First time endoscopy, sedation or no sedation?

[eb91]

I have an upper endoscopy booked in for tomorrow afternoon and was wondering whether or not to have the sedation?

For anybody that has had the sedation I was wondering how long it takes to wear off, for example if I have it tomorrow afternoon will I feel ok to eat that night, and drowsy at work the next day? Or does the sedation generally wear off the same day as the endoscopy, meaning the next day you feel normal?

Thanks guys!

[jeanjeannie50]

The sedation takes 24hrs to wear off and you will need to have someone drive you home and stay with you during that time. You are also advised not to sign any legal documents during that period of recuperation. I'm a devout coward and always ask for lots. They once started after giving me just a little and I fought to stop them putting the probe down my throat.

Without the sedation I believe you can drive yourself home afterwards and carry on as normal.

[Poorlypatient]

I have had two endoscopes one with sedation and one without.If I had to have another I would go for without although I am an awful wimp.without sedation is completely painless as they will spray your throat and you can go home straightaway and be fully aware of what they are telling you.The effects of sedation wear off within a few hours from what I remember.

[Monkeypuzzler]

If you can have both spray and sedation I personally would have both but some NHS hospitals do one or the other so I would go with spray in that case. I had one endoscopy private with both spray and sedation but felt rough afterwards. My second endoscopy was at an NHS hospital and only gave a choice of spray or sedation not both so i opted for sedation but they took me straight in for endoscopy after administering and didn’t wait for sedation to work so it was useless and it was the worst experience of my life totally awake without a numbed throat. An hour after i was completely out of it sedated for rest of evening!

[Feaviour]

Have sedation. I was talked out of it by a nurse who was focused on getting patients off the ward quickly. It was a bad experience, as I totally lost control and in my panic at feeling of suffocation I fought against the whole experience.

[eb91]

thanks for the replies! For those that did have sedation, did you feel ok the next day? I have work the next day (only a boring desk job) and was wondering if I would be feeling the effects/super drowsy all the next day. thanks

[eb91]

For anyone interested I went with just the throat spray alone without sedation. Fair to say it was an unusual and not very pleasant experience at all, but worth it to be able to leave the hospital straight after!

[Astro59]

Hi. I had no sedation and found the whole experience terrible. I panicked and felt like I was drowning. Afterwards they told me I had a very strong gag reflex. So I suppose it depends on your personal circumstances. I now have to have another and this time will be opting for sedation.

[Viklou]

I've had no sedation and was fine for a Normal endoscopy. I asked the nurse her recommendation before I did the procedure. She was so lovely and told me exactly what to expect. No problem at all. I actually had more issues when I did have sedation for an endoscopic ultrasound. They needed to go further in for that but it was horrible. All I wanted to do was throw up afterwards. I felt awful for two days