Have you had a Colonoscopy??

KSav said:
I don't mean to stray off topic here, but I understand that. I had an emergency appendectomy once, and the last thing I remember was the orderlies wheeling me in to the OR. The next thing I knew, I woke up in recovery. It kind of freaked me out, just going from conscious to waking up like that.

I understand you're referring to a specific reason why you can't be sedated, but that first sentence of yours brought that memory to mind.
Click to expand...
That must have been so scary. I’m glad your operation helped you though.

Kaila said:
Oh my gosh! I was intending to post the daffodil picture and question, in a different thread! oops! o_O 😖:rolleyes:

Very sorry....:sneaky::giggle:

But hopefully, all of you (or some of you?)
enjoyed the light springtime break, in this thread topic.🙃🥸😄
Click to expand...
No worries Kaila. This is a pretty ______topic that needed a break and what a beautiful break it was.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I just found out today what endoscopies are .
Click to expand...
So on one of the occasions, I had both the upper endoscopy and the lower endoscopy (colonoscopy) done at the same time, in sequential order of course. The running joke was: "Okay Doc, if you are going to use the same hose for both procedures, please do the upper endoscopy first!" (Sorry, nerd humor)
 
spectratg said:
So on one of the occasions, I had both the upper endoscopy and the lower endoscopy (colonoscopy) done at the same time, in sequential order of course. The running joke was: "Okay Doc, if you are going to use the same hose for both procedures, please do the upper endoscopy first!" (Sorry, nerd humor)
Click to expand...
I will point out that the endoscopy probe is the diameter of your little finger. It has it's own miniature light source in the leading tip, and also a miniature cutter that is used to take biopsy samples.

One time I had an endoscopy/colonoscopy done with a miniature video camera that you swallow . It was the size of a large vitamin tablet. I had a signal receiver belt around my waist that the internal video camera sent pictures to. It took 10 hours for the miniature camera to wend it's way through my entire digestive system. The camera took photos every 5 seconds as it made it's way to my rectum.

I asked the tech if the camera was recyclable ? He said NO you can keep it. JIMB>
 
Thanks to all those who responded to my thread about colonoscopies. When I first got my letter, I panicked. All I could think about was having colon cancer. After reading the responses from all of you, i realized that many people had false positives. Many people have had to get a colonoscopy who didn’t have cancer. Thank you for bravely sharing your experience. Now I’m not as worried about having cancer. I’m still concerned about getting this operation but not as much as I did yesterday. This forum is filled with courageous members who are willing to share. THAT in itself is comforting, so thanks again. You guys are the best. Give yourselves a pat on the back. You truly deserve it. IMG_3302.jpeg
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Thanks to all those who responded to my thread about colonoscopies. When I first got my letter, I panicked. All I could think about was having colon cancer. After reading the responses from all of you, i realized that many people had fake positives. Many people have had to get a colonoscopy who didn’t have cancer. Thank you for bravely sharing your experience. Now I’m not as worried about having cancer. I’m still concerned about getting this operation but not as much as I did yesterday. This forum is filled with courageous members who are willing to share. THAT in itself is comforting, so thanks again. You guys are the best. Give yourselves a pat on the back. You truly deserve it. View attachment 498341
Click to expand...
Hang in there, Patty.. you will be ok!!!!
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Thanks to all those who responded to my thread about colonoscopies. When I first got my letter, I panicked. All I could think about was having colon cancer. After reading the responses from all of you, i realized that many people had false positives. Many people have had to get a colonoscopy who didn’t have cancer. Thank you for bravely sharing your experience. Now I’m not as worried about having cancer. I’m still concerned about getting this operation but not as much as I did yesterday. This forum is filled with courageous members who are willing to share. THAT in itself is comforting, so thanks again. You guys are the best. Give yourselves a pat on the back. You truly deserve it. View attachment 498341
Click to expand...
What a fantastic, affirmative post.
Thank you for writing and posting that!🤗❣️
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Thanks to all those who responded to my thread about colonoscopies.
Click to expand...
That was such a gracious post, @PeppermintPatty; thank you for it. In the couple of years that I've been a member of SF there have been a handful of times I have offered support or good wishes to a fellow member (or, in one case, apologized for a snarky post), only to be completely ignored. So that was heartening to read. :)
 
