Every October is the time for health check-ups, and it’s quite depressing.
For those over 35, stomach exams are mandatory, and I had been opting for barium every time, but I was always in tears trying to hold back my burps, possibly because my stomach is small.
In the case of barium, I also had to expel it as waste after the health check, and the fact that the white solid material didn’t easily flush down the toilet was a subtle source of stress.

I had wanted to challenge myself with a gastroscopy instead of suffering through barium every year, but I could never get an appointment at my usual hospital; last year, I was told 'It's fully booked for the next six months' and gave up.

It was clear that undergoing a gastroscopy without sedation would definitely be more painful than barium, so if I were to do it, I had to go for the sedation option.

Thinking that maybe some hospitals accept last-minute reservations, I called every hospital on my list and was fortunate to get a reservation for a gastroscopy with sedation.

Finally, the Day Arrives

I had been informed that I couldn’t drive since I would be receiving sedation, so I took the train.

First, I smoothly completed the usual health check-up, and then it was time for the endoscopic exam.
In advance, there was a consultation with the doctor to confirm whether I would use sedation, and I expressed with all my might, 'I would like to use it!'

Then finally, it was my turn.

I was first sprayed with some sort of anesthetic for the throat, and I was told to swallow after ten seconds, which I did as instructed.
It was bitter and had a tingling sensation in my throat.
The feeling in the area where the spray had touched started to gradually fade away.

Since my throat and the back of my tongue were numb, it was hard to swallow saliva, and the sensation was quite strange.
As long as I breathed through my nose, there was no problem, but I thought it might be somewhat difficult if my nose was blocked.

While I was thinking about that, I lay down on the bed and was asked to bite down on a ring-like apparatus for passing the camera into my mouth.

I was injected with the sedative into my arm, and I think I lost consciousness about five seconds later.

During the time I was unconscious, I vaguely remember maybe gagging once or twice, though I’m not sure.
I hardly remember anything, so it wasn't bad at all.

I was awakened at the end, and because the sedative was still effective, I was guided to a bed where I probably slept for about thirty minutes.

By the time I woke up, the throat anesthetic had almost worn off, leaving just a lingering sense of fogginess in my head.

I received a notice indicating that I should not eat or drink until 11:30 for the sake of preventing choking because of the throat anesthetic, but since it was already past 11:30, I treated myself to a somewhat expensive seafood bowl on my way home.

After the Procedure

As I anticipated, the sedative was amazing.
However, I have heard that for people who are strong drinkers, it might not work well, so I should be cautious.
I think my tolerance for alcohol is about average.

The only part I disliked was the throat anesthetic spray, but even so, it was several times better than barium.
I quickly fell asleep from the sedative, and even though I was concerned about the throat anesthetic, looking back, it was probably only 1-2 minutes of discomfort.

I definitely plan to make a reservation at the same place next year.