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Endoscopy in 2 days

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Posted 10/21/2014 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I have endoscopy scheduled in 2 days and I'm a bit worried and nervous about the whole thing and the risks. I'm afraid the doctor will go in there and mess something up. I don't really know what to expect. I'm mostly afraid of being put under (never been through anything like that before) and I hate the feeling of being drugged up :( It makes me panic

But then again I have it good compared to a full blown surgery. It sucks because the Dr. says it's my call if I want to do it or not, but they recommend it.

Sorry about the rant... This whole LPR thing takes your life over so much!! (psychologically) if you're not careful to keep it at bay.
Posted 10/22/2014 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
privateprime, i was feeling the EXACT same thing before my endoscopy at end of September. Worried about loss of control, anesthesia, EVERYTHING! I literally cried up until they gave me the anesthesia. And then...I was out!! And I don't remember anything, and it took 5 minutes, and I felt totally fine afterwards! They gave me propofol, which is general anesthesia. It's amazing (I think), because you wake up quickly (when they decide it's time), and there's no nausea, ill effects, etc. Well, I did have some nasal drip/congestion after, but otherwise, was fine.

Are you getting general anesthesia? I think that was the only way I'd do it, due to too much anxiety. Maybe it would help if you could tak to them beforehand? I know that the staff at my surgery center was amazing--they were so comforting, understanding, held my hand, etc. ;)

But don't worry--they won't mess anything up! They do tons of these all the time.
Posted 10/22/2014 6:45 AM (GMT 0)
electracat: Thanks for the reassurance and for sharing your experience. I'll be having anesthesia with propofol as well! It's reassuring to hear that it's comfortable, quick, and without bad after-effects! Now I just hope they don't find anything unexpected in there. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm young, and a strong athlete and I'll fight it whatever it is LPR/GERD or worse!

Wish you all the best.
Posted 10/22/2014 7:31 AM (GMT 0)
I been twice on endoscopy and it's fine. The doctor spray something on my mouth (anesthesia i think) so it doesn't hurt when the tube is inserted into the mouth down to esophagus. It's 3-5 mins operation , take some sample on stomach for H. pylori testing then done..
Posted 10/22/2014 8:30 AM (GMT 0)
Privateprime, just to clarify, armel most likely didn't have general anesthesia. You will be 'out' before they put tube in, and will need no numbing agents or anything. I would do it again in a flash (hopefully won't have to), this coming from someone who thought she would die of anxiety or worse. ;) Let us know what you find out! Best wishes for a lovely nap. :)
Posted 10/22/2014 9:45 AM (GMT 0)
Hi PrivatePrime.

To tell you truth I was just like you as scarred as hell and worried but as I had Throat Spray as banana flavour, so no pain I can get, as well I was given sedative as it makes you calm down but not sleep as my experience. I was seen on time of my appointment, a nurse came and took me to a room where she interviewed me of her questions, She will ask you if you took any medication as well, you need to sign as well because you asked them to do a throat spray and sedative. A GI Doctor will come to see you and put a needle in your right hand and inject you with a water first, its safe don't worry about it, you can also ask the doctor to take a little biopsy for to see if you have h.pylori, doctor will ask you that as well for your permission, its good thing. A nurse will come and take you to the Endoscopy room: What will happen now is that you will not lay down in the bed but sitting on it, your doctor will spray a banana flavour in your throat and you need to swallow it like 2 to 3 times and than she will put the sedative with needle in your hand and than you will lay down now on your left side, they will put a small thing in your mouth as to be safe to put long tube in your stomach. Listen you can swallow normally near your throat and you feel gas a little bit and you will burp a little, to tell you truth of the pain is only for 2 sec, you won't feel that pain either, a nurse will be with you and hold your hand as well, you are going to feel very good relaxation. When the Endoscopy is finished, they will take you straight to the recovery room, you are going to be there around 30mins: a nurse will ask you straight away if you want a tea or water with biscuits, I asked water its better for me was, and biscuits was so delicious. In 10 mins later you will get your report of your endoscopy but not for biopsy, that will take time,: in the report would say all is normal, if it doesn't say in the report of hernia hiatus it means you don't have it. To tell you truth when I was in the recovery, I said to myself that endoscopy was amazing, I want to do right now, it was so fun.

