I got up on the table, and the dye was injected with no problems. I watched it spilling into the fallopian tubes on the monitor and the RE pointed out exactly what my husband and I were looking at. It was really neat to watch actually. There were no blockages, so I’m sure that contributed to the fact that I had minimal pain.

As for my pain, it was like having bad period cramps. It started shortly after the dye was inserted and I felt cramps on and off for a couple of days. I had some initial bleeding afterwards, because of slight irritation to the cervix, but nothing drastic. It did require a pad though. And although I took the rest of the day off work, that probably wasn’t necessary (I have a sit-down desk job). But everyone is different and blockages or abnormalities mean that you may experience some pain, and obviously as some women here have said, it can be severe. Ibuprofin or some sort of painkiller and anti-inflammatory medication can give you lots of relief for a couple of days if you need it. And if you have lasting pain or problems after your HSG, it’s best to go back to your RE and mention it because that wouldn’t be normal.

Good luck ladies!

The doctor had to re-insert the cervical clamps and catheter THREE separate times because it kept slipping out when she removed the speculum. Each time was more painful from the last. I would highly suggest finding out how many of these procedures the doctor does on a regular basis. My husband said he was about to rip the catheter away from her and hit her with it.

The entire procedure only takes a couple of minutes, but I found it very painful, and brought me to tears. I also wasn’t prepare to bleed heavily for the rest of the day (though that’s probably because of the clamp issues). I wish I had brought some pads with me, because the ones they had at the hospital are really uncomfortable.

I had cramps for the rest of the day, but have been able to work.

My advice – if you chart your cycles and are an early ovulator, schedule it as close to ovulation as possible (but still have a few days open for sex afterwards). It should be easier to get the catheter through. And the cramping afterwards suck.

I have had some more intense cramping since I got home. It's not unbearable, but its not exactly great either.

The radiologist who preformed my test was really nice and let me know right up front that I was the one in charge and that I could call it quits at any time if it got too painful. She did tell me the test does tend to be more painful if your tubes are closed. Mine were open, but that could be why some people have much more pain with this test than others.

I was also told that the test could be performed during a laproscopy. If you know that there are other problems that need to be dealt with through a lap, you may want to have the hsg done then. At least you could eliminate some pain and discomfort that way.

Anyways, like I said I don't want to discount anyone's pain or brag that my procedure wasn't that bad, but I just wanted to bring a little balance to the discussion and let people who are going to be having an hsg know that you won't necessarily have a bad experience. I don't know if you really can know how it's going to go before you go in, but there is no sense fearing something you don't have any control over. Just remember, you're in control – if it gets painful tell them to stop.