"Staff were kind and extremely patient"

Went for a endoscopy due to having stomach issues.

Staff were kind and extremely patient as I was extremely anxious about having it done. Found out I am difficult to cannulate and it took several hours to get one in ( was no one’s fault I just have difficult veins that like to hide). Ended up getting a anaesthetist to get it in using an ultrasound. Even though it was stressful as I have a fear of needles I was thankful to have it in as it meant I could get the sedation.

I was then taken into the room to get the test done where once again the staff were kind, patient and understanding. The throat spray wasn’t pleasant and did make me panic due to the numb feeling but the staff kept reassuring me that I was safe and everything was ok. I was then told to lay on my left side, bite onto a mouth block to keep it open and had the sedation given. This is where my memory is a bit more patchy as I don’t remember the endoscope going in but I do have a faint memory of gagging and feeling like i was going to be sick and panicking as I felt like I couldn’t communicate how I felt as I had the camera down my throat. Unfortunately they had to stop the test as I couldn’t tolerate it. 

I honestly can’t fault the staff as they were all patient and reassuring and tried to make it as stress free as possible. 

There were a lot of unknowns and firsts (never really had to go to hospital or get a cannula in) so it could have been a lot more stressful if it wasn’t for the staff and I probably wouldn’t have got as far as I did if it wasn’t for them being supportive and understanding.

Still feel a bit frustrated at myself for not being able to tolerate it but I guess it couldn’t be helped. Just need to wait to get a different test done now.