Colonoscopy: Is It Worth The Risk?

fmdog44 said:
I would love to hear someone say why it is better not to get them.
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I have no idea if it is better or not, I just don't intend to have one.

I recently mailed my box of poop in for testing and that is about as far as I intend to go.
cologuard.jpg
 

fmdog44 said:
I would love to hear someone say why it is better not to get them.
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I would NOT tell anyone not to, but they are NOT for me. I'm banking on Grape Seed Extract for my colon health and I've been taking it for 23 yrs. You can do a search on Grape Seed Extract and Colon Health.

I'm not a huge fan of Pharma for the most part anyway. Certainly avoid all the tests they think we should have.
 
I held off getting one because of no family history, no GI symptoms & negative occult blood test, & acquaintances horror stories. But finally had to get one about a month ago, was having bowel prob, continual nausea etc. so sick admitted to hosp. The first prep they gave me made me so sick it kept coming up &'the second stuff magnesium citrate I kept down & had the test. One polyp & needed esophagus dilated a bit. Never figured out what was causing nausea which gradually went away. The hardest part now is trying to get digestive system working right again after hitting the "reset" button. Lost 10 lbs thru this.
One doc had nerve enough to yell at me because I got to this old age & didn't have one before.
 

Aunt Bea said:
I have no idea if it is better or not, I just don't intend to have one.

I recently mailed my box of poop in for testing and that is about as far as I intend to go.
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I don't intend to get one unless I feel there's a need to, for all of us it's a personal decision. Kaiser sends me an annual envelope with a Fecal Globin (fecal occult blood) test, simple sample sent in a vial. I haven't received the results from my recent one yet. If results are ever unfavorable, I would have any further testing that was necessary.
 
For some reason, they stop doing routine colonoscopies after a certain age. Not sure what it is, maybe 70? I don't know why.
 
Sunny said:
For some reason, they stop doing routine colonoscopies after a certain age. Not sure what it is, maybe 70? I don't know why.
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It's not 70, maybe 75 but why I don't know. Cancer in the colon is typically slow to develop and maybe after 75 the occurrence rate is very low.
 
IMO The colonoscopy is a good example of how our medical costs in this country have gotten out of control over the years.

Up until this year, I always took a simple FOBT that cost from $3-$40.

This year my PCP was pushing a more comprehensive Cologuard test for around $649.

Of course, he would prefer that I have a Colonoscopy at a reported cost of from $1,000-$3,000.

The answer is always the same don't worry your insurance will cover most of it, IMO this attitude has to change in an effort to control costs.
 
Aunt Bea said:
IMO The colonoscopy is a good example of how our medical costs in this country have gotten out of control over the years.

Up until this year, I always took a simple FOBT that cost from $3-$40.

This year my PCP was pushing a more comprehensive Cologuard test for around $649.

Of course, he would prefer that I have a Colonoscopy at a reported cost of from $1,000-$3,000.

The answer is always the same don't worry your insurance will cover most of it, IMO this attitude has to change in an effort to control costs.
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Check the numbers on treating cancer before you decide knowing you are cancer free is worth the money.
 
Even with our different perspective re colonoscopies, Canada does not have a higher incidence of colon cancer than America. Our medical establishment believe the poop test is a reliable predictor of who needs colonoscopies, (with the exception of high risk people.)
 
fmdog44 said:
I would love to hear someone say why it is better not to get them.
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I know people who get wiped out for several days to a week because of the prep let alone the anesthesia. A senior's more frail body in particular is open to anything from illness to injury in an artificially weakened state from the prep and anesthesia. They don't eat right, activity goes down yet those things are just as critical for many.

I also know of people that had intestinal bleeding issues and they would not scope them because of their age. They said if life threatening or they could not figure it out/stop it then they would consider it. They did figure it out although Im sure a much younger person with good insurance would've directed for a colonoscopy regardless of symptoms.

And if one really pays attention to what's going in their body including observing their poop on occasion-dark not good cya testing isn't as necessary.
 
I've had constipation issues most of my life, and now doing good with all I take. Years ago I even did a few colonics, a good cleaning out by a colonic therapist...I had almost forgotten about these. I'm sure they are still done in areas where there is a LOT of alternative and holistic therapies.

Never done a colonoscoopy and no plans to, I'm 80. I love the way so many say, it's a breeze, do it, prep is the big issue...no way for this lady.
 
WhatInThe said:
I know people who get wiped out for several days to a week because of the prep let alone the anesthesia. A senior's more frail body in particular is open to anything from illness to injury in an artificially weakened state from the prep and anesthesia. They don't eat right, activity goes down yet those things are just as critical for many.

I also know of people that had intestinal bleeding issues and they would not scope them because of their age. They said if life threatening or they could not figure it out/stop it then they would consider it. They did figure it out although Im sure a much younger person with good insurance would've directed for a colonoscopy regardless of symptoms.

And if one really pays attention to what's going in their body including observing their poop on occasion-dark not good cya testing isn't as necessary.
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If you are over 75 you should not get one or any check up procedure that requires going under during the procedure. You can opt for CTC (a CT scan) that does not require sedation but you will have to take the drink to clean your colon and if they find a polyp then a colonoscopy is required to determine the type of polyp. They insert a tube in your rectim and fill your colon with air to better view you insides.
 
