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Gastroscopy: nowhere near as bad as I was expecting

Posted , 5 users are following.

david05966
david05966

Hello, 

Having been helped by reading comments on here prior to my gastroscopy today, I felt I should add my contribution.

As a background, I don't like hospitals or the thought of any medical procedures at all, however my heartburn was affecting me every day and I needed to bite the bullet.

All nurses and the doctor were lovely and calm and friendly. After my assessment I was taken into the room, met the doctor and was administered the throat spray. I thought it was similar to the chloroseptic spray used for sore throats but much stronger and fast acting. I then lay on my side and the scooe was placed in my mouth and Teheran doctor said I would feel it on my to the, which I think I did, just. I don't remember if the doctor asked me to swallow or not but it passed painlessly down my throat. I was able to breathe normally and swallowed a few times but throughout soneone was auctioning to remove excess saliva.

I had about 7 or 8 biopsies taken and only vaguely felt a couple of them but compared to the pain of heartburn they were nothing, not even a twinge. I did feel a couple of times that I wanted the tube out of my mouth soon, but I just closed my eyes and breathed deeply and it wasn't a problem.

i had no after effects at all, not even a mildly sore throat, and have ben eating and drinking normally since an hour after the procedure started.

if I can do without sedation, anyone can. Please don't read all the scare stories on the internet. If you buy a fridge from Amazon, the people who will leave comments will be those who are not happy or who are delighted with the product, Not many people will bother to leave a neutral comment.

Be brave for 5 or 10 minutes and you will see that it's not worth worrying too much about! Everyone is on your side.

3 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • AmandaFA
    AmandaFA david05966

    Posted

    Hi David,

    I had my gastroscopy on Saturday, it went very well as I had it done private and they put me to sleep for it so no problems for me.  They said that it was all clear.  However, I have an appointment with my Gastro consultant at the private hospital next Wednesday so hope to find out more then and get to the bottom of my problem!

    Thanks,

    Amanda.

     

  • Magicmum
    Magicmum david05966

    Posted

    I have managed to have 4 children with only gas and air, had a double fracture of my leg without any pain relief for hours ( I could hear the bones rattling) so I would describe myself as fairly brave. However, I have never felt as scared of anything as I have with this procedure. I opted for just the spray as I was told that even when you're sedated you're still aware. I quite fancied the reward of a glass of wine too. I gagged twice whilst the camera was being moved- both going down and coming back up. It was the worst thing I have ever had medically! I think this is less to do with pain and more to do with the fact that I felt like I was going to choke to death! Maybe we have different experiences as our gullets are different sizes or just that we have different fears! I know people do vary with their views, just thought I'd say for me it was really really bad!
  • david05966
    david05966

    Posted

    It is good to hear that so many people are re getting through their gastroscopies as comfortably as possible.

    magicmum, I empathise with you fully. Sorry you had a bad experience. I agree that people's individual response to pain varies enormously. I couldn't even think of going through what you have been through in terms of pain. 

    I had a second gastroscopy today and was much more relaxed than before: same hospital, same team, same procedure. Everyone was beyond lovely.

    However, this time I gagged quite a lot during the procedure. It made my eyes water; I felt a bit uneasy/embarrassed; it was slightly uncomfortable but I had no control over it. But I also noticed that after the slight panic of the gagging my breathing was in no way compromised, I was in no danger. The team had seen it all before and the nurse reassured me throughout with her and on my head and reassuring words.

    So. If I can can have one fine and one not so fine experience, maybe people who have had an initial bad experience will have a good one next time.

    What I would like to emphasise is that when I was gagging, yes, it felt horrible, but you have at least 3 highly trained medical practitioners giving you one on one care, and you couldn't possibly be in a better place. But the gagging, although it feels unpleasant isn't actually dangerous, it's just your body doing its job. You are being fully monitored all the time.

    i will now probably have to have regular gastroscopies and this experience hasn't scared me off.  Be strong, and if your first experience of a gastroscopy is not ideal then the next may well be fine.

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