Colonoscopy Captures: A Contest of Inner Beauty

[Oldfart]

Ha Ha! I had a colonoscopy today and you did not!

 

[phinds]

Oh, lucky you !

That is definitely something I decided not to take up as a hobby.

 

[DataGG]

Oh, lucky you !

That is definitely something I decided not to take up as a hobby.

... Laughed.. Nice.

 

[ZapperZ]

Ha Ha! I had a colonoscopy today and you did not!

Yeah, but did you have the guts (pun intended) to have it done without any sedation? I did! It was fun seeing the inside of one's colon displayed on a large-screen monitor.

Zz.

 

[edward]

The actual colonoscopy is the easy part. The preparation is really a pain in the @@s.

 

[Oldfart]

The actual colonoscopy is the easy part. The preparation is really a pain in the @@s.

You got that right! Not doing that again!

 

[jtbell]

Yeah, but did you have the guts (pun intended) to have it done without any sedation? I did! It was fun seeing the inside of one's colon displayed on a large-screen monitor

They didn't offer me that choice a couple of years ago when I had my first colonoscopy. They hooked me up with an IV, wheeled me into the operation room, asked me to turn over on my side, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room.

The actual colonoscopy is the easy part. The preparation is really a pain in the @@s.

Yep. I didn't get much sleep the night before, dealing with the effects of the laxatives to clear everything out of my bowels.

At least they didn't find anything, so that gave me some peace of mind.

 

[edward]

They didn't offer me that choice a couple of years ago when I had my first colonoscopy. They hooked me up with an IV, wheeled me into the operation room, asked me to turn over on my side, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room.



Yep. I didn't get much sleep the night before, dealing with the effects of the laxatives to clear everything out of my bowels.

At least they didn't find anything, so that gave me some peace of mind.

Good news at the end.

 

[Evo]

My first was done awake with demerol. I loved it, no discomfort and they did a number of biopsies and removed several pre-cancerous polyps. I felt so great the rest of the day I wanted to do it again the next day!

The second one was done with complete anesthesia, woke up in horrible pain, was miserable and in pain for 2 days and they did no biopsies or removals.

Next time I am demanding to stay awake and have the demerol!

 

[berkeman]

Yeah, my colonoscopy a couple years ago was surprisingly easy. Awake through the whole thing and pretty interesting to watch.

One tip for when you are cleansing/preparing the day before -- take walks for each cleansing cycle. Short walks of course, but walks...

 

[Drakkith]

What has been read cannot be un-read...

 

[jtbell]

Your time will come. Muahaha!

 

[ZapperZ]

You got that right! Not doing that again!

How could you not do it again? If you had a clean inspection, i.e. no polyps, don't you have to go back in ... what, 10 years? It is not as if you have to do this every year or every other year.

They found polyps in mine, so I have to go back in 3 years. But of all the preventive acts that we do, this one is the most important, because it can be treated very easily if detected early, with high rate of success. I'd rather deal with a one day of staying at home near the bathroom, and then another half a day of the procedure, rather than endure months and years of suffering at something that could have been prevented.

Zz.

 

[Drakkith]

Your time will come. Muahaha!

*cries*

 

[arildno]

I won't comment on this thread.

 

[Evo]

I have pictures, somewhere.

 

[ZapperZ]

I have pictures, somewhere.

I asked the attending Gastro-intestine specialist if he could record a video of the whole procedure, since I was watching it live on the big-screen monitor. He said no. I then said:

"Too bad. I could show this video during my next dinner party!"

Zz.

 

[Evo]

i asked the attending gastro-intestine specialist if he could record a video of the whole procedure, since i was watching it live on the big-screen monitor. He said no. I then said:

"too bad. I could show this video during my next dinner party!"

zz.

lol!

 

[Drakkith]

I asked the attending Gastro-intestine specialist if he could record a video of the whole procedure, since I was watching it live on the big-screen monitor. He said no. I then said:

"Too bad. I could show this video during my next dinner party!"

