Here’s my first post on here and it’s as accurate as I can remember.
In the early 90s when I was in my late teens and my then girlfriend and I had been out drinking and she started to feel generally unwell with lower abdominal pain and bleeding a little from down below. It wasn’t her time of month and I was a bit concerned so I took her to the local A&E.
She got seen by a triage nurse pretty quickly and she did her vitals, BP, Pulse, SpO2 & Temp (ear probe), Her temp was a little elevated but everything else seemed to pretty normal. The nurse then said I’d have to wait outside whilst the Doc came and did a pelvic exam, but my girlfriend insisted I stay and I wasn’t going to argue.
My girlfriend was then told to remove all her clothing and put on one of those blue & white chequered gowns that you sort of put on back to front.
When the doc arrived he had her lay flat on her back and bring her heels up between her legs and then let he knees fall to the side. I was sat to the side of her holding her hand and she had a sheet covering her legs so I couldn’t really see what the doc was doing. The nurse told her not to be embarrassed which caused her to be more embarrassed. She jumped and fidgeted whilst he examined her. Afterwards, she told me he examined her with his fingers and it was more uncomfortable than painful and she was shocked how cold the KY Jelly was lol. He then said he’d have to insert a speculum to view her cervix. The nurse told her to relax and take a deep breath. He inserted the speculum and had a quick look. My girlfriend gritted her teeth and closed her eyes shut when he opened it, but in all fairness it was over quick and she didn't seem in too much distress or discomfort.
The Doc then said he’d like to perform a rectal exam and asked her to roll onto her left side facing me, bring her bottom to the edge of the trolley and bring her knees up to her chest. My girlfriend really wasn’t happy about this, but she obliged. I watched the doc put on a fresh pair of gloves and the nurse squirt some KY on his index finger and I couldn’t help but notice that has hands and fingers were absolutely huge. He then put his left hand on her hip and with his right hand felt below. My girlfriend let out a massive grunt and squeezed my hand till I thought my fingers where going to break. She tried to straighten her legs and roll away and but the doc kept his hand on her hip. The nurse told her to relax and it would be over quicker. My girlfriend’s reply involved a lot of swearing and explaining to the nurse that she was not the one with a finger up her arse! My girlfriend started to lose it and really yelled and the doc actually told her to stop acting like a child and that it couldn't be that bad. I was shocked at how unsympathetic he was. He finally told her to bear down as if she was going to the toilet and then it would all be over. My girlfriend shouted that she couldn’t while his finger was there, but he insisted. I watched her screw her face up and push and then give a huge sigh once he’d withdrawn his finger. He then told us both he’d not seen much blood on the vaginal exam and her rectal exam was normal and that he’d write to her GP and we were free to go.
My girlfriend was very upset by the rectal exam as she said it felt like he literally rammed his finger up there with no warning. She also felt it went on far too long and that he should have stopped when she asked him. I asked her if she wanted to make a complaint but she said it wasn’t worth it.
We split up not long after that, so unfortunately I never went with her to the follow up appointment or found out what was the cause of her ailment.
Over years, I’ve attended many medical exams, but that one has always stuck in my mind.
Thanks for reading.