Anaesthesia Departement

What are the choices?

Some people feel that they will not be able to manage without some sedation, whereas others prefer to be wide awake and remain in control. The two anaesthetic options are a throat spray to numb your throat or a sedative injection that will relax you. Which option you choose depends on how you feel about the test. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages, and the final choice is usually left to the individual concerned, although different departments have different ways of working.

Throat spray

This is the simplest option. Before inserting the endoscope, the endoscopist or assistant sprays some local anaesthetic solution onto the back of your throat, making it numb. You then lie comfortably on your side and remain wide awake throughout the test. The main advantage of having only the throat spray is that you remain in complete control Read the rest of this entry »

Creating numbness through hypnosis can be an invaluable method which may be used instead of anaesthesia. For the therapist to actually create numbness in a limb, say an arm, he or she would have to suggest an unconscious response to numbness by saying the following sort of things.

“It’s Winter. Supposing you’re a young child and you’ve gone out to play in all the snow. What’s it like making snowballs to throw at your friends and perhaps making a snowman.

“Pretty soon, those hands begin to feel somehow different.. just dangling on the end of your arms, as if they’re just objects which have no relation to you..

“and tying a shoelace with those numb, ice-cold hands becomes so drawn out and awkward.. even when you try to turn a key in a lock..

“and finding a hand that’s becoming more and more numb”. Read the rest of this entry »