Listen to me, I am going to show you a trick, you think you can't open your mouth that long or swallow much? so what I want you to do at home is open your mouth atleast for 10 mins and you will see the results that you can do it and its so easy. My endoscopy took less than 5 mins.
Posted 10/22/2014 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you :) I'm still jittery but I think I am going in with a more positive attitude with all the encouragement. I'll be fasting tonight all the way to 4pm tomorrow so it's going to be an interesting/starving day!

I'm pretty sure I'll be having the same as Electra's with anesthesia (my pre procedure docs say "prop" for the sleep agent). I already did the blood test for H Pylori and it was negative so I'm not sure they'll need to do a biopsy for that since the blood test was negative.
Posted 10/22/2014 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
It is seriously such a breeze, and it'll help you get on your way for answers. I had it a couple of weeks ago and was really put at ease.

Don't worry!
Posted 10/22/2014 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
Hi PrivatePrime,

For h.pylori you need to do stool sample test, its better result for it, but it doesn't hurt to ask them to do a biopsy to be sure that you don't have h.pylori.
Posted 10/23/2014 5:42 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, PP, you will not be aware of anything. No banana flavored spray for you. ;) Take care, let us know how it goes (not that you'll remember it)!
Posted 10/24/2014 12:49 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks again for the pre-procedure encouragement guys.

For others who have never done anesthesia or endoscopy and stumble upon this thread, read the words of another formerly afraid/insanely-anxious guy: RELAX. It WIL BE OK! It's easier than you think! MUCH easier. :)

Just got home from the procedure. When the medicine kicks in it wasn't like lights out. It was about 10 seconds of realizing "oh, i'm losing consciousness, here it comes!"

You're all right, the staff are super nice and it makes it easier. Now that I've been through it, I don't think I'll ever be afraid of anesthesia again. It really is painless and easy and not the least bit uncomfortable.

As for the results: The Dr. said he didn't find anything suspicious. He took some biopsies to check for gluten intolerance and he said there was some minor inflammation in my stomach. Everything was pretty much normal!

Hopefully the biopsies will explain why I have this crappy sore throat, bloating etc. He suspects that anxiety is a great contributor. Anyway, I'll be medicating myself with probiotics and if I find a solution I'll share it here as it may benefit others.

Cheers.
Posted 10/24/2014 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
Yea! Glad it was so easy.

Interesting that he tested for gluten intolerance. I didn't know they could do that...

Please let us know what he finds, if anything!

Now if only I could feel ok about the other tests I might have to do...;)
Posted 10/24/2014 1:27 AM (GMT 0)

electracat said...
Yea! Glad it was so easy.

Interesting that he tested for gluten intolerance. I didn't know they could do that...

Please let us know what he finds, if anything!

Now if only I could feel ok about the other tests I might have to do...;)

Thank you. Yea the cancer scare is over but getting rid of the symptoms or managing them is still a tall order and long battle.

I don't know what I can say to make you feel better about the other tests you're gonna do. I personally have no fear of pain. I've had plenty of hardships in life and fighting through them has always involved pain and suffering but with good results. So I've associated pain with "hard work" + "being on the path to finding a solution" which all ring positive to me. I was mainly afraid of losing consciousness in anesthesia and that's a fear i've now happily conquered. I hope your tests go well and never forget that the "bad outcomes" are also the very _rare_ outcomes! which leaves the good things always as the much more likely option :)
Posted 10/24/2014 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, PP.

That's an inspiring way of looking at things. I've also realized that things that seem scary are (usually) not as scary as we think; also, humans can adapt to almost anything. So, I will try to remain optimistic.

Do you have GERD or LPR, and how are you managing your symptoms? I thought I was feeling better yesterday, but today has been awful--trouble breathing, lots of throat clearing, coughing, fatigue...Oy vey. I know when I'm tired it's worse...
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