Today I had my gastroscopy...i will start from the beginning, my appointment was 13:20pm but I called up around 10:30am to see if ther was any chance of them seeing me earlier..the receptionist told me to come in around 11:15am and they will squeeze me in.I ended up getting seen at 12:15,anyway whilst I was waiting about 5 people went in before me and all walked out after 10 mins so I'm guessing they wer not sedated..so finally it was my turn I asked the nurse if I'm sedated when can I leave she said after an hour i will need to sleep and recover the test will last 5-7 mins but it was upto me to be sedated...i choose to be brave and just go with the throat spray...it was uncomfortable for like 5 seconds only going in and once in it was fine he took pics done the biopsy just gaged a few times and felt like burping but it was absolutely fine NO PAIN i was just concentrated on my breathing..i was reading on the net a few days before my appointment and people have some horror stories regarding this procedure and I made my mind up to be sedated,but I'm so glad I didn't because it was nothing to be worried about..ive just had a big meal and now going out..for anyone due to have this don't let the internet community scare you .PS my test was normal 👍I will see my GP next week.
"for anyone due to have this don't let the internet community scare you"
And for anyone with a gag reflex, it will be awful unsedated. My consultant knows not even to try, but just to knock me out completely. I left about 20 minutes after the gastroscopy. I've had four in the last three years and I've now been told that I have to have one every six months.
It is not a tiny little tube, it is a large pipe that they use. Google 'gastroscopy camera' to get an idea.
Shak, I'm absolutely delighted for you.
However, don't put others down because you don't have much of a gag reflex. We're all different. A few people have posted with negative stories just to vent and get an unpleasant experience out of their system, or maybe warn others that unsedated gastroscopy isn't a walk in the park for everyone. They don't need to be told they're scaremongering wimps.
Glad it went so well for you. I made the same choice as you and would certainly do the same again.
Maybe it helped me that I seem to have a capacious "swallow". Never have trouble getting big pills down but I think you are right about the breathing; get that right and that helps any procedure.
RHGB hat recht. Es ist kein Spaziergang oder „keine große Sache!!!“ für jeden. Mein Gastroenterologe warnte mich, dass es vor meiner Untersuchung recht unangenehm sein könnte, und das stellte sich in meinem Fall als Untertreibung heraus. Sie sagte, manche hätten nicht so große Probleme damit und andere eine schreckliche Zeit. Es kommt wohl auf die Anatomie, den Würgereflex usw. an. Es scheint eine Art Macho-Kultur um dieses Verfahren zu geben … diejenigen, die keine Probleme haben, spotten über diejenigen, die welche haben … warum ist das so? Wenn es schwierig ist, dann ist es das für einige Menschen. Es ist kein Reality-TV-Wettbewerb, bei dem diejenigen, die es durchstehen, großen Beifall erhalten und diejenigen, die kämpfen, ausgebuht werden! Es ist ein diagnostischer Test. Und zwar ein eher invasiver und etwas umstrittene. Es ist keine Schande, dafür sediert oder betäubt zu werden… Ihre Gesundheit ist das wichtige Thema, nicht die Art der Untersuchung. In der medizinischen Literatur wird die Häufigkeit, mit der dieses Verfahren durchgeführt wird, stark hinterfragt… nach Ansicht einiger zu oft… insbesondere, wenn nichts Ernstes vermutet wird, wie im Fall von shak2340. Warum sollte man sich einem solchen Verfahren mit all den damit verbundenen Risiken unterziehen, nur um zu erfahren, dass man in Ordnung ist und vielleicht etwas Sodbrennen hat! In meinem Fall ist der alternative Test die Barium-Schluckuntersuchung, die jede ernsthafte Erkrankung ausschließen wird… im Fall, dass als Ergebnis dieses Tests etwas Ernstes vermutet wird, werde ich, wenn der Arzt es empfiehlt, eine Endoskopie durchführen lassen, aber nur unter Vollnarkose und nur, wenn absolut notwendig. Jeder darf hier seine Erfahrungen posten… niemand lügt oder verbreitet Angst und Schrecken… es wird nur so erzählt, wie es für sie ist. Großartig, wenn der Test nicht zu schwer ist, aber schade, wenn er es ist… du bist nicht allein darin, und es gibt andere Möglichkeiten herauszufinden, was falsch ist… wenn überhaupt.
