Todays adventure. Colonoscopy.

[frkelly74]

Today was the day that my bride selected for me to have my colonoscopy, hereafter referred to as my procedure. To make a long story short it was almost painless. If given a choice go for the general anesthesia, you wake up and it's all done. The very worst part was the purge beforehand and no solid food the day before. The second worst part was waiting an hour and a half to get prepped, of course part of that was because we got there early. Don't go early.

[mozeppa]

for me it was listening to the nurses giggling at me as i was "coming around" after the proceedure...because of the huge fart i let!:dung_hits_fan:

[Hamish]

"To boldly go, where no man has gone before,,,,,," :shock:

[theperfessor]

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Due for another one in two years. I was awake during mine and got to see the same thing the Doctor was watching. Interesting in a bizarre sort of way. Had two small polyps removed. Of course I couldn't feel any of it but the next time if that happens I'm going to say "ouch" just to see what happens.

Embarressing? yep. But it's a whole lot less embarrassing than oh, say DYING from something mostly preventable. So if your Dr says go get one, GO GET ONE!

[bob208]

as we get older we have doctors for every part of the body. I have an eye exam next wed. I had one in 69 when I signed up fro the navy. wife thinks I am due for another. 3 weeks ago went to the foot doctor. that was interesting. had a nice looking woman cutting my nails and checking out my feet. she is Russian. in all my life she is the doctor I talked to the most.

[frkelly74]

My wife did mention something about a really impressive fart, But I missed it from the anesthesia.

[theperfessor]

Yeah, they blow up your colon and bowels to see things better. My Docter won't let anybody leave until they fart good at least once. Well, I never had any trouble breaking wind anyway...

[ph4570]

Fast for three or four days and then you can skip the nasty purging stuff.

[rondog]

I've that stuff will purge everything you've eaten since age 5, plus everything you've ever just thought about eating!

[trooperdan]

I've had several of these, first time I was awake but out of it during the procedure. I got to watch on the monitor as the doc described the scene. I said, "It looks like a vagina".. Doc quickly said, "OK, all you nurses step back from the table... nope, it's you!" I've always suspected those nurses gave him what-for after I was out of earshot!

[Half Fast]

Glad you had it done. Forgive me for sharing. I had 3 of those, 2 cat scans and everything under the sun done a while back. 10 years ago I starting not feeling well. This lasted about a year becoming progressively worse. I had 3 colonoscopys, 2 by the best surgeons in town (GI doctors). The concluded that I was faking. There was nothing wrong with me. Thank god for my wife. She yelled at our "primary care doctor" until he listened. He referred me to an older GI that was about to retire. He had me take a barium enema test. Results showed a stricture in my colon. This is a narrowing process that when closed will kill you. He pointed to the xray and said see that? That will kill you. You have surgery on tuesday. I lost 12" of my colon. I recovered as a whole person. I was able to hunt the following season.

Let that be a lesson to some who thinks this test is a joke. It really can save your life. If you don't want to talk about it in public, shoot me a pm. Oh, and be nice to your wife.

[snuffy]

I've had 3 of them, one every 5 years starting when I was 50. Another one coming in 2 years.

Why? My dad died from colon cancer. That puts me on a high risk list. Besides the same 4 polyps keep growing back, normal tissue so far.

Dad hated doctors. So much so that he wouldn't go see one until he was bleeding from his butt so bad he was too weak to walk across the yard. To see a big man reduced to skin & bones before he passed, is reason enough to welcome the peace of mind that nothing bad is growing in your colon.

With a family history of colon cancer, you should have one at or before age 50. No history, at age 55.

[JeffinNZ]

Billy Connelly did a skit on his experiences with such. Everytime I watched it I was reduced to my hands and knees barely capable of breathing. Shame Youtube have blocked it.

[AlaskanGuy]

Smething like that happened to me too half fast.... Kept getting sick... Feaver... Stomache pain... But all controlable.... Something was wrong.... Day before my autistic sons b-day.... Doc says, we need to get you out of here and head you out to somebody that could take a real look... Turns out, his insisting at my reluctance in missing my boys birthday pretty much saved my life. Somehow a damm case of diverticulitus created a hole in my gut the size of a nickle, and fluid and stuff was leaking into my body cavity and starting to digest just about everything you have inside... I was septic, and in 24 hrs later, they took out the entire last turn of my lower intestine.... Now it is a straight drop down...lol... It was a mother for sure.. Put me down for a while... Took about a year to get back to the old self.... But.. Totally preventable if i had gotten the regular scheduled checkup down there.....

[300savage]

all i know about mine was the doctor told me that i started comi.g to and fighting, so they knocked me out again. i just said well heck can you blame me ?
i do have diverticulosis however so everytime i get a pain in my gutss my wife starts wanting to drag me to the ER, which is bs but i do have to pay attention looks like from here on.

