Oh Crap! Colonoscopy

colonoscopy

BEFORE you schedule a colonoscopy check out this site: http://www.colonoscopywarning.com/

Also: http://versedbusters.blogspot.com/20...roduction.html

Gee, thanks Kay. I feel so much better. :

I didn't go read those, because I don't want to freak myself out about my next one, but a friend of mine did have a problem after one of hers and she spent a year having issues which I won't go into. SHE IS FINE NOW, THOUGH.

Unfortunately, every procedure has risks, that is why they make you sign those damn forms. On "House" recently, he nags a co-worker who is telling the patient some of the risks, and says something about how they are trying to convince the patient to do that and how will that happen if they are not told the risks? I'm kind of inclined to agree. My daughter and I almost left prior to wisdom teeth removal because of a movie we had to watch. I mean, for both these preventative procedures, you're feeling fine, it's your DOCTOR who wants these things done. And they tell you you may die, etc.! You didn't want to do this anyway, and now some guy is telling you all the horrible end results that have ever happened to anyone anywhere! Maybe if they also provided the fact that in 1 BILLION of these procedures it happened to 25 people, it would go down better. (Of course, I'm suffering from something called CRPS which only affects about 5% of people who break their wrists..... Sometimes you "win" the lottery.)

With me it dulled the memory, didn't wipe it out completley. Made me "giddy" enough during the procedure that I didn't give a hoot about it!

Gottcha by a day-9-10-07--I'll fill you in if I remember:

I expect you to sit your groggy ass down at the computer and fill me in on my liquid diet day.

Colon cancer is among the most treatable of prevalent cancers if detected early and can often be deadly if it isn't. Do the colonoscopy and don't think twice about it.

No big deal. Had one 6 months ago. Thinking about it was far worse than the procedure. And I really don't remember much after they had me roll on my side. Next thing I knew I woke up in a clinic bed.

The worst part, after the "thinking about it", was the stuff you drink to purge the bowels the night before. Hoo-boy! :

You will want to stock plenty of magazines by the commode.

The versedbusters one is kind of interesting. As someone whose licensed to use Versed (I'm a dentist and use Versed from time to time when patients request sedation for anxiety reasons), it was rather interesting to read through many of the responses in that blog, and a common personality theme definately is visible in that thread. Most everyone who had a "bad experience" with Versed, seems to report or atleast their posts convey either an underlying trust and/or control issue that in some replies seemed almost to need some conseling/ pyschological help.

Versed from a practitioners side is a great drug for a couple of reasons. #1 it's a short acting benzodiazepene, it's half life in most folks with a normally functioning liver for most doses is about an hour - oother benzo's (valium in particular) have half lives of around 24 hours which leaves folks feeling "groggy"
#2 administered via and IV, it's titratable, so you can bring a person upto the desired sedation level in a controlled maner in a short amount of time
#3 it has a readily administered reversal agent
#4 The amnesia issue - frankly, most folks don't want to remember themselves being surgically opened, an endoscoped being inserted WAY up their colon, their fat being liposuctioned out or as I often use it for, their wisdom teeth being removed. For some people, (see the control/psych issues comments above) this is too much.

Especially in that thread, the notion that alleged abuse could have taken place while under the effects of Versed is frankly ridiculous. In just about every state in the US, to administer sedation there needs to be an anesthetist, the surgeon and an assistant in the room during the procedure, and if its in an operating room, then it's the nurse anesthetist and/or anesthologist, the surgeon and any assistants they may have with them, a scrub nurse and a charge nurse, and if its in an operating room, ooften the anesthiologists and sometimes the charge nurses will rotate in and out of the room. So to get all of them on the same story to "cover up" abuse is a bit far fetched.

If you want to remember the colonoscopy then don't get the versed if they offer, if you don't want to remember that big black camera venturing up your backside, then ask for the vitamin v!

I had the same thought -----:

Had to have one at 35 this Spring. It's nothing dude, really. Well, the prep SUCKS, but other than that, no big deal. Take the IV, go to sleep, wake up 30 minutes later, fart a lot and eat breakfast. Schedule it for as early as possible.

Men are such Candyasses.

I had a colonoscopy in April, one 3 weeks ago with an endoscopy (Linda Lovelace version), a barium small bowel 10 days ago, and on FRIDAY.......

I get to swallow a pill cam and crap that out. I can't eat from tomorrow's breakfast until Friday afternoon. On top of this, I feel like I have the flu, one nasty hangover, and a horse kicked me in the back and I was stabbed in the stomach. Hooray for hard drugs.

Ya'll are wimps.

Time for the Steel Eel eh. It's not so bad and like others have said the drugs are great, plus you can eat like a hog when it's over.

Lucky, I was kind of hoping for a new miracle easy weight loss program.

Bonni, you're right of course. Men ain't that tough. We're usually smart enough though to avoid discomfort and pain....
Anyway, I've been laughing out loud at the stories, and the best part about this thread is how everyone has enjoyed helping and sharing their experience. We are all in the same boat,and there is some comfort in that too. Anyway, I far prefer this to your mangled leg or snorting antibiotics any day. You're one tough hombre.

Come on. I'm sure you'll do fine.



(Actualy my turn will come soon...)

That's because we're all a bunch of - oh never mind

The biggest thing is the garbage sea water they make you drink to <ahem> "cleanse". I was the unlucky soul to get the powdered mix that comes in what looks like a 55 gallon drum when you pick it up at the pharmacy and they say "sorry, you need to come inside and get this, it won't fit through the drive through window". I knew I was screwed at that moment. It's 4 liters of pure hell. Made me want to spew every sip after 1 liter and they say you must drink at LEAST 3 of the 4 liters. Yeah, that didn't happen. I gave up after 1.5 liters and hours on the crapper every 3 minutes like clock-work. Oh, they can give you flavor packets for it, but no matter what you choose it tastes like pineapple flavored salty ass, cherry salty ass, berry salty ass...you name it. It's just salty ass.

There's other options for far smaller doses of "cleanser" out there. Next time, I'm demanding the quart sized roto-rooter-ade.

Great thing I look at this forum every day: I'm going tomorrow 9/7 @9AM. Beat the both of youse! No problem I'm aware of, but 52 is the right time for the first time I guess.

Bonni, hope all goes well.

Cirque and skier j, buena suerte!

Okay, 2 hrs. ago took first dose of Fleet and must have lost 2-3 lbs. already. Be gentle with yourself during this period.

'Scuze me, gotta go.

The worst part is definitely the preparation but also try to make sure that you have enough anaesthesia to actually be out. Mine started to wear off and i felt like an alien was about to burst out of my abdomen. The nurse was holding me up and pressing her hand on my abdomen (which helped keep the alien in check). Kind of a wild experience!

I woke up the last few minutes of my last one, too. Not entirely pleasant. I remember looking at the screen and moaning...."hey, I'm awake here"....they put me back under.

I'd take a quart of that Cherry Salty Ass right about now. It's called Nulytely, and it's not bad. I can't have anything........not even water....at this point. I got up at 4 this morning and started puking and crapping....and I don't have a clean out procedure!!!! Mmmmm, bile. I got a packet of oatmeal down for breakfast and by the time I started to feel better, I was past the point where I could eat. So I'm really empty. Water and jello all day. Yum.

I have to get up at 4 and be at the hospital by 6:30 (it's in another town). I can eat sometime after noon tomorrow, but not much till I 'pass the pill'. I don't know what I'll pass since there's nothing in me. Ow.

I'd give anything to have to drink the Cherry Salty Ass (which is the best flavor, by the way......USE IT) and go for a regular colonoscopy. Ya'll have it made.

You guys had to start this, didn't you. I've been putting off mine for about a year or so from when my primary MD here wanted me to do it. I was planning to put it off longer because he's closing his practice so I'd have to go see somebody else first to see if that doc wanted me to have one. Which of course he would, and would send me to the same gastro anyway.

Guess I'd better suck it up and set it up. I had one about 14 years ago so I'm overdue, especially because my dad had colorectal cancer in his last years.

Time to drink the damn anti-freeze. I had the plain Prestone flavor when they did mine in 93, but I think I took a sympathy sip of the then-new pineapple flavor when LM had one a year later. That was even more disgusting. I can't imagine keeping down the cherry flavor Bonni is raving about.

Never knew so many Bears were going for scopes at the same time. We are a bunch of old farts, aren't we.: Imagine what they'd do with this thread over at TGR!

Just too much!

At least Gpaul can report back in first.

And I'm the first Asscapsule to report in. See ya....I'm off to see the Whizard!

Good morning a**wholes!

Okay, 2 hours to go before plunge. Just inserted enema, no worries.

Actually, I'm just plain old hungry!

Will report ASAP.

Cheers!

Have fun, Gpaul. Enema? Woof! What kind of hack are you seeing that orders an enema and a clean out!???!!!

Pill was soooo easy! Swallow, hook up the monitor....I'm home and buzzing around. Go back at 3, take off the stuff, 'eject' the pill (that could be the hard part), and get the results read.

The pill takes 55,000 pictures in 7 hours. Wow. There is a light on the monitor that blinks indicating it's taking pictures....2 every second!

Technology is a wonderful thing!

This thread is useless without pics !

err... actualy, no, never mind....

Caption this!!

While we're waiting for the report from Gpaul, you can read this for entertainment.

You'll find the winner to be especially interesting!

That would be a**holes to you sir!

Notice how this Kaygrace person with the sensationalized warnings about colonoscopy drugs just joined, and has only one post - this warning. No history on Epic.

Sounds like somebody on a "mission" who regularly looks for any new mention of colonoscopy and then dive-bombs into whatever community or forum posted.

Let's see some other reason why you're here, Kay (or whomever you are).