Endoscopy-who's had one?

breakstuff

Been to the docs today regarding my persistently dodgy stomach and vomiting and have finally been referred to a specialist.My doc says they'll probably do an endoscopy.Can anyone tell me what to expect when they carry out this procedure as the thought of having a camera shoved down my throat doesn't sound the least bit appealing.

littlegreenman

If they ask if you'd like any drugs, say yes, all of them!

dogload

Had one up me arse once. Not as bad as I'd expected. Don't fancy one down the throat though.

Richardj

You can have either a local or general anaesthetic. They try to get you to have a local because it is less work. Trust me, go for the general. It might take longer to get over but I really didn't want to be awake for it.

JohnPerry

Pretty sure I had a general anaesthetic for the one down my throat. Rather wish I'd had it for the one up my arse a couple of years later

Bogwhoppit

I've had loads and filmed even more (long story)

Walk in the park, nothing to worry about. Even though in recent years they've had to lower the dose of sedation that's offered, you'll not remember a thing.  I've had a few up both ends and seen thousands of others partake in this weird and wonderful procedure.

Don't worry about being awake, once you swallow the scope, your gagging reflex disappears, with sedation (which is always offered), you wont even remember the consultant asking to you to deep throat ( as it were) ..

lasermonkey

Yes. All I will say (for now) is that I hope you don't have a high tolerance to anaesthetics!

Misterg

dogload said:

Had one up me arse once. Not as bad as I'd expected. Don't fancy one down the throat though.

Especially if it's been up you arse first!

IanSavage

I have, found it a bit of a pain in the neck. 

EricTheWeary

No but Eric Jr has, under a general and didn't remember it. Guessing @Mike_l has the most experience of this although he is on his hollibobs at the moment IIRC.

Axe_meister

I did it without any drugs as I thought I was hard. Horrid experience, had a suspected ulcer, but after that experience I never had any more symptoms

Emp_Fab

I had one a year or so ago.  I was bricking it before I went, and right up to the point where they put a plastic guide thing in your mouth I was a millimetre away from telling them I didn't want to go ahead.  On the form I had to complete I had to choose between an anaesthetic throat spray or sedation.  I opted for sedation but on the day, I asked if I could have both!  They were happy to do both and the end result was that it was a doddle.  I remember the doc injecting the sedative, then them dimming the lights, and then the nurse saying "There we are - it's all over". :-)  The hardest part was the throat spray - it made me cough a bit.

The sedative they give you is Midazolam - which is what they give road crash victims in the helicopter.  The weird thing is that it doesn't actually knock you out but it fucks with your memory so you have absolutely no recollection of what went on.  I knew this before I went in for my endoscopy and was really worried that I would feel the discomfort at the time, even if I couldn't remember it afterwards - but the end result is identical to a general anaesthetic.  Apparently I was "not a good candidate" as I "wretched and gagged throughout the procedure" - but I have no memory of that whatsoever!  They could have taken turns at bumming me senseless and I wouldn't have known!

Opt for sedation and when you get in the room, ask the doctor to be generous with the sedative and it'll be a walk in the park mate.

You won't feel a thing.  The worst that will happen is that you might have a bit of a sore throat afterwards.  If you have a sore arse then they've bummed you senseless.

Unfortunately, they didn't offer me sedation for the arse-oscopy I had shortly afterwards.  That wasn't the most pleasant experience I've had.

It transpired that my problems were down to a combination of a small hiatus hernia and an inflamed duodenum.  One Omeprazole tablet a day has sorted all that out now :-)

exocet

I've had two. Only went for the spray rather than sedative etc. in truth I was only offered the spray. It's not pleasant but I've been through worse

Phil_aka_Pip

I had one. They broke the crown on one of my front teeth. It felt horrible, trying not to gag all the time. When finished it felt like I'd had the sh!t kicked out of me after a violent Friday night. Never again.

They told me I had a lot of ulcers and a hiatus hernia, and that I should stop eating curry and drinking beer. B*ll*cks to that. 

breakstuff

Thanks for the replies guy's though I'm not sure they've put my mind at ease A lot of conflicting views as whether to have the general or not.

@EricTheWeary I thought about @Mike_l when I posted because of his crohn's.

Think it's literally going to be a case of suck it and see,though I've not had my appointment through yet so I've got plenty of time to get my head round it.

Emp_Fab

Opt for the sedative - ask them to be generous - piece of piss.  Stop worrying.

If you don't get the option for a sedative on the paperwork, ask your GP to refer you to a hospital that does - it's your right to do so.

breakstuff said:

Think it's literally going to be a case of suck it and see

No - you're supposed to swallow it, not suck it ! :-)

Fuzzdog

I had one a couple of years ago, and made the rather daft decision to refuse any of the sedatives or anaesthetics on offer.

No idea why.  Regretted it rather hugely a couple of minutes later!  A remarkably uncomfortable experience, to say the least.

Take every pill and spray they offer, and ask for seconds.

Not the worst thing I've had shoved in me though - after complications due to a rather nasty kidney stone, they had to have a close look with a scope at the site where they had put a little temporary plastic tube.  

...which was in my urethra. :-O

They didn't tell me what I was going in for before the procedure.  The doctor said "If we told you we were going to do that, you'd probably never have come to the appointment!" )  

breakstuff

I think @Emp_Fab and @Fuzzdog may have convinced me that sedation is the way to go.I initially thought it would be a quick visit and then back to work after but looks like I'll be booking a day off.Working on a fork truck in a cold store at -26c after being sedated is probably not conducive to good health and safety.

Philly_Q

I've had both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy.

It was absolutely fine, the worst thing about it was not being able to eat the day before and having to take a very strong laxative (hmmm, this isn't working at all..... oh fuck, yes it is....)

It was under sedation but I felt wide awake throughout (by contrast I had a wisdom tooth out under sedation and I can't remember that at all)

But yeah, no problems.  And no after-effects as far as I can remember.

Headphones

I had one (bumcam) a year ago following appendicitis.  I was sedated but not all the way - apparently it's easier for them as you can respond.

The experience was just like being, really, really pissed and trying to fall asleep, but not quite - to the extent that you've no real awareness save the odd nudge, just like the wife trying to stop you snoring.

The trepidation was far, far worse than the procedure.

Funny thing was, no one wanted to see the photos afterwards!

UnclePsychosis

I've had several colonoscopies. Weirdly enough I actually had one this morning 

The worst part is definitely the "preparation" (making sure you're empty). The actual procedure itself isn't all that nice but its over very quickly and its never really worse than "uncomfortable".