Endoscopy is a medical process and involves using an endoscope to look inside the body for some medical reasons. Today I had to undergo it because my doctor suspects that I have GERD. Fortunately, the specialist found nothing in my stomach, so it means that my tummy is healthy. He just told me to eat healthy and avoid drinking so much sodas.

An endoscope

Anyway, before the procedure, I was advised to fast for more than 12 hours. That’s strictly no eating and no drinking. So imagine my tummy rumbling all day and the dizziness because of hunger. But I drank a glass of water before we head to the hospital just enough to avoid dehydration and fainting. When I got to the hospital, I had to wait for almost an hour since we drove there an hour earlier to the appointment. So there I waited in the waiting area with the other patients. Time passed by a bit quicker than I expected, the doctor called my name and as I approached him my heart pounded very quick. He introduced himself to me and told me that I have a lovely surname (coz Lacsamana is a foreign surname in Norway). His assistant gave me a small shot-like glass of a fluid ( I don’t know the name) and I had to drink it to help them see my stomach better. After that he gave me an anesthetic spray in my mouth and throat. Since it was my first time to have my throat sedated, I felt nervous and worried, really worried that I started to ask them a lot of questions about the procedure.

Moving on, they asked me to lay on my side, bite a mouth piece and proceeded with the endoscopy. As the doctor pushed the endoscope tip in my mouth to my throat and down to my stomach, I got really nervous and I almost puked, but then his assistant was standing behind me and trying to calm me down. I cried a bit because of discomfort and nervousness. After a couple of minutes the doctor pulled the intravenous line and said that it’s done (finally!).

I’m so relieved now that I know my stomach is ok. All I have to do is to be careful of what I’m eating. Endoscopy is not that bad either, but I don’t want to experience it again.

Photo Sources: http://www.barrettsinfo.com/content/3a_what_is_egd_with_biopsy.cfm
http://www.pinehurstmedical.com/endoscopy.asp