Pre-procedural anxiety extreme ! Please advise anyone else like me ?

Mental health
1

Hi all, this is my first post so please be gentle.

I am due in for sigmoidoscopy.

On a previous attempt privately to have both ends done at once, I panicked to the point I could barely recite my own date of birth, rapid heart beat, tunnel vision, hearing going, the list goes on. And unfortunately I could not go through with it. This was with 20mg Temazepam.

I believe my fear dates back to when I was 6, I was due in for an op, and I flipped at the last minute and was pinned down by surgeons and my parents, the last thing I remember is the blurry plastic of the gas mask they gased me out with.

Now I'm looking for anyone that has such an intense fear of invasive procedures in clinical settings, people just look at me like I'm silly and say "oh it's nothing", but those very same people would present mania if they saw a spider in the bath... Get my drift ?!

My doctor said they will prescribe "something" for me to take pre procedure, and I called the endoscopy init I'm due in to, and they said they are happy with this.

Now what do you think is best to prescribe me?, seeing as 20mg temazepam didn't work last time?

DiAzepam looks likely to be prescribed, but I seem to have a somewhat naturally high tolerance to benzodiazepines, and I don't think they get it when I say "that dose won't touch me", and I will end up looking like a substance abuser if I start sharing the information I know about drugs, which honestly, I'm not.

Noting I don't want to adopt IV sedation as I just feel I will be completely out of control, I want it to be self administered, I know it's weird, but if I take pills before I go, and recognise their effect it will be less anxiety

2

Hi Alexmuk

I'm sorry to see you are so worried.

I don't know if you are in the UK or not, but you can;t self administer drugs before you go in if you are in the UK.

A sigmodoscopy is a simple procedure which is pain free. They give you a shot of Pethidine if you want it. Ihave had two colonsocopies which are somewhat painful but a sigmoidoscopy isn't because it goes straight up and then out again.

My daughter had one two years ago and was asking me what she should do, Pethidine and stay in hospital for 6 hours or not and go home straightafterwards.

I told her it was not painful. The nurse who was quite sniffy asked, 'Are you a nurse?' When I told he I wasn't she than asked if I had had a Sigmodioscopy, No I replied, Two colonoscopies.

When my daughter came out the nurse said, 'oh, you are so brave, much braver than I am ' and my daughter told her it was painless!

Try to calm yourself down and not worry about it. Focus on the END of the procedure, not the procedure it self.

Good luck

3

Thanks for your words of advice, I believe that usually use a combination of midazolam and pethidine in IV.

I am indeed In the UK, and I'm sorry, but your not correct, in the first instance (private hospital) the consultant prescribed me 20mg temazepam to take before I came in.

And my GP in this instance referred me directly to a treatment centre,bypassing the referral to gastro, since she believed that this is the first test that they would have ordered for me anyway,saving an 18 week wait.

My GP said she will prescribe me something to take beforehand, once I've received an appointment date through, I then phoned up the endoscopy department directly, and explicitly asked if it would be okay to take my own sedation pre-procedure as directed by my GP, because I didn't want to be turned away when I got their,and the nurse specialist said that this would be no problem at all, however I wouldn't be able to opt for their own sedation if I were to feel I wanted it, but they could offer me entonox (gas n air) if I feel it would help me.

I know my fear is probably irrational, but it prevails nonetheless, And at least it's not gastroscopy (as I was even more phobic of that)

That same nurse said perhaps it's possible that I can come in and take a look around the centre, and peek into the theatre if it helps me. I'm thinking it may do, if I know EXACTLY what to expect.

Also another concern is the prep, last time I took fleet phospho soda (horrid experience), but this time it's an enema, I'm worried I'm going to have an accident on the way, or I'm not going to stop pooing in time for when I leave !

4

Oh sorry I had no idea that you were a private patient. But still, a sigmoidoscopy itself is not a bad experience.

5

No need to be sorry, and I WAS a private patient, only because of a one-off payment to see a specialist, but now I'm back under the good old NHS again now. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me I can see the rationale in what you said, and that's why I phoned the place myself as I thought it was a little odd, because how are they supposed to know what a patient has taken, if they didn't administer it themselves right ?

Anyways I'm just hoping to hear from people, now they cope with phobias such as mine, how did you find the prep for your sig? And how does it feel whilst they use air to inflate as a better view?

6

Well, the Picolax was unpleasant, and I didn't feel anything of the procedure both times when the tube passed into the sigmoid colon, it is when it turns the corner it is painful. I can' that've any more colonoscopies because my Diverticulitis is now acute. I never thought I'd say this but I wish I COULD have the procedure because then I wouldn't be as bad as I am now....