<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> 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.