Pelvic ultrasound/ovarian scan questions...

Jamie Davis17 said:So why go all the way to the hospital for an ultrasound? I mean, most gynecologists have ultrasound machines right there in their clinics. 🤷

My OBGYN at the clinic doesn't even have an ultrasound machine on-site, so she just sends me to the hospital every single time. Guess that's just how it goes.

Elizabeth Jackson64 said:I know you usually need a full bladder for a standard ultrasound, but does that go for this one too? And does anyone know if I can actually get this done in the afternoon, or am I stuck doing it first thing in the morning? :S

For a vaginal ultrasound, you need an empty bladder. So, don't go overboard with the water. You’ll probably need to pee right before the appointment, just like Amanda Stewart69 mentioned. 🙂

I don't know how things work at other hospitals, but at Mercury, they pretty much only do ultrasounds in the morning. I guess.

copperraven53 said:My local public clinic doesn't have an ultrasound machine on-site, so they always send me over to the hospital.

For a transvaginal ultrasound, you need an empty bladder. Don't drink too much water, or you'll end up needing to pee right before the exam, just like 🙂Taylor Smith3
mentioned.
I'm not sure how other hospitals handle it, but at Mercury, they usually do ultrasounds in the morning.

Thanks so much 🙂. I'm planning to head over to Vineyard tomorrow to sign up for my first appointment. Does anyone have experience with this? Can I show up around noon or shortly after to register? Or would 3:00 PM be better? I work every morning, so...

Man, that’s basically nothing.🙂
I actually had that done during my first checkup. You know, right after the standard one.😁
It was totally fine.

cosmicwolf27 said:Honestly, that’s nothing to worry about.🙂
I actually had one done during my very first checkup. Right after the standard exam.😁
It was totally fine.

🙂 thanks for the support!

It's not that I'm scared... routine health stuff and OBGYN visits are pretty normal for me, so it's not an issue, but still 😁

Hello.

My primary care physician handed me a referral for an ultrasound of my uterus and adnexa. I’ve already had one performed by my regular gynecologist, but she provided this specific referral because she wants a second opinion. She mentioned that I could schedule this at any hospital, excluding Mass General, and that we should meet in a week to review the findings. To be honest, I have my doubts that any facility will take me on as a walk-in or offer an immediate appointment just because I requested one. Where have you all gone for ultrasounds, and what kind of wait times should I realistically expect so I know where to start looking?

I’m currently a patient over at Holy Spirit. If you’re trying to get an appointment there, just give the Mayo Clinic a call at 01/3712-111. Honestly, unless your doctor gave you a specific recommendation or you have a particular specialist in mind, just ask them who has an opening when you call.

Just make sure you schedule it so your ultrasound falls somewhere between day 5 and day 10 of your cycle.

Elizabeth Price85 said:I am currently a patient at the Holy Spirit hospital system. If you are looking for an appointment there, you can just call the Mayo Clinic at 555-0199; provided your doctor hasn't already recommended a specific specialist and you don't have a particular preference, you might as well ask which provider has the earliest availability.

Just make sure you schedule the ultrasound to fall somewhere between day five and day ten of your cycle.

Haha, I actually don't have a regular cycle—I’ve only had one period in the last six months, which is exactly why I'm going in to figure out what is going on. 🙂

Thanks, by the way. 😉

I am looking for recommendations for an ultrasound at a clinic in Chicago where the wait times are short. Thank you. 😉

Ladies, I need some input here... how often do you guys actually head into the Mayo Clinic just for a routine ultrasound checkup? I’m not talking about when something feels wrong or you're specifically worried about a symptom—just a standard preventative scan. And when you tell them you want one, do they actually just get on with it? Or do they start giving you all this pushback and excuses, claiming you don't really need it if everything looked fine during the physical exam? 🙂
How do you even handle that? What do you say to your doctor when they try to talk you out of it?

Hey everyone! I'm 18 and have a quick question... When you go in for an ovarian ultrasound, can they actually tell if you've had sex or not? Honestly, I'm not really ready for that kind of exam yet, so it would mean the world to me if there was no way for them to see that I'm not a virgin. Thanks to anyone who gets where I'm coming from!

Kyle Castillo90 said:Hey everyone! I'm 18 and I have a question... During an ovarian ultrasound, can they tell if we've had sex or not? I'm really not ready for an exam yet, so it would mean a lot to me if it wouldn't show that I'm not a virgin. Thanks to anyone who can understand where I'm coming from!

Honestly, a doctor can tell just by looking at you externally. You don't even need an ultrasound for that... Do you even know what the hymen is? It’s just this thin piece of tissue at the vaginal opening (kind of like a rim). If a girl has "a lot" of it—meaning the opening is pretty tight—then any stretching or tearing is usually visible. And yeah, that first time can be more painful and involve some bleeding and all that. But for some girls, that membrane is "smaller," meaning the opening is wider, so if things are elastic enough, nothing even happens. Some girls aren't even born with much of one. You should really look into the basics of this stuff (especially regarding STIs, birth control, etc.) so you actually know what's going on.

