I thought sedation would be actually unconscious?

[Soubriquet]

I just had my endoscopy. I had the throat spray and the sedation and I was completely aware throughout the whole thing.

Gagging a lot, and it was so uncomfortable. It was horrible and not something I wanna repeat in a hurry

Unconscious = anaesthetic.

Usually with sedation you don't remember much so sorry this hasn't worked out for you but it does happen. They can't have you too deep as you need to be able to breathe by yourself.

Ah…yeah. I remember everything so obviously not as sedated as I should have been I suppose. I even felt them take the samples from my stomach

I've had varying experiences with sedation. Once I felt and recalled very little. Twice I felt quite a bit and recalled most. I have no doubt it made it more pleasant than it would have been otherwise, but it was still unpleasant! I wish they'd be more open about what to expect initially.

Yeah. It was horrible. Not something i wish to repeat in a hurry anyway

Frequently sedation is about having you relaxed for the procedure. I know it is possible to have endoscopy without sedation, so I would assume sedation for an endoscopy would be very light.

Why didn't you ask? Or say something at the time?

If you are effectively numbed with the local anaesthetic spray to block your gag reflex, there really isn’t any need for sedation other than to relax you and relieve anxiety.
Sedation can be light or deep, but you are always rousable, as opposed to general anaesthesia where you are completely unconscious.

Why didn't you ask? Or say something at the time?

With endoscopy you have (what feels like) a large tube down your throat rendering speech impossible. You're also sedated enough to be aware but not in control.

Yeah I kind of had a tube down my throat. Speech wasn’t possible. They saw me gagging and did try to console me but to be honest I appreciated them just getting it done and over. I’m on my way home now. Throat is a bit sore but apart from that I’m ok

Different levels and different drugs

I had sedation for endoscopy/colonoscopy and was definitely quite awake and aware what was going on. Totally agree it’s not something I’d like to repeat again

Then had deep sedation (plus spinal anaesthetic) for partial knee replacement last year and didn’t know a thing. Basically a general anaesthetic but you can control your own breathing

If I ever have to have it again, I will see if they can do it deeper cos it really was unpleasant

You poor thing. I fainted last time I had to have a similar procedure, just hated it. I hope you're feeling a little less sore.

I could of wrote exact same thing as you op.
I felt everything that happened. I could tell you what the conversation was between the two drs at the time.
At one point, one dr said to the other one to push the tube down further (into my stomach) and I remember thinking 'oh no, here it comes!' I'm having chemo treatment now and I've had cat scans and nothing compares to that! I hope to never be in that position again.
Horrible.

My sympathies, OP, I had it too and it's not nice

I’ve had 3 with sedation. Not really remembered any of it.

It’s not a nice procedure, I think sedation just calms you down a bit so you don’t have the automatic urge to fight the tube, aside from that the effects are variable whether people remember much or not. My Nan recently had endoscopy without sedation and regretted it majorly.

I definitely could not have handled no sedation at all. I’m awed by people who could

I get you. I got extra sedation because I was so scared I basically had a meltdown just before they started (very unlike me) and he went off and got something extra. I came to just as they were about to pull it out. It was still awful.
I am in awe and total admiration of those who do it without any sedation at all

Make sure you have it put on your medical notes. I had the same issue but was told I had "imagined it" they insisted I had been given a drug similar to Rohypnol. When I was able to recount not exactly the most professional conversations had during the procedure they recanted!

Now I have a rather firm conversation with them to ensure I don't remember it - and to be fair I haven't.

I had endoscopy with sedation recently. I was offered throat spray or sedation and told I couldn't have both. I'm pretty blasé about medical procedures after having cancer and multiple other conditions but I was told there's a better result from endoscopy if you are relaxed.
They also stressed it would not stop me gagging.
I could barely tell I was sedated but while it wasn't pleasant it didn't hurt.

I had the same - allegedly sedated but gagged and fought them and they couldn't complete the procedure. It's an entirely natural reaction to having a big pipe put down your throat. For some reason (time and money I would guess) the NHS don't give enough sedative for a first endoscopy, it seems to be common.

For my second one I discussed with the nurse my reaction to the first. Well, they must have broken out the horse tranquilizer this time as I don't remember a thing and woke up 40 minutes later.

So sedation can absolutely mean a nice snooze. Second time they will almost certainly do it properly.

I was encouraged to have to both, so I did. Im surprised you wasn’t. The throat spray was awful. Like bitter banana. I hate bananas anyway but banana flavoured stuff is even worse

The sedation you get with an endoscopy is with midazolam I'm sure and it's classed as 'conscious sedation' The aim isn't to knock you out, it's just to relax you. I had an endoscopy with no sedation and I honestly think that would be better. It's really just mind over matter and concentrate on your breathing. It's over in 2-3 minutes and you feel 100% fine afterwards.
If I had conscious sedation I'd be more worried about peeing myself or making a fool of myself then feeling groggy afterwards for it to be of benefit to me

I opted for no sedation as I had no one to collect me. Horrific.never again

I've recently had an endoscopic gastroscopy which went as far as my upper duodenum and other than being able to recall a couple of snapshots images I wasn't able to remember anything or feel any discomfort with the procedure. I had the throat spray, as well as 50ug IV Fentanyl and 2 mg IV Midazolan.
They referred to it as conscious sedation, and apparently I should have been able to comply with requests while sedated. Anyway, I knew pretty much nothing of what was happening, and just had a sore throat afterwards.

The thing is, I thought I'd be fine too, I don't generally have anxiety over medical procedures and I practise yoga and meditation. An MRI was a breeze. Even giving birth the second time round was much easier with controlled breathing techniques. I still had the sedation just in case, and I still fought them, and was very apologetic, though the staff took it in their stride.

Second time - sign me up for having a pipe put down me any time if I can have a nice little nap.

I think I just have a strong gag reflex and have never been able to open my throat to knock back drinks as some people can. And my issue is that my oesophagus is often a bit inflamed (causing swallowing issues) and I have a hiatus hernia- you can see why passing a pipe down there might be an issue!