terrified of endoscopy down throat.

[whinray]

hi,at the moment I am sat here terrified as I am a very nervous person..i went for ultra scan 2 days ago on my stomach liver pancreas etc and although it takes a week for results the doctors surgery as already been in touch saying they have found something but won,t say what.so I,m here imagining all sorts.i don,t think I could cope with the camera down my throat as I,m addicted to the relaxant they give you [diazepam] I go into panic attacks quite often..any body the same as me,i live off my nerves frightened of all medical procedures..thankyou for any advice in advance.margaret

[Mistabig2006]

The best advice I can offer is to try to switch off. I'm terrified of dentists, whilst in the chair my entire body starts to tremble and I struggle to breathe. I've found that if I find a spot on the ceiling and focus entirely on that spot, then try to imagine something comforting it starts to take the edge off. Your anxiety won't go away entirely but it's more about finding a way to lessen the feelings.

I've been told that counting or doing sums in your head distracts from what's causing the anxiety, but everyone's different. Using that logic though you could apply it to almost anything, plan what you're going to do when you get home, whether it's running a hot bath or making a nice meal, anything as long as it takes the focus off what's going on.

I hope everything works out and I hope you find a way to take the edge off.