I certainly had no idea what I was in for.. It was just a matter of getting through it… I sat down with my wife in the Gastroentorology waiting room and waited nervously.
It was not long until I was called into the room.. They offered for my wife to go in but she wanted to wait in the waiting room - probably for the best.
I sat down on a bed that had its back upright and they explained the procedure. They had a flexible probe that had stripes down it and it was going to be inserted through my nose and down into my throat. I was then going to swallow some sweet and then some sour liquids to detect how my Oesophagus reacted to the swallowing and the pressure etc. They also explained that they could not numb my throat as it would interfere with my test.
The nurse started feeding the tube into my nose but found they could not angle the tube down what seemed like quite a thick tube towards my oesophagus. It was painful and very uncomfortable as they tried several times to get it down the right way. It was hard that they were making it really painful but were not successful in getting it down my throat.
They called the Doctor who is the expert in the field. He said that the would probably not have more luck than the nurse.. but had a go.. On the second attempt he was able to get it down the correct tube and it fed down. He then asked me to keep swallowing as he fed it down my oesophagus to my stomach. I could feel it in my throat and it was really uncomfortable.
They gave me the prepared sweet liquids in turn and asked me to swallow them.. but then I had to wait about 30 seconds afterward when I did not swallow again. It was meant so that the readings were not disrupted by subsequent swallowing afterwards. This was harder than it sounds as the tube was uncomfortable in my throat and all I wanted to do was keep swallowing.
They then gave me the sour liquids and did the same procedure. They then pulled the cord out much to my relief.. but it was not the end.
Next came the 24 hour PH testing probe. They showed me a little side pack that was to be my companion for the next 25 hours. They again inserted a tube through my nose and asked me to swallow again as they fed it down into my stomach. It felt horrible in my throat and I was supposed to sleep with this thing in my throat tonight !!
I was to record when I was eating, when I was resting and when I was sleeping by pressing different buttons on the side pack – you can see me in the photo below.
Because I had been on a high ph diet and been told to eat normally.. I decided to go to Mc Donalds and had a big burger which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was such a weird feeling trying to eat because you could feel the wire in my throat when I swallowed.
I was required to sleep flat that night.. It was difficult to arrange the backpack where I would not jolt the wires when sleeping. I managed to get to sleep eventually and enjoyed a cooked breakfast the next morning. I managed to remember to push the buttons when required.
The next day I went into the hospital to get my wire out. We had to wait an hour before someone was free to do it.. They cut off the cord and asked me to cough while they drew it out.. My partner was amazed that there was so much wire that was pulled out. It was such a relief to have it out.
I felt very unwell that afternoon and was in pain for the next day or two.
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