The appointment for the Endoscopy came through quite quickly and I was sitting in the waiting room at Telford within 2 weeks...
All the vital signs checked out so no excuses and in I went.... I opted for the throat spray rather than the anaesthetic... Just to avoid hanging around and feeling woozy... Didn't even have to take my shirt off!
Big mistake! If you need to have this investigation and you think there is a chance that the nurse on the end of the pipe is likely to have to chop bits out to take away for further inspection... I would strongly suggest that you get put out for it.
It's fairly unpleasant having a hose shoved down your gullet and passed through the stomach for a peep at your intestines... On the way back, the hose in question appears to double in size and your gag reaction will try to keep it down... The resulting tug of war is particularly unpleasant...
As a final twist... the snake bared it's fangs and spent a good five mins yanking lumps out of my newly discovered tumour... With a tube down my throat at least no one heard my screams...
On the upside, there was a lovely attentive nurse stroking my shoulder all the way through to tell me it was OK... And suck away some of my dribble!
The follow up with my caseworker Nurse made it fairly plain that something was amiss, that I'd need to come back for results... And make a plan... Part of which was to go for a CAT scan... Which I won't dwell on as it just involved drinking lots of water, being injected with dye and lying down for a few mins in a donut.... Ultrasound next....