I am on my 5th doctor in 8 years. All they seem to do is check my blood pressure and according to my age want me tested. I object to age based testing since my family lives well into their 90's by staying away from doctors and medications that are not absolute necessary. All invasive procedures have a risk. My wife's friend's husband got his colon perforated during a colonoscopy and had to have surgery to fix it. What I did was use ColonGuard. They send you a kit and you send them back a small stool sample which they check for cancer with using DNA techniques that are 99% accurate. Medicare pays for it as do most medical plans. I do this every 3 years.

One thing I hate about doctors, other than my doctor friends who recommend staying away from them as much as possible because they know what goes on and how it is run as a business making money off of test in absence of any symptoms. The other thing they do is to tell you if you do this you lower your risk by 50%. People hear this and take the test or drugs. However, they never ask what the original risk is.

There are over 200,000 preventible medical mistakes made each year that result in death. Yet people talk about the NRA and not the medical establishment. Now my doctor is the medical chief of the entire medical center. He only takes special patients who are knowledgeable and not sheeple doing every thing a doctor tell them to cover their butts in case you get ill. So they test you as much as they can so they can show that they did something and cannot be sued.
 
Vinny said:
I am on my 5th doctor in 8 years. All they seem to do is check my blood pressure and according to my age want me tested. I object to age based testing since my family lives well into their 90's by staying away from doctors and medications that are not absolute necessary. All invasive procedures have a risk. My wife's friend's husband got his colon perforated during a colonoscopy and had to have surgery to fix it. What I did was use ColonGuard. They send you a kit and you send them back a small stool sample which they check for cancer with using DNA techniques that are 99% accurate. Medicare pays for it as do most medical plans. I do this every 3 years.

One thing I hate about doctors, other than my doctor friends who recommend staying away from them as much as possible because they know what goes on and how it is run as a business making money off of test in absence of any symptoms. The other thing they do is to tell you if you do this you lower your risk by 50%. People hear this and take the test or drugs. However, they never ask what the original risk is.

There are over 200,000 preventible medical mistakes made each year that result in death. Yet people talk about the NRA and not the medical establishment. Now my doctor is the medical chief of the entire medical center. He only takes special patients who are knowledgeable and not sheeple doing every thing a doctor tell them to cover their butts in case you get ill. So they test you as much as they can so they can show that they did something and cannot be sued.
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I've tried being the no questions asked patient and consumer approach and it tends not end well acting like a trained dog. Even though it cost lots of money to delegate your health to someone else the patient absolutely needs to remain an active participant in their own health business. The medical industry plays the odds and pretty inflexible play book.

I know people who progressed more under new doctors and nurses than their long time GP & specialists because as a patient they had to tell them the details/all their symptoms but with their GP they assumed they would pick up on things, but they didn't.
 
WhatInThe said:
I've tried being the no questions asked patient and consumer approach and it tends not end well acting like a trained dog. Even though it cost lots of money to delegate your health to someone else the patient absolutely needs to remain an active participant in their own health business. The medical industry plays the odds and pretty inflexible play book.

I know people who progressed more under new doctors and nurses than their long time GP & specialists because as a patient they had to tell them the details/all their symptoms but with their GP they assumed they would pick up on things, but they didn't.
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Where I've arrived at this age of 80 is that I have so much distrust in the medical complex our country is. I have worked on my own health and trust Dr Google a lot more than the complex. I don't do the tests "they" tell us we need to do.

I have more trust in my grape seed ex for colon health than I do those invasive tests.
 
My husband's brother died age 44 from colon cancer that spread to his liver before it was detected. Since then his younger brother has had his stomach completely removed because of a cancer. He has survived and is cancer free.

That is two first order relatives with gut cancer, so hubby has had a colonoscopy and endoscopy every 5 years since his forties. His mother developed bowel cancer in her eighties, so that's three first order rels. His doctor has told him that it looks like he has dodged the cancer gene but given his mother's experience, that could be overly optimistic.

I've never has a colonoscopy although I did have a barium enema early on. Stool tests are no use to me because I have piles. I'm gambling a bit because my family history suggests that I should focus more on controlling blood pressure and cholesterol to head off stroke and cardiac arrest. If my GP recommended it, I would certainly take the colonoscopy because it is, after all, just another medical examination.
 
Too bad lots of cancers. Back in 1995 when I found Pycnogenol we were told MAY prevent cancer(s) and I jumped on it right away, that was 24 yrs ago. After a year of Pycnogenol I went to Grape Seed Ex and there is a lot of info on this antioxidant on cancer preventions including colon. Glad I found it, or it found me back in 1995.

These are power antioxidants and I take Vit C higher doses daily too. I believe I am fine.

Are you optimal on magnesium intake ? Re: piles

BTW: THere are dangers with colonoscopies: infection,colon perforation and even deaths.
 
No idea about the magnesium but tests before my last operation showed low iron reserves so I was given an iron infusion. Levels have never been low before and they have held up ever since. I was put on a calcium tablet at the same time but I am thinking I probably don't need this supplement either.

There are dangers with any medical intervention. We always have to calculate the benefit of the procedure against the risk or not having it, which is why I'm not interested in having a colonoscopy myself. There is always some risk of course, but no-one in my family has ever had gut cancer and only two close relatives have ever had any form of cancer. On the other hand cardiovascular problems are common, as is senile dementia. The former are being managed, and as for dementia I think it is a case of que sera, sera.
 
Didn't want to take the flu thread off track, so I put this here. It's an option for anyone who does not want to have a conventional colonoscopy, but feels a need to get the test.

 

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