"Inadequate pain relief during colonospy"

I attended the Endoscopy unit on 30.1.16 for a colonoscopy.

The health care assistant gave me a detailed overview of the entire procedure and said I would be offered gas and air on top of the drugs delivered intravenously if I needed it. I said I would willingly take all the pain releif I was offered. I ticked the box for sedation and signed the consent form.

My complaint is that I was in excrustiong pain, loudly moaning during the entire colonoscopy.

I used the gas and air yet unfortunatly this made no impact on my pain level and profund distress. I was not given adequate pain relief as promised In the North Bristol NHS leaflet p.6 where it states ' There are some bends that naturally occur in the bowel and negiotiating these may be uncomfortable for a short period of time but the sedation and analgesia wil minimise any discomfort.'

I believe I should have been given additional pain relief when the doctor could see how severe and enduring my pain was. I feel the lack of care to give me adequate pain relief was unacceptable.

Following the procedure and a period of recovery on the bed, while sitting I felt very unwell. A nurse noticed how pale I had suddenly become and took my blood pressure which was very low. I vomited twice. I was returned to a bed where my oxygen saturation dropped to a level that set the alarm off. A nurse returned to help me and I recovered. I believe I suffered a vasovagal syncope following the shock and trauma of the unberably painful colonoscopy.

I thought the nursing care was exemplary. Yet I am very angry and profoundly upset that I was not given adequate pain relief by the doctor during my colonoscopy.