<p>You should feel fine by the evening of the colonoscopy. A dental procedure a few days after should be fine but you should check with your doctor.</p>
<p>You should check with the dentist instead, some times, the dental procedures require medication, it might be in conflict with the medications you had in the colonoscopy.</p>
<p>If it is straight propofol with nothing else, most people feel normal around 2 hours after the procedure.</p>
<p>Some gastroenterologist race through colonoscopies like it is a conveyor belt while others perform it like a crime scene investigation. My doctor would triple check: he would enter all of the way in, then he would advance out, then back in, back out and finally in and out to get 4 looks at each segment. While his partner checks on the way in and then out. My doctor took almost an hour for my normal colonoscopy while his partner averages 20 minutes. I wonder if this increases the sensitivity of this screenings. </p>
<p>Oooooh. All that in and out! 
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<p>Took a nap, at lunch, and was good to go. Went to work next am. Easy.</p>
<p>But yes, ask your dentist.</p>
<p>Yes, my friend had symptoms and that is how she was finally diagnosed. She had gone to a colonoscopy center (where that is all they do) and they said they did not get to visualize the entire colon, and that she should check with her primary doctor (but she waited 6 months before doing so).</p>
<p>āSome gastroenterologist race through colonoscopies like it is a conveyor belt while others perform it like a crime scene investigation.ā
Iād rather have the investigative doctor, what is the hurry? 15 min. and 1 hour has no concerns to me, I will be under sedation anyway.</p>
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<p>If they could not visualize the colon the first time, then there should have been no declaration that it was āclean.ā During a colonoscopy, the entire colon should be able to be examined. If the prep was not optimal, there is a chance that they cannot see everything, therefore there remains a chance that a cancer can go undetected. Some people have a very tortuous colon and it can be difficult to get the scope all the way around.</p>
<p>As far as how long a scope can take, some doctors are very thorough, yet can be done in 30 minutes or so. Others just cannot or do not work as quickly. The time taken can be related to operator skill in addition to how thorough the doctor is. One of our docs (the doctor I send my family members to) is by no means cavalier, but he usually takes no longer than 30 minutes. He is very careful to try to get underneath folds-if I understand correctly pulls back a bit after advancing to get under those creases-to see every bit of the colon all the way to the cecum and the entrance to the appendix. I did a non scientific survey once of the GI techs, who work with all the docs at our center. Almost all of them said if they needed a scope, this doctor is the one they would use, though theyād be okay with almost any of them.</p>
<p>I just had mine done and honestly the worst part was the anxiety created by reading peopleās descriptions of how awful the prep supposedly is. I didnāt need the diaper wipes or the straw or the good book to read on the toilet or any of the other suggestions. Looking back it was just a day off from work with a nice nap and a great meal with my family afterwards!</p>
<p>I earnestly hope no one is putting this off because they are concerned about the prep.</p>
<p>^^^LurkerDad, many people do have a tough time with the prep. Glad yours went smoothly, but I think itās important for people to know that the prep can be the worst part of the ordeal, though certainly something that is bearable. </p>
<p>Working with patients going through this, Iāve heard every conceivable story you could think of regarding the prep. What all of them have in common, however, is that it wasnāt so bad that they regret doing it. To a one, they all say they are so glad they did!</p>
<p>It also greatly varies by the prep. Iāve had some that made me extremely nauseous and because they came back up, I was not as clean as theyād have liked. Others have been relatively easy to get down and keep down. It also depends on your own tastes. Personally, Iām not a fan of lemon, orange, or lemon/lime flavorings so although the Gatorade/Miralax prep isnāt really bad at all, if you donāt like any of the flavors of the Gatorade available (no red/blue allowed!), it makes it tougher to get it