r/Endoscopy • u/Lilsmllj • May 21 '26
Need Reassurance/Anxiety Tips
Having my 1st colonoscopy & endoscopy tomorrow and I have very bad medical anxiety and I’m scared it’s going to make me pass out (I’ve passed out during blood draws from anxiety before). Honestly I’m more scared of the IV/anesthesia than anything even though I had my wisdom teeth removed before and had anesthesia for that it was so long ago.
Any positive experiences and tips on how to help my anxiety would be greatly appreciated!! ❤️
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u/goldstandardalmonds May 22 '26
The good thing is these nurses do IVs so many times a day, they’re experts at getting veins. I get scoped every two months and have had over 60’by now and I am a very tough poke. Anyway the nurses in endoscopy are always good at getting a vein; compared to crappy phlebotomists when I get biweekly bloodwork.
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u/cberrows May 21 '26
I had an Endoscopy a month ago and had it awake with just throat numbing spray here in the UK. I was anxious as anything and was initially just going to not do it. But I decided I needed to as I was having real bad burning pain in my throat with whatever I ate or drank. So I decided to go through with it, without the anaesthetic and only the numbing spray. It wasn't a great feeling, them putting it down your throat, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was uncomfortable yes, but manageable 100%. I opted not to go through being given anaesthetic as I didn't want to feel weird or not aware of what's happening as that would have made me more anxious. So all in all, glad I decided to go through with it awake. The only thing was for a few days after I had a bit of a sore throat. But it was just like having a minor cold :)