Torture in the 21st Century

Good news first...we had our first IUI this afternoon! Now the rest of the story.

*Warning the information below might be too traumatic for some readers*

We went in for our IUI, did the whole routine of feet in stirrups, etc. The doctor said everything looked good until she tried to put the catheter needle thing in and she couldn't get it though my cervix, at this point the word tenaculum passed her lips. Now to those of you who are saying "huh, what is this thing she is talking about", let me give you the definition and image of this medieval torture device so you can truly appreciate the afternoon I refer to as hell.

Tenaculum: A long-handled, slender, hooked instrument for lifting and holding parts, such as blood vessels, during surgery.


(Pay particular attention to the sharp pointy ends)

I knew I was in trouble even before she started using the device. One look at the horror that was plastered across Amy's face made me realize that tenaculum was not a fancy medical term for cotton swab.

So at this point she had to use this instrument from satan to clamp my cervix in place and then use it to straighten out the kink (I'm paraphrasing here) so that the catheter could pass though. When she tugged on this thing to straighten out said kink I swear I flew off the table. The pain radiated EVERYWHERE in my lower body. I believe the exact words I screamed were "OH MY GOD!" I'm not even going to pretend that I was brave, tears were streaming down my face. I don't think I would have made it through if Amy wasn't there holding my hand. Needless to say I'm more than sore right now. The thing that made it all worthwhile was that Amy was allowed to push down on the syringe.

I wish the experience wouldn't have been so traumatic. This whole day has made me wonder if I can't handle this kind of pain how am I going to handle childbirth. I'll be honest, I'm scared to go back tomorrow.