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Posted 7/7/2015 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Sharon. I spend 100% of my time worrying about being sick though. It doesn't matter if it happens, I'm afraid of it! But someone else on here told me just to breath slowly and it will help with the gag reflex
Posted 7/9/2015 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
Gee, jennie - If you're going to barf, just let it rip! I always feel better afterwards, and people in the medical profession are accustomed to dealing with nervous, barfy people.

Since I've had Giant Paraesophogeal Hernia Repair (and some sort of fundoplication) I am a bit leery of vomiting. Don't want to break any stitches. But you've not had any repairs yet, so it should be ok to clear your nausea by vomiting.

I found the testing interesting, and tolerable. Didn't have everything some Folks have posted about, but enough to satisfy my Thoracic Surgeon that I wouldn't die on his Watch. The Technicians are all very kind and reassuring when doing the various tests. So not to worry, you'll do fine. Now, stop worrying! Please....

Best, Fresh Greens
Posted 7/9/2015 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Fresh Greens - this is a debilitating phobia of vomit - saying 'gee Jennie - if you're going to barf, just let it rip!' is insensitive. I have emetophobia - look it up. It's not just disliking being sick. It has consumed my life for over 15 years and is on par with OCD. You wouldn't tell someone who was depressed to just get over it now would you. I bet if someone on here was saying they were afraid the doctors would find cancer you wouldn't say 'gee, if your going to die of cancer, then just die!' I am not saying my phobia is anywhere near as bad as having cancer, just making my point
Posted 8/3/2015 11:16 AM (GMT 0)
Well done Paula. It is all over with now. I am having the Bravo PH test in September. I am having that done privately so I don't have the have the tube down my nose. I will have a endoscopy where they attach a capsule to your stomach and you have it tested over 48 hours. I'm not sure when I am having the manometry yet. What was bad about it?

I'm dreading that and also coming off my meds (80mg nexium!) for two weeks before it and then probably two weeks again for the manometry
Posted 8/4/2015 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Janeway71 and Jennielouises it sounds like we are all at the same point in the timeline. I'm booked in for manometry and 24hr ph testing this weekend. I had my gastroscopy done last week and I was petrified, but they did twilight sedation so I can only remember part of it. However, even before reading this thread, I was getting terrified of these tests but now that I know its made people vomit that makes me more anxious :S. Does anyone know how common that is?

I hope you two get your surgery dates soon. This has been going for a year now (initially diagnosed as torn rib cartilage can you believe it?) so I totally feel your pain, its awful feeling like this all the time, and this prep period off my meds is just hell.
Posted 8/4/2015 2:30 AM (GMT 0)

jennielouises said...
Thanks Sharon. I spend 100% of my time worrying about being sick though. It doesn't matter if it happens, I'm afraid of it! But someone else on here told me just to breath slowly and it will help with the gag reflex

When you're doing the slow breathing make sure you breathe through your diaphragm, so it should be your abdomen which expands when you inhale rather than your chest. If you're not used to it it feels a bit weird but its a great way to help calm down especially if you are anxious and breathing shallowly.
Posted 8/6/2015 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
I assure you none of the tests are that bad. The only one I wasn't having a fun time with was getting the PH study set up. Just let it happen and you will be okay. If I give you details I'll assume you'll be like me and stress out about it. So I'll do you a favor and not :) Seriously though. None really all that bad.
Posted 8/8/2015 7:58 AM (GMT 0)
Oh I stressed out about it anyway. The manometry test obviously wasn't a walk in the park but it also wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought, I burped a lot, but very little gagging and the deep breathing helped a lot when I had to control my swallowing. The worst part of it was having the tube put in, but I should note I have a very small nose, he couldn't get the probe through the first nostril he tried, and the other side took a lot of force to get through which I'm not gonna lie, it hurt, but once it was through it was fine.

The pH test on the other hand, well I am 9 hours in, and quite frankly surprised I haven't ripped the darn thing out yet. Pretty much word for word what Janeway71 said about hers, lots of swallowing and gagging. It hasn't been helped by the fact that one of my symptoms is throat swelling, so now I've irritated everything up I'm gagging every few mins, so I can't WAIT for this to be over.

The good thing about the Bravo test is you wont have to worry about the gagging since it wont be in a place to set off your gag reflex, so that makes it easier with your phobia jennielouises. As for the manometry, honestly its not that bad and doesn't last long, also you will be spending most of your time swallowing and the water you get given helps the probe go down smoothly. I wish you the best of luck with it.
Posted 8/9/2015 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Paula - I'm glad to see you are still moving forward towards your goal of health resolution. It's been a while; what testing is coming up next for you?

The manometry sounds challenging. I didn't experience that one.

Endoscopy is done here with full sedation, takes longer for the sed to wear off than to do the procedure. I will be having that done again in October, to make sure everything is as the surgeon left it. Maybe they will only give me a 'twilight' dose this next time. It would be interesting to watch the monitor while the test is being done!

Onward! Fresh Greens
Posted 8/10/2015 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck at your appointment. My son has just had nissen 360 on Friday and is now back home recovering. We live in Cheshire.
Posted 8/10/2015 11:41 PM (GMT 0)

fresh greens said...

Endoscopy is done here with full sedation, takes longer for the sed to wear off than to do the procedure. I will be having that done again in October, to make sure everything is as the surgeon left it. Maybe they will only give me a 'twilight' dose this next time. It would be interesting to watch the monitor while the test is being done!

Onward! Fresh Greens

I give twilight sedation a thumbs up, I had mine done like that and it was great, I did have to hang round the hospital for a few hours but from the time I was taken in to get it done, til the time the sedation wore off was under an hour. They still advise you don't drive, use heavy machinery, drink etc. which was disappointing since I intended to do all three of those that afternoon :P jks, but you're not all foggy and dopey. Unfortunately if you are wanting to watch the monitor you might be out of luck because some people don't remember anything after twilight sedation. I can remember them going through my stomach and duodenum, and then taking the biopsies, can't remember them putting the scope in or taking it out though.
Posted 5/10/2016 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
Cariad 12000 did you get your fundoplication reversed?
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