Something I’ve struggled with for the past 10 years is swallowing food. I’m a slow eater, I often choke on bits of food but normally, I can get through a meal – albeit 20 minutes after everyone else has finished! AKA one of the reasons I love Tapas and sharing meals because people don’t notice as much!
However, at the end of last year, I’d noticed it had become a lot worse so decided to finally go to the doctors about it. A camera up my nose later, I was told they couldn’t see anything.
I mentioned it to my Gastro consultant about 2 months ago, as it hadn’t gotten any better and I was struggling with acid reflux as well. So I was booked in for an endoscopy – something I’ve been terrified about for a long time!
Then, a month ago, my ability to swallow food just WENT! It was horrible, food didn’t feel right in my throat, food I did get down felt stuck in my throat and I really struggled. So, I rang my doctor who managed to get my endoscopy moved forward so they could have a look at what’s going on.
What is an endoscopy/Gastroscopy
Gastroscopy and endoscopy are interchangeable terms for the same things. A small thin camera (called an endoscope) is put down your throat and they look at your oesophagus (gullet), stomach and first part of the small intestine (duodenum).
In some cases (like mine) they also take biopsies so they can do further tests.
My Gastroscopy exeperience
So, for future reference, I went during the Covid-19 pandemic so I had to be on my own and my mum had to leave me at the door of the waiting room and then pick me up when the department rang her.
I was taken into a room of my own where the loveliest nurse admitted me, went through my medical history, took my blood pressure & heart rate and put in a cannula.
Then the doctor doing my gastroscopy came in and went through my medical history again and chatted through the procedure and answered any questions.
On to the actual procedure…
First, I was given a throat numbing spray which was weird. The doctor got you to open your mouth and sprayed it in – then you had to swallow. He did that a few times and your throat feels so dry and like you can’t swallow. You can and it’s nothing to panic about. It feels so weird though.
It reminded me slightly of when you have a really good throat lozenge (like dequicaine) which numbs your throat TIMES BY 1000!!
I opted for sedation so they popped that into the cannula.
You’re then given a mouth guard and the procedure begins. I’ll be honest, I did not enjoy it and it was uncomfortable – I mean there’s a tube stuck down your throat so it’s not going to be fun!
I’ll be honest, even though I opted for sedation, I didn’t feel sedated at all! I didn’t feel drowsy at all so not sure what happened there.
They have to push air into you to open certain parts of your throat which I was wanted about. But I did not react well to it! It was uncomfortable, I did a lot of burping and gagging AND my instincts may have kicked in and my hand went to take everything out! Luckily, one of the nurses managed to catch my hand in plenty of time!
Then it was done! Even though it was unpleasant, I did feel like it went quickly. I also think if I’d been sedated a bit more I would’ve been a lot better.
I was taken back to my room, had to wait 30 minutes when they brought me some drinks and biscuits as I could drink fine.
My throat hurt almost straight away and I was full of air, which was uncomfortable. The sore throat and uncomfortable feeling lasted two days but I was fine after that!
Answering your Endoscopy Q’s
On instagram, you sent me a lot of questions about the procedure so I thought I would answer them all in this post.
This information is based off my own experience and information my medical team gave me.
How long does the procedure last?
My gastroscopy lasted around 8 minutes. Beforehand, my doctor said it wouldn’t be longer than 10 and the NHS website says no longer than 15 minutes usually.
Are you awake during a gastroscopy?
Yes.
You can opt to just have the throat spray but you can be sedated. But sedation doesn’t mean you’re asleep. Like I said, I didn’t feel any effect from the sedation! But in hindsight I should’ve asked for more maybe then it might have been easier.
Does it hurt when they take biopsies during an endoscopy?
No. You can never really feel them taking biopsies for either colonoscopies or endoscopies.
What prep do you have to do before an endoscopy?
I had my appointment at 11am. So I had to stop eating 6 hours before and had my last drink 2 hours before the endoscopy.
Does an endoscopy hurt?
I wouldn’t say it hurt but it was uncomfortable. And afterwards, I had a really sore throat. It reminded me of when you have tonsillitis.
How long does it take to recover from a gastroscopy?
I went home 45 minutes afterwards and felt fine. However, the sore throat and uncomfortable feeling lasted 2 days. After that, I’ve felt fine.
I hope this has helped you! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. Remember, whilst the procedure is uncomfortable, you’re going to get answers. So it’s worth the few days of anxiety and uncomfortableness.
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