I had an endoscopy today

[mumsnoangel]

I went in expecting to have sedation for the procedure but decided to go for gas and air with throat numbing, and I'm so pleased I did this. The procedure was very quick and the doctor was very kind and reassuring, and it really wasn't as traumatic and unpleasant as I had feared. If you feel reasonably brave and confident you can keep still even if the procedure is a bit unpleasant, the gas and air makes things not too bad. I kept my eyes closed and tried to take myself into a bit of a trance and within 2 or 3 minutes the whole thing was finished. The benefit of the gas and air was that after a few minutes I was able to go home, and was allowed to drive and continue with my normal day without needing supervision or care. Apart from a very mild sore throat I feel completely normal again. When the camera is in your throat you can breathe normally through your nose, and just concentrating on that took my mind off what else was going on (bear in mind my eyes were closed). I didn't really feel an issue with gagging, just a sense that it would be quite easy to panic and so I concentrated on keeping still and not allowing that panic to take hold. I'm by no means a very brave person, but if you're at all unsure go with the sedation. This is me simply recording my experiences. I didn't feel any pain, just slightly unpleasant sensation.

Glad you got through it okay.
DH managed his without sedation.
I have a friend who’s had to have a couple, after having one without sedation she had to have sedation for the next one.
Even the thought of it makes me panic tbh so I think you are very brave, I hope everything is okay

Well done, glad it went well. I had it with just the throat spray, I hate feeling out of control so preferred to do it without medication.

Amazing and very reassuring. Well done OP!

That pretty much describes my experience. I went intending to have sedation but there were some ladies in the waiting room who were going to have colonoscopies with no sedation and I thought 'well if they can do THAT without sedation, I can do my measly OGD with the throat spray'. So I did.

It went on a bit long as they were doing a biopsy so by the end I had really had enough but it was only minutes long, I got the results straight away and could drive home.

Burping up the gas was probably the worst bit.

That's great OP, good for you.
I've had a few of these medical investigations and always gone for the throat spray. I gag and they hospital staff once nearly stopped the procedure. After the procedure I will say to myself, never again via the throat spray route but have done it again.

They have frightened me in the past when they were talking about what they found but thankfully it was only a hiatus hernia.

I guess like anything and everything, different people have different experiences.

You can always go via the full anaesthetic route if you wish but the above is my own personal experiences.

Like a lot of people I’m in two minds about this. I would like to manage without sedation, as I’m worried about sedation as well, then I think I would just gag the whole time. Good to have some positive stories.

As a counterbalance, I did it with just throat spray and found it horrific. I gagged several times and felt completely traumatised afterwards. Never ever again would I do this without sedation. I have a number of friends who had the same experience as me.

I had one with sedation a few weeks ago. Woke up in bed feeling lovely and happy

Apparently I told the nursing staff to fuck off when they were trying to wake me though

I found it incredibly traumatic without sedation.

I had one with sedation a week ago. I’m a total drip and was terrified of the procedure AND terrified of the sedation. The sedation was amazing. I was awake the whole time, just pleasantly dreamy and relaxed. Didn’t feel dizzy or confused, just very calm. Felt normal afterwards and DH was allowed to drive me home 20 minutes later. I’d been so, so anxious, but it was a breeze.

The sedation they use is very mild .In fact I don't think it is sedation ,think it's propofol .Slightly different action .

Hi

I've got to go for one of these soon and I am dreading it! I keep waking up in a panic through the night about it

Thank for your post it was Informative. How do you have gas and air whilst the tubes in your throat?

I've a phobia about people at my mouth and throat, so I have to be heavily sedated. Last time they didn't sedate me enough and I started to come round and pull the tube out of my throat. I got knocked back out again. 😅😅 I only remember fragments of that and it usually takes a few weeks for me to remember anything. My doctor knows me though and every time I go in for results , I'm absolutely mortified 😨

@AnnaMagnani

That pretty much describes my experience. I went intending to have sedation but there were some ladies in the waiting room who were going to have colonoscopies with no sedation and I thought 'well if they can do THAT without sedation, I can do my measly OGD with the throat spray'. So I did.

It went on a bit long as they were doing a biopsy so by the end I had really had enough but it was only minutes long, I got the results straight away and could drive home.

Burping up the gas was probably the worst bit.

I could probably handle a colonoscopy without sedation but really appreciated having it for the duodenoscopy — my arse doesn't have a gag reflex

@SpikeWithoutASoul Good to know that the sedation doesn’t make you feel dizzy or whatever we worry about. A lot more people dread the gastroscopy but can handle a colonoscopy, as at least we don’t have to fear gagging.

@tonyunclejohnny

Hi

I've got to go for one of these soon and I am dreading it! I keep waking up in a panic through the night about it

Thank for your post it was Informative. How do you have gas and air whilst the tubes in your throat?

I was told to take 8 long inhalations of the entinox (gas and air) and that was sufficient to get me through the short procedure that followed.