Dead right, there is a myth being pushed about that it is painless, no idea why it is being perpetuated, as it most certainly is NOT. Yes you need to get stuff checked out, but pretending it might not be painful is just like the fairy tales we tell to kids - those never did me any good either. It's not so bad an experience you should be put off, but there is a fair chace it is going to hurt a good bit. Just take it very seriously and make all precauaitons to help, such as drinking a LOT and make sure the person doing it isn't a total idiot!
OK, some will find it harder than others, like every suituation, but those with prostatic enlargement (including ME!) seem likely to find it worse, as common sense would imply, the pee has a job getting out the tiny gap so naturally anything else will find it harder than normal to get through too.
I never got an infection, naturally those who do will have a worse experience too.
Just had a second cystoscopy yesterday (yes, NHS DO work on Sundays already!), and I now know for certain that it is all about TECHNIQUE and time taken too - still not nice at all, but compared to the first time, it was almost a pleasure (just kidding!), and just plain nasty instead of a truly awful experience like the first time when it was carried out by an early 20s F1 that also took forever. This time it was a mid-40s Consultant who didn't messs around, and that makes SUCH a difference!
Either time there was not nearly enough time left to allow the local anaesthetic to work, so it didn't have ANY effect until some time after (and the anaesthetic gel can be painful in it's own right, it stings pretty bad, but nothing compared to the stinging in the following days!)
The shorter time taken also helped as the pressure build up the first time was quite distressing, this time, that part was just uncomfortable.
Afterwards - Yesterday, once the anaesthetic gel had lost it's (after) effect the stinging on urination got a lot worse, bit it is helped by drinking copious amounts so it flushes out and stings less, but it's still pretty sore and still stingin every time, and seeing it makes the urge to pee pretty frequent, this is a LOT of times more than usual! This time no blood visible, the first time a good bit for a few days, so I am hopeful it means things will settle down sooner there being less apparent damage.
Sex? Forget it.
It was weeks before I dared try, and about 6 weeks before it wasn't painful on ejaculating, the first 5 or 6 times were not nice, and something like aversion therapy! It doesn't half put you off the idea. Hopeful it will not be so long this time, as it fells there is undoubtedly less damage going on.
Having also had a full scale general anaesthetic Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy procedure before, in itself a much more invasive job, but the only real difference in the experience was, with that there was a lot more blood, and no pain during that process (as I was out cold then), but it did take just about as long to get back to being "right" again.
Now my next job is Lithotripsy... another experience I haven't had that for some reason some people pretend is painless, but my own personal contacts tell me is anything BUT, and seeing that almost everyone gets at least a large haematoma around the kidney, passes shards of broken stones which scratch the linings of the urinary system and bleed profusely after, I am inclined to bleive them - it seems pretty unlikely it isn't painful either!
^