I have a new Doctor after having some medical issues diagnosed that were left untreated/undiagnosed for about 15 years. I saw her for the second time last week and she has ordered an endoscopy (I don’t know if I spelled that right) for me.
Has anyone here had one and can you tell me what to expect? I’m not talking about what, specifically, it actually is - that she explained to me. I’m looking for more information as to the patient side - questions/experience. etc. Stuff like will I need a ride home afterwards? Am I going to be awake? Is it going to hurt? How much? How bad will I feel afterwards? Should I stock up before hand on lots of ice cream that I like (like you would if you were getting your tonsils out?) More importantly, how long am I going to be able to play the sympathy card afterwards and get waited on hand and foot?
I’d appreciate any experiences anyone may like to share - good or bad.
I had an endoscopy done (wow, probably 7 years ago now) to look at my upper digest tract - stomach mainly. (We still have the pictures somewhere.) They used nitrous oxide on me, and maybe a local anesthetic for my throat, although the nitrous put me out like a light, so I’m not sure about that.
I had a slightly sore throat afterward, but that was it, in terms of pain from the actual procedure. The worst side effect for me was (TMI) diarrhea, from not having anything in my system but apple juice.
I had one several years ago because I was having problems with acid reflux at the time. It really wasn’t that bad, but I definitely felt out of it for that day. I don’t remember what they gave me, but they knocked me out for it. An IV went in my arm, and the next thing I knew it was over. The recovery period should be quite short. I don’t recall having to miss any work.
My biggest recommendation is to be very mindful of when you schedule it. When I had mine, I had to fast beforehand; I couldn’t even drink water. And I was foolish enough to schedule it for late in the day. Needless to say, no food and no water until after 4:30PM was exceedingly miserable.
So yeah, find out exactly what your fasting requirements are, and try to schedule the appointment to minimize its impact.
I’ve had two both for the same issue, seven years apart. It was day surgery, I did need a ride home, I wasn’t in a lot of pain but meds are good to me! I wasn’t awake, and sure, get some ice cream, why not? I was up and about the next day though my abdomen was tender. No scar or mark at all.
In fact it went so smoothly the second time, when they wheeled me back to my enclosure and hubby, the very second they left, I told him they’d screwed up, got it out of order and never even operated on me, I’m sure of it! All the while clawing at the blankets, sheets and gown. I was beyond stunned to discover a bandaid on my navel. Like dumbstruck! Hubby thought it was hilarious!
And yes, you ought to be able to elicit mucho sympathy and garner lots waiting on. You didn’t hear it from me but, if you sort out piles of laundry, in front of the machines, just before going to hospital, it could happen that someone strongly feeling to help will get that job done for you!
I had one about 5 years ago. This was with the NHS in England, so the experience may differ for you somewhat, mainly because here they offer you a local or general anaesthetic, with the advice that you should have a local if you can.
This is because they don’t like putting people out for minor procedures - it’s not a cost thing, but a medical preference. Clearly recovery times are MUCH faster with a local, you can drive yourself home etc.
I decided I was brave and opted for a local, which was simply a throat spray. I wish, in hindsight, that I had had the general, as it was an unpleasant experience, mainly because it makes you feel like you’re choking.
The upside is that the recovery was minimal, I had my partner drive me home but was otherwise totally fine. I had a slight scratchy throat for a day or so, but certainly nothing like having your tonsils out.
I’ve had two, and luckily (I guess) they were done at the same time as a colonoscopy, so I had that twilight sleep or whatever. I couldn’t drive home, but as for aftereffects - no tenderness, no scratchy throat, nothing at all.
I’ll second this. I had mine first thing in the morning because I had to fast for 12 hours. Other than that it wasn’t bad. I got knocked out for it and was groggy the rest of the day but the next day I was fine, no sore throat or anything. I did have my mom drive me that day, I wasn’t “with it” enough to drive after I woke up.
My endoscopy story. The OP and anyone scheduled for an endoscopy shouldn’t read this.
You know how they talk about routine surgery leading to complications? That happened to me. I was having gall bladder problems so I got an endoscopy. There were no initial problems (other than my gall bladder was really screwed up) so I went home. But a few hours later I started feeling really ill. I ended up going to the ER where they found that the endoscopy had punctured my pancreas. They stabilized me but the pancreas got infected which can be fatal. I ended up spending four weeks in various hospitals before they released me and a few more weeks at home recovering. A couple of months later I had recovered to the point where I could go have my gall bladder removed, which had been the original problem.
I think some people are confusing laparoscopy (exploratory or otherwise) with endoscopy.
I’ve had two of each in the past 15 years. Most recent was to remove my gallbladder two weeks ago.
Endoscopy is easy - it will probably done with Versed or Propofol “twilight” sedation, so you will need a ride home. You might have a bit of hoarseness afterward, but shouldn’t have any pain. On the pity scale, it’s about a 1 or 2 out of 10. You will be fairly entertaining to the person tasked with taking you home - they will probably tell you “It’s done - we’re going home now” at least three times.
Endoscopy is done with a fiber optic camera passed through your mouth, through the esophagus into the stomach, and possibly into the first few inches of the small intestine, if the doctor needs to look there. They’re done to evaluate things like ulcers, reflux disease, or trouble swallowing, and the scope can grab small samples of tissue if needed for a biopsy. They don’t involve the navel, and if anything goes so catastrophically wrong to injure the pancreas, there’s going to be a big hole punched through the esophagus or stomach, so there’s no chance of that going unnoticed.
