Endoscopy

I have been suffering with heartburn and pain in the stomach and upper GI area for about ten years. A few months ago I awoke in the small hours in so much pain I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. After arriving at A&E I was put on a monitor and the heart attack ruled out. It turned out I have gallstones and have been told I will need the gall bladder removed - that will be a story for another day when it's done. My consultant was concerned with the upper GI pain as gallstones don't usually create those symptoms so sent me for an endoscopy. I arrived at the hospital earlier today and was shown to a cubicle with a ...  Read the complete review

The type of endoscopy that I want to write about here is an oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy, otherwise known as an OGD, or sometimes shortened to gastroscopy. An OGD may be indicated for a number of reasons. The reason I needed one was due to recurrent acid reflux or heartburn. It all began just over 3 years ago. The heartburn has increased in severity ever since. I tried all the lifestyle changes (losing weight, avoiding red wine and spicy foods, etc etc) and they certainly did have some effect, but couldn't get rid of the problem. I tried increasingly stronger and stronger medical therapies until I was on Lansoprazole (Zoton), a Proton Pump Inhibitor - ...  Read the complete review