I had a cystoscopy at the doctor's office.
The appointment started in a standard exam room. The doctor explained the procedure and why I was having it. I was given an antibiotic. A nurse took me from the exam room to the procedure room. She gave me a gown. She told me to take off my pants and underwear. She told me to put the gown on over my shirt to keep my shirt clean. After getting undressed I was to lie down on the exam table. She closed the current and left while I got undressed. The table had absorbent pads on it to absorb fluid. There was an IV bag of saline hanging on a hook. She told me that that was for the scope.
She knocked on the door and entered. She explained what she was going to do and told me to fold my arms on my chest and keep them there. This was to prevent me from contaminating my groin area that she was sanitizing. Since I was lying down on my back I couldn't see what she was doing, or later what the doctor was doing. She poured antiseptic on my groin and penis. She did this a couple of times. She also injected lidocaine jelly into my penis. It is a local antiseptic. She put a clip on the end of my penis so that the lidocaine did not leak out. None of this was uncomfortable. I am at the point where being exposed in this type of situation is not uncomfortable to me. She told me that she was leaving while the antiseptic dried and the lidocaine took effect. She reminded me not to touch anything.
After maybe 10 or more minutes they knocked at the door and the nurse and doctor came in. The doctor explained that I should breathe deeply to control any discomfort. The procedure took maybe 5 or 10 minutes. There were times it was uncomfortable but not too bad. When they removed the scope I felt some water running down.
After the cystoscope was removed, I had an Ultrasound exam where they inserted a probe into my anus. I rolled over on my side for the Ultrasound. After the cystoscopy this was no big deal.
When the exam was over the nurse gave me several warm wet wash clothes and a dry towel to clean up. I first went to the bathroom. I was warned that there would be some pain while urinating. The pain urinating was almost completely gone by the next day. I took the gown off that was over my shirt. I also took my shirt off so that it wouldn't get stained by the antiseptic that I was cleaning off. I cleaned up and got dressed. I think if I have to go through this again I would take my shirt off before the exam.
Overall, this was uncomfortable and as I said there was some pain for the next day while urinating. But the discomfort and pain was something I tolerated.
I went back to the exam room where the results were discussed.
<<update>>
From seeing other answers, there are men who do not have little pain or discomfort with a cystoscopy. I suspect mine was worse because I had an enlarged prostate. There were no results in My Chart. Just what the doctor told me afterwards.
Do not confuse this with other procedures that use a cystoscopy scope in the OR with sedation. I had Urolift and a laser PVP procedure. The scope is rigid, bigger diameter and with a tube for inserting other tools or includes a laser. I watched some videos. The doctor started inserting a dilator to push the tissue to make a bigger opening for the scope. With sedation you don’t feel anything until you wake up. Then there may be pain, and some pain peeing.
<<update>>
I had another cystoscopy at a different practice. It was a bit different. Like before, I was given an antibiotic pill with water. I was given the option to totally remove pants and underwear or to just pull them down. I took them off. This was a good idea because it made it easier to clean up. I brought a small clothes clip to hold me shirt out of the way. The table had a pad and a disposable sheet to cover up with. The nurse left the room for me to undress and get on the table and cover up. She pulled the drape over the door so that no one outside could see in when the door was opened.
she came back she explained what she was doing. She pulled out the shelf to support my legs. She pulled the sheet down, still covering my legs. She put another sheet over me with a hole for my penis to stick through. Then she cleaned my penis twice. She injected lidocaine into the opening of my penis. This did hurt somewhat as it was injected. She put a clip on it to hold the lidocaine in. She covered my up and left the room to get the doctor.
After a short wait the nurse retuned with the doctor. The sheet was removed and the doctor did the exam. There was some discomfort as he inserted the scope and pushed it through to the bladder. The whole exam took 2 or 3 minutes. This hurt a lot less than the first one. I had almost no pain urinating after the exam.