Colonoscopy

[macuu222]

Had mine done in 09 in Hilo with Timothy Jahraus. Then in 2010...and am again going in next month for another one. Yes I'm a cancer survivor...and if it hadn't been for the colonoscopy that they tell everyone to get once they hit their 50's...I'd probably be dead by now. The procedure is really a piece of cake. They tell you to count backward from 10....I don't remember anything after 8. About 40 minutes later your wide awake...

[Bullwinkle]

get mine done every 5 - soon to be ten with the new guidelines.

because of allergies and issues I cant have the twilight sleep - talked blackfin boats all through the last one - doc was looking to buy one........

nothing to write home about second the old school prep the worst of it.....peace of mind well worth the slight discomfort....

[Lee M-S]

I've had it done a few times, by different doctors (all at Kaiser Oahu). Sometimes I don't remember it at all, sometimes I do. I understand that the patient is awake and responsive the whole time, but the drugs prevent you from remembering; perhaps some doctors give more than others.

The prep solution actually includes electrolytes so the rapid loss of fluid doesn't make your body crash. Chill plain water overnight before mixing with the powder so you taste it less. Some doctors say you can add something like Cool Aid to mask the flavor, others say don't do that. Either way, don't use anything red! You use the same prep solution for some kinds of surgery, so I've done it quite a few times. It doesn't get better.

><(((*> ~~~~ ><(("> ~~~~ ><'> ~~~~ >(>

[mar1957]

It not as bad as Julie made it out to be.... Working as a P.C.A. the worst part is the clean-up.
And as stated get some soft t.p. or tucks, you might also consider eating
Clean a few days before ie: lay off the corn nuts and the
5 alarm chili......
BUT ( pardon the pun ) you should be just fine.

[TheodoreJay]

The prep is the most not fun part of it. The procedure is just like taking a little nap. Then you wake up and most people just go home. Remember to have a ride home lined up cause you'll be a bit sleepy. If you have any family history of colon cancer or similar problems this is a must test !!!!!

[nani1970]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their encouraging stories.
I am very relieved, and not as scared.
Mahalo

[unknownjulie]

Glad everyone has had reasonably good experiences. My good friend ended up in the ER from the prep, so, you just never know... Better to be prepared, but it sounds like this is a very unusual reaction.

[Green]

It was recommended every 5 yrs. and now I see its ten yrs. what's with that ?

[Bullwinkle]

They are so effective - that the time between screenings has been doubled.

[Kelena]

This is a non-event and is designed to spare you from actual serious events. Look upon this as an honor and a privilege as most throughout the world do not get to have these preventative measures.

I've had it done several times, as initially recommended for someone my age. The thought of someone doing this to you is kinda horrifying in an old-victorian-woman-reaching-for-her-smelling-salts kind of way, but the truth of it is pretty mundane. And, as someone pointed out above, you will be unconscious for the procedure.

I did have a couple of complications from the procedure, but that has nothing to do with the nature of the procedure. First, I got a staph infection from the IV when the nurse put it in my arm. I remember quite clearly how this occurred. She was talking animatedly while inserting this and just before she jabbed me with whatever that is, a very tiny but visible little spot of her spittle landed on the insertion site. I remember recoiling in horror, but I do this when they take my blood pressure, too, or when they ask me to put my fingers in that little plastic pincer to take my temperature. And so I squelched my disgust -- in error. Two days later I had a red line ripping up my arm.

The other complication was peculiar to me. I have a paradoxical reaction to "twilight sleep" -- it makes me alert and chatty and those in the surgical room want to get a hammer and hit me over the head with it. You don't want to run the risk of that happening to you. It is a waking nightmare. In my case, it was a waking nightmare not just for me, but for the medical professionals who had to listen to me say "What are you doing with it now???!!!! Take it out!!!! Now!!"

So I ask for general anesthesia WELL IN ADVANCE. They will often ignore you. When they do and when you show up for the procedure and gently remind them that you requested general anesthesia, they will scream to everyone in earshot "He wants general -- we're not set up for that are we? We have to cancel, right? Why didn't you tell someone" Spittle will be flying and then a tiny bit of it will land on your IV insertion site.This will happen in slow motion. And you, being the more civilized of the two of you will NOT say "I think you should resterilize the insertion site site because you spit on it." If you do that, you won't be wheeled in for the procedure. There might even be some sort of arbitration proceeding for which you will wish you were on narcotics. In my case, I stayed quiet and took the staph infection hit. You probably shouldn't do that.

The downside of general anesthesia for me is that it always, always, always makes me very sick......for days. That was the other complication. I was sick for about 3 days not counting the time recovering from the infection imparted by the spittle.

But my butt never hurt and I barely knew anyone had ever visited. And they did find and remove something kinda suspicious (I forget what - one of the characters from Toy Story maybe....probably the cowboy...wish he didn't talk like Tom Hanks.....yuck). So all in all, a worthy procedure.

As I drifted off into a deep sleep I would later pay for through nausea and vomiting, I was flirting with the nurse. I do remember thinking about really tacky and geriatric it was for me to flirt with someone who was trying his professional best to act nonchalant about the thankless and intimate task fate had given him to do. But I've forgiven myself. I had surgery just last week and the nurse who woke me up did so by saying "You are a handsome man." Then he offered me a drink. Talk about blurring the boundaries. Okay, so perhaps none of that last part actually happened. But maybe it did. That's what general anesthesia does to me -- whacks me for about a week and I think for sometime after that really.

To summarize:

1. Colonscopy: "Whuh happened?"
2. Twilight Sleep equals Twilight Zone. You will be aware of every single movement, but like a mannequin in a department store you will be powerless to lift a finger to do anything about it.
3. If a nurse spits on you, insist that she get out a man-sized sterile wipe and run it down your arm. If you have one, lay your bar card down on the table in front of you, silently. And then look up at her and run your finger across your neck in a slicing motion.
4. If you are unattached and a nurse wakes you up after a procedure and acts like you are Sleeping Beauty (no matter how improbable that may be), WAKE UP AND GET HIS (or her) FRIGGIN' number.
5. For one year after general anesthesia, do NOT sign any legal documents, call up any old flames, post on Punaweb, try to clean a Ninja blender, operate trucks bearing papayas or drive a 4 x 4 with children and dogs spilling out of the back.