I'm too scared of endoscopy side effects, should I still do it ?

First of all,Im proud of you,you did it! Neither my husband or my son had any pain or hoarsness after the procedure i know when I had my colonoscopy they monitored my blood pressure continously.

Thank you very much! I am indeed very happy that I was able to face this horrible fear I had and also managed to stay calm throughout the procedure. Though I wish the doctor would've talked more with me before and during the procedure and there were no nuses around me either.

I heard many people say that they had a sore throat for a couple days so I'm giving myself the whole rest of the week to completely recover!

Once again, thanks for your support, it helped a lot! :D

My son said they had like 5 people in the room with him.

Great to hear it was not so bad for you. I am very proud of you lavender blue😊

You mentioned that your heart rate wasn't monitored how about oxygen?

That seemed odd as well as no nurses around?

My daughter had a scope done about 2 years ago by the same dr I have to confirm her celiac.

I know you will have a sore throat for a few days my daughter was told to take zinc lozenges.

You mentioned you had to wait for the anesthesia to wear off.... I thought you didn't have any? I guess I don't think of the spray as anesthesia.

I don't like the thought of gagging or sensations so I am still going to get the sedation 😊

Keep us informed of how your doing , yes I know that if they find something they give you meds and have to redo the test.

I have had a chronic cough so I don't want to feel the urge or just cough a lot in the mins he is doing it!

Robin

Yes, they didn't monitor anything and I found it very strange but maybe they only do that for the people who go with the general anesthesia ? 

As for the nurses, there were actually 2 of them (a man who was checking the monitors and a woman who sprayed my throat with the local anesthesia) but after that I didn't see them again. Maybe they were still in the room but I know for sure that they were not around me.

It's the doctor who did everything including helping me put on the thing that keeps your mouth wide open, he also helped me position myself correctly on my left side before he started the procedure.

I think sedation is a good option because I believe it will allow the doctor to take his time which will prevent him from irritating you. I feel like the doctors tend to rush the procedure for the people who only choose the throat spray wihout any sedation. I also remember the doctor telling me to breathe because at one point I felt like I was choking on the acid that came up from my stomach.

But the gagging is tolerable, the worst thing when you do it without any sedation is feeling the endoscope move inside your stomach and intestin but it's over so quick that you don't have time to think too much about it.

Please let me know how it goes when you do it! I'm sure everyting will be fine and you'll feel relieved that you finally did it!

Hi

I agree why be monitored if you have no sedation. I was told by my GI I can do either way and most people act like they have a hair ball lol Some can't tolerate it and try to pull it out or want it out. He said that was fine he would take it out if I want. He told me he would be there to talk me through it and the nurses too . But saying this he said it takes 8-11 mins from start to finish . He usually does biopsies if some patients have had severe symptoms and their symptoms have subsided where he doesn't see anything. This way he can send tissue to lab to find out what's up. He said it's the biopsy that some can't tolerate.

When you get the sleepy injection you are still aware or can hear things but don't remember what's going on . Yes you are alert and might still feel a bit tired for the next day but that's it. I don't need to be completely alert I don't work right now and I have plenty help in my household to be taken care of. If I feel a reaction the hospital is 5 mins away .

I don't suspect any problems... plus I have had every test and scan looking for a diagnosis. This is the last thing ... I waited so long cause all my tests came back normal. I just had a nuclear stress test a month ago and 2 weeks ago a echocardiogram both to see if your heart is in good shape and functional. Mine was very good. I had a PFT for the lungs to see if that was the problem again my score was 99% which the dr said was perfect especially for my age 50's...,

The only thing they did see was when I had an ultrasound they found a non cancerous ovarian cyst that was the size of a plum.

This could be the result of my nausea but not the chronic coughing. I am just waiting for an appointment to see an obgyn.

I have decided since I am healthy I will get the sedation. Yes I know I will have a sore throat for a few days.... the least of my worries

I was told that from start of prepping and recovery expect to be at the hospital between 1-1.5 hrs that's not long to me.

You said that you had heaviness in your chest how is this today.... didn't they tell you anything to look out for or give you post op instructions? Are you in the UK?

Well lavender blue I hope you feel better I will let you know how mine went Mar 1 st. Hope you are feeling better today send me a quick post on how your feeling 😉

Robin

Thanks for your reply robin! 

Today I went to see my doctor (not the one who did the endoscopy) and I showed her the results but she didn't explain them to me. I also told her that I had been feeling a pain in my back and also a little pain near my stomach and I asked her if this could have been caused by the endoscopy. She said she had no way to know it and that if I wanted answers I had to go and see the doctor who did the procedure.

The thing is, I'm not sure he'll admit that the endoscopy could have irritated something inside me. But I'm thinking about going to see him at least to just discuss the results as he didn't explain anything to me after the procedure.

I no longer have a sore throat and I can eat normally but I sometimes feel little bits of pain in my back and between my ribs as well as a little pain near my stomach where the intestin is. Of course, being a very anxious person I have started to think that it might be a bad side effect such as perforation but if that was the case I guess I would have fever and the pain would be terrible but it is not the case at all. It's most likely just an irritation and I'm hoping it will disappear in a few days.

