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horrendous experience

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sazzy1965
sazzy1965

hi, went in for my gastroscopy yesterday. been suffering increasingly worsening digestive problems since i had my gall bladder removed nearly 4 years ago. had various non invasive tests nothing doing, so eventually was referred for this.

being a bit anxious i opted for sedation. started off with 2mg iv midazolam. bit fuzzy headed -ended up having the maximum dose of 5mg. being a midazolam \"virgin\" and being a nurse myself and seeing how knocked off 2.5mg - 5mg midazolam intramuscular makes my patients, i thought it would knock me for 6. not at all - just felt a bit woolly headed etc. to be honest i wasnt even as anxious as i thought i would be.

anyway start ramming the endoscope down. tried to swallow but couldnt stop violently retching - far worse than any bout of food poisoning or stomach bug. couldnt lie still,or keep my head on the pillow. eventually they had to stop it. agreed to try again, but was even worse. not sure if i even swallowed the thing, but it ended up with me trying to pull it out and them shouting at me. not as if i was doing it on purpose.

was wheeled back to recovery. extremely wide awake and remembering everything(midazolam is meant to be an amnaesiac). everybody else was being wheeled back asleep. just kept crying. only 1 nice member of staff, who spent time reassuring me that conscious sedation does not work for everyone and explaining the alternatives. could have got up straight away and gone home. even managed to go on the bus, even though they say no public transport.

was tired afterwards, felt like i hadnt slept for a week. today i keep on crying and eating, even though im supposed to be on a diet lol.

i may put in a letter of complaint. they knew i was a bit nervous as id asked for sedation, and they must have realised i wasnt properly sedated. the letter i recieved stated basically it was my fault the procedure hadnt worked, due to anxiety etc, whereas it was the violent retching that made me behave like that. basically felt like the worst abuse

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Didn't you have the numbing throat spray (with the sedation) :?: Sorry to hear you were feeling the scope to such a degree :?
  • sazzy1965
    sazzy1965

    Posted

    no i didnt have the spray, might have been ok if i had. although i was anxious, it was the violent retching that made it intolerable. i have written a letter to the hospital. never complained before. maybe if they stopped treating their patients like an automated assembly line and more like humans the experience would not have been so traumatic.not a word to see if i was ok, just bundled out the room and ignored -next. sad sad sad
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    That's not good, no wonder you were flailing around like a fish out of water :?
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Oh I forgot to say, contact the hospitals PALS service to discuss your complaint, a letter won't get anywhere :wink:
  • yiyayiya
    yiyayiya

    Posted

    This is one of the prime reasons that I have never had and will never have any form of invasive treatment / procedure. I will take my chances. A lot of treatments lead to more problems than they solve.
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