Anyone had an upper Endoscopy?

[Butwhhhyyyyyyy]

Please tell me it's not as bad as i'm imagining. I have anxiety and c-ptsd and am already so stressed about going and it's still 5 weeks away. Will I need sedation or can it be ok without? Any experiences anyone?

Oh goodness - of course have sedation. I did. Why make it any worse than it has to be?

To those saying "just breathe", "no sedation and fine", etc etc - you are aware OP has CPTSD and anxiety, yes? That with no sedation s/he could literally panic attack during, which with a tube down the throat is a very bad idea, yes?

Just wanted to warn OP not every trust will / can perform this procedure under propofol. It requires an anaesthetist to be present and that in itself leads to other things needing to be out into place. It starts getting complicated! So in our Trust they just basically say no.
To be honest midazolam (and perhaps a painkiller like fentanyl) should be fine.

@missyB1

Just wanted to warn OP not every trust will / can perform this procedure under propofol. It requires an anaesthetist to be present and that in itself leads to other things needing to be out into place. It starts getting complicated! So in our Trust they just basically say no. To be honest midazolam (and perhaps a painkiller like fentanyl) should be fine.

There are some Trusts seeking to flout (and doing so) the anaesthetist requirement by replacing with a nurse anaesthetist (defined as a nurse participating in GA administration and monitoring). There is always the option of asking for referral to a hospital within a Trust respecting patient need and paying correct respect to a drug of propofol's power. (And for many, especially with MH conditions, it is a need).

And I had a flexible sigmoidoscopy with administration of midazolam, after my MH needs were ignored and I was told I was overreacting asking for general anaesthesia. The whole experience turned me suicidal for six months. I acquired the medical report and I was even given additional doses of midazolam during the procedure.

Of course, we all react differently to medication, and only we truly know the limits and triggers of our mental health conditions, but it's past time MH concerns related to medical procedures were respected and potential fallout recognised.

I wasn’t allowed sedation and found it one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever experienced, I choked, was sick, in tears, then shit myself.

@PelicanDeuce

Why weren't you allowed sedation xx

I've had it with midazolam and fentanyl and it was fine. I explained how scared I was and the Dr gave me a lot of spray to numb my throat. I really didn't feel it and I was terrified beforehand. Tell the drs and explain how nervous you are

Thank you so much this info is all so helpful xx

@cultkid due to allergy.

I’d really urge you to have it xx

Update, thank you @simplysteve, @SimplySteveReduxarm and then waking up in recovery, midazolam is great, I have a distant memory of gagging but it seems surreal, sore throat say's I probably did though, thank you everyone for your experiences.

Don't know what happened with tagging, also thanks to pelican, and I remember nothing after sedation was put into my arm then in recovery room.