Zz.

*sighs*

 

[Evo]

*sighs*

It's all just bright and shiny pink, no poo. Except the polyps are raised.

I've got picks of my scarred esophagus and hernia! I think I should upload those! Those pics are incoming.

 

[Physics_UG]

I don't look forward to old age. :(

 

[dipole]

I'll just die now, thank you.

 

[HeLiXe]

When I saw that "Old Fart" had a colonoscopy, I immediately found humor in that :) On a more serious note colonoscopies are not only for "old" people. There is a young police officer I met who had a colonoscopy and was able to address cancer at a very early stage. Because of this, he said he makes it a point to tell people, especially young people to get checked.

 

[Evo]

When I saw that "Old Fart" had a colonoscopy, I immediately found humor in that :) On a more serious note colonoscopies are not only for "old" people. There is a young police officer I met who had a colonoscopy and was able to address cancer at a very early stage. Because of this, he said he makes it a point to tell people, especially young people to get checked.

Colon polyps that can become cancerous are very slow growing, so that's why early detection is so successful.

 

[russ_watters]

I've got picks of my scarred esophagus and hernia! I think I should upload those! Those pics are incoming.

We could play a game: Name That Body Part...From Internal Photos. I've got one to contribute.

 

[drizzle]

*faints*

 

[Evo]

We could play a game: Name That Body Part...From Internal Photos. I've got one to contribute.

Oh, I should gather up my photos!

 

[strangerep]

We could play a game: Name That Body Part...From Internal Photos. I've got one to contribute.

Can you put that in a different thread in a different forum, pls? I often read General Discussion over lunch.



Btw, I'm glad you said "from internal photos". There was a scandal a while back when it became known that staff at a nursing home played a game of "Genital Fridays", where photos of patient's genitals were displayed and the object of the game was to guess which elderly person they belonged to.

Some people are beyond "disturbed".

 

[1MileCrash]

...The combination of the topic title and your username while browsing the topic index.

 

[Lavabug]

Why did i click this thread... I have been left deeply disturbed by the contents (of the thread and of the colons of those who posted the details).

 

[HeLiXe]

LOLOL I love your posts Lavabug

 

[dlgoff]

Okay. This thread has motivated me to get my first colonoscopy next week. But NOT looking forward to it.

 

[Evo]

Okay. This thread has motivated me to get my first colonoscopy next week. But NOT looking forward to it.

Opt for staying awake and doing demerol. I had much less pain than with the general anesthesia. Demerol takes a while to wear off. I felt so great after having the awake with demerol colonoscopy that I asked if I could have another the next day, they said no. There was no pain, no discomfort, was cracking jokes with the doctor and nurse during the procedure.

On the flip side, I had bad pain and felt bad all day after the general anesthesia one.

 

[strangerep]

Okay. This thread has motivated me to get my first colonoscopy next week. But NOT looking forward to it.

The worst part is having one's bum exposed to all and sundry.
Consider liberal applications of pimple cream all over, several days beforehand, as if you were... umm,... going on a date...

 

[lisab]

The worst part is having one's bum exposed to all and sundry.
Consider liberal applications of pimple cream all over, several days beforehand, as if you were... umm,... going on a date...

Yeah but they've seen it all before. Again and again and again.

But don't feel sorry for them -- they're well compensated!

 

[Astronuc]

My father had his first colonoscopy in his late 70s, after the symptoms indicated something wrong. They colonoscopy revealed several well-developed polyps, and one exhibited cancer cells and was close enough to his lymph system.

Not only did he have about 6-8 inches of his colon removed (fortunately they could reattach the ends, so he didn't need a colostomy), but he needed chemotherapy, and subsequently radiation.

The chemotherapy made him quite ill to the point severe abdominal distress. He developed neuropathy in his legs. Basically a miserable existence for about 6 months. Meanwhile, he developed a post-operative infection.