Spot on, Mary! I had a very bad experience with a gastroscopy with insufficient sedation that actually made things worse. That being said, my circumstances were entirely different from most of the cases discussed on here, so it wouldn't be fair to make a comparison.
I actually have a very high pain threshold and general tolerance for medical and dental procedures. Because of a chronic autoimmune condition I have calcifications in all my teeth, which block local anaesthetics. As a result, I once had a full root canal done without benefit of any anaesthetic effect. I can't say I'm in a hurry ever to repeat the experience, but I'd still rather go through that than have another gastroscopy without full GA!
As a former nurse, I agree with you that gastroscopy - along with many other invasive tests on other parts of the body - tends to be over-used. I think there are two sides to this one. Doctors are much more conscious of possible litigation these days, so tend to over-investigate. On the other hand, some patients can be reluctant to self-manage their conditions through life-style changes, and I have a lot of sympathy for GPs who face the same people turning up in their surgeries month after month with quite minor symptoms, clearly expecting something to be done.
I've almost certainly had GERD - or GORD as RHGB quite rightly insists we should call it this side of the Atlantic - for nearly 40 years, though this wasn't why I had the gastroscopy, so it's never been officially diagnosed. I've always managed the symptoms successfully by identifying and avoiding dietary triggers (especially late in the evening), sleeping with the head of my mattress slightly raised, avoiding constipation and - comical but true! - not wearing tight trousers!
Just seen these replies..WOW sorry to offend anyone but that was my opinion at the time...obviously everyone is different,but this post was for anyone like myself who's been referred to have this procedure done for the 1st time for investigation purposes.At the time I was a little peed off because I got myself ready to have the sedation after reading peoples comments online I even went as far as requesting for it on my form,But it's only when I went early and 5 people walked in and out without any issues,I realised I could also do it...which i did and to my surprise it wasn't a big deal.I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to do it again tomorrow without sedation.Just concentrate on breathing and before you know it it's over.
I went for a gastroscopy today in Auckland New Zealand. I had convinced my doctor to book me in through the public health system as I sufferred extreme abdominal pain recently.
I was very anxious as I tend to be subject to panic attacks and find it difficult to sit in the dentist chair let alone have a tube stuck down my throat. I was given the throat spray and then panicked about the sedation, anxious that it would be just enough to make me feel out of control, but not enough to put me to sleep. Indeed the nurse confirmed I would not go to sleep.
The surgeon was very patient telling me I could leave the room and opt to do it later in morning or re-book. I left the theatre and felt really upset, quite traumatised. I spoke to my daughter and my sister to try and pluck up the courage to try again. I then had to make calls to a few clients whilst sitll in the waiting room and managed to discuss the procedure I was wating for. I finally decided to give it the gastroscopy a miss, as one client in particular had such a bad experience after 3 gastroscopys and finally experienced a hernia in the stomach area.I convinced myself that the gastroscopys actually caused her hernia as my sister has the same hernia and has also had more than one gastroscopy.
I therefore booked out and went back to the office.
I am looking into paying for a capsule endoscopy now....LOL.
They can give you enough sedation that you are totally unaware of the procedure. You just have to tell them you have the worst gag reflex in the world and if you are awake, you will pull the tube out. I remember nothing of my gastroscopy.
Having just failed to tolerate a gastroscopy without sedation - continuous involuntary gagging- I thought I’d research this a little. Apparently one in three people lack a gag reflex. If this is you, you’ll be good to go for a gastroscopy w/o sedation. If like me you have a much more sensitive reflex you won’t be able to tolerate it. It’s a powerful reflex: it will kick in irrespective of how calm, collected and strong-willed you are. Learning how to suppress a physical reflex takes a long time, you can’t employ mind over matter to make it go away. Unfortunately, the only way you’ll find out where you are on the gag reflex spectrum is by giving the gastroscopy w/o sedation a go! But those who succeed in tolerating this test without sedation are managing it because their bodies are allowing it - it’s not in the mind, it’s very much a bodily issue.