This afternoon I had the endoscopy to see what shape my stomach is in. I think it went well.
Ian drove me there and back because I was sedated and I wasn't allowed to drive myself or take a taxi. He took Gozer for a walk while he was waiting for me.
When I got there, I had to wait a bit for them to call me in but once I was called into the back things went quickly. They had me change out of my long-sleeved top into a gown. The nurse came back, asked me a bunch of questions, and put a blood pressure cuff on me.
And then the nurse tried to start an IV for the sedative. For whatever reason she wanted to use my hand, and I hadn't been allowed to eat or drink anything for over four hours before so I was slightly dehydrated, and my veins are pretty crappy as it is. The IV attempt did not go well and I'm going to be left with a giant bruise.
She decided that she wasn't going to try again and that she'd leave my IV for the endoscopy nurse. That nurse did a much better job with the IV: she got it on the first try and it didn't hurt quite so much. Putting an IV into the hand is always going to hurt a little.
Then another nurse confirmed my name and age. The doctor sprayed a banana-flavoured numbing agent on my throat, gave me a thing to protect my teeth, and started injecting the sedative.
And then I woke up. I remember absolutely nothing of the procedure and I'm ok with that.
I have a followup appointment for June 19, I think. I'm not sure... I was pretty woozy when the nurse told me but it's written on a card. I slept for about half of the drive and then for about an hour after I got home. I'm still pretty tired but feeling ok.
Hopefully the doctor will have got some good biopsies and will have some information for me.
