Tell me about your colonoscopy. :-)
 

I'm thinking of going for a colonoscopy next year, but the idea already has me a bit, ah, apprehensive. I had a sigmoidoscopy done 6 yrs ago, and that was a friggin nightmare. I guess people react differently, and I hated it! But then again, I wouldn't want to be Mike Tyson's girlfriend for an hour either. Anyway, I hear that with a full colonoscopy they sedate you, so my question is, how much do they sedate you...? Assuming I go through with it, I'd rather not remember much of the details...

A gentle cruise up the pink bubble gum highway......

Do go thru it, and just tell the doc that you'd really rather not be around for the process. He/she should take care of you...

this is going to be a penetrating discussion.!

All I remember us being wheeled in, given some IV meds, then waking up some time later.

The most memorable thing was sitting on the can after taking the pills the day before. Even that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Yeah I caught that video on you tube you were out! But what was with the big hairy guy in the little bo peep outfit???

Thanks folks I'll be here all week, try the crabs :D

Good day for stay at home and do taxes or something. You will be interrupted frequently so mark your place in your work. You're sure to mark your place in the bathroom.

The worst part is the cleansing process the day before. The penetration part is a blur, due to the wonders of modern pharmacology.
All I remember is moving onto my left side, and farting in symphony with other colonoscopy patients in the recovery area.

Had one a month ago, no biggie. The day before is an issue. Stay next to the pot.

Colonoscopy maybe saved my life. When I had it done they detected an a fib heart beat they suggested I saw my doctor two weeks later and I was sent to the emergency room the same day I had my check up. I had a heart attack and didn't know it a month prior, they placed a stint, 75% blockage in one artery, I had a catheder ablation 2 weeks ago and I am back to sinus rhythm :D

My last one was a nightmare. Went in & was partially sedated. After the guy was in a ways, I told him it really didn't feel that comfortable. He called it off & told me he couldn't continue because of diverticulosis. So they sent me next door where they blew compressed air up my ass and pumped in a barium liquid followed by and Xray. My primary care Dr. wanted me to have another one not too long ago, but the Butt department guy said I needed to wait a full 5 years even with the diverticulosis and the fact my father died of colon cancer.

Like anything else- pick your doctor carefully. There are doctors that are good at it, and those that are not. There are those that follow recommended guidelines- time to withdraw, etc and those that do not. Just like painting your Porsche- the preparation is the worst part. The better the prep, the better the exam. Sedation is, for the most part, up to your doctor- talk to him/her about it. If you don't like his answers, find someone else. My guys knock me out- I know nothing. The vast majority are a walk in the park- but stuff can happen. You are safer than your car ride to the facility.
By the way- they found a large- tennis ball can size- colon cancer in me 7years ago- at the age of 50. No symptoms, no family history. (I was found to be anemic.) If you poke around enough you will hear horror stories, but those are not the norm. Mine saved my life. I have had 5 colonoscopies in the last 7 years- and need to schedule another soon. No, I am not worried about the test- maybe worried about what they find, but not the procedure itself. The prep sucks- drinking a gallon of dishwater while spewing out the other end does not make my day.
So you need it, but don't worry about it.
Gary

THe last thing I remember before the procedure was a nurse asking if I wanted another pillow under my head. Next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery.
btw, I had it scheduled for 7am, was at work at 9.
Jim

+1 to what's been said here. The preparation the day before is the worse part, and it isn't all that bad. As for the procedure, they stick a needle in your arm and tell you to count backwards from 100. You say "99" and the next thing you know you are in another room waking up from a nap.

My Dad died from Colon cancer, so I've had 3 since I turned 50. As stated above, no big deal.

EXCEPT......

My last one a year ago. I'm laying there ready to go. The IV is stuck in my wrist. The doc comes up with the happy juice and injects it in the IV. Immediately I feel intense burning in my right arm. I start yelling. I start cussing. I'm yelling cuss words I've never even heard of before. Truly the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. The doc and nurses are just standing there looking at me. FINALLY one nurse realizes what's going on. They had the blood pressure cuff pumped up. So what was injected in my IV was going into a CLOSED vein. A vein can only expand a little bit before it EXPLODES. If it had exploded I would have been in big trouble. The nurse grabbed the cuff and ripped it off my arm and the juice surged into my system.
Then.....A week went by and no call on the results. I call and I get, the nurse is with a patient and will call you back. Never happened. I call again and leave a message. Still no call back. I decide no news must be good news. Six months later I'm at my regular doc and I tell him I never got my results from six months ago. He calls and they tell him everything was OK, and I don't have to come back for 10 years. That sounds fine but also stupid. With strong family history of CC, Dad and Grandmother, why would I go 10 years without having one?
Needless to say, I'm finding another doc.

