Absolutely petrified as looking like endoscopy imminent, can anyone reassure please?

[sammiej123]

HI all

I have been suffering with bloating, nausea and like a gnawing pain for about 5 weeks now and it feels like it is getting worse especially the nausea at night. I am on no meds at the moment, Omeprazole did not agree with me so I am just suffering at the moment. I know the right thing to do is to have the endoscopy , my GP made an urgent referral for me as she knew how much it is affecting me alongside of my health anxiety which is crippling at the moment, I live on my own dont really have any meaningful support and i am feeling wretched and hopeless. I dont want the sedative as I am scared of the implications of this and not being in control. I also dont what my throat numbed as i know this will make me panic about my breathing as i wont be able to feel it , would rather not have the numbing spray or sedative but the thought of the procedure horrifies me!! Please can anyone help I am desperate..

[jojo2316]

I’ve had two of these and they aren’t too awful but I do think you should either the numbing spray or the sedative because it’s not a very lovely feeling having a tube down your throat. Personally I recommend the sedative which just makes you feel pleasantly drunk. Not out of it at all, just maybe two glasses of wine, a nice relaxed happy feeling. The procedure itself is very quick and doesn’t hurt- it’s just uncomfortable. Feel free to pm me if you like

[sammiej123]

Thank you for your reply i do appreciate it.. I dont like the thought of my throat being numb as i know i will panic about my breathing as i tend to gasp for air when i am anxious and if i cant feel my throat i will really panic :( I am worried about the sedative as i wont be in control and worry i might have an allergic reaction or weird reaction to it.. i know i am catastrophising but i really cant help it, I am even thinking about starting to go on meds for anxiety as it is ruining my life.. How long did it take? and thanks again you are very kind x

[jojo2316]

The whole thing was over in about 20 minutes. The tube is actually down your throat for probably about 5 minutes. The numbing spray does make your throat feel a bit swollen and it tastes disgusting - like fake bananas. But the sedative - it didn’t make me fee out of control at all. Just relaxed and a bit happy. It was actually quite nice.

[sammiej123]

Thank you for your reply I am still torn between sedative and just going through it but without the throat spray. I am meeting with the gastroenterologist this afternoon to go through my issues and options. I rang up and explained about my crippling anxiety.. Will let you know how it goes.. My anxiety is off the scale at the moment probably not helping with my symptoms!

[NoraB]

Go with the sedative mate. I'd rather have 20 bum cams over a throat one any day...

Tell them about your anxiety and they will help you.

Let us know how you go on. X

[jojo2316]

Go with the sedative mate. I'd rather have 20 bum cams over a throat one any day...

Tell them about your anxiety and they will help you.

Let us know how you go on. X

Me too. But it’s not soooo awful and it’s over very quickly. The sedative almost makes the whole thing worth while though :-)
(the only reason I had four children was because I loved the gas and air!!)

[sammiej123]

Thanks guys :) i just have anxiety around being allergic and having a reaction to the sedative !! The joys of HA mine is crippling me at the moment.. I would rather not have it but dont know if i will be able to tolerate it :( I am meeting the Gastroenterologist this afternoon to discuss my issues etc and my symptoms. I wonder how much of it has been down to anxiety causing physical symptoms! I cant carry on with this though awful nausea and that hungry gnawing pain .. x

[sammiej123]

I met the Gastroenterologist today and to say that his bedside manner was not good would be an understatement. he did nothing to alleviate my anxiety infact he exacerbated it :( I have decided now to take Lansoprazole for a couple of weeks to see if that makes any difference to my symptoms... Its a nightmare really as i just want to feel better.

[jojo2316]

I met the Gastroenterologist today and to say that his bedside manner was not good would be an understatement. he did nothing to alleviate my anxiety infact he exacerbated it :( I have decided now to take Lansoprazole for a couple of weeks to see if that makes any difference to my symptoms... Its a nightmare really as i just want to feel better.

Oh no I’m so sorry. That is really unlucky. What did he say to make your anxiety worse?

[sammiej123]

He was like saying oh well 'it shouldnt get stuck in your breathing pipe' and' it shouldnt cause issues with breathing' There are risks and then went on to list them which completely freaked me out! then he was like well anxiety will make you believe anything anyway and it is not one thing then it will be another' He was rushing me and like saying' well its up to you' Also when i was asking lots of questions about what drug they give you for sedation he was huffing and puffing and i said i was worried about feeling weird and not in control to which he said 'well it will make you feel weird thats to be expected'.. I just felt that he was really exasperated by my questions, there is no way i could let him do the procedure with his attitude it would make me worseQ Thanks again you are so lovely and thoughtful. i dont know what i would do without people like yourself on this site you are all amazing x

[sammiej123]

Oh you could see he was irritated by my anxiety and had already thought that this was probably causing my issues. He was like 'it shouldnt affect your breathing' when I said i was worried about the sedative making me feel weird and out of control he said well it probably will make you feel weird! Why not just say it will help you to relax and it you wont remember anything and that it will really help. I said that i was worried about the throat spray too as i would feel panicky with my throat being numb he just said well yes it probably will then. I then asked about having it done without the spray and he said he didnt think i would cope. Hence why i suggested i try Lansoprazole for a couple of weeks to see if my symptoms settle before considering the endoscopy. He also said that he didnt think they would find anything but he couldnt guarantee it and that my bloods were all good (which was a good part). The thing is i will now not be on the urgent pathway for the scope and will have to wait if i need one. I am kind of thinking if it was something sinister it would show in my bloods and that if i have an ulcer, gastritis or an inflammation they would have put me on a PPI anyway to heal it. Thank you again x

[AbyssalStars]

I'm sorry about the experience. No one should be treated like that.

I know you are no longer getting the endoscopy done anytime soon, but if you do, I just want to say that I had similar fears about the sedative. Most sedatives that I have had in the past for various surgeries have had some unpleasant side effects: headaches, nausea, and/or extreme drowsiness upon waking. I have to say that the sedative that they used for my endoscopy (Propofol- the Michael Jackson drug) was by far the best sedative I have ever been knocked out with. When I woke up, I wasn't nauseous or super drowsy and I didn't have a headache. In fact, I felt like I had gotten some of the most relaxing sleep ever. It was quite enjoyable. 10/10 would do an endoscopy again if that is what they knock me out with.

[panicdiva]

I had it done 4 years ago. Had the sedation which was fabulous. I remember nothing until they were just removing it. What a relief as I had been so worried. Getting it done again next week