Laparoscopy is done with a similar fiber optic scope, but involves making one or more incisions in the belly and inflating (insufflating) the belly with carbon dioxide gas so the surgeon can see things. As it’s a surgical procedure, I can’t imagine why a doctor would do an exploratory laparoscopy (aka ex-lap) to have a look at the gallbladder and not remove it - once they have done everything needed to get the scope in, it only takes another 10-20 minutes to remove the gallbladder, making the procedure a lap choly or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. There are several non-invasive ways to image and evaluate a gallbladder that I would expect to be done first.
My lap choly rated about 4 on the pity scale. Outpatient procedure, needed no pain meds at home, and recovery consisted of resting for a few days.
It is far easier now than when it was all those years ago, when it was done with the patient in a chair and having a choking sensation.
I also had to have quite a few “dilations” where they had to stretch the oesophogus to break scarring due to reflux. These could be painful and let to bleeding.
The good news is that the last one I had- about five years back- was like a walk in the park. Sedated, no hurt, and no need to worry.
I had three in done inside of 2 months. I was terrified. I’m a gagger, they tell you that you’re ‘awake’ during it but it’s a twilight so don’t worry, they’ll numb your throat blah blah blah. I can give you the whole story, but in the end they say ‘okay this will make you tired’ and then you wake up in the recovery room and it’s over. If I was awake I don’t remember it (thanks Versed).
I believe you are awake because they need you to do things like help swallow the scope, move your head, whatever, but seriously, it was less of an ordeal than getting a tooth filled.
You will need a ride home because of the anesthesia and you’ll have to take the day off of work.
Like I said, I was terrified for my first one but it was such a not big deal that I did the second and third ones right away (all part of the same thing). The only issue I had was that after the second one I had a monster migraine afterwards, but that was from the anesthesia.
If I ever need another one I won’t put it off for years. Ignoring the cost, I’d get it done right away. Don’t worry, it’s really nothing. They’ll (as far as you know), knock you out and then a half a second later you’ll wake back up and it’s over and you won’t even know they did anything. Out of my three, ONCE I had what felt like a scratch on my throat that bugged me for about two days, but that was it.
I think people would be a lot less worried about them if they would stop telling patients that it’s twilight sedation and that they’re awake. That’s what made me put it off for so long. I’m sure it’s true, but as far as I could tell, they put the meds in me, I blinked and woke up back in my room. They might as well have done nothing and sent me a bill for three thousand dollars. Except that I can swallow food now (they were dilating my esophagus, so I know they were doing something).
Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the experiences - both good and bad (yes, Little Nemo, my curiosity DID get the better of me. :D) and I’m not quite so scared as I was. And thanks, elbows for the sympathy scale measurements - I’ll be sure to have not only the laundry, but other necessary things well placed by their appropriate cleaning machines prior to going leaving to make sure that things are taken care of as they should be. And ice cream is on sale at 3 for $10 this week - I’ll be stocking up early.
oft wears hats, thanks for the time scheduling tip - those are the things that I wouldn’t have thought of - I appreciate it.
gotpasswords, thanks for the detailed medical information - that does help me narrow down what, exactly to ask my Gastro dude when I see him at the appointment I have to go to before this whole shebang gets off the ground.
This whole getting diagnosed thing for something I didn’t know I had after all these years is really becoming a pain in the ass - for years I had no doctor. Now I have a Regular Doc (Primary Care Physician) and a Gastro dude (because I can’t spell Gastroenterologist), and I’m probably going to get a couple more she said. What a pain! I hope once we have all of them lined up, they get “Team Missy” T-Shirts or something. :rolleyes:
Again, thank you everyone - I appreciate all of your insights, comments, experiences, etc. Have a wonderful weekend!
Because you’ll probably be writing it a lot more in future threads, an endoscopy can be shortened to endo (as opposed to colonoscopy) or EGD* and Gastro Dude is your GI Doc.
*naturally, that’s short for esophagogastroduodenoscopy. But look at the word, it’s literally esophagus, stomach, duodenum (the area just past your stomach)
I’ve had two endoscopies.
Well, at least that’s what my medical file says. I’m not actually sure,myself–because each time the procedure only took 30 seconds.
I laid down on the table, was asleep within 30 seconds, and when I woke up in a different room, they told me I had had an endoscopy an hour ago.
If they hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t know -----That’s how easy the whole thing is! So relax, and stop worrying, okay?
But you do need a companion to drive you home afterwards.
And fasting before is a bit of a hassle, so try to schedule your appointment for 8:00 a.m.
If it’s a pain in the ass, they’re doing it wrong ;)!!
I popped in to say “me too” on pretty much everything. I’ve had two, 3 years apart, due to a history of worsening reflux. The second one left me with a bit of a sore throat for a couple of days because I’d developed a “lump in the throat” sensation - at that point it wasn’t yet scarring or a real stricture, but he stretched things out while I was under.
Something you didn’t ask about, but I will: How old are you? When I had my first upper endoscopy, I was 50. When I saw the gastro beforehand, I said “well, while we’re at it…” and they did both ends. This turns out to have been a very good idea (nothing bad with the north, south was doing some precancerous stuff). Hey, if you’re about due for the colonoscopy anyway, might as well get both out of the way with one day off work.
Nemo’s procedure may have been an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) - that’s a bit more involved than a plain vanilla endoscopy.