My guess is that because I chose to do the procedure without sedation I gagged a lot during the procedure and the doctor rushed it a little. It's a good thing you'll be doing it under sedation, it should allow your doctor to take his time and be gentle with you.

 

Hi Lavender Blue

I can't believe your GI hasn't had you in the office for a verbal consult , yet you said there were no biopsy done.

Do you know why there wasn't , I have heard and read from my GI that usually they do biopsies when people have had stomach issues. Just a precaution to see what they don't visually see.

So maybe the fact you had none is why your not having a consult?

Saying this they know you are anxious so you would think he/ she would have you come back to calm your mind.

Well that is what they do here from what I hear from people or family that have had the scope.

Yes one of the draw backs of a scope is perforation , what my GI told me is it is rare but more likely if it were to happen in non sedation. Only for the reason you do gag and the body can move the scope. But he said it's rare but could happen. He also told me that if they perforate they know this and they repair right away. The dr should have told you this when they told you what they saw?

Lavender I would imagine your feeling things due to a foreign object being in you even though it was for a short time.

I would definitely make an appointment to see the dr to do a follow up check up.

It's too bad your GP could not shed some light for you. Sometimes the medical field has to watch what they advise on.

I am very fortunate I gave a great GP and GI that answer my concerns. I actually have a follow up appointment set up two weeks after my scope.

I have decided I will take the sedation do things can be done with ease. I trust all will be fine with the sedation, I know they give very little and for a short time.

Do if I were you I would get some answers to your concerns , it will probably be nothing and you can relax and the pain will subside.

Now you said you will have another one done , maybe do the sedation route

if you feel any significant pain you should report it.  call the doctor, they have a vested interest because they can be liable.

having said that, I felt banged up iniside for a few days afterward.  if your discomfort is mild I wouldn't worry.  About they only thing they can really mess up is tearing something, which will produce a lot of pain.  I ate a lot of kefir after my procedure.  I ferment my own and its choc fully of healthy bugs.

Great advise for Lavendar Blue they need to comunicate with their dr that did the procedure.

You said you had an endocope I wondered if you had it done with no sedation and just the throat numbing or did you do it with sedation?

Curious due to from what I have heard more people feel after effects that go away when then do it under no sedation verses having it done in a more calming way being sedated.

I am getting one done that I have waited for 15 months now , although my symptoms are has severe now. I will still do it to see if there is problem that occured during my illness. I have decided to do it with sedation

Thx

Robin

I have heard many people say that their doctor is kind and does everything he or she can to comfort and reassure their patients. It's not the case at all with my doctors. The doctor who did the procedure didn't explain to me how it would go or what he was going to do, and my previous appointments with him were very short. I asked him some questions such as if there were side effects for the endoscopy and he simply kept telling me that there were none. I asked him If I could do a barium test instead but he said that they don't do it anymore and that only an endoscopy could show what I had. 

And when I ask more questions they say I am too anxious and that I should just stop worrying and thinking about it. When I saw my GP today and I asked her to explain me what a hiatal hernia was and if it could become worse she simply read out loud what the other doctor had written and told me that I shouldn't think too much about it. I've rarely met a doctor who took the time to explain everything to me and who took me seriously. She let me go back home without even examining me despite me telling her that I suffered from a pain in my back that I didn't have prior the procedure.

Maybe I'll try to find another one just in case but I don't feel too bad so I'm going to wait a few more days before going back to see him. As for the next endoscopy I think I will wait more than a month before going for another one just to let my body heal in case it irritated something inside me. I don't regret doing it though because otherwise I would've never known what I had! And it wasn't that uncomfortable even without sedation, I didn't move at all I just gagged a lot towards the end. Maybe I'll do it with a different doctor next time.

Concerning perfortation, how is it possible for it to happen days after? I though it could only happen during the procedure. How long after the procedure does it become safe to assume that there is no risk of complications? 

I am terribly sorry to hear how you have gotten comfort or lack of... where are you in the world?

Well here in Canada you can still get a barium swallow. In fact my GI had me scedulded for one in Dec /15. I thought I was coming up in Feb to have a scope I didn't want to do both for the swallow there are a lot of radiation rays with that test. It does things but the scope is 100% so I opted to wait. I had to reschedule the Feb scope to March due to other commitments.

I have worked with doctors in the past and know they are not taught bed side manners. But she knows you are anxious about things she needs to address everything to set your mind at ease. I too get anxious but my team says ask away . Did they not give you time to ask when you go in for the procedure?

As for the perforation what I was told is they can usually tell they did it and they repair the nick right away and tell you what happened and what may happen or to look for in the future.

They want to redo the procedure after you have taken the meds for at least 4-6 wks.

I would definitely ask for a follow up visit sooner then later, it sounds like it will eat away at you. It's always best to have reassurance if at all just that . I would be asking the GI dr not the GP .

Please try to relax and let it go be at peace that you know it's done and you are taking steps to rectify your your diagnoses.

Take Care of yourself

Robin

Thank you! I feel a lot better today, I think the pain is starting to disappear! And good luck with your appointment! I hope you'll come back here to tell us how it went though I'm sure everything will be fine!