"Endoscopy with sedation"

I was to have an endoscopy, with sedation as I suffer badly from anxiety.

The nurse in the ward was lovely and then I was transferred to a waiting room. Whilst in the waiting room I heard a staff member say "Lets get all the sedations done. "

I was called to the treatment room where I was given the throat spray. A nurse tried unsuccessfully to find a vein in my arm so the doctor took over. He appeared kind enough but the feeling of time being of the essence was very strong. He had a couple of attempts to find my vein, which was very painful. I accept this can be painful but I think a kind explanatory word helps. "This may be sore. " kind of thing.

Whilst he was trying to find a vein, a nurse, or assistant of some sort, was squeezing my wrist to attempt to help my veins stand up, someone else was at my right hand side, not sure what they were doing, possibly putting on a blood pressure cuff and someone was putting oxygen up my nose. There was also at least one other person in the room whom I can only assume was observing.

The point I am wishing to make is that all of this going on at once was terrifying! I was there to have an endoscopy, I had elected to have sedation because of my anxiety difficulties, yet I was more frightened of all these hands being on me than by the thought of the process.

The process itself was not too bad. I was a lot more aware than I would have liked to have been but I heard the doctor telling someone to give me more sedation.

I realise that time is a precious commodity, I realise that the time allowed for each patient is probably not that great but I really felt like a body on a conveyor belt rather than an individual with individual needs.

I postponed my appointment five times before plucking up the courage to go. I should hope that I never need such an exploration again as I am likely to put it off again and again, or require anaesthesia.

That all said, I am sure every one of those staff are lovely but maybe they could slow down ever so slightly? Or even explain that the process will seem really busy and hands on?