Is an Endoscopy Painful?

Is an endoscopy painful? That’s something that a lot of people have been asking out there. An endoscopy is a procedure during which a doctor inserts a long tube containing a camera into your stomach. The aim is to see the lining of your upper stomach in order to identify any problems that may be there. I recently went through the procedure, and I believe I can give accurate information as to what it entails. Of course, my experience is going to be different from what other people will experience but in general, what can you expect from an endoscopy?

What to expect during an endoscopy?

Under normal circumstances, an endoscopy is not painful. However, you should expect to be very uncomfortable during the procedure. The experience can be borderline painful, particularly when air is pumped into your stomach.

My own experience

As noted, this is a procedure that I had to endure a few weeks ago. In fact, it’s how I discovered that I have gastritis. All along, I had believed the pains that I was having in my chest had nothing to do with the goings on in my stomach.

After years of suffering, I finally decided to listen to my doctor and undergo a gastritis. I booked one via Facebook with a specialist not too far from where I live. I even asked that doctor whether or not an endoscopy is painful during our chat.

He told me not to worry. I was going to be in good hands. In hindsight, what could I expect from him? Anyway, the doctor told me not to eat anything the morning of the endoscopy.

I admit I was apprehensive on the day of the procedure. I should probably also point out that I am a apprehensive more often than normal, particularly around medical people. That’s funny for a tall guy.

Anyway, I arrived at the doctor’s office at the appointed time and I made my payment. I was then ushered into the procedure room by two nurses. When I entered, the doctor was seated at his desk talking on the phone.

One of the nurses gave me a brief explanation on how the procedure was going to be carried out. I was told that a tube, which I could see hanging ominously on the endoscopy machine, was going to be inserted into my stomach. It never occurred to me that they were going to insert all of it in there!

I was also told that it wasn’t going to be painful. The nurse then preceded to measure my blood pressure. It was a bit high, but then I explained that I was already a blood pressure patient. I take high blood pressure medication every day. I know, I probably need to get off my bottom and do some exercises to alleviate that problem. Oh well! Soon.

Anyway, back to the story of whether or not an endoscopy is painful. One of the nurses sprayed anesthetic spray into my mouth, before telling me to lie down on the hospital bed that was in the room. She then went out to tell the doctor that I was ready. I thought I was ready. Damn, was I ever wrong!

I think part of my issue was that the doctor spend several more minutes on the phone before coming into the procedure room. The nurse gave me one more shot of the anesthetic spray, and the doctor went to work.

He inserted the tube into my mouth and the first issue arose at the entryway to the esophagus. The doctor told me to swallow the tube, which I did. He then began forcing the tube into my stomach.

God, was I ever that uncomfortable! But the most uncomfortable moment was when I started trying to vomit while the tube was being inserted. Needless to say I had nothing to vomit. But the reflex caused me to feel as if I was drowning. I honestly thought I was going to die.

So, what did I do? On impulse, I immediately grabbed the tube and started pulling it from my mouth. I think that was the first time those people in there saw something like that happen. That’s saying a lot considering they carry out a couple of endoscopies every day. The doctor responded to my shenanigans by shouting at me as if I was a kid.

One of the nurses immediately grabbed my hand. With all the shouting going on, I swallowed the reflex to vomit. I also started thinking about my children. I told myself that I needed to get better for their sake. That allowed the moment to pass.

From there, the doctor resumed inserting the endoscopy tube into my stomach. I was positioned in such a way that I could see everything on the screen. At some point as the seemingly endless tube continued to be inserted, I started feeling painfully bloated.

Finally, the doctor reached the point where he took biopsies from my stomach. I could see the little tool getting in there and snipping off my stomach lining. That was a bit painful, but it was okay. So, is an endoscopy painful? It was highly uncomfortable for me. And that is pain, isn’t it?

What to expect during an endoscopy

The experience that I have just outlined above was how this whole website was born. As a result of the procedure, I was diagnosed with gastritis, a not too serious disease, but one that can be painful. You can check out my post on how to relieve gastritis pain at home. After the diagnosis, I decided to share my experiences dealing with the disease.

So, is an endoscopy painful? The answer is, slightly. But don’t take my own experience as a benchmark. I know other people who have undergone the procedure, and almost all of them say they were merely very uncomfortable. For me, the major issue was probably that some of the anesthetics had worn off while waiting for the doctor to get off the phone.

The gag reflex that ensued was my biggest undoing. That and the fact that I had not done proper research before going to the doctor. I thought, oh well, I will just handle it. So, what can you expect during an endoscopy? You can expect a bit of bloating and that can be painful, particularly if there are issues within your stomach.

In my case, I have gastritis, as noted earlier. So, the air being pumped in there probably caused the issue to flare up. Fortunately, it was all worth it. Whether or not an endoscopy is a painful procedure is elementary at the end of the day. The most important thing is that I now have a diagnosis and I am now getting the issue sorted out.