[zardoz]

Yep, been there done that. Had one 7 years ago.

I freaked out the nurses when I came out of the anesthesia. I was trying to form the words "delta waves". Spoke them 3 or 4 times, when the nurse finally understood what I was trying to say. She looked surprised as all get out. I knew I was in a deep delta wave brain electrical sleep rhythm, which is the blackness of anesthesia. Somewhat similar to states of dreamless sleep, or deep meditation. Probably on the order of 1 cycle per second or less. She was shocked that I was that aware of my state.

Not looking forward to the next one, as the "purge" is right up there with root canal drilling on my list of least favorite things to endure.

[phonejack]

Let us know if you wake up tomorrow with a sore throat. Ok ?

[dbosman]

If you get an option for Propofol, take it.
They start the drip and say count down from 100. You say one.........
Then you wake up in the recovery room, look around, go back to sleep for five minutes and then get up, get dressed and go. With a clear head and no memory of the procedure. It's a classified drug so you can't drive and you have to take the rest of the day off.
It almost makes up for the cleansing. Not quite, but almost.

[zardoz]

That was part of the mix they gave me. Propofol, Demerol, and Versed. Just like you said. Except for feeling like I was 16 years old again for a couple hours afterwards. Not one bit of pain in any muscle, joint, bone, or anywhere. I guess we just get used to the slow encroach of the pains of age, and not realize that being physically young was pretty good.

After the second wake up, I yelled out "Give me some more of that $^IT!!" Now, that made the nurse laugh then. Then, a few minutes later I sobered up, and went back to my usual reserve.

[sparky45]

If you get an option for Propofol, take it.
They start the drip and say count down from 100. You say one.........
Then you wake up in the recovery room, look around, go back to sleep for five minutes and then get up, get dressed and go. With a clear head and no memory of the procedure. It's a classified drug so you can't drive and you have to take the rest of the day off.
It almost makes up for the cleansing. Not quite, but almost.

That's the Michael Jackson drug of choice. Used correctly it is very safe and a fantastic intravenous anesthetic. Wish I had a dime for every vial of that stuff I've given.
My personal favorite and what I request when I have a Colonoscopy is a combination of Demerol and Versed. You get the drugs, and then wake up in another part of the facility. Makes the Prep worth it.

[1Shirt]

They get ya in the end!
1Shirt!

[WallyM3]

This is one "procedure" that you don't want to avoid.

Early removal is better than chemo.

[Frank46]

Just had one done also. I'm 66 and way overdue. Results negative and am happy. I have to use a cpap machine when I sleep. After they start to knock me out I hear where is his cpap machine?. Never told me to bring it. Frank

[MaryB]

The prep made me ill for a week after, don't know if it was an allergic reaction or what but I will never do it again.

[SciFiJim]

Last week my doctor gave me the choice of colonoscopy or blood stool test. The blood stool test consists of painting two little squares on a card with water from the bowl after having a bowel movement. I chose that one. My wife had a colonoscopy a few year ago and I saw what she had to go through in the prep and purge. I will pass on getting bore scoped as long as the doctor gives a choice. I am not afraid of the procedure, but the process to get there.

[GL49]

Worst part is the day before. Toilet paper is not your friend after awhile.

[WallyM3]

My own experience is different. I've had worse days after a 3 day binge.

(humor)

[Rick N Bama]

Toilet paper is not your friend after awhile.

But Aloe Vera Wipes are! Don't ask :groner:

Rick

[btroj]

My brother got both a colonoscopy and an upper GI scope done the same day. We told him to make sure they did the upper first.

[AlaskanGuy]

Yea, gotta agree with the toilet paper thing, but you deserve better...lol

Before the procedure, be kind to yourself and get some charmin.... It really is softer.. First time i had one i was using that military gi issue tp.... I was more sore from that then a bad case of hemmorids..... Took 3 days to recover for just the toilet paper....and still to this day i cant stand the taste of gatoraide.. Or the smell..lol. Now a days they dont make you drink the 5 gallon gatoraide mix.... But still not fun...

[1Shirt]

Been thru 3 of them! Proceedure is a snap, preparation the day before is for c#@p, literally. They may add a few productive years to your life via early detection!
1Shirt!

[10x]

for me it was listening to the nurses giggling at me as i was "coming around" after the proceedure...because of the huge fart i let!:dung_hits_fan:

Everyone farts. Inflating the large bowel with air is part of the procedure. It has to come out in end....

