Helen, I've had (I think) six of the 'camera down yer throat' jobbies - in my case they were looking at some serious pancreas/common bile-duct issues, and included placing stents in the bile duct and taking biopsy samples from my pancreas. The first was under sedation (awake, but in 'I don't give a rat's arse' mode!), the rest were 'straight down', no anaesthesia, local or otherwise. Dave's correct, as long as you give a big swallow when they tell you, going in is OK. I found coming out was where I got the gag-reflex each time, but it was fairly slight, and over quickly.

Don't be nervous - the medical staff are aware of patients' feelings, and they are very kind.

People I know who have had laparoscopies 'at both ends' tell me the the one going in from the top is preferable to the one going in from the bottom!