There are so many things wrong with our health care system. It's no wonder medical "care" is a major cause of death. There is no coordination and no cooperation between providers. You have to be your own advocate - you can't rely on anyone else, and the need for advocacy comes when you are sick and least able to provide it for yourself.

Here you go:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/589283-colonoscopy.html

Thought I'd revive this just as a reminder to get those colonoscopies done.

My 58 year old brother in law just found out yesterday that he has colon cancer. My sister said he knew he should have had a colonoscopy at 50, but hates going to the doctor. :rolleyes:

The prep the day before sucks. The procedure is simply no big deal. Recovery is quick and pain free.

well the why and how is covered..

important !
pay attention afterwards..
internal bleeding can occur..
often hours afterwards..
if you start having those symptoms...
ER..ASAP...

Rika

The best part is being able to fart ferociously in front of multiple nurses.

Uh, yeah. I remember being half awake in recovery, laying there farting like a cow and giggling about it. Come to think of it, coming fully awake and realizing what I'd been doing may be the worst part of it.

Well, I had mine over the Summer, 4 years early, and it was a good thing I did as they found 5 polyps, 3 Pre-Cancer, 2 malignant, one was dime sized..

Every three years due to a family history.

I'd rather not.

Because of a family history that includes colon cancer, this is a fairly regular thing for me - once every 5-10 years. So far I've had one sigmoid and two full 'scopes.

The sigmoid was awful, I was quite awake for that. The 'scopes were pieces of cake. Go to sleep, then wake up. They're finished. You're groggy, your wife drives you home. Or at least someone does.

Ah, but the prep is quite awful. You drink a gallon, or maybe 10, of really terrible, powerful stuff because if your system isn't completely clean, the doc can't see what he needs to see. So you have to be diligent about doing this right.

But you'd better do this on a day when you can stay home all day and night because believe me, you do not want to be far from your, er, plumbing facilities.

The bright side is that if your doc is any good at all, he'll find that you're either completely clear, which I have been, thank God, or he'll see something and remove it.

So my take? Do not hesistate. Get this done, if your doc sez you need it. It's the kind of thing that not only can save your life, but also can save you from wearing a bag.

New pharmacology has made this a relatively painless thing. They gave me the stuff MJ was addicted to. Propathol (?) Not sure about the spelling. Instant lights-out. :eek: The day/night before was the worst part of the process, for me. I took the pills. Thought it would be easier than drinking all that liquid. After half the pills I started to feel pretty nauseous. That was the worst of it.

I've had 2 colonoscopies in the past 3 years (polpys were found and removed on the 1st scope) and I'm good for 5 years. The prep is unpleasant but the procedure is painless and "pleasant" if you get the Versed and Propofol, like I did.

Watch the movie "Ghost Town" with Ricky Gervais if you want to see what it's like (just kidding). I remember being wheeled into the OR, people talking to me, the warmth of the chamical in my IV and the most pleasant sleep with great dreams. Woke up with absolutely no pain and ate regular meals the same day.

Take the prep EXACTLY as instructed, NO SHORTCUTS and wear pajamas and reserve the bathroom for the evening, as you'll need it! The prep I drank (Half-Lytely, I believe) wasn't too bad, but I found it easier to chug down when it was ice cold.

Good luck!!

a real man takes no meds at all before this - no anesthesia, no numbing, no nerve blocks - and then jogs home afterwards (that also helps remove the excess air)

I've been enjoying them for years. After awhile it's no big deal. Of course you could just avoid them and die.

I have had 3. The day of prep is a "surprise" but you get used to it, and it is actually good to clean yourself out. The actual procedure is nothing.

Bwaaaa hahahahahaha

I kind of remember the whole thing - sort of.

High as a kite but awake enough to experience that first left hand turn - OWIEE - Even full of drugs that was memorable. Not really pain - just a sensation of "That would have hurt if I could recognize pain"

Afterwards, doc says to wife - "Straight home - Bed!" I wanted to go to the Summit Racing retail shop - just down the road and cruise through in my PJ's. I am not kidding, I felt great. Bring it!

Slept like a baby for 20 hours.

Would do it again in a heartbeat for the sleep afterwards.

Two nurses sticking a snake camera up my bum was a bit odd, but in my state of mind, it was of no consequence.