they are ready for us. we went into another room and they were ready. inside this room was a bed and some equipment. there were also 2 female nurses in there who were both lovely too. one lady told me to take my coat off and leave it on the chair, and told me to strip off from the waist down and cover myself with a piece of paper. they didn't pull a curtain around me or anything and I felt so uncomfortable pulling my trousers and pants down infront of the 2 nurses and male doctor, but I just kept thinking they must do this dozens of times a day so they've seen it all before. I kept my trousers around my ankles and laid on the bed and draped this little piece of paper over my private area.

then the doctor came over and told me to flop my legs like you would during a smear test. so I did that and the doctor said 'excuse me' and began feeling around my area and having a good look finding my uretha which I did find embarrassing because the nurses were looking too, but again they do this everyday and have seen it all before. then he got the syringe ready with what he said was lubricant and anesthetic and inserted it into my uretha and squirted it in, he said it would be cold and it might sting abit, which it definitely did do! it took a few seconds to get the stuff squirted in and as he was doing it I saw the nurse stood at the side with the scope in her hands and I must say it frightened me alot looking at it! it was alot wider than I was expecting, it looked like a black snake and was very thick! I wish she would of hid it from my sight because I tensed up immediately after seeing that. as he was squirting the lubricant in I said oh my god that looks massive and they all laughed and said its not that bad you'll be fine.

Once he had done squirting the stinging solution in, he wasted no time in cramming the scope up me, it was long and black with a bright light on the end. ill be honest and say that did hurt me quite a bit having it shoved in, he pushed on it about 3 times till it was all the way into my bladder, they knew it was hurting as the nurse stood by my head kept telling me to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth! once it was in i looked at the screen that was to my side and found it fascinating seeing the inside of my bladder there. it looked like what I'd imagine the inside of a scrotum to look like lol. very peach with little thin red veins all over. the doctor told the nurse to start filling with water and she said you might start feeling like you need a wee, but I never felt that urge, I thought they filled your bladder up to the top but they didn't mine. then he pulled the scope out and said 'that all looks normal!' I swear once the camera was in it only took about 30 to 40 seconds! he did tell me before it would only take about 40 seconds but I didn't believe him because my appointment letter said the appointment would last about an hour.

it felt like even less time because the nurses were distracting me with questions whilst it was being done about my children so it all really did seem fast and I couldn't believe how quick it was!

as soon as it was done they said i could get dressed and go home but advised me to empty my bladder before I left. I was only there for 20 minutes from arriving in clinic to leaving again.

they did warn me that it might hurt to pee for a few days, and the first few times I did pee it did string and carried on stinging for a few minutes later, like a burning sting but not unbearable and by this morning it had gone and I can pee with no pain no. she said there might be some blood to but I've had none of that.

so, I wouldn't rush to do it again and would only have it done if I really really had too, as I keep reliving the feeling of that scope being pushed up my uretha and it makes me want to squeeze my legs shut! but its worth it for the piece of mind that there's nothing growing in my bladder or anything. I seriously can not believe how fast it was, as the forums I've read on here say it takes about 5 minutes but mine was just over half a minute long.

so if your reading this because your due to have one done, id say DO NOT look at the scope before its inserted, as I'm sure that's why it hurt me so much because I tensed up when I saw how thick it was, I was quite relaxed before that. and I'm pretty sure he didn't get the anesthetic time to work because he knew I'd seen the scope and didn't want to give me time to freak out, he could probably see on my face I was about to! the staff made it a better experience, everyone of them was nice and friendly and I couldn't fault them, they did there job and kept me as calm as I could be. so just be brave and grit your teeth as it doesn't last long at all and could save your life if they find something that shouldn't be there!

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