TEE Fear

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S

selma

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
71
Location
Woodstock, NY
I'm scheduled for a TEE on Wednesday. I kinda' knew what to expect but went online to read about the procedure and when I got to the part about "You'll be asked to swallow a narrow tube" my heart sank, prolapsed mitral valve and all.

I was given to believe this was essentially the same deal as an Upper GI endoscopy. I don't remember anything after the happy juice started and I bit down on the mouth thingie.

Am I really going to be aware of swallowing a tube? Ack!
 
I don't remember my first TEE except the nasty taste of the local anaesthesia spray. I remember my second pretty well, because I wasn't as doped up. Yuck. I fought the danged tube the entire time, and my throat was sore afterwards.
Tell them you vote for more sedation over less.
 
I would agree that it always helps to discuss your fears with your care team - especially those in the TEE lab. I had a TEE in the hospital after surgery and told them what concerned me. They took marvelous care of me (and all of my fears) and the procedure went fine. I was a bit sore afterward, but that came as no surprise.
 
If I had to do it again I would tell em give me more drugs, I remembered everything. I was gagging on the thing, nurses wiping my tears, yuck! Tell em' to put you out.
 
I never had one but I understand the fear well. I had a fear of a cath test and managed to avoid it the first surgery...I just had one the day before my recent surgery and had a bad reaction to the anesthesia...My only suggestion is to follow directions and don't eat during the time they tell you not to...SOunds obvious but I sorta cheated a little and regretted it.
 
I dodged the TEE bullet...they will be doing it while I'm out for surgery. However, I do understand the fear because I just found out that bit of good news today. I will however have to do the heart cath, and have plenty of anxiety about that!
 
I've had two TEEs...and remember next to nothing about either one of them. It's really not a big deal. Your throat is a bit sore for a few hours afterwards, but that's about it. I, too, was apprehensive but the reality of the whole experience was one tenth what I had envisioned. Relax, it will be a lot easier than you think it will be!
 
I had a TEE just before my AVR 3 weeks ago. I was completely out, so I remember nothing. I didn't have any sore throat problems after the TEE or the breathing tube from AVR.
 
I had a TEE test in October and they will give you a local anesthesia spray and I also had an IV with drugs to help relax me. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. I was awake and at a teaching hospital. I think my test was pretty much over with but the professor starts talking to the doctor in training showing him pictures and then I started coughing and he quickly removed the tube. Take some music to listen to with you and Chap Stick. My throat did hurt for about a week. I don’t think I could eat or drink until the anesthesia spray wore off. I had a heart cath the day before surgery. The heart cath you do not feel anything. I asked if I could watch the heart cath, but most of the time there was a machine over my body that blocked my view to the screen.
 
I can't speak from personal experience but my mom had a TEE about 15 years ago. Her biggest complaint was the "god awful taste of the throat spray". She likes to stay alert and watch the screens for things like catherizations and she was disappointed that she was so out of it for the TEE and couldn't watch the screen. Me, I'd want as many "put me out of it" drugs as possible LOL!
 
The worst part was the throat spray and stuff you have to gargle. Swallowing the tube was not that bad (maybe because of the drugs).
 
TEE - A shot of god awful stuff for the back of your throat and happy juice and out like a light. Wake up and it is done.
CATH - Some pinching where they numb your leg and nothing after that. I wanted to know when the line was up to my heart and it was already there. Have had 5 of these. No problem.
 
Like others have said, other than the unpleasant taste or consistency of the stuff they use to numb your throat, it's a piece of cake. Even swallowing the camera was easy.
I've had 2 TEEs in the last 4 years.

When John had one about 2 months pre-op, I was concerned he would have problems. He has a very small mouth -- ask him to stick out his tongue and you don't see much!! The nurses said that if he can't swallow the dohickey, he'd win a trip back on another day and they would do it under general anesthesia. Luckily, when they yelled SWALLOW, he did just that. (Whew!!!!!)
So ... if my husband the wimp, who almost fainted when he had a blood test for our marriage license, could stomach this, anyone can get through a TEE!!!
 
Well....I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry ahead! Thanks for the info. I sailed through my GI endoscopy but for some reason, I'm really nervous about this one, even though it's essentially the same thing. Well, tomorrow at this time it'll be over and I expect I'll be complaining about the yucky spray along with the rest of you.
 
I had TEE last year and they not only numbed my throat, but knocked me out before I had the tube put in. I was out when it came out as well. One of those one minute you're talking to them, the next minute, they were telling me they had paged my wife to come and take me home -- all done!

I would ask your care team what thier process is and chances are, you'll be fine.

Dan
 
Made it through they TEE today. They made me drink this stuff that looked like hair gel and it took a whole lotta extra happy juice to get me sedated. Even then, I was a semi-conscious durng the procedure (I felt some tugging and heard some talking). Coming out of the sedation took longer, too, so I spent a couple of hours in the recovery area making it a whole day affair. But the doc thinks I'm a candidate for a repair, which is what I was hoping to hear. Yahooo!
 
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