endoscopy

Gastroscopy Update

| marandarussell

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Hey everyone! The upper GI endoscopy is officially done! Luckily, the anesthesia worked great and I didn’t feel a thing until afterwards. They were running behind schedule so I had to wait a while to get into the procedure room, but once I got in there, the rest was easy. I woke up with a bad case of the hiccups, but that didn’t last too long.

The doctor said that the results looked pretty good. She did fix some scar tissue in there (I’m assuming from the acid reflux) and took a biopsy (mostly to check for celiac). The worst after-effect has been that when I ate lunch it hurt quite a bit to swallow food. Drinking hasn’t been too bad though. I grabbed a smoothie and some fruit and veggie juice on the way home, so I’m set for the rest of the night, even if it is hard to eat solid food.

I want to thank all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers for this appointment. I tend to get super anxious about anything I haven’t been through before and hearing your encouraging words and personal stories helps. I’m planning to take the rest of the day easy and just relax or maybe nap.

Nervous About My First Gastroscopy

| marandarussell

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Tomorrow I have my first ever upper gastrointestinal endoscopy scheduled. I’m super nervous about it. My biggest fear is that the anesthesia won’t fully knock me out and I will be conscious during it. I also worry about the possibility of the anesthesia wearing off early and waking up during it. I almost wish it had been done today so it would be over already and the anxiety would be over with.

During the procedure they plan to take a small biopsy to check me for celiac disease since changing to a gluten free diet has seemed to have some positive benefits for me. For one thing, since I switched to a mostly gluten free diet, my iron and vitamin D levels have stabilized for the first time in at least over a decade after always being too low.

The procedure is also being done to check for a hiatal hernia and acid reflux damage. I hope the results won’t be discouraging or worrisome. I also hope the anesthesia won’t make me sick. Prayers and positive energy are most welcome if any of you do that kind of thing!

I Got a Blog Donation and Other Good News!

| marandarussell

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First off, I want to thank the person who made a supportive donation to my blog through Paypal today! I believe this is the second donation I’ve received that way and I really appreciate the support! If you are interested in ways to support me, please check out the Support My Blog page on this website.

Also, I got some good news today that I don’t have to do the second part of the MRI that went disastrously last week. That is such a relief. I was afraid if I did the rest of the MRI it would just trigger another migraine. The MRI results I did receive were pretty good, with no seeming worsening of my cervical issues! Thank goodness!

I did have to visit the GI doctor today and found out I need to have an endoscopy, which I am nervous about, but I realize it is important if they are to find out why I am having such horrible bouts of esophageal pain and difficulty swallowing. At least I will be sedated for the procedure and hopefully won’t feel or be aware of what they do. My appointment for that test isn’t until next month, so at least I get a little break from medical tests.