Colonoscopy....

[wyosteve]

Timely topic. Don't know how old he is, but don't think he's over 45 or so, but Jim Shockey's son, Branlin, was just diagnosed with Stage 2+ colon cancer. Announced via FB, so I'm not betraying any confidences. Was found during a routine colonoscopy.

 

[mthayr]

On a lighter note...

Which actress do you become when you get a colonoscopy..?

...

Cameron Diaz

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Current situation..... living on coffee and chicken broth. My cleanse starts at 6pm eastern today. Procedure at 6am tomorrow. Getting both scopes, upper and lower. I'm a pessimistic and I just know they're gonna find something. I need a beer so bad right now.

My buddy took them literally when they said to take the stuff with "clear fluids". He deduced that beer was a clear fluid and it all turned out okay. I'm not recommending at all, just funny how stubborn some of us are.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

These procedures are very routine, but there can still be issues, so please do take them seriously. My wife had her first a couple years ago, after me and friends kept telling her it would be the best nap she'd ever had. Unfortunately, she had a reaction to the anitstethic and aspirated while under. They saw what they needed to see fortunately, but her O2 dropped dangerously low and it took quite some time to get her back. Recovery was about 6 weeks with one of those plastic machines you inhale into and keep the disc at the proper level. She keeps saying she's gonna poop in a box next time, and I keep telling her she'll be fine now that they know she has a problem.

Lots of colon and other cancers in my family and I'm not letting her off easy on this.

 

[elkliver]

Take the Pill instead of drinking the liquid! Process still sucks but is much better than the nasty liquid

 

[MD97756]

Take the Pill instead of drinking the liquid! Process still sucks but is much better than the nasty liquid

I’ve heard about the pill. This is my first colonoscopy. The next one I’ll ask for the pill, the liquid is nasty!!!

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

The Tech that prepped me (hooked me up to the machines) is a colleague of my wife's (Physician's Assistant now in gastro prep) said he did his the month before mine fully conscious. Zero issues.

I drank a Liquid IV the morning before going in. Told the nurse that. "Well how much"? I don't know....the Normal amount?

Pushed my scope time back 90 minutes due to fear of Aspiration. My wife knew better but didn't kick me to Shut Up at check in.

They want your stomach completely empty for those very reasons.

I really don't get the Macho/Gay stigma associated with a scope.

Wait til you have prostate issues and they run a camera up your crank the diameter of a 9mm round. You'll beg for the pipe up your ass.

 

[WannaBeRambo]

The purge is worse than the procedure.
Make sure the order is for SCREENING colonoscopy. Most insurance covers that with no out-off-pocket. If they start finding stuff while inside you they may change the code and that may trigger copay, and all that other crap unique to the Byzantine USA medical-industrial complex.

 

[BBob]

Take the Pill instead of drinking the liquid! Process still sucks but is much better than the nasty liquid

The pill wasn’t covered by my insurance and was stupidly priced when I checked it out. My doc office then recommended a liquid concentrate as the second choice. It was some sort of citrus flavor that really wasn’t bad at all. I only had to drink two 500mL glasses 30min apart.

The script description was this:

SODIUM/POTAS MAGNES SOL TARO

 

[RADunfee]

I survived the morning. Had upper and lower GI. My first lower at 51 years old. The prep day is definitely the worst and I wasn't offered a pill option. Just nasty cherry abomination drink. Everything went well and I'm not dying, just some polyps and hemorrhoids. It was the best Waffle House meal I ever had when it was over. Clear for 7 more years depending on any unforeseen test results.

 

[MD97756]

All done. 1 polyp removed. See them again in 5 years.