This morning I got the call that schedules my appointment and it’s for May 6. Less than a week from today. I don’t have a general anesthesia, I get a sedative to put me to sleep. I also don’t have a prescription for the laxative. It’s a choice of 2 over the counter laxatives. I think restoraLAX is one of the choices which I have already. This nurse practitioner said everything that I already knew from creating this thread. Now I have 6 days to fret and worry. I’m waiting for an email from her.
 
I went in for a colonoscopy today and it doesn’t look like good news. I did the prep work and discovered that I was bleeding a lot.
Just before the procedure when they tell you to go one last time, I had a lot of blood. The nurse told the doctor in charge. I did not fall asleep. I was wide awake through the entire procedure and there were parts that hurt a lot.

Then the doctor told me I had a huge polyp and some smaller ones but told me he wasn’t trained or skilled enough to remove them. He took pictures of the polyp and told me that there’s a main artery that the polyp is wrapped around so I need a specialist to get it done. It is HUGE . Since I have no doctor he made the appointment himself and got some blood work done for me right at the hospital.

Normally a general practitioner would do this but they bent the rules just for me. I asked if it was cancerous and he told me that he couldn’t rule out that it wasn’t. So this is very bad news. I have to have another colonoscopy in Halifax in 2 weeks time. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s cancerous. On the bright side, I couldn’t have asked for better treatment. They were really nice to me. Their bedside manner was impeccable.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I went in for a colonoscopy today and it doesn’t look like good news. I did the prep work and discovered that I was bleeding a lot.
Just before the procedure when they tell you to go one last time, I had a lot of blood. The nurse told the doctor in charge. I did not fall asleep. I was wide awake through the entire procedure and there were parts that hurt a lot.

Then the doctor told me I had a huge polyp and some smaller ones but told me he wasn’t trained or skilled enough to remove them. He took pictures of the polyp and told me that there’s a main artery that the polyp is wrapped around so I need a specialist to get it done. It is HUGE . Since I have no doctor he made the appointment himself and got some blood work done for me right at the hospital.

Normally a general practitioner would do this but they bent the rules just for me. I asked if it was cancerous and he told me that he couldn’t rule out that it wasn’t. So this is very bad news. I have to have another colonoscopy in Halifax in 2 weeks time. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s cancerous. On the bright side, I couldn’t have asked for better treatment. They were really nice to me. Their bedside manner was impeccable.
Click to expand...
That's upsetting news for you, hopefuuly it isn't going to be anything serious. Did they remove any tissue for a biopsy or do they do that after removing the polyp? Best wishes for a positive outcome!
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I asked if it was cancerous and he told me that he couldn’t rule out that it wasn’t. So this is very bad news.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily.
All it means is he has no way of knowing before it is tested, so he does not want to state an opinion and be mistaken if he's wrong.

P.S. He's probably less concerned about your peace of mind (or lack thereof) than the risk of getting sued.
 
Sunkist said:
Not necessarily.
All it means is he has no way of knowing before it is tested, so he does not want to state an opinion and be mistaken if he's wrong.

P.S. He's probably less concerned about your peace of mind (or lack thereof) than the risk of getting sued.
Click to expand...
This is true. He looked worried. I live in Canada so all of this is paid for by our federal health care. Not too many people sue the government and win.
Nathan said:
The Cologuard test can throw some false positives, and negatives too, I guess.
Demerol is great for short term sedation, but I think they're going with propothol these days.
Click to expand...
I had fentanyl .
 
