Who out there has had a colonoscopy and wants to talk about it?

[CTyankee]

Mine was, unfortunately, both diagnostic and screening. I had had some discomfort that I thought was lactose intolerance. So the doc ordered up a colonoscopy (also cuz I hadn't had one yet and I'm over 50). A colonoscopy is no fun if you are in pain in your gut. All the anesthesia they gave me didn't completely dull the pain. So not only do I remember the procedure, I felt it too.

Turns out I had severe diverticulitis, something I "inherited" from my mother. Thank god, no surgery was necessary, but I took a vile medicine called Flagyl and Cipro for 2 weeks.

[Redstone]

1. Hey, you can stand ANYTHING for a day,. Except maybe getting shot.

And 2 weeks of vile medicine versus the scalpel? A no-brainer right there.

Redstone

[CTyankee]

4. The Flagyl was ghastly because it left a horrible taste in your

mouth. And I couldn't have my wine with dinner (no alcohol with Flagyl). I cheated a bit on the last day and had a glass of chardonney with dinner and nothing bad happened. They had said that you'd get quite ill if you drank while taking the stuff so I just abstained (and I LOVE my wine with dinner!).

[Redstone]

9. Did you get cranky? I think I might have in that situation.

But I'd have ignored the doctor's instructions as I always do.

Some day, I'll learn tro b e responsible and mature.

Redstone

[CTyankee]

15. Not too cranky. I was visiting my grandkids on Martha's Vineyard

so I didn't feel too sorry for myself!

[terrya]

2. I had one a couple of years ago.

The worst part was the night before. Ugh.

Mine went fine, overall. I didn't feel anything...and I got to watch the procedure on a monitor. It was sort of interesting.

Nothing bad was found. When I left the hospital, I got back to my neighborhood, went to a diner down the street from my apartment, and had a HUGE breakfast. :-)

I'm sorry about your experiences.

[TimeChaser]

3. The procedure itself wasn't so bad for me

It was going without food the day before while having to drink laxatives :puke: Not fun

[democracyindanger]

5. More importantly, who wants to hear about somebody's colonoscopy?

:D

[TimeChaser]

6. Fine then

Care to hear about my endoscopy? :P

[Hell Hath No Fury]

7. I had a great experience...

for having a 4 foot long camera hose shoved up your ass! :rofl:

I was diagnosed with severe anemia caused by bleeding, so they went on the hunt to see if I had colon cancer. During a pre-colonoscopy barium enema (HATED it!) they discoverd I have what they call a "torturous" colon -- a lot more colon than most people and it loops/travels all over the damn place. The doctor performing my procedure flat out said he wasn't sure if he was going to make it all the way through the colon.

The prep was gross but not unbearable - I did a three day fast and was mostly really, really hungry. They gave me Vercede and a painkiller (Darvecete?) to make me n-i-c-e and relaxed and pain-free. For the most part it all worked great, through I did have some breakthrough pain when they were going through the toughest twists. After a very long time, he had managed to get all the way through to the end of the small intestine -- the whole room cheered!. I had drifted in and out for most of the proceedure, but I do have some vivid memories of it.

All in all it was a lot better experience than I thought it was going to be. They found no signs of cancer and the doctor noted how nice my colon was -- he said it must have been all the years of me being a vegetarian (can you say FIBER!).


Sorry to hear about the diverticulitis -- that can be some nasty stuff. Watch those seeds and eats lots of fiber.

[CTyankee]

16. I eat so much fiber it is amazing! Always have! That is what so surprised me

about this whole thing! I thought for sure I'd NEVER have diverticulis or diverticulosis like my mother, who never ate a high fiber diet (but lived to the age of 94).

You never know! Sometimes heredity can trump diet...

[Left Is Write]

8. Katie Couric.

My grandmother had diverticulitis, and at one point, doctors thought I did too (I didn't have to have a colonoscopy; I had CT scan). It turned out I had a kidney infection, which wasn't diagnosed for several more days.

I'm glad you didn't have to have surgery, though.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. The worst part is the preparation ...

All that internal cleansing and starvation. The actual scoping is't bad. There's a little pain, but the drugs are good enough that you just sort of laugh at every spasm and every fart.

Cipro - that's the stuff they handed out to folks that got "powdered" during the anthrax scare. Big time antibiotic.

[SPKrazy]

11. Wants To Talk About It?

what's there to talk about?

I have had 2 or 3. I've had some polyps. They did one because I was having some symptoms. Then because of the polyps I've had others. I will have to continue to have them.

The worst part is the prep.

The procedure I was always pretty well doped up and remember only bits and pieces.

[REP]

12. They Hurt Like Fucking Hell

The prep is not the worst part - the worst part is having the procedure. I have a very rare reaction to the drugs they use in that Versed doesn't sedate me and make me amnesiac - it wakes me up and keeps me up. I have a functional bowel disorder and mild IBD, so when I have one, I'm in pain already!

[Richard Steele]

13. The colonoscope itself isn't so bad...

It's that damn hundred-watt bulb on the end! :evilgrin:

[KT2000]

14. The bill is what got me!

Thought it was strictly a screening exam but found out that if they remove a polyp that falls into a different category and is billed differently.
I was lucky in that I had to pay $400.
My brother though had to pay $800.
The insurance plan is what makes the difference

The total cost for the thing was almost $4,000.

[CTyankee]

18. Yep, insurance makes a difference. I have a good plan, thanks to

my husband's policy (he works for the city of New Haven, is unionized and has great benefits). It is ridiculous what you had to pay! How do docs expect people to have these screening procedures if they can't freaking afford them???

[Xipe Totec]

17. Last time I posted on this,

my thread got locked.

Then again, mine was a little more provocative....

:rofl:


PS: Mine was fine; according to my proctologist, I'm still a perfect asshole.