endoscopy scare

[kristinelorraine]

hello everyone, i'm scheduled for an endoscopy tomorrow and i'm scared of doing it.
i don't like the idea of putting you to sleep in general anesthesia. i've read some people never wake up or getting cardiac arrest
or accidentally giving an incorrect amount of anesthetic. eg. joan rivers
i think they usually use propofol? isn't it the same drug that killed michael jackson.
i know i'm thinking too much. but this is the first time i'm doing something as invasive as this. even in my c-section i was never put under sleep.

doing this procedure doubled my anxiety alongside waiting for the test result.

 

[Cuchculan]

I had the camera down me on the day of my birthday this year. Of all days. What they give you is little or nothing. Granted the camera was only going down and not up the rear end. To say I was knocked out would be a lie. I was aware of everything going on. Now the thoughts of the camera always frightened me in the past. Having had it done I wondered why I had been afraid of it before. Talking maybe ten minutes. Few awkward parts. Talking about them lasting a total of 2 seconds. When they go down with the camera, they have to pass the gag reflex point. I gagged twice and that was that. Seriously it was nothing. If it was I would tell you. Second part is when the camera hits the stomach. It bloats the stomach. Again this lasts about 2 seconds. If you had of told me I would have done that without any worry or fuss I would have doubted you. But it is not as bad as some people might make it out to be. The gag reflex part, 2 seconds, probably the worst part. Other than that I lay still until it was over. In the recovery area I was wide awake when the brought me out. So I can say I was not knocked out at all. Might do things a bit different depending on what they are looking at. I was told it was a mild sedative. Nothing stronger at all.

 

[kristinelorraine]

thanks for the reply, Cuchculan. may i ask what kind of sedation they used on your endoscopy?
how long does the test take and are they going to tell you the results right away?
i've read they usually use propofol which is a general anesthesia and it will put you in a deep sleep. at least that's what i've read.
i just don't like the idea of being unconscious, defenseless and not being able to talk if something wrong happens.

 

[Cuchculan]

No idea what they used. But it did not knock me out. That much I can tell you. I was awake. Which was not a problem at all. Much easier than expected. Some results you may be given there and then. Others they might have to test things. But the longer you hear nothing back, the better. They see or find anything they will want you back quickly. No news is always good news. Trust me when I say I was simply told I was given a mild sedative and nothing more. So mild it did nothing. They did tell me this sedative might not work on a small amount of people. I was one of those people. So it was all in all about 10 minutes. Lot easier than expected. Like I said, with me, it was only the camera down. Nothing had to go up. Had been in the hospital due to a burst ulcer. This was a month after I was let out. Just to make sure their handy work was still all good, as I had 3 operations done when in hospital. It will be a breeze for you. Trust me on this one. Sounds worse than it is.

 

[kristinelorraine]

do you know what caused your ulcer? did you take antibiotics? i've been having stomach ulcer since childhood or at least that's what the doctors said since they never did an endoscopy when i was younger. but i remember having stomach pains when i was young. it comes and goes for years. and now im scared that it might got worse as i get older (i'm 38 now).
i did the h pylori breath test and it came back negative. i'm not sure how accurate that is.

 

[Bearcat999]

hello everyone, i'm scheduled for an endoscopy tomorrow and i'm scared of doing it.
i don't like the idea of putting you to sleep in general anesthesia. i've read some people never wake up or getting cardiac arrest
or accidentally giving an incorrect amount of anesthetic. eg. joan rivers
i think they usually use propofol? isn't it the same drug that killed michael jackson.
i know i'm thinking too much. but this is the first time i'm doing something as invasive as this. even in my c-section i was never put under sleep.

doing this procedure doubled my anxiety alongside waiting for the test result.

You can have one without anesthesia. When I hope a colonoscopy, the gave me Dilaudid and Versed. Neither had an effect on my. They gave me the option of going through with it and I did. The doc said that in Europe it is common to perform all scopes unsedated. What you will get is a "twilight" cocktail. Propofol would not be something that I would think would be appropriate. And endoscope it pretty quick. You should know your results right away

 

[Cuchculan]

do you know what caused your ulcer? did you take antibiotics? i've been having stomach ulcer since childhood or at least that's what the doctors said since they never did an endoscopy when i was younger. but i remember having stomach pains when i was young. it comes and goes for years. and now im scared that it might got worse as i get older (i'm 38 now).
i did the h pylori breath test and it came back negative. i'm not sure how accurate that is.

I had bad acid reflux for long periods of time. This then began to turn into infections inside the body. Which then turned into gastritis. In other words it was simply getting worse over time. They never treated it as they should have done. They would put me on PPIs for a week and that was that. When really they should have put me on them full time. The ulcer was not detected. Until I keeled over at home in agony. Which was it bursting. I did ask about the camera and they dismissed it it a few times. Not something I liked the idea of. But if was going to help I was up for it. Series of medical blunders. They should have known something was getting worse. They should have scoped me to see what was going on. They didn't. A month in hospital and 3 operations. So much poison in my blood system. Which is what is in an ulcer. Spent nearly 3 weeks unaware of anything. in the ICU. Fnally begab to come back to my senses and it was agreed that more should have been done to prevent what had happened. Not eveything has to end up that way. They look at things and threat it right and it can all be avoided. I know take PPIs on a daily basis.

Can I also just wish you good luck for today. It will be over before you know it. Then you can come back and tell us all how easy it was.

 

[kristinelorraine]

so sorry to hear what happened to you, Cuchculan. i agree, the doctor's should have done better. that's why it's so hard for me to trust doctors sometimes. i always worry they might mis-diagnose or miss something.

i had the endoscopy the other day and it was successful. thanks for your advice.
they put me on sedation (profopol). a lot of drama happened before my endoscopy because i was in a panic mode about being put under sleep. the anesthesiologist said they had a hard time putting the mouthpiece in my mouth so he said i would have a jaw pain later. not sure what he meant by that but right now my jaw really hurts. they must have used some sort of metal piece to force open my mouth while i was asleep.
the results are normal. my doctor said everything looks very good. no polyps, no cancer, nothing. i was assuming he would find an ulcer or gastiritis because of my severe gas, bloating and stomach pain. but i'm relieved everything is good. (or should i be worried he might missed something inside?)