my upper endoscopy, or egd.

So a few days ago, I told you that I was scheduled to have an EGD, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy, or upper endoscopy (which is much easier to pronounce).  Let me tell you about what happened, which I must stress is only indicative of my own experience.  YRMV.

I showed up at the medical center in jeans, t-shirt, and flip-flops.  When I had my colonoscopy, I wore black yoga pants, mainly for comfort but somewhat for camouflage against any, um, stains (which I fortunately didn't need to worry about).  I didn't figure it would matter too much for a scope scoping out the other end, and it turns out I was right.  I was taken back to a prep room, where I was asked to remove my shirt (bra stayed on) and to don a hospital gown.  I was then sat in a lovely overstuffed leather recliner while a nurse asked me a series of questions that I've already answered a thousand times.  Another nurse came in and attempted to place an IV in the crook of my elbow.

Let me stop at this point to say that I have very shy veins.  They don't like to come out and play with the nurses with the funny needles, and I can't say as I blame them.  I really, really, really don't like needles.  So anyway...I have one good vein, in my right inner elbow, about a knuckle's width from a certain freckle, and I always point it out to the nurses as a sure bet.  That way, they're not poking me unnecessarily.  I know that hitting the same vein over and over can't be good, but since I don't get stuck but once every so often I'm not overly concerned.  If I ever get to the point where I'm having to have blood taken or an IV inserted on a continuous basis, we might have to look around for more veins to mine.

So, continuing...the first nurse couldn't find a vein.  She poked my inner right elbow, the back of my left hand, and then the back of my right hand.  By this point, I was getting quite anxious (I was being good, though) and she was obviously getting flustered.  Fortunately for me, she went and got a nurse who was able to get an IV in the back of my right hand.

so it's kinda like the colonoscopy, except from the other direction.

I had an appointment with the gastroenterologist today (hey, Google, why is there a squiggly red line underneath that word?) and, to make a long story short, she's ordered an EGD for me to undergo today.  For those of you unfamiliar with that particular acronym (as I was), it stands for esophogastroduodenoscopy (there's that squiggly red line again...even "squiggly" doesn't have a red line).  Basically, what they're gonna do is put me under just like they did for the colonoscopy, and then run a scope down my throat and take a look at my esophagus, stomach, and the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum.  The first thing I asked the doctor was if I would be awake for this particular procedure...thankfully, the answer was no.  :)

She is a young doctor, but she does seem to know what she is doing.  That makes me feel good, because I don't want to trust my gut to anyone that I don't have a good gut feeling about.

I also have an appointment next week with a dietitian, so we can discuss various things related to Celiac Disease, foods, and food prep.  I'm actually looking forward to that, since it will give me a chance to ask some questions I have about cross-contamination and just how careful I truly have to be.  Right now, I feel like all I'm doing is washing my hands.  Seriously, I go through so many paper towels, I've probably killed a forest.  Celiac Disease and OCD go together like fire and gasoline.

Truth be told, I'm also looking forward to the procedure later today.  I'm curious as to what is in there, what it looks like, and just how much damage has been done.  The prep is a lot easier (only water to drink and nothing to eat after midnight, and no water after 5 AM) and I should get some answers to questions I've had for a long time.

I'll let you know how things go, what I find out, and how the whole thing felt.  :)  Stay tuned!