Omg, me too. I also have upper and middle back pain for 6 weeks after the endoscopy. It is horrible. Have you seen a doctor?
I also feel some pain on my right side as well. I just regret it so much after endoscopy. I haven't felt well since the procedure.
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I had my Endoscopy done on Friday and since then my neck been very stiff had to go to ER today. I was told it is muscle spasms in my neck maybe from laying on my side during the procedure.
Hi I am also not feeling well in general after my endoscopy on 9/13/18. I have lots of heartburn and bloating. I wonder if you are feeling better now.
This is quite common when the procedure is done under sedation. By sedation, I mean intravenous sedation (benzos etc.), as opposed to actual anaesthesia, which is only very rarely used for endoscopies. I'm sure it will soon wear off.
I had my upper endoscopy in JULY and i still have pain my doctors have no solution. It was unnecessary and expensive and now its hard to get around or even breathe! IM 39 years old and have never experienced pain like this. i couldnt move for 6 weeks and i still cant lie on my side or life my arm above my head without severe pain. JUST SHAMPOOING IS A CHALLENGE. IM AFRAID OF SEEING A CHIROPRACTOR because the pain is so bad. ANY IDEAS WOULD BE GREAT.
I am experiencing the same pain. I had colonoscopy and Endoscopy 7weeks ago. Its not all the time. i feel fine for 3 or 4 days , than i get the pain again. I was wondering if your pain went away.
omg i feel so bad for you! i also started having back pain after my endoscopy last year. it is 8 months and i can still feel the pain. are you feeling better now? best wishes.
i just had the same procedure yesterday, and unlike the previous 3 endoscopies, ive been having stomach and back muscle spasms, like a thick rubberband being stretched, and then snapped. they did biopsies as well, so its possible that combination of biopsies and being placed in a side position, may have started it. its been 20 hrs and im still getting the muscle spasms. afraid to take advil since they did cutting for biopsies. now just waiting for oncall dr to call me back.
I know its the worst! I had to call and call to find out what was wrong with me. Then again and again they said they didn't know what was wrong with me. took me about 3 to 5 weeks to have the back pain to be gone or almost gone.
ORRR you could just reply like a normal person so we could all benefit from the answer? That's kinda the point of these message boards you weirdo wth
First thing: I'm going to suggest the docs at my clinic read this endoscopy thread. While I can understand patients having discomfort for a day or so after the procedure it seems many people are having more severe and longer-lasting pain. I found this page by doing a search for 'back pain following gastroscopy'. I had the scope done 2 days ago under IV delivered sedation. In a way it's comforting to hear that the back pain is not uncommon though it is distressing to read about some of the experiences others have had. I was told that I have an ulcer and inflammation in the stomach lining and several biopsies were taken. The day following the procedure I had headache, facial and scalp neuralgia, sore throat and very sharp pain in my back at the bottom of the ribcage which has gotten worse on the 2nd day after procedure. I will probably be put on antibiotics for an H. pylori bacterial infection which is what causes most stomach ulcers. I'm already taking pantoprazole (a protein pump inhibitor) for acid reflux and ulcer. I want to thank you all for sharing your stories and wish you all a full recovery. None of the nurses nor the doctor gave me any reason to expect severe back pain after endoscopy. They need to alter their information for patients.
As a former nurse, I can confirm that doctors fail to tell patients about things like this for a reason. They believe that if they warn patients about the possible side- or after-effects of any procedure (or medication in many cases) then the patient will immediately imagine that they're suffering from it.
I believe this is a very short-sighted policy, and one that treats patients like id iots. If people knew there was a possibility they were going to suffer some pain etc. after a procedure, they wouldn't panic about it, and it wouldn't seem so bad.
Oh, and please don't blame the nurses along with the doctors. They'll almost certainly be under strict instructions not to mention any negative after-effects.
I hope you'll soon be feeling better.
Thank you, Lily. My intention is not one of blame but rather a desire to see all involved--doctors, nurses and patients--having as much accurate information as possible. I will probably never see any of the medical professionals from the endoscopy team again so how would they know anything about my post-procedural experience of pain (that seems, from reading this thread to be quite common)? I have no way of knowing if my GP is privy to the number of people who experience pain unless it is mentioned during a follow up visit. I feel it is counterproductive to good doctor/patient relationships for them to withhold knowledge on the basis that it may cause imaginary symptoms due to the power of suggestion. Conversely, I believe most people would feel reassured to know that their experience of a few days of mild to rather severe pain is normal and not cause for concern. One of the nurses did tell me that some patients experience severe stomach pain from trapped air. I didn't have that at all...nor did I imagine having it! The world of good medical care has no place in it for doctors with overblown egos and arrogant condescension toward patients. Reading about the issue of involuntary restraint when a patient experiences uncontrollable gagging was upsetting. From personal experience I believe doctors need to be made aware that there is a big difference between gag response (which is controllable) and choking and suffocation, which is not.
