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View Full Version : Gastroscopy, scared, will I choke!? Please help!



Nat20
29-12-12, 20:48
Hi, I have a gastroscopy scheduled in a week and a bit and I am really scared. I suffer from anxiety and I am really worried. I have two options either a sedation or a throat spray. I personally would prefer a throat spray but I am still scared I am going to choke and die! If the spray will numb my throat and tongue then I won't be able to feel it and will choke!? I don't know what to do but I would hate to have a sedation. Has anyone had a gastroscopy and can give me some advice? Please help, I am really anxious and I just want to cancel it but I do really need the tests done. :scared10:

Thank you!

MissHDynamite
29-12-12, 21:06
Hi Nat.. Yes I have one done.

I was all ready to have it with sedation but the two people before me had it without and encouraged me to give it a go so I did. You won't choke and the thought is so much worse than the actual thing itself. If you want me to explain more about what happens, let me know. Lots of people have it sedated so don't worry about that, it just means you will stay in a side room for an hour with a nice cup of tea :)

Nat20
29-12-12, 21:20
Thank you so much for your reply :). I just can't imagine the feeling of not feeling my tongue of throat. Does it take a long time? Also, should I make the doctors aware that I do suffer from panic attacks?

MissHDynamite
29-12-12, 21:30
I promise you Nat, you won't even realise that your throat is a little numb.. you will still know when to swallow etc.. so don't worry that it will numb all your senses. If you can keep calm, it will take only take a couple of minutes. and yes, I told them I suffer from panic attacks but to be honest the guy that went in before me was well over six foot with tattoos, shaved head and a long goatie and he was pooing his pants lol. So I don't think on this occasion we are any different to anyone else :D Good luck and don't stress.. if you think you can't manage, get sedated and enjoy that cuppa and a biscuit xx

Tessar
30-12-12, 15:17
Hi Nat, I'm hoping I can offer you some reassurance here in addition to the stuff below. My partner's had one of these done & I have to agree that for her the thought of having it done was definitely worse. It didnt take that long. Actually this'll make you laugh, when I went back to the hospital to collect her, I got a bit lost & ended up coming through a back door & along a corridor where they had operating theatres! Brilliant hosipital security eh? Brilliant sense of direction I have too huh?
Ok, being sensible now .... my dad's had 3 done & each time despite the sedative, for some reason he tries to stay awake. WEll guess what.... he didnt. He cant remember anything about it at all. Nothing. Oh my partner's mum's had it as well & she was ok. I think when she got out it was like "have you done it yet". Again she had no idea. Whether you go the sedation route or not is entirely up to you. If it were me I'd not let them do anything I dont want. I would expect them to respect your wishes on it as that's what's always happened with the poeple I knew. I can understand how you'd feel about sedation, i've not had that done. so i really do relate to your feelings. The main positive here is that for all the people I know who had it, they got positive outcomes & reassurance - so it was well worth all of them enduring a bit of discomfort on the day. I'm backing you all the way & will be thinking of you.

Nat20
07-01-13, 22:34
Thank you guys for your replies! My procedure is tomorrow. So far it's been pushed to the back of my mind and I haven't worried much about it. But now I am starting to get nervous again. I'm worried whether I will get an allergic reaction to the throat spray or what if I vomit during it? I really hope I will be able to get some sleep tonight!

almamatters
07-01-13, 22:40
Hi I had this procedure a few months ago, and it was pretty easy to be honest. I decided against the sedation as I wanted to be able to leave the hospital straight away when it was over. The throat spray is fine tastes of bananas and the procedure is over really quickly. I am an extremely anxious person and suffer from panic attacks and I coped really well. One of the nurses held my hand right the way through and the staff are very understanding if you explain you are anxious
Hope it goes well for you tomorrow , sure you will be fine.

Nat20
07-01-13, 23:11
Thank you. I hope mine will go smoothly like yours seems too have gone.

frbays
19-03-17, 11:13
Hi, I have a gastroscopy scheduled in a week and a bit and I am really scared. I suffer from anxiety and I am really worried. I have two options either a sedation or a throat spray. I personally would prefer a throat spray but I am still scared I am going to choke and die! If the spray will numb my throat and tongue then I won't be able to feel it and will choke!? I don't know what to do but I would hate to have a sedation. Has anyone had a gastroscopy and can give me some advice? Please help, I am really anxious and I just want to cancel it but I do really need the tests done. :scared10:

Thank you!

Thought I would post a reply to this for anyone who is anxious about having a gastroscopy. I had one yesterday morning. I am the most anxious, nervous, scared, wimpy person when it comes to thing's like this. Got to the hospital, checked in etc, got to the procedure room (tears and everything upto this point!!), had the throat spray, mouth guard in, sedation then given. Upto this point I had wanted to run away as fast as I could. No need to worry at all - within 20 seconds of sedation it was ' lights out' - woke up 45 min 's later with a nurse asking me if I wanted tea or coffee. No recollection of camera going in or anything. Felt absolutely fine. No nausea, pain, soreness or fear. Had tea and biscuits, got picked up by my wife half an hour later. Fear of the unknown is a terrible thing. I would have this done again without batting an eyelid (only with sedation though!!).