Endoscopy - feeling scared

[sammlc]

Hi, I joined this forum to see if others had experienced similar symptoms to me.

4 weeks ago I started to have shooting pains in my stomach, heartburn, indigestion and pressure in my chest (never had heartburn before really). I was given 4 weeks of 20mg Omeprazole to no avail. Then pains down right abdomen. The checkup revealed CRP of 120 and fluid on pelvis, and they removed my appendix.

Despite this, I still have the symptoms above which haven't gotten better. I have a endoscopy on Wednesday, which I'm scared about.I just have no idea what to expect and what the outcome may be.

Does anyone have any advice please?

thanks so much, Sam

[LauraMk30]

Hi sammic,

I can relate to your fearfulness. I won't go into my endoscopy stories as everyone copes with it differently. Tuesday the 5th September just gone I had a Gastroscopy under General Anaesthetic. My family paid private. As i have had 2 failed attempts on the NHS.

I've heard a lot of stories about people coping well under sedation as well as the throat spray. I wish I was one of the lucky ones but I'm not.

Are you having the throat spray & sedation or just one or the other ?

I would recommend both. Neither agreed with me. I needed to be put to sleep to tolerate it. the sedation had the reverse effect. Instead of making me feel relaxed I was wide awake & fighting. The other ladies in recovery breezed through it & couldn't recall much of the procedure . & I was like huh how is that possible!

I'm timid & placid by nature but I get very anxious over anything going down my throat, I struggle with excessive GERD, & I'm unable to eat solids at the moment. As swallowing is extremely difficult, Food hurts as soon as it's digesting so I'm barely getting by on just liquids. I needed the procedure so I tried my very best but failed twice.

I'm still recovering from the General Anaesthetic, & the procedure itself as they took some Biopsies. It's only day 3 but I'm so glad it's over! & just waiting for results.

My only advice is Try & refrain from reading the horror stories online, I did that prior to going in, which made my anxiety levels go through the roof. which didn't help, & please explain to them how nervous & scared you are, just emphasise your concerns & fears & hopefully they will make you feel as comfortable as possible.

I was lucky to have mine under General Anaesthetic, & I'm very grateful to my loved ones for finding me a great gastroenterologist who accepted the fact that a GA was the only way to proceed with the scope. If you do find it difficult you can always ask for a GA.

Take care & please let me know how you get on x

[sammlc in reply to LauraMk30]

hi Laura,

Thanks for your reply - so kind. I was planning on asking for both sedation and spray but one hesitation on the sedation is that I want to know what the doctor is seeing as he sees it.

I too am struggling with any food at the moment. Just want the results fast so I can know what it is and how to deal with it - I think its the anticipation and waiting thats making things worse!!

I hope you're recovering ok, and good luck with the results! I will post an update after the procedure on Wednesday! gulp!

x

[LauraMk30 in reply to sammlc]

Thanks for getting to back to me, I haven't posted on this forum yet, just been floating through trying to find a place to land.

They will explain what they find during the procedure. Sedation works differently for everyone, & I am sure they will do there best to explain their findings to you during & after. They give you a documentation of their findings anyway so you can take it home, & a copy for your GP. So either way you'd be well informed.

It's always good to take someone with you, as you will need some one to look after you for 24 hours.

The effect of the sedation for me was really strange. I think it was given to late & I didn't get the full effect until I was on the train journey home!

I'm glad my partner was with me as I was rather docile😆

I think due to fighting through the procedure from start to finish, my body was in panic mode so I don't think it could take full effect anyway. I asked for a higher dose as my previous scope had to be abandoned, & the one before my GA was the same. But I was given a standard which at the time wasn't appreciated due to my high anxiety & a little bit more wouldn't of hurt & I probably would of been able to lie through it instead of being like Ragan from the movie The Exorcist, The comment from endoscopist was as follows " unfortunately Laura couldn't tolerate the intubation & constantly kept pulling the tube out, we tried 6+ plus times to proceed but she struggled immensely , we had to abandon the procedure for the safety of the patient & for the staff."

