<p>Sorry but if I’m over 75 I’m done. Even though I do have a family history.</p>
<p>Ugh. This thread reminded me that I need to schedule mine…just turned 50 over the summer. </p>
<p>I hate going to the doctor for any reason and really do not want to do this. We have no history of colon cancer…maybe I’ll schedule for after the new year. Something to look forward to! 
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<p>@sally305, there are much, much worse things. It’s no biggie, really.</p>
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<p>Disagree. This thread gave me the kick in the butt (pun intended) to get back to the gastro. So I thank the previous posters, especially for tips that worked for them.</p>
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<p>Me too.</p>
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<p>The prep is only “uncomfortable” for a handful of hours. Get to it, sally.</p>
<p>Agree that the prep is not the most fun, but I was advised “do the prep properly and you won’t have to come back for a second test”. Like banging you head against a brick wall it’s great when it’s over. </p>
<p>There is ZERO colon cancer in my family. However, I had a fairly large adenoma and got the two year ticket rather than the lucky folks who get the 10 year one. I’m glad that thing is gone, though, and am glad we have such a great early screening tool available.</p>
<p>It’s true that colon cancer in the family increases one’s risk, but you won’t know if you actually have dodged that bullet unless you get the colonoscopy. Plenty of people have gotten the bad news that they are “the first.”</p>
<p>^Same story here! I am SO glad I went for a colonoscopy the month I turned 50! It may have saved my life.</p>
<p>We live in a wonderful age. Colonoscopies, PAP tests, mammograms. Lots of things are found and cured that we once would have died from.</p>
<p>My colleague had no family history of colon cancer. She postponed her colonoscopy by one year because she was very busy with work. When she had her screening the gastroenterologist found a mass and the cancer was throughout her liver by the time she had the CT scan with contrast. She died a year later despite chemotherapy. It prompted me to get my screening at 40 and several of my younger colleagues to have screenings. I will pay out of pocket every 5 years if I have to just to make sure I am polyp or colon cancer free. Watching her die was painful.</p>
<p>Now a days, I think what you eat make you more cancerous. Food Coloring, artificial flavoring, GMO veges and artificial sweetener etc.</p>
<p>I think the jury is still out on that conclusion.</p>
<p>Wow, frugaldoctor, I’m sorry.</p>
<p>I will make my appointment on Monday. You have all been really helpful.</p>
<p>“The prep is only “uncomfortable” for a handful of hours.”</p>
<p>Yup, its like continuous faucet, you don’t feel it if you sit on it for about 3~4 hours.
After I “cleaned” my stuff at around 1am, I slept like a baby until 5…7 am, I was at the hospital.</p>
<p>Not what you experienced , but the same Dr gave me and DH the same drugs. He is always silly and alert afterward, but with no later memory of the four hours post-procedure.
I was unhappy, sick-feeling and remember everything after waking up.
Everyone must react differently .</p>
<p>Well I had a good friend who did have her colonoscopy, was clean, and less than 1 year later diagnosed with colon cancer. She went through surgery and a year of chemo, but has had clear scans for 2 years now. So, you never know. I would hate someone who had colon cancer without prior colonoscopy to deal with the “what if’s” on top of the disease.</p>
<p>@BalletMom, how was she diagnosed? Did she start to have symptoms? Was her first colonoscopy not performed well? </p>
<p>^^^One would have to think something was either missed or she had a very rare, very aggressive cancer. </p>
<p>Ballet mom
That is odd. I thought the colon polyps won’t grow in a year from no where. Are you sure the cancer is not from another part of the body and affected colon?</p>
<p>They do sometimes miss things. I had a friend who had a clean screening and then developed advanced colon cancer. </p>
<p>My mom had to go for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy this summer because she had unexplained anemia. When they did the colonoscopy they couldn’t complete it because she has a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries. They ended up doing a barium enema after the colonoscopy (poor thing). The doc who did the colonoscopy was surprised that previous doctors had been able to complete a colonoscopy on my mom, considering her anatomy. It made us wonder how thorough her previous doctor had been.
The whole GI series on my mom found nothing but her anemia comes and goes and her primary said that if it continues they will need to assume that they missed something in her GI track. Whether she will consent to any more tests is another story. I kinda doubt it.</p>
<p>I scheduled mine in a few weeks. How long does it take to recover after the procedure? I have a dental procedure a few days after the coloscopy.</p>