SO NERVOUS! Endoscopy and colonoscopy on Monday

I am so nervous. My endoscopy and colonoscopy is on monday. Never had one before. Can anyone tell me what its like? Any prep ideas? What should I expect? Will I have alot of pain? Should I run away? Lol

For me, the endoscopy was extremely unpleasant but bearable.  I never bothered taking a benzodiazepine in advance because I had to go back to work, but if I had it to do over again, I would have taken it.  It's just gross.  Not much in the way of prep, other than what the doc outlines for you ahead of time.  Best advice is just try to relax and don't tighten up against the process, it will only be harder on you and hurt more... try to relax as much as possible.  As soon as it was over, I hopped off the table and went back to work, no repercussions (my tests were done at different times, unrelated to this process).

As for the colonoscopy, I found that very painful.  Sorry.  Take whatever drugs they offer you and again, try to relax as much a possible.  It sucks big time, every aspect of it, from all the people in the room, to the pain, to the embarrassement of the situation etc.  If you are getting them both done at the same time then it is likely that they will give you something to relax you, that will help.  Good luck.  When it's all done, it's done and you can go home.

I have had a couple of colonoscopies -- the worst part was the prep. Stay close to your bathroom and have reading material! I was pretty much knocked out when they did mine.

I recently had an endoscopy at HRRH with Dr Hagen.  They sedated me, I didn't feel a thing!  Was a little dopey afterwards, but had no issues.  As long as they are offering sedation, I have no problem going back for another one!

I've done both one right after the other without drugs. While not the most pleasant exams, they certainly were doable. As a previous poster mentioned, the prep for the colonoscopy is the worst part. The more relaxed you are, the easier/quicker it will be. 

I have always been asleep for those procedures.  When  I wake up it is over and never had side effects.  The prep is the worst part, especially if you have to drink the gallon of go lightly liquid.

Hi my gastro was done on monday and because my hubby was stuck in the traffic he coludn't pick me up so no sedation for me. They spray my throat with something to numb it around 2-3 min and it was done. It wasn't pleasant but I was able to go home by myself. The worst part for me was no drinking and my app was around 4 pm. 

get someone to pick you up so you can have sedation and it is really nothing to worry about. Prep is a bit inconvenient but did not hurt. I have had both at different times and did not hurt as I was sedated. 

Eragon,

I just did this on the December 11 -- and the absolute worst part of it is the prep.  What it tastes like and what happens to you afterward.  As I said to my husband, "I don't even want to think about what would happen with people who can eat normal amounts of food."  I've never spent so much time in the bathroom in my life -- and I was bulimic at one time, for the love of God.

One word of advice -- after you drink that godawful crap, drink as much water as you can stand.  It makes it work better.  The doctor forgot to tell me that part until I was ready to take the 2nd dose and called him in a panic because the first one didn't work.  Drank water for the second one and it worked better than I could have -- or should have -- wished.

As for the procedure itself, the worst part of that for me was getting the IV needle -- I don't have particularly good veins.  I had my procedure at Rouge Valley Health and they give you the good drugs there -- Propophyl; I can see why Michael Jackson was partial to it.  I was completely unconscious for the whole thing and woke up in the recovery room not feeling like someone had clubbed me upside the head with a 2x4.  The thing about Propophyl is it wears off in about 10 minutes, so by the time I was ready to go home I felt really good.

For myself, it was not painful at all.  There's some gas afterward because they've pumped air from both ends to get a good look, but that goes away after a couple of hours or so. 

And don't worry if you don't go again for a while -- in my case, like almost a week.  After all, they've cleaned out everything but your dental fillings, so it takes a while for anything else to move through the system, as it were.

No worries -- thinking about it is a hundred times worse than the actual procedure.  Just don't plan on going pretty much anywhere the day before, as you will become very good friends with your porcelain throne.