Cystoscopy Help?

[aeminion]

anyone has a cystoscopy under general anaesthetic? Mine is booked and is in four weeks but I'm freaking out already! Can anybody talk me through what happens? I struggle with a lot of anxiety not helped by walking into the unknown - I like to know what is happening and to be able to prepare for it... Please can someone help?

 

[KwanYingirl]

I only know what the procedure is from helping with them when I was a radiographer.

You have to fast then get into a hospital gown. They'll take you into the treatment room usually in a out patient surgical suite. You'll be given an IV through which you'll get fluid to help your body and also through which your anesthesia will go into you. You'll be asleep fast. It's done with you asleep so you don't have to feel pain. I take it, this is just a scope to see what's in your bladder or they can also thread the scope into the ureters to look at the kidney. They often take x-rays if they're looking for a stone.

The scope goes into your urethra and then as far as they need to go. They can watch everything on a monitor. I have no idea what is going on with you, but that's the procedure. As soon as it's done, they stop the IV and you wake up. Maybe a little sore. I've seen a ton of them and never has anything gone wrong. Hope this helps.

 

[aeminion]

My biggest concern is how much I will need to do before being put to sleep - will I need to position my own legs before going under or will they be able to do that for me since they know my history?

 

[KwanYingirl]

See the PM

 

[ISupportHer]

Still need info? Or did you get the answers you need?

As for anesthesia, did they say it would be under a general or will it me what is called Moderate Sedation (sometimes called Conscious Sedation). I would think that a cystoscopy, which is looking into the bladder with a scope with the ability to do things like take tissue samples would be a moderate sedation procedure.

As KwanYingirl mentions, they stop the IV and you wake up which would be moderate sedation.

 

[aeminion]

It's definitely being done under a general anaesthetic - because of my history and ongoing mental health struggles...
I'm mainly panicking about how much is going to happen before I'm put to sleep!

 

[liveandlearn]

I think this is what I had to diagnose IC. I just remember my doctor telling to count backwards as I lay flat on my back; she asked me where I wanted to go, and I said St. John's (the island), and in three-four seconds I was out. That was a snap. Getting up was where my issues began. If you want to know more let me know, and we can PM--if I can figure out how (this was my first post).

 

[Springer80]

Hi, if its definitely under general because they already know of your history and it's four weeks away, is there someone who ill actually be doing it who can talk you through it. Did your GP who I'm assuming made the referral give you the name of who will be conducting the procedure. Do you have the departmental phone number? Can you go in ahead of time and speak to someone?

In other surgeries and in the medical profession in general, explaining procedures before they happen is more common. Can you be put in touch with a nurse or someone who can hold your hand a bit?

 

[ButterflyBean]

Hi, I have had lots of cystoscopies in my life! I have a lot of coinciding medical conditions, and completely understand your need to be under general! I've had several, and I mean a lot, of surgeries, so I am very familiar with the process before, during, and after! It's easier to explain the details in a private message, so feel free to send me one, but in a nutshell, I would tell your nurse all of your concerns before surgery. You can also speak with anesthesia about what will and won't work for you. If you make an appointment to speak with a nurse in anesthesia before hand, they can put notes in your chart, so everyone is aware of your needs on the day of surgery! In my experience, the more you tell them, the better!

Just to answer one of your questions though, they can do all the positioning once you're asleep. That's what they do for me because I can't position myself for physical reasons. If you have any other specific concerns, please message me, and I will be glad to provide you with whatever information I can! Lastly, I just want to make sure you know that the anxiety you're feeling is completely normal before surgery! I've had 21 of them, and I still get anxious every time I go under anesthesia! I would be a little concerned if you weren't at least a little bit anxious!