I'm very pleased to hear you had a smooth pain-free procedure, Birdy2020! Excellent! You clearly had an excellent team looking after you! What you are saying about your experience is how it should be for all women!
However, this is far from the case. We are all different and women don't need to have an underlying health condition to experience severe pain with this procedure. Research figures show that approximately 30% of women undergoing hysteroscopy in outpatients will experience considerable pain and it is barbaric to carry these out when women are shouting out with pain and fainting, as happens on a daily basis in the UK, Women are also being lied to by the hospital staff when told that the procedure definitely won't be painful, or will be the same as a smear test or maybe period "cramps". I see you took cocodamol and naproxen before your appointment. Most women are advised to take normal doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen which doesn't seem to touch the pain experienced by some.
Another factor relating to pain is the type of equipment used in the clinic and the skills of the people carrying out the procedure. The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) acknowledge that training, skills and equipment are all factors relating patients' acceptability of the procedure.
I was post-menopausal when I had this procedure, (not an underlying health condition), which the hospital were aware of. The pain I experienced was worse than childbirth, leaving me feeling traumatised and violated. Because of the pain I experienced, the procedure wasn't completed and I had to return for a further hysteroscopy and polyp removal under GA (thankfully I didn't have cancer). If anaesthetics (eg entonox (gas and air), or sedation as used for dentistry, spinal block) had been available in outpatients this probably wouldn't have been necessary. I also find I now have no trust in people carrying out further procedures on my body. I'm not alone with this and there is a risk that women will avoid future visits to hospitals and drs in detriment to their future health.
I now campaign to try and bring about change, so other women won't have the same experience, but will be treated with the dignity and respect afforded to patients undergoing other endoscopy procedures, i.e. being able to give fully informed consent and receive appropriate anaesthetic, if that is what the person would like, not necessarily GA as there are other options as mentioned above.
This is the current RCOG information for women undergoing hysteroscopy:https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/patient-leaflets/outpatient-hysteroscopy/
and the BSGE issued the following statement to its members: https://www.bsge.org.uk/news/bsge-statement-regarding-outpatient-hysteroscopy/
Best wishes