Hi I'm new to this site, and was looking for some info that I could relate to, having had a gastroscopy 9 days ago. I was prepared for it to be unpleasant, but not that bad! It was a Sunday as they had a back-log to get through. Without meaning to sound dramatic.....it was the worst thing!! I had throat spray and was told that the only bit uncomfortable bit was as you swallowed the camera....uh....no...clearly a lie! Sadly, not one clinician was honest about it when I asked. Like others have mentioned on here, the retching/gagging was relentless. The whole experience was awful. I felt like they were in such a rush to get me in and out again, I felt like an inconvenience too. I felt traumatised afterwards...literally!
I had a sore throat for a few days and some chest discomfort. It then subsided but I've been getting intermittent chest pain for the past 5 days with no sign of going! I then have an overwhelming feeling of panic for a minute or two which subsides...I'm guessing its just the anxiety which would naturally accompany such symptoms when you havent got a clue what your body is doing?! I'm used to pain in my neck and back as this is frequent for me anyway and predates the gastroscopy, although muscles have felt tighter since! Pain in epigastric area has been worse too, which had settled whilst on a pretty long waiting list, so that is frustrating! One thing I know is that I would never have this done again with just throat spray....or sedation either to be honest!!
They did not find anything, but feel in a worse state now as I did before! I would speak to my doctor if I had any faith in them, but I don't. Will this settle? Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated, thank you
Charlotte, I hope you don't mind me butting on this one but yes - it will settle. I'm a former nurse and was always frustrated that doctors would never admit that the after-effects of gastroscopy could be bad for some patients. It is true that only a minority of patients suffer like you, though forums like this one can give a skewed impression. (Obviously, it's mainly those who've had a tough time that post.) However, experiences like yours are far from rare.
The rationale (if you can call it that) of doctors refusing to tell patients about possible after-effects of gastroscopy - or any other procedure - is that the patient will then imagine that they're getting these symptoms. In my opinion this is totally wrong, and results rather in patients who do get bad after-effects panicking and thinking there's something seriously wrong. Sadly, we can't change the mindset of doctors...
I can also relate - as a patient - to the rather traumatic experience you had during the procedure, though my case was different. Seven years ago I somehow managed to swallow my large, spiky denture. It only has one front tooth on it, but is a horseshoe-shaped affair that fits around the inside of all my other top teeth. As I was 69 at the time, doctors automatically took the one-size-fits-all approach that I was a confused old dame who'd simply mislaid the denture. Over the next three weeks, during which I lost 7kg/15lb and became horribly dehydrated, I was thrown out of one hospital after another as a time-waster. Finally, when I could no longer speak or swallow at all and was retching up blood, an authoritative friend took me back to one of the hospitals and said we weren't leaving till something was done.
I was grudgingly slotted in to that afternoon's endoscopy list, where the denture was fished out with some difficulty from the entrance to my oesophagus. The experience wasn't a pleasant one. I actually had sedation, but it didn't work. I'd stress that this isn't something younger patients need worry about. Occasional failures of sedation normally occur in the over-65s, who are only given a half-dose of sedation - which still works in most cases. I had what is known as a paradoxical reaction, meaning I became agitated instead of calm. Long story short, I fought like a wild animal and it took six people to hold me down. And I remembered the whole thing afterwards. I therefore understand perfectly how traumatised you felt. I'd be hard put to it to imagine any future situation in which I'd agree to have a gastroscopy unless it was under full-scale GA!
The chest pain will go away in the next week or so. In the meantime, try to avoid foods that make it worse. That includes anything acidic or physically sharp (e.g. tomato soup, salads) and - somewhat surprisingly - bread. Bread is actually highly acidic, and the texture tends to be abrasive too. Try sticking to things like yoghourt, banana mashed up with milk, bland soups etc. The trauma will take a bit longer to fade, but you'll get over that too in time.
I hope you'll soon be feeling better.
Thanks Lily Its comforting to hear that things will settle. I am generally pretty laid back, and being a mental health nurse, I am all too familiar with anxieties etc. I guess we aren't exempt from such things. You do start to wonder if you are the only person who has experienced it, but from reading posts on here, it really can affect people for a while afterwards. It sounds like you had a nightmare experience of your own! I will sit tight and hope that this subsides soon enough and that I will never be in a position to have one ever again! thank you.
Hello Charlotte! I was wondering if your chest pain has gone away now? I am having the same symptoms and it seems that everyone says theirs goes away in a few days or a week but im going on my 4th week of feeling pressure in my chest and im starting to get worried. Im hoping that there are others like me and maybe it took a little while longer but it went away? Thank you for your time.
Hi Payton Sorry to hear that you are having these chest pains too! I am almost 5 weeks since my gastroscopy, and still experiencing chest pain. My stomach problems had settled quite a bit whilst on the waiting list for the procedure, but I've had more issues since having had it! I think my chest pain has got a bit better though, although I have more an occasional short sharp pain right in the centre of my chest now. It isn't freaking me out as much as it was.....fingers crossed it's slowly going! My anxiety around it made it worse. I found that watching what I eat helps....peanut butter on toast strangely made me feel like I was having a heart attack, and eating too much in one sitting! Some people are lucky in that they seem to recover quite quickly from this, where as others have a hard time! I don't know what you were like during the actual procedure, but I retched so much throughout that it couldn't have done me any good. My throat hasn't fully recovered either. If things don't resolve in the next couple of weeks I will be speaking to my GP. Hope you start to feel better, and would be good to hear how you are getting on. regards, Charlotte