colonoscopy done

[richardPB1]

Thanks to your many responses about my pending colonoscopy I had this procedure done with very little anxiety. At the procedure I lay on my left side with my legs drawn up to my chest, injected with demerol and a valium like tranquilizer, and woke up an hour later with absolutely no memory of what transpired. Broke a little wind and was driven home. The worst part was not the procedure itself, nor was it the prep the night before when I had to drink a gallon of a foul laxative and then hover over the pot for two hours. The worst part was the days before, anticipating the procedure that was to come. To those of you who are considering a colonoscopy and are putting it off for various reasons, I say, "Just do it. It is Nothing. And the great feeling after it is over and having been given a clean bill of health makes it all worthwhile."

 

[39dale]

Glad I saw your post. Today I am prepping for my colonoscopy that takes place tomorrow at 8AM. You are correct, the anticipation is the worst part. In my case though, I have it done every year and last year he found more polyps so I had to have it done again 90 days later. So tomorrow it will be one year since the last one. My Dr. prescribes pills instead of the liquid junk. I have 32 pills that I take 4 every fifteen minutes starting in about an hour. I take half of them this evening and the other half starting at 5 in the morning. 4 every fifteen minutes. I also say to anyone that needs it done - JUST DO IT. Along the health subject, I also have had a mammograph done. A few years ago a congressman announced that he had breast cancer. I started checking it out and breast cancer in men is a serous problem. I asked my Dr. and after he checked me, he recommended that I have it done. All with negative results. But at least I feel better about it.

 

[Scallywanka]

I would just like to say your right to say get it done. I complained to my dr about seven years ago about crippling stomach pain and he referred me for a colonoscopy. K kept putting it off and eventally last year plucked up the courage to go. Turns out i have quite severe crohns disease,a kind of ulcerative colitis. I have to get a op to remove most of my colon but while i'm in the op they are going to see if they can extend my existing colon or i might end up with a colostomy bag for life. By the way i'm only 22. Anyway what i'm trying to say don't let self pride and respect get in vid way because it might be the difference to life and death.

 

[FREAKYSCBOY]

I would just like to say your right to say get it done. I complained to my dr about seven years ago about crippling stomach pain and he referred me for a colonoscopy. K kept putting it off and eventally last year plucked up the courage to go. Turns out i have quite severe crohns disease,a kind of ulcerative colitis. I have to get a op to remove most of my colon but while i'm in the op they are going to see if they can extend my existing colon or i might end up with a colostomy bag for life. By the way i'm only 22. Anyway what i'm trying to say don't let self pride and respect get in vid way because it might be the difference to life and death.

good luck with your surgery and i will pray for u and hope u have good health...

 

[bostonboy20]

Oh i'm glad I came to this forum today I actually came to check and see if you had had it done yet and posted anything....glad it went well for you! I have one scheduled on the 30th of this month....I really don't even get worked up about them anymore I've had 4 done I believe now since i was 19 or 20 (i'm 23 now).

To Scallywanka....I have Chron's too...I had a really bad intestinal blockage which was causing my stomach pains and I had emergency surgery after a night of vomiting straight for 7 hours(after not really eating anything for 2 days before...so you can imagine what I was vomiting)...Chron's can be really serious....luckily for me after I had my surgery I really haven't had any problems with it...I stick to what my doctor told me as far as problem foods(though I'm starting to experiment with foods too see exactly what effects me)...I really hope that your surgery goes well and you have the luck that i've had with the disease!

 

[westly34]

its not that bad i had it done yesterday , its the prep that sucks before and not being able to eat.

 

[ozguy]

I had my first (and so far, only) colonoscopy last year, following a recommendation from my doctor because of my age (mid 50's) and the fact that there's a history of bowel cancer in my family.

The preparation you have to do beforehand (24 hr fasting and drinking that awful laxative stuff) is not pleasant, but the procedure itself was a breeze. Whatever it was they gave me beforehand (I think they called it "twilight sedation") worked a treat, as I had no awareness of what went on at all. I felt really good afterwards, too. There was none of that dopiness or spaced out feeling you get after anaesthesia or full sedation; just a very pleasant sensation of well being and feeling really 'cleaned out'.

Oh, and I passed with flying colours!

Next one is due in two year's time.

 

[torontoguy22]

I'm glad to hear it went well!

 

[bostonboy20]

well after putting everyone else at ease about their's I had mine on the 30th....prep was actually really easy....my doc said that their was just a little inflammation where I had my surgery and he did 3 biopsies didn't remove anything and said he didn't see any signs of chrons and everything was the same as 2 years ago.

Cut to later that night with my having crazy bad diarrhea with tons of blood in it and spending 3 hours in the ER.....it's now been over a week and there's no more blood(not since Tuesday morning) but I'm down 5.5 lbs since then and still am getting quick little throbbing headaches when i like go upstairs fast or bend down or something....but I dunno...no doctors I talked to seemed all that worried that I was loosing all that blood....they did x-rays, blood tests and a rectal exam and didn't find anything...so who knows...my aunt who's a nurse said that the inflammation could have just been irritated by the biopsies and the blood could have come from there but it shouldn't have lasted as long as it did...so we're thinking I may have gotten a stomach bug or food poisoning on top of it.....

 

[BenF]

Guess I should report on my colonoscopy, which I had yesterday.

It was hell!

Neither the painkiller or the sedative worked. I was wide awake throughout. The pain was simply dreadful. It took about an hour. Toward the end I watched the polyps getting sliced off on the screen beside me to help forget the pain. At least that did not hurt. I look forward to another in a year. I only hope the biopsy results are good. I guess, as the doc said, 'Tis not always good for all folks'

All you had to do was ask for some more midazolam.

Insist on it next time.

 

[KaraBulut]

^Thanks, Ben. Of course, as the patient I've no idea what to expect and what medication is available. From what I've read of forums and the NHS brochure, it says most people sleep throughout the proceedure and can recall nothing of it. Naturally, I was expecting this. We do believe we will be given the medication to create this result and not need a medical degree on available medication. I'm also not complaining, merely pointing out how it went for me.

Well done anesthesia for these procedures should induce anterograde amnesia, so you should have no memory of the procedure itself. If it was done correctly, you should have been in a state where you didn't give a shit what was going on in the room and where all you wanted was to sleep.

If you're feeling pain or you're able to focus well enough to watch the procedure, then you didn't get enough drugs. If you have any memory of the procedure, then you didn't get the right drugs.

If you have another procedure like this, speak up and tell them that you're awake. Unless your doctor is a sadist, he'll pause and give you more sedative.