C50 said:
That's upsetting news for you, hopefuuly it isn't going to be anything serious. Did they remove any tissue for a biopsy or do they do that after removing the polyp? Best wishes for a positive outcome!
Click to expand...
They didn’t remove anything. I think my doctor was too scared to touch it due to where it was in my colon. The huge polyp was wrapped around a main artery.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I went in for a colonoscopy today and it doesn’t look like good news. I did the prep work and discovered that I was bleeding a lot.
Just before the procedure when they tell you to go one last time, I had a lot of blood. The nurse told the doctor in charge. I did not fall asleep. I was wide awake through the entire procedure and there were parts that hurt a lot.
Click to expand...
I am sorry you have to go through this and I will pray for a quick and successful recovery for you.

Your story also serves as a good incentive to those who put off a colonoscopy because the prep is YUKY and the procedure seems so invasive. Regardless of how uncomfortable the colonoscopy is it is far easier than having to deal with cancer or what you are going through. I’ve had several small polyps removed during the screen process. It’s far less unpleasant than getting a flu-shot.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I went in for a colonoscopy today and it doesn’t look like good news. I did the prep work and discovered that I was bleeding a lot.
Just before the procedure when they tell you to go one last time, I had a lot of blood. The nurse told the doctor in charge. I did not fall asleep. I was wide awake through the entire procedure and there were parts that hurt a lot.

Then the doctor told me I had a huge polyp and some smaller ones but told me he wasn’t trained or skilled enough to remove them. He took pictures of the polyp and told me that there’s a main artery that the polyp is wrapped around so I need a specialist to get it done. It is HUGE . Since I have no doctor he made the appointment himself and got some blood work done for me right at the hospital.

Normally a general practitioner would do this but they bent the rules just for me. I asked if it was cancerous and he told me that he couldn’t rule out that it wasn’t. So this is very bad news. I have to have another colonoscopy in Halifax in 2 weeks time. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s cancerous. On the bright side, I couldn’t have asked for better treatment. They were really nice to me. Their bedside manner was impeccable.
Click to expand...
I am sorry to hear this. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and hope that things come out better than they seem right now.

IMG_3336.gif
 
C50 said:
That's upsetting news for you, hopefuuly it isn't going to be anything serious. Did they remove any tissue for a biopsy or do they do that after removing the polyp? Best wishes for a positive outcome!
Click to expand...
They didn’t remove any polyps. I think the doctor was too scared to. I think the polyps are burned away. I’m not sure exactly how. I’ll know more when I see the specialist. Apparently I was in too bad a shape to have this doctor work on me.
 
Patti I'm sorry you have to go through this. The thing is, the doctors have reason to be concerned, location and size do matter. They're trying to do the best they can by you. You really do want someone who has experience doing the procedure.

This is yet another thing I got to be witness too with my wife. She had to have one because her post chemo PET scan showed a good size mass in colon area. Yes, like you you the first one was significantly large, and the GI doctor wanted a specialist present to remove it. She got to do the whole thing all over again 60 days later. That all went well, but she gets to do a 6 month follow up next month. How wonderful, but in her case it was the pre cancerous type of polyp. All that she has been through is her choice, my job is to support her.

I hope everything has a happy ending for you wishing you the best. It's scary now no question about it.
BTW the best to your husband too.
 
Brookswood said:
I am sorry you have to go through this and I will pray for a quick and successful recovery for you.

Your story also serves as a good incentive to those who put off a colonoscopy because the prep is YUKY and the procedure seems so invasive. Regardless of how uncomfortable the colonoscopy is it is far easier than having to deal with cancer or what you are going through. I’ve had several small polyps removed during the screen process. It’s far less unpleasant than getting a flu-shot.
Click to expand...
Yes! Anybody who doesn’t want to do colon guard screening test because it too embarrassing or too uncomfortable, seriously think again. I should have done the screening test 5 years ago when I first got it. My husband had it done and had no problems. In fact, most people turn out negative on the screening test but if you turn out to have an abnormal test, get it checked out right away. It’s easier to look after .
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top