[waksupi]

Last week my doctor gave me the choice of colonoscopy or blood stool test. The blood stool test consists of painting two little squares on a card with water from the bowl after having a bowel movement. I chose that one. My wife had a colonoscopy a few year ago and I saw what she had to go through in the prep and purge. I will pass on getting bore scoped as long as the doctor gives a choice. I am not afraid of the procedure, but the process to get there.

That's the route I took. With the outhouse being 40 yards from the cabin, having a full liquid core dump just isn't a great idea.

[btroj]

Just wait guys, soon enough we will ALL get a colonoscopy from the IRS......

[mold maker]

Just wait guys, soon enough we will ALL get a colonoscopy from the IRS......

And Medicare will refuse to pay.

[WallyM3]

And Medicare will refuse to pay.

Does Obamacare cover that?

[Hardcast416taylor]

Some years back I had to change Drs. The new one asked when my last colonoscopy was done? I replied "never had one done"! A week later they were doing it to me. When I woke up they had photos of my insides and the huge cancer tumor in my colon! I was age 50 then and should have had this testing done 10 years before. I have long since passed the 5 year time frame to be declared a cancer survivor. My advice that I give to everybody that hasn`t had a C-osopy is "GET IT DONE"!Robert

[WallyM3]

I won't mention what they found in me, but...Get It Done.

[10x]

I won't mention what they found in me, but...Get It Done.

Horseshoes?

If they ever did one on a politician or a government bureaucrat they would find a head...

[Half Fast]

Smething like that happened to me too half fast.... Kept getting sick... Feaver... Stomache pain... But all controlable.... Something was wrong.... Day before my autistic sons b-day.... Doc says, we need to get you out of here and head you out to somebody that could take a real look... Turns out, his insisting at my reluctance in missing my boys birthday pretty much saved my life. Somehow a damm case of diverticulitus created a hole in my gut the size of a nickle, and fluid and stuff was leaking into my body cavity and starting to digest just about everything you have inside... I was septic, and in 24 hrs later, they took out the entire last turn of my lower intestine.... Now it is a straight drop down...lol... It was a mother for sure.. Put me down for a while... Took about a year to get back to the old self.... But.. Totally preventable if i had gotten the regular scheduled checkup down there.....

We had the exact same thing. Sigmoid colon, gone. Doctor ripped me a new, well, you get the idea.

[WallyM3]

[QUOTE=10x;2415543]Horseshoes?

Well, let's just say I'm now on the 3 year plan.

[redneckdan]

I had some GI problems in high school. Had a Sig scope done. Like a colon scope but they don't go as far and they don't knock you out. Not fun.

Right after that I had the barium x-ray. Probably the most painful thing I have ever done in my life.

[snuffy]

Last week my doctor gave me the choice of colonoscopy or blood stool test. The blood stool test consists of painting two little squares on a card with water from the bowl after having a bowel movement. I chose that one. My wife had a colonoscopy a few year ago and I saw what she had to go through in the prep and purge. I will pass on getting bore scoped as long as the doctor gives a choice. I am not afraid of the procedure, but the process to get there.

The blood in the stool test looks for blood in your poop. I did one many moons ago, but back then you had to paint the little squares with some of the poop. You also had to be a very specific diet fer 3 days, no beef and a bunch of other stuff you couldn't eat.

The problem with that test is, if it's positive, where did the blood come from? It could be from a bloody nose, an ulcer, or anything south of that. Also, if the blood is coming for a cancerous tumor in your colon, it's way too late to be starting treatment. The cancerous tumor has to metastasize,(break out/open), to bleed. Most likely it has already spread to the lymph system.

The colonoscopy will detect the very beginning of cancer starting in the colon. Polyps are the main concern, they can be visibly apparent to the doctor, or look normal with abnormal cells in them, a pre-cancer abnormality. Removing them, then putting the tissue under a microscope is the only way to be sure.

Get past the scare stories, bad experiences related here, get it done. It could save your life. Yeah, it's humiliating, the prep is by far the worst part. Best part is after it's over, you get to tear into your favorite food or meal, you'll be real hungry!:bigsmyl2:

[Blacksmith]

Colonoscopy's are a pain in the ..... But they can save your life. Colon cancer kills because you don't feel it until it is too late. Get R' Done.

[bear67]

I have one scheduled in two weeks and I don't look forward to it--had one 6 years or so ago. I am doing this because a good friend called me recently insisting that I get one even if he had to pay for it. He has Colon Cancer and the prognosis is not good over a intermediate term. I did the first one without being put to sleep and I told the Dr that the next time he tried to bend me over a sawhorse and do this, I would be armed and dangerous.

[Ohio Rusty]

I had that done. Got a clean bill of health and the Doctor said he didn't want to see me for another 10 years. See what fun all the young guys are missing !!!
Ohio Rusty ><>