I will say that they fire you through those procedures at the hospital like an assembly line. That GI clinic is like a well oiled machine; a revolving door of patients getting tubes put up or down various body cavities. I was "fortunate" enough to have mine down my throat today and not up somewhere else, if you know what I mean. There was a certain Calgary Stampede celebrity in there this morning too but I won't say who on here for privacy reasons. If you really want to know you will need to send me a gluten free offering for that kind of information.
The nurse did a great job getting a vein the first try (my veins are hard to get for some reason) and I was fully informed and gave consent to the specifics of this procedure. Everyone was very professional and caring and I did not feel like just another patient. They were kind and treated me with respect, even when at my most vulnerable.
Endoscopy is done to take a look at the small intestine and I now have 5 beautiful pictures of mine to keep forever (Yay). The gag reflex is pretty strong and I would say mine is even stronger than most. I gag when I have to touch raw meat or change the garbage. The procedure itself is fast (like 3-4 minutes) and from the time I was wheeled in to speak to the doctor and was wheeled out again it was maybe 20 minutes. Drive through endoscopy. Here's how this went today:
Nurse "Do you want to be sedated?"
Me "Yes, please, but please don't kill me."
Nurse *laughs* "Oh, I wouldn't do that." She places a mouth piece over my mouth to keep my teeth and mouth open and injects sedatives into my heplock. "It works really fast so close your eyes."
Me - I try to ask if I will throw up from the sedative but my mouth is inoperable and my world is spinning, everything goes black but I am still semi-conscious and somewhat aware of what is going on. Gag, gag, gag, gag. I am actually trying to swat away anything that is anywhere near my face. My face is wet and they are trying to wipe it while I swat at them and this tube is down my throat. I am thankful the procedure is done when you are on your side and I can now understand why.
Nurse (as she is trying to hold my arms down so the doctor can finish) "Just try to breath. You are ok. We're almost done." And the scope is out.
Me *crying*
Nurse "Are you ok? It's ok, hon. It's all over now."
Me *black out*
The sedatives they used today were Fentanyl and Versed. I felt like Will Ferrell in Old School when he nailed himself with a tranquilizer dart. I haven't been quite myself for the rest of the day.
*foul language warning*
(*Rant warning* Versed is used in early labour sometimes but I know that they give Fentanyl to some mothers later in labour and I am astounded that anyone thinks this is a good idea! You're not allowed to do much of anything for 24 hours after that stuff but new moms need to figure out how to take care of a new little person while all dizzy and disoriented?? Plus, if I feel this way, imagine how a newborn baby must feel after they get a shot of that via their mom *end rant*).
No comments:
Post a Comment