LLETZ under local or general?

 

Hello everyone Smile

I have had a date for LLETZ treatment for CIN2 under local anaesthetic but I'm wondering whether to request general instead.  I have a needle phobia and always faint after having an injection.  I'm generally bad with anything medical and just being in hospitals makes me anxious.

During my colposcopy I was fine until they took the biopsies and then I fainted.  The nurse said she would put on my notes that I'm prone to fainting so I was half expecting for my treatment to be done under general anyway.

It's not really the pain I am worried about.  I just don't want to turn up after weeks of waiting and faint after the inejction or during treatment and them tell me they can't do it on the day and have to wait again for another appointment.  But at the same time I feel that surely the nurse would have recommended it be done under general if they think I needed it and I don't want to seem like a drama queen because I know that's it's only a minor procedure.

I just wondered if anyone has any advice. Did you have local or general, and if I should try and request general?

Also just wanted to say what a fantastic site this is, and the advice on these forums has helped me a lot so thank you!

Hi there,

I had mine done under a local anaesthetic and to be honest, you don't really see the needle because it all happens 'down below'. They inject the anaesthetic into your cervix and I think there was a little pinch as they did it but it wasn't too bad. I had a nice nurse holding my hand and chatting to me to distract me.

There are always some risks with having a general anaesthetic and it can leave you feeling a bit weird afterwards, but if you are really worried it's worth talking to your doctor. It's not about being a wimp or a drama queen, just about getting the right treatment plan for you.

Best of luck sweetie! x

Hi there, I have had treatment both under general and local, to be perfectly honest and blunt with you having the local injected was way less painful than having the canula put in for a general and you have the advantage of not being able to see the needle, I also had to have blood taken before the general. So if you are a bit needle phobic the local is actually better, could you maybe talk to your doctor about him giving you something to calm you before the procedure as I have heard of some women being given a bit of a 'happy pill' if they suffer from anxiety.

 

Hi Kitty,

 

I am having a general on Friday.  To be honest I was delighted that I'm being knocked out.  I didnt request a general but think I would have requested it had they not offered it.  I totally understand how you are feeling about it so dont worry about being a 'drama queen' lol.  You could always have a chat with your consultant and request a general?  Though as the ladies above have said, either way you are going to have to have some sort of injection and the local will be quicker.  Sometimes the thought of these things are often worse than the reallity.  I hope you get on ok either way.  Tes xx

Hi Kitty

I had mine under local, but because I'm a fainter (pressure on the cervix, rather than needle phobia) I had it done in a day surgery unit rather than the colposcopy clinic, because they had better facilities/ somewhere for me to recover if I did faint.  But I ended up having to point this out myself, rather than it being suggested...

As it turns out, I didn't faint, but it was good to know that the precautions were there, and I got some hot tea and toast while recovering, which I wouldn't have got in clinic! so i would say it depends on the faciltiies available where you are.  Definitely worth a call to your colpocopy department/ nurse to flag up your concerns though.

Thank you for all your helpful replies!

Decided to call the clinic as I needed to change my appointment anyway.  Explained my concerns and how I'm prone to fainting and the lady told me the nurse will call me in the morning to discuss the best plan.

I can deal with the pain, and I'm willing to go with local. I just don't want it to get in the way of the treatment and them not be able to do it which would mean even more waiting.  So thought the best thing to do was check they know about it.

We shall see what the nurse recommends!

Kitty x

Good plan! x

 

Just thought I'd update this in case anyone else is in same situation.

I rang the hospital and told them about being nervous and that I will more than likely faint and they have now arranged for me to go in an hour before my appointment to be sedated.  So still having local but hopefully the sedation will calm me down.

Didn't think to ask how they will sedate me eg. pill, IV etc. Does anyone have any idea how they will do it? 

Feeling much better about it all now Smile

Kitty x

Hi kitty, how did they sedate you? I'm so scared of needles and trying to find out all my options as well