had endoscopy today - AWFUL! Found inflammation

[joannap]

I had my endoscopy this morning and it was horrible! I had one 3 yrs ago and although not a nice procedure- it was copeable with but today's felt much worse - perhaps because they did find inflammation in my stomach and so spent longer looking at it and took a biopsy. i just cannot believe in this day and age with modern technology that you have to have such an invasive procedure to look at your stomach. it did not help that the doctor had an awful manner - the nurses were lovely but the doctor was very dismissive of me - he could hardly bring himself to talk to me and then said - i don't think we will see much today - making me feel like i was wasting his time. the test did not get off to a good start - he told me to swallow the tube?! and i panicked because i could not swallow it and i wanted him to just give me a second but he went ahead and pushed it down anyway which made me think - oh my god - i haven't swallowed - does that matter?! bit silly really because it went down regardless!

i have also come off my ssri in the last month and so am getting upset over things i would normally be tougher about and i felt like a right wussy for having a cry when it was all over!

the biopsy is for h pylori but i had a stool sample test for this which was negative so don;t expect it to be positive unless the stool test is not v accurate? and although i found it much worse this time round - i would probably try and have it without sedation again if i had to!

so - not sure what is causing the inflammation - i had an overactive thyroid last year which had just started to settle before i got all this burning and the burning started 3 days after antibiotics - plus i took a year to come off citalopram which in hindsight - it may have been better to withdraw quicker because i have read that withdrawal can cause digestive problems etc.

however - also appreciate that they did not find anything too nasty!

[Maj]

Joanna you were very brave having the procedure done and of course you would feel emotional afterwards. It's not the most pleasant of tests and I was also relieved when it was over and also felt quite emotional. Did you not have the throat spray beforehand? This can make inserting the tube much easier. It is understandable why some people opt for sedation. Some doctor's bedside manners are appalling and I've seen it all throughout the years as I work in a hospital. I'd love to see how they'd react to having these procedures done! The inflammation could be purely due to stomach acid, which is very common. They should be able to recommend a medication to help with this. You are not a wuss, you are only human and are actually very strong. x

[Dahlia]

Well done for having the test, Joanna. I must admit that is one I really do not fancy. Inflammation can be gastritis - which is basically inflamed lining. It causes indigestion, acid pains, nausea, lack of appetite and can make you feel quite tired and headachy too. It can be treated by drugs, though, which stop production of acid to allow time for the membranes to heal.

When my sister had an endoscopy and they tried to put it down her throat, she hit the doctor's hand! So in the end they put it down her nose and sedated her!

[suzy-sue]

OOh Joanna ,The Dr sounds a right ignorant pig . You did so well to have it done without sedation ,I had one but did have to be put out .It does sound like its anything too sinister tho and with a day like today you are bound to be feeling emotional .It takes a while to get back to normal when you come off the SSRIs .A bit more patience and a better bedside manner wouldnt have gone amiss .It isnt much to ask for surely ? I hope you get your test result back soon but am sending you a big hug for being so strong today .Hope you feel better tommorow luv Sue xx

[joannap]

thanks guys for the lovely replies.

am on ranitidine - 2 tablets a day but not getting a full 12 hrs cover - after around 8-9 hours my stomach starts burning again so do need to be on something that works more efficiently or perhaps a higher dose.

i don't think my gp will want to change meds perhaps until my results are back but have an appointment in a weeks time so will see what she says x