Gastroscopy

Hi Paula, it's nothing to be afraid of. You have the option to be sedated. I had a gastroscope recently. I opted for sedation on the advice from friends. The nurse fitted a cannula and I heard her say, he is for sedation. I was aware of someone touching the cannula and the next thing I'm waking up in a recovery cubical. Absolutely brilliant. No sore throat nothing. If they had said we haven't done anything I would have believed them. They told me that I had a hiatus hernia and some gastritis. This explained a lot of my symptoms.

Go for it, you need to know what's going on. Like I said, with sedation, you will not know anything about the procedure.

Best of luck

Obviously a Gastroscopy isn't pleasant but seriously I've had loads of um, they really aren't that bad, the scope isn't as thick as you think (like only as thick as your little finger), just ask for loads of the throat spray and an extra minute or two for it to take effect

I had 3 and its not pleasant.

Luckily if you just want to get a test to prove if you are refluxing, there is a new oral saliva test called PEPTEST in the UK by post. I use it to see if my meds are working.

The more pepsin there is in your saliva the more you are refluxing. There should be none.

In terms of using a camera to view the oesophagus the restech probe is tiny and painless.

The gastroscopy is about 10 mm thick and is used mainly for biopsy to test for Barratts

Best Regards

JPT

Hi Paula,

I've had an endoscopy with sedation and spray at the back of my throat - not for reflux, but another problem. To be honest, the sedation I've had doesn't seem to affect me greatly, which is probably me - I feel wide awake, but totally relaxed. However, I didn't feel a thing and it was all over very quickly. The staff were brilliant and so reassuring. I was really worried about it beforehand, much like yourself, and couldn't believe that it went so well. The spray completely numbs your throat, so you don't gag and the scope just slips down easily. I agree that it's a good test to have to find out exactly what is going on and so you can have the correct medication. I hope it goes well for you.

Hi Paula

I've had it with sedation (painless but you are still awake, but relaxed) and without (slight chest infection and have COPD). Although that wasn't so pleasant, still nothing to worry about. This was quite a few years ago and nowadays they have different drugs to minimise gag reaction to make it as comfortable as possible. I agree with Gallee, it's best to have it with sedation and to find out exactly what is going on.

Regards, Val.

Hi, thanks everyone

feel a little better about it now and will go back to the doctors sometime this week. I can't get out of it as i'm only drinking water and decaff tea, no tomatoes, cheese chocolate, nothing high in fat , no alcohol, it just seems to happen all the time and it's only the throat bit i can't handle ,

thanks Paula x

What is Barratts

Hi Paula Barratts Oesophagus is a change in the cells which become more prone to developing cancer.

The risk is quite low though.

The oesophagus can handle some acid but if it is constant the cells change to something similar to those inside the stomach.

A gastroscopy will allow a biopsy tool to take a sample and rule this out.

Regards JPT

Regards

I had an endoscopy without sedation, I would recommend sedation as it wasn't nice. I gagged. I felt as if I wasgoing to choke. The outcome was I have Barrett's Oesophagus and a hiatus hernia. I've had constant indigestion/heartburn for 40 years, it took a doctor that long to investigate...no wonder I have Barrett's! I don't want to keep taking antacids as this means your food isn't digested properly and you end up with vitamin deficiencies. So am waiting to see if they will give me the operation to fix the hiatus hernia, next step is a barium swallow (not barium meal) Anyone know about all this?

Try not to stress too much, it is a routine procedure and so many people have gotten through it. I am sure you will be no exception! Sometimes the thought of doing it is much worse than actually having it done. As other people have pointed out you may be able to get a spray on the back of your throat to numb the area. And if this still doesn't help then there is always the possibility of sedation.

If I was you I would try to get through it without sedation and if you need it then there is always that option further down the line.

Good luck!

Chrisw10, it is a barium swallow, I've had the endoscopy. The barium swallow was a coddle, wasn't worried about it, I meant does anyone know about the whole procedure leading to the operation and when they decide you can have the operation, I really want it as a solution instead of taking drugs...which is the beginning of the end I believe. So I was wondering if there are people who have had the op and why and if they asked for it or it was recommended and offered! But thanks for taking the time to reply Chrisw10 anyway.