The radiation scarred his bladder, and he developed incontinence.

He said there were times when he felt like dying would be preferable, but he persevered.

He's doing much better today.

All that misery and suffering could have been avoided if he had only had a colonoscopy many years early, certainly by age 60. Turns out some of his uncles and cousins have had colon cancer, and some died because they didn't get treatment in time.

I had a colonoscopy several months after my dad had his surgery. I'm clean so far. They insisted on anesthesia, propofol. It was a very effective anathesia. I woke up later and felt like I had the best sleep in about 30+ years.

 

[strangerep]

Not only did he have about 6-8 inches of his colon removed (fortunately they could reattach the ends, so he didn't need a colostomy), but he needed chemotherapy, and subsequently radiation.

Sounds like he got off lightly.

When I was in hospital several years ago, the guy in the next bed had suffered colon cancer. He told me his story at length: after initial diagnosis, he had to have a lot of his colon removed, his anus surgically closed, and a colostomy bag hanging off his belly to catch his you-know-what. He endured 2 years in this miserable state while receiving chemo and radiation. But the good news was that the overall treatment seemed effective, and he was in hospital at that time simply to have his colon re-attached and anus re-opened so things could start functioning more normally again. So he was surprisingly happy and chirpy as he told me his story. (I, of course, became quite speechless while he was talking -- hard to believe one could survive such an ordeal, both physically and mentally.)

 

[dlgoff]

I received the information/instruction packet in the mail. I'm fairly sure they want to kill me. They want me to drink up to 16 ounces of water per hour for the day; 7am to 10pm. That's up to 15 pounds of water => 12% of my body weight. That's more water than I drink in two weeks. Sounds like Water Intoxication to me.

If I'm still alive at 5:30pm, I'm suppose chug 10 ounces of Magnesium citrate followed by two Dulcolax tablets at 6pm. Then one hour later, mix 238g powered Miralax powder in 64 ounces of Gatorade and finish drinking all by 10pm. 238g ?

The usual dose is 17 grams (about 1 heaping tablespoon) of powder per day (or as directed by physician) in 4 to 8 ounces of water.

http://www.rxlist.com/miralax-drug/indications-dosage.htm

Now it's time for two more Dulcolax tablets with 8 ounces of water.

They must feel fairly confident that they're going to succeed in killing or injuring me, as they included forms for Durable Power of Attorney For Health Care Decisions and a Statutory Living Will Declaration.

If I do happen to survive the night and make it to the appointment, they'll probably make me drink more chemicals.

 

[SteamKing]

Well, you could always catch the E-train (enema, that is). It's a wet and wild ride.

 

[D H]

I received the information/instruction packet in the mail. I'm fairly sure they want to kill me.

They don't want to kill you. They merely want to make you think that dying might be preferable. You will definitely feel that way shortly after the last dose.

It is worth it. It's but one day of agony at most every few years to stave off a rather nasty death. My first time, clean as a whistle (pun intended). My second time, snip snip. I'm now on the every few years cycle as opposed to once a decade cycle.


One last word of warning: Do not do anything serious after the procedure. Keep your hands off your checkbook! My wife paid the mortgage twice on the day of her first colonoscopy. She paid lots of bills twice that day. Some doctors use drugs that severely impact short-term memory. Hers did. The drugs did not affect reasoning abilities. She was fully aware, fully logical, after the procedure. She realized it was the time of the month to pay a bunch of bills, so she did that. Then she forgot that she did that. Later she realized it was the time of the month to pay a bunch of bills, so she did that. Again.

 

[dlgoff]

One last word of warning: Do not do anything serious after the procedure. Keep your hands off your checkbook! My wife paid the mortgage twice on the day of her first colonoscopy. She paid lots of bills twice that day. Some doctors use drugs that severely impact short-term memory. Hers did. The drugs did not affect reasoning abilities. She was fully aware, fully logical, after the procedure. She realized it was the time of the month to pay a bunch of bills, so she did that. Then she forgot that she did that. Later she realized it was the time of the month to pay a bunch of bills, so she did that. Again.