Besides, why on earth are you worrying about what the doctor thinks? Their whole job is to maintain privacy, and whether or not you've been active is absolutely none of their business and certainly isn't being shared with anyone else...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/health-information...-about-the-hymen.html

Tiffany, if you've been sexually active, you really ought to be getting a Pap smear done at least once a year.

I honestly don't get why someone would hide their sexual history from their doctor—it just doesn't make sense.
The whole point of seeing a specialist at a place like the Mayo Clinic is to get help, and if you withhold information like that, how can they actually provide the care you need?

I’ve been ordered to get a color Doppler ultrasound because of a dermoid cyst. My referral just says "CD ultrasound," which isn't much help. I'm trying to figure out if they mean the standard abdominal scan or if it's going to be transvaginal. Honestly, I just want to know what I'm walking into—I've had more than enough transvaginal ultrasounds to last a lifetime. 😢

Hey there.

So, here’s the deal—I went to my OBGYN last week for a routine Pap smear and some swabs.
Since I’ve been dealing with this persistent ovarian cyst for a while now, they decided to run an ultrasound too, just to see how everything was looking.

The thing is, I had absolutely no clue at the time that I was already about two weeks pregnant (just confirmed it with a test today).

Does anyone know if that ultrasound could have actually done any damage to such a tiny embryo???

Like, is there some kind of radiation involved or something? I recently stumbled upon an article claiming that ultrasounds can mess with cell development or slow things down...

Maybe this is a bit of a silly question, but I figured I'd ask.
Thanks in advance, everyone.

cosmicsurfer17 said:Hey everyone.

So, I went to my doctor last week for a Pap smear and some swabs.
The doc also did an ultrasound because I've had this cyst on my ovary for a while and wanted to check on it.

I had absolutely no clue I was about 2 weeks pregnant at the time—just confirmed it today with a test!

Does anyone know if that ultrasound could have done anything bad to such a tiny embryo???

Like, is there radiation or something? I recently stumbled upon an article saying ultrasound might mess with cell development or slow it down...

Maybe this is a silly question, but whatever.
Thanks in advance!

I really don't think you have anything to worry about—first off, at two weeks, you're basically just dealing with fertilization, right? And besides, doctors do ultrasounds all the time in early pregnancy, especially if they suspect an ectopic pregnancy. I'm 10 weeks along now and I've already had about 5 ultrasounds due to fibroids and some spotting... I honestly don't think a doctor would risk it unless the benefits totally outweighed the risks.

redgardener5 said:Honestly, I don't think you have much to worry about. First off, at just two weeks, we're basically talking about fertilization—it’s all very early stages. Plus, if there’s any suspicion of an ectopic pregnancy during those first few weeks, doctors usually run an ultrasound right away just to be safe. I'm currently at 10 weeks, and I've already had about five ultrasounds because of some fibroids and spotting... I really don't think my doctor at the Mayo Clinic would just go around performing unnecessary scans if the risks outweighed the benefits.

Thanks, redgardener5.... 😉

Ultrasound is a completely safe, non-invasive way to get an assessment, and it’s hands down the gold standard for monitoring a pregnancy from day one. I think you might be confusing it with an X-ray. An ultrasound works by sending out high-frequency sound waves that bounce off objects to build an image. It’s basically the same principle bats use to navigate their surroundings.

Angela Wright said:Ultrasound is totally harmless—it’s non-invasive and honestly the gold standard for monitoring a pregnancy from day one. I think you might be confusing it with an X-ray. Ultrasounds work by sending out high-frequency sound waves that bounce off things to create an image. It's basically how bats navigate their surroundings, if you want to get technical.

Look, I know, I didn't mix them up. 😉
I’m not usually one to panic, really, but right now? Everything is terrifying. Out of all the things I could have thought about, my mind went straight to that one article—I think it was on the ACOG website—and now I'm just sitting here spiraling a little bit...

cosmicsurfer17 said:Look, I didn't get mixed up. 😉
I’m not usually one to spiral, but right now? I'm genuinely spooked. Out of everything, my mind went straight to that one article—I even found myself scrolling through those AARP pages, and honestly, it sent a chill down my spine...

I have no idea what specifically they were talking about, but the whole thing is pure nonsense—it's basically claiming we're being pumped full of oxygen by bats on a daily schedule. 🙄
Personally, those AARP types really get under my skin. I'd categorize them as part of a fundamentalist motherhood cult that morphed from what used to be a fairly decent, normal advocacy group into something much more extreme.

I was at the clinic for ultrasounds five different times during my 5-week mark because we were worried about an ectopic pregnancy—so basically, until we cleared that, I was going in every single day. Honestly, getting an ultrasound isn't going to hurt the baby. You can even pick up a handheld fetal doppler or a mini ultrasound machine online if you want to listen to the heartbeat from the comfort of your own home. Seriously, don't worry, the baby will be just fine...