Endoscopy This Week... With Sedation?

Hello people, I used to suffer such horrendous anxiety it was literally crippling, I'm 23 and in 2010 I suffered some kind of mental and physical crash, I started getting physical health issues and mental ones. I've been really far down (To the point that I hoped it was cancer, because at least I would know what I'm fighting) after sitting on a rock, in the middle of a field a good 10 miles from civilisation and watching the sun rise I came to a realisation that this is my life, and I want to make the most of my short time on this strange rocky planet. Since then through force of will I've been able to overcome a lot of things I didn't think were possible, but here's my snag... Endoscopy.

Christmas 2014 I got GERD symptoms and they never left me, after a year of flip flopping between medications we've bitten the bullet and said we're going to go for the Endoscopy. It's on Thursday and the fear of it is making the old anxieties come back.

I've always had a fear of feeling sick, it's such a horrible experience, biologically I know it's important, but honestly why couldn't nature just have made your little finger turn bright blue when you need to empty your stomach due to poisoning instead of a prolonged feeling of nausea. Anyway anything around the stomach has always been a no-go, but I need to have this done, the pain I've been getting is intolerable. I don't want to have any conscious awareness of the procedure, I want to be one of those who say "First they gave me the sedative, then next minute I was in recovery"

I am 100% sure I will be going for sedation, my issue is that the drug they use, Midazolam, I have had before. I had 3mg for a colonoscopy in 2014 and this to me felt like I'd drunk a lot of alcohol in a short space of time, I was fully aware of what was going on around me and, as anyone who's had a colonoscopy will tell you, there's a little bend they have to do, almost a right angle and they warn you "You'll feel it go round", the Midazolam did take away my inhibitions and allow me to proclaim to the room at large that "that hurt like a mother ******". I recall 70-80% of that procedure. The maximum dose they are allowed to give is 5mg, I'm worried that the extra 2mg wont be enough to get me to fall asleep as some people have reported.

I'm in the UK so a general anesthetic is off the menu. My current plan basically involves sleep deprivation, just not going to sleep that night so when they dose me I'll just (hopefully) slip into sleep. It's an early morning appointment and I've nothing else on that day so I wont mind sleeping through that day.

When they asked me before they booked it "What are you most afraid of?" I replied with "That they find nothing" because as a rule I think long term not short term, now I'm wishing I had made some comment about being awake so they'd put on the notes "Knock this one out - He's trouble".

Any experiences, or positive help would be reassuring and much appreciated.

I'm hoping the NHS does right by me this time, I don't want to be shorted on drugs for cost cutting purposes or I swear, I will find Jeremy Hunt and... Well I'm not sure, but he wont be getting a sedative! :yesyes:

Oh man I feel sorry for you. I'm to have a colonoscopy and I'm dreading it. Absolutely shitting myself. Would rather give birth, no joke. I have no advice for you. I just wanted to let you know that I feel your anxiety x

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Originally Posted by Pepperpot

Oh man I feel sorry for you. I'm to have a colonoscopy and I'm dreading it. Absolutely shitting myself. Would rather give birth, no joke. I have no advice for you. I just wanted to let you know that I feel your anxiety x

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Thank you Pepperpot :)

I may be able to help you with the Colonoscopy, being 100% honest with you there's three bits of this that are bad.

1. The Prep, it's not pleasant, it tasted like crap, it made my stomach make noises it's never made before and the next few hours involved over 3 toilet rolls.

2. The right angle they go around, it's on your left hand side just under the ribcage and you do feel it tug as they navigate their way around that one area. The rest of it is rather strange, you feel something moving but I wouldn't describe it as painful.

3. The waiting, I was waiting in a room with a guy with colon cancer (In remission, colonoscopy was to check it wasn't coming back) and a guy who didn't say why, but said he'd had one every year for 20 years, they were fine and I felt I had to act braver than I felt around them, waiting for that long in a gown that felt like a dress was just undignified, but there was a delay that day.

If you're nervous about that go for sedation, it's just like an instant shot of an alcohol/valium cocktail but sped up to have instant effects and with no hangover.

I've had a cystoscopy, colonoscopy and after Thursday a gastroscopy. Can't say yet but I'd so far rank Colonoscopy as first choice if I was told I had to pick one to have again.

It's just over 24 hours until I'm barred from eating for my procedure, I am bricking it.

Hi TD888

How did you get on with your gastroscopy? I'm due to have one tomorrow afternoon and am terrified! My panic and anxiety issues centre around my throat, swallowing, etc. so I'm not having the spray, but intend to have sedation. A few years ago, at the dentist, some local anaesthetic went down my throat and numbed it. I was terrified and have had to have conscious sedation for dental work ever since. (I've suffered with anxiety and panic attacks for over 30 years). My concern with the sedation is that it might not work. I'm told it's midazolam, which I had for an MRI last year and it didn't work, so I'm petrified it won't work this time.

Ahh I just noticed your reply to me. Thank you for that. It wasn't bad. The prep wasn't bad either. I felt no pain. How did you get on x

Three words: GET THE SEDATION.

I had both the endoscopy and colonoscopy in the last 5 weeks as I've had ongoing nausea issues which may be from anxiety.

I have a panic disorder and am basically agoraphobic.. i somehow managed to get these both done. Both times the doctor was talking to me while i was laying down and he was administering the anesthesia... then i woke up in a different room half an hour later. The colonoscopy prep is the only bad part of it all, especially if you're having stomach issues to start with. The endoscopy was the easiest part.

Best of luck! I know you'll be ok :)