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   I have been reading posts on this mailing list for several months.
Several people have asked what the biopsy is like. Here is my experience.

   Last Friday I arrived at the hospital at 11:00 AM. By 11:30 I was in an
operating room. There was a nurse, the doctor and a student paramedic in
training. There was a Sony TV on a trolley and a long black tube (approx.
5/8" in diameter). The nurse asked me if I was a "gager". I replied that I
did not know, as this was my first time. The doctor said that they would try
first without any sedatives and if I would gag too much they would sedate
me. The doctor then had me lie on my side with my head tilted down and to
the side. He then sprayed quite a bit of topical anesthetic onto the back of
my throat and asked me to swallow this bitter stuff. Then he repeated this
procedure. My throat became numb (Which was a little scary because it felt
like my throat was closing, and that I would not be able to breath. However
this was just a sensation and I was able to breath just fine.) The doctor
then pressed my tongue down with his thumb and started to insert the tube.
He turned to the nurse and said " This one sure has a strong tongue ". If I
could have spoken I would have said " yes it is strengthened from all the
gabbing I do ... ". With the tube inserted into my throat, he asked me to
swallow. I started swallowing like mad. "Easy, easy" said the doctor " do it
gently ". So I swallowed more slowly, not with the great gulps as I was
doing previously. After the tip of the tube was swallowed the doctor told me
to stop swallowing. Instinctively I wanted to keep swallowing, I had to
focus not to and then as he pushed the tube in further I retched for the
first time. They gave me a moment and calmed me down, then resumed the
insertion of the tube. Though uncomfortable, there was no pain. I had to
focus my mind elsewhere and relax ( this is a big part of it ). Once inside
the intestine, the doctor opened a latch at the top of the tube and passed
down a metal wire. He used the tip of the wire to pull out a bit of the
intestine. He repeated this procedure three times. Then he started to back
to tube out observing as he went. He pointed out my Hiatal hernia to the
student paramedic. As the tube passed mid-chest I retched again. Finally the
tube was out. In view of the fact that I had not been sedated, I was free to
leave. I left the hospital at 12:00 noon. My throat was mildly sore for two
days. I should be getting the results back in a few more days.