On a positive note :

The journey back home & settling back in was the best entertainment for my family, My dad asked me to put his dinner in the oven to keep it hot. Somehow I managed to put his dinner in the microwave for 30 mins & cremated it. 😆

My mother was a little annoyed 😊 & said to my dad that it was a silly thing to ask as I was speaking gobbledegook, & could of burnt the house down without knowing. Plus it took her all day too cook the lamb roast.

So you said you've had these symptoms for 4 weeks? After removal of your appendix. Ouch Hun that must of been so painful for you🌹🙏🏼

I really do hope your endoscopy goes well. If you ever want to talk or just vent please feel free to pm me. 😊

It's always good to talk & share.

Take care & keep in touch x

[kiddy]

Hi you must be feeling anxious especially as you have already been through an operation. Ask for sedation and throat spray some people breeze through it and don't know its being done. Did they put you on an antibiotic after op? Hopefully you will get some answers.

Good Luck

Debbie

[sammlc in reply to kiddy]

thanks Debbie. Yes, I'm still recovering from the op so thats definitely making me feel more apprehensive than I would otherwise!! Yes they gave me 3 days of penicillin after the op, which made me very nauseous.

x

[Hidden]

I also was really worried about my first endoscopy. The surgeon involved advised me to have sedation and this worked out absolutely fine for me. So I would recommend that, but I know that others may not have had such a good experience. Most of the time endoscopies rule things out rather than finding anything sinister but you will not be able to tell the result until you have had it, and there is no way round that.

It sounds like you may have reflux that is being caused by your stomach reacting to something. This could be a lot of things, but if, say, it was a stomach ulcer, these days they normally treat it by medication rather than surgery.

It would be really nice if we could know the result in advance without having to go through the procedure wouldn't it!

[sammlc in reply to Hidden]

thanks Alan for your reply. Thats right, I want to rule out things (and find out what it is), so that I'm not worrying so much. so Im in part looking forward to it in a way.

[Mick]

Its easy for us to say everything will be ok, but we are all different, in my case I opted for the throat spray mainly because afterward I could leave and drive home. My wife can`t drive and it was easier for me. Over the last 12 years up to 2012 all the endoscopes I had bar 1 were all with throat sprays. Try not to worry too much, the doctor should explain the procedure to you and help reassure you. If you have questions don`t be afraid to ask, the main thing to remember is that the endoscope will help to diagnose what the problem may be. Good luck and chin up.

[sammlc]

Thanks Mick. thats reassuring. Will the doctor talk you through what he's seeing as he does the procedure?

[Hidden in reply to sammlc]

I think that will vary from doctor to doctor and whether you have a sedative or not. When I came round after the sedative somebody told me the gist of what they had found, but one's memory is not at its best and there would normally be an appointment later (and an endoscopy report that will probably go to your GP)

[Chrissydrove]

Have sedation when you have the endoscopy. They should find out and tell you after you've had a rest what they have found out.

[Mikey2711]

Hi Sam, I had my first endoscopy, a couple of years ago without sedation, a little uncomfortable but ok. Since then I have had about a dozen or more one 2 years. I have both the spray and sedation, I must be lucky as i find the sedation a pleasant experience ,i don't remember a thing..no pain, discomfort or after effects whatever. Hopefully you will be the same.. Good luck and take care - Mike

[Nuxperience]

I had surgery (robotic Iver-Lewis) 2 1/2 yrs ago. Due to trouble healing I had feeding tube almost 3 mos. Eating always seems to be a gamble. Some days I can eat something I had no problem with others it comes right up. You learn to live with it.

Since my operation I have had about 8-10 endoscopy treatments dilating. The procedure really has no side effects. You never know when your throat will start closing.

good luck

[sammlc]

Just by way of follow up, I had the endoscopy without sedation - regret not having the sedation!