Gastroscopy

[FADEC]

Today I got my first gastroscopy. I sadly wasn't able to watch it on the monitor but it was an interesting experience nevertheless. I took it without any narcosis. The faces of the doctors and assistants was like "oh no, the poor guy doesn't know what he is facing" :lol: They really were concerned and didn't expect it to work without a narcosis. But I still did refuse a narcosis because I think it's nonsense for such a 5 minutes examination. I was surprised to hear that I am only the second person this year who took it without a narcosis.

Well, the first two attempts didn't work. But the third attempt was done by the other female doctor (there were two). She was older than the other female doctor so I guess it's the experience which counts. It worked immediately (the other doctor was too careful I think). Swallowing the tube was no problem at all and it even was possible to breath normally and swallow normally in between without any urge to gag. The team (all in all it was 5 in the room) was reliefed and also surprised that it worked that well without a narcosis. I think it's just a matter of attitude and relaxation. I have no doctor phobia and I am rather open to our academic medicine which I think makes a lot of things easier. And I have to say that they did a very good job. So when I received the compliments they also got some

The diagnosis is: hiatus hernia [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiatal_hernia"]Hiatus hernia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

So I have to be careful with nutrition. And I have to do a gastroscopy about every 3 years from now on. Does anybody know if it means that I am not airworthy anymore in case I would be a real world pilot?

And does somebody here also have experiences with gastroscopy? Was it similar or worse?

 

[SiberianTiger]

A prolonged gastric intubation is worse. You have to spend more than a hour with a latex pipe put through your throat. That's infuriating.

 

[mojoey]

i thought a gastroscopy was through the other end....
congrats on going through that without drugs. all it is, a big swollen spot (my grandfather had a three pound hernia taken out :S) did they say if they were going to remove it?

 

[MaverickSawyer]

No, that's a colonoscopy.

 

[markl316]

http://www.leftseat.com/sistats.htm

So there are pilots with:
Mechanical heart valves
Seizures
Kidney transplants
Bypass surgery
etc.

I think you're going to be just fine :thumbup:
These are at least the rules in the US.

 

[mojoey]

No, that's a colonoscopy.

so... you gonna go see the football game this weekend? OH GOD THATS COLD
ive never had the displeasure of recieving either one...and hope to not do that for a very long time

 

[Suzy]

No, that's a colonoscopy.

I've had one of those - the worst part is the "purging" beforehand! :blink: The actual procedure wasn't that bad - I was sedated for it.

 

[Weirdo Earthtorch]

I've had one of those - the worst part is the "purging" beforehand! :blink:

... and with that in mind I bring you this unattributed quote:-

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

 

[llarian]

Gastroscopy is a pain. Colonoscopy is just a pain in the ass. Once I had the progenitor to the colonoscopy ... a sphygmoidoscopy. Basically the same thing but instead of a nice fibreoptic scope it uses a 4cm diameter "telescope". And with a medical class in attendance (procedure wasn't explained previously). Most deleterious to one's "manly" self-image.

 

[mojoey]

i prefer not having a telescope shoved up my rear...

 

[FADEC]

i prefer not having a telescope shoved up my rear...

Beginning at an age of 50+ I will prefer the telescope once in a while insted intestinal cancer. I think with my irritable colon and hiatus hernia I have higher risks anyway.

I read that a colonoscopy isn't worse than a gastroscopy i.e. not painful "normally" (there are always exceptions). I guess it's just a psychological thing which makes it hard for some people, just like some people think they are going to die during a gastroscopy. I had certain digestive problems (no details...) which I think are a nightmare compared to a colonoscopy (a thrombosis in your rear for example stays for weeks). I took the gastroscopy without sedation like an adult male should be able to do. And I think a colonoscopy will be the least problem.

 

[llarian]

Given that I've had both, the colonoscopy was the least uncomfortable. The worst part was the "bubbling" used to inflate the colon. As for the sphygmoidoscopy, it at least proved my ancestry. Apparently most people have four "turns" or twists in their lower intestine. I felt every one as the attending surgeon took it easy pushing by them. After the fourth one he proceeded to push a little harder and faster and ran into a fifth turn! That one I felt most painfully. Doctor asked if my family was Scots or Irish. Apparently anyone with Celtic ancestry has five turns in the lower intestine.

My family has a history of colon cancer so I strongly urge anyone set for a colonoscopy to put aside any thoughts of unpleasantness and get the procedure done. Similarly with a prostate cancer check. Far better to catch problems in the very early stages.