A month after my initial appointment with my GP I had an appointment with a surgical nurse who will be working alongside my surgeon.  He was a really lovely man, I felt completely at ease with him.  He discussed my options and explained which procedure would be best suited to me for the amount of weight loss I need to achieve in order to be healthy.  I was given a lot of paperwork to read through and then I was told of all the tests I need to undergo before I can be cleared for surgery.  After my appointment with David I needed to get blood taken which was going to be screened for all sorts, seven vials were taken in the end!

The first test I needed to do was a 24 hour urine test.  This involves collecting all of the urine I pass within the 24 hours, decanting it into a massive plastic bottle and then returning it to the hospital the next morning.  Let me say, men have got it pretty easy, no messing around with cups and jugs for them!  The next day I disguised the pee bottle in an unassuming brown paper bag and hurriedly handed it over to the lady in sample taking.

Yesterday I had my second test and it was a biggie.  The dreaded gastroscopy.  Both of my parents have had gastroscopies for various reasons and they were both in agreement, it was the worst thing they have ever had done.  I'll admit, I was terrified, but I put on a brave face.  The paperwork I was mailed by the hospital told me to fast for six hours before the test and not to drink anything for two hours before the test.  My appointment was at nine in the morning so the last thing I ate was my dinner the night before and at 6.30am I had a big gulp of water to keep me going.  During the drive to the hospital I began to feel nauseous so I tried to keep my mind off things.  The traffic was horrendous and we got to the hospital with minutes to spare until my appointment and we still hadn't found a parking space so I told my mum I could do this myself and let her park up.

At the endoscopy unit I was greeted by a friendly man at the reception desk and then I realised I had forgotten my admission form!  He said it didn't matter and took some details down and I was ushered into a waiting room with several other nervous people.  People were coming and going, some in hospital gowns, others in wheelchairs, I had absolutely no idea what to expect and all the while I was just praying that everything would be okay.  Eventually my name was called and a lovely nurse took me into a side room to take my blood pressure and tag me.  I have no luck with electric blood pressure cuffs, they always just continue to inflate until my arm is literally blue and still refuse to take a reading, so after the cuff had exploded a second time the nurse decided to give it a rest.  She talked me through the procedure and reassured me that the ladies in the endoscopy room were really lovely people.  I was then led to another waiting room where I was left alone for about ten minutes before another woman peeped around the door, this was it.  Once we went through a set of double doors it went from being a waiting room to being a full-on hospital environment.  The only hospital admission I have ever had was a tonsillectomy when I was five, so I'm not used to the whole medical thing!

We turned off the corridor and I was in the endoscopy room.  The room was massive, space-age looking actually.  A bed was in the middle of the room and the massive scope took up at least a quarter of the available space, along with numerous computers.  The nurses were so gentle and caring.  I was asked to remove my sandals and then I laid down on the bed.  The endoscopist came to me and talked me through what she was about to do, everything felt very calm and I was trying to keep myself together.  I was sprayed in the mouth several times with a spray which smelled like bananas but tasted like battery acid.  My tongue became numb and suddenly my throat felt like it wasn't my own, I willed it to swallow but it wouldn't do as it was told.  The nurse reassured me that I was in fact swallowing but I couldn't feel it.  I was rolled onto my side and the nurse at my head tucked a blanket under my chin and placed a mouth guard between my teeth.  I closed my eyes and tried to keep my breathing under control.  Through my closed eyelids I could see a rainbow of colour moving towards my face and I knew it was the scope.  A few seconds passed and I was doing okay, until the scope reached the back of my throat.  I began to gag and I was sick a few times but the nurses just kept soothing me and used suction to remove the fluid.  It's a really disconcerting feeling to swallow down on something which is completely solid, it feels so completely foreign and your body knows it's not normal.  I could breathe completely fine but teamed with the gagging it was much more difficult.  Every time I opened my eyes I could see the hands of the endoscopist pushing the tube into my throat.  After a few moments I managed to get into a rhythm and just hoped that this was almost over.  They told me they were taking a biopsy and then out came the scope.

I was so embarrassed at being sick in front of the nurses I kept apologising over and over again but they were so lovely and told me that most people try to pull the scope out so I had done very well.  They didn't find anything untoward during the investigation, which was very reassuring.  My mascara had smeared all down my face from the gagging and I looked a right sight but the nurses helped me clear myself up.  After thanking the nursing staff again I was taken to a recovery room where I signed my discharge papers and was forbidden from drinking or eating anything for half an hour when the feeling in my throat returned. 

For the rest of the day I had a bit of a sore throat and I was burping a bit because of the air they put in my tummy but that was what I expected.  Although my description of the gastroscopy may seem very frightening, and I suppose it was, I would still have another one done if I really had to.  But here's hoping that was my first and last!!

On Thursday I have my lung function and exercise test so I will update with details after I have finished.