colonoscopy
#544 - 02/07/03 07:59 PM
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so lucky me, i get to go in for a colonoscopy on feb 25th. i'm not too nervous, i've heard it's not too bad. and my mom is coming to help me out and take me to and from the hospital and whatnot.
i'm just wondering if anyone else has had one (i'm thinking this is a great place to ask this kind of thing) and what to expect and stuff.
beth
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Beth,
I wish you luck for the 25th, it is good to have a colonoscopy to rule out any other nasties.
I have had one and I can tell you whilst it is not top of my list of fun things to do it's not too bad at all.
The actual procedure is fine. You get a sedative injection so you don't feel or remember anything. It is not as strong as a general anaesthetic so you don't come out feeling groggy - I just woke up feeling fine.
The worst part is probably the preparation the day before. You have to drink a lot of stuff which doesn't taste all that nice (salty water) to help completely clean out the bowel - so you fast as well. You have to run to the toilet a lot and in the end I was just pooing water. It sounds gross but it's not that bad you don't get cramps, you just need to go a lot. Just plan to be home the day and night before the procedure and you'll be fine.
Some people find they feel good after the bowel gets a good clean out. Personally, I didn't find any improvement but everyone's different.
Good luck and let us know how you go.
Kerrie
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What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
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I had one done about a year ago. The process before is the worst. Your suppose to drink this drink every 10 minutes, so I'd set a timer, but once your about half way through your still on the toilet at ten minutes! I couldn't finish the whole amount, I started throwing it up, but because I was pooping "clean" (no fecal matter left) it was okay.
During the test, I woke up! I remember opening my eyes and seeing the screen with my intestines on it and thinking "I'm not suppose to see that" and then it hurt. Not terrible, but enough to say ouch! That's when the doctor realized I was awake, so he stopped the procedure. He was almost done, but because he hadn't finished he sent me for a bariam (spelling?) lower GI x-ray. That wasn't bad either, just a little uncomfortable.
Anyway, I have very sharp tight corners in my intestines, and scar tissue from a surgery done in 95, which slows digestion down to a halt. So I'm glad I had the test done, at least I have some answers. My doctor said it was extremely rare for someone to wake up, so don't worry, it was probably because he had to kind of push the scope through the tight corners, and because I'm larger than the average patient I should have had more meds.
Good luck, I hope you find your answers!
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Hi there - I had a 'top and tail' i guess you could call it in December - an endoscopy and a colonoscopy in one sitting. I was really scared about having them done (would i wake up? would they perforate my bowel? what would they find?) - It was a breeze - i did not know anything about it, and afer a bit of a sleep after coming out of the anaesthetic, I was right to go home (my parents picked me up.) I spent the rest of the day having little sleeps. I felt ok, although I did have a lot of gas, which certainly made things a bit uncomfortable in the tummy.
I think uncomfortable is the best description i could use for how i felt a few days after, and i did not have much of an appetite for a few days after either (that soon returned!!)So, all in all - it was fine, and everyone is different. The good news is that they did not find anything wrong, which was great, but this did not really tell me what WAS wrong either, which was fairly frustrating. I am now following Heather's book as best i can and am finding it more manageable - this message board is great too!
Good luck
ajc
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hi there,
just thought i'd say i had a colonoscopy last month and was absolutely terrified, a major part of my IBS is anxiety and panic attacks so you can imagine i was in a complete state when i got there. However, the worst thing about the whole thing was the laxative before hand which made me feel nauseous but so long as it works they can complete the procdure and see everything in one go, and hopefully let you know that everything "up" there is normal?! Infact i was awake all the way through and it was just the wind that was a little painful, the sedative they gave me was Valium so i was completely high and giggled all the way through!
Maybe you can post a new message afterwards and let us know you got on ok?
Kathryn
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thank you all so much for your posts, they're very helpful and it's good just to know other people have gone thru it and haven't had a problem with this before. i'll let you all know how it turns out. thanks again!
Beth
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i wish that this post had been up two days sooner! i had both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy done on the fifth of this month...this was defintitely not on my list of stuff to do. after about two weeks of worrying about it, i realized that it really was no big deal. i am quite young, and it was actually more embarassing than anything else. yes, the worst part is the prep...however, that even goes by surprisingly fast. my tests came back negative, which i guess is both good and bad. now i have to go in for some ultrasounds. hopefully the 25th will be a sinch for you! good luck (and remember, it really is not so bad!)
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