Thanks for the "checkbook" warning. They're going to put me out and warned of the short-term memory loss. I already knew about that. I had a same-day surgery for a hernia and the surgical [STRIKE]sweet[/STRIKE] suite nurse was an old girl friend. Apparently, according to my driver, I was trying to put the move on her as she walked me down the hall after recovery. I always did love that girl.

 

[Evo]

Dl, I would call them and ask if the amount of water is a typo, I have had 2 colonoscopies, and I was not told to drink water, but to do the miralax in 64 ounces of gatorade. The second doctor had me also drink some lime drink for constipation, 8 ounces I believe.

 

[Matterwave]

You guys are weird.

 

[D H]

I was told to drink *lots* of water. Lots and lots of water.

 

[dlgoff]

15 lbs was the maximum amount over the time specified. At 8 to 16 oz/hr, the minimum would still be more than I'll ever be able to drink.

 

[Astronuc]

I received the information/instruction packet in the mail. I'm fairly sure they want to kill me. They want me to drink up to 16 ounces of water per hour for the day; 7am to 10pm. That's up to 15 pounds of water => 12% of my body weight. That's more water than I drink in two weeks. Sounds like Water Intoxication to me.

If I'm still alive at 5:30pm, I'm suppose chug 10 ounces of Magnesium citrate followed by two Dulcolax tablets at 6pm. Then one hour later, mix 238g powered Miralax powder in 64 ounces of Gatorade and finish drinking all by 10pm. 238g?

I think I drank a total of 32 or 64 oz of clear Gatorade with the Miralax. I also stopped eating pretty much the day before, so that I didn't have much to void.

One should not be drinking 15 pints of water. That seems excessive.

 

[Evo]

This is similar to the instructions I received, just told to drink plenty of liquids. The amount was up to me. The instructions you were given sound dangerous.

http://www.concordemed.com/files/232-east-30-st/miralax-gatorade_colonoscopy.pdf

 

[strangerep]

You guys are weird.

And you will join our ranks -- eventually.

 

[strangerep]

The discussion about pre-colonscopy preparation and post-colonoscopy care makes me wonder about the quality of such things in different parts of the world.

I was given a self-contained package called "Prep Kit C". Stuff had to be dissolved in a reasonably large quantity of water, and the entire amount drunk gradually over a specified period. (I had to hold my nose while drinking portions of it, the taste was unpleasant.) The instructions also advised not to be too far from a toilet during the prep day. Overall, it was far less of a hassle than I'd been expecting.

At the institution where the procedure was performed, it is mandatory for someone to stay with the patient for 12-18 hrs afterwards -- to prevent bad consequences of the temporary mental problems that persist for a while afterwards (poor memory formation/retention, etc). If there is no such accompanying person, the patient must stay in hospital overnight until the effects wear off. If a patient turns up without an accompanying person, and without making prior arrangements for overnight stay, they refuse to perform the procedure.

 

[Evo]

I think it definitely has to do with insurance issues of different countries.

My first colonoscopy was done in the doctor's office with "conscious sedation", demerol and something else, I was wide awake but had no discomfort, if I have it done again, this will be what I insist upon. And I got to watch it! The doctor positioned the screen so I could see what he was doing. We had a good time joking and I had half a dozen polyps removed!

My second colonoscopy was done in the outpatient day surgery department of a local hospital. I was put under light general anesthesia and the pain I felt afterwards was pretty bad. I was released after an hour in post OP. Since there was no overall sedation with demerol, it was a rather painful day, and I had nothing removed. I do not recommend the general anesthesia in the US. Do the conscious sedation, it will be a much better experience for you, maybe not what your doctor wants as it takes more skill to do the conscious sedation, but he's not the one with a probe up his arse.

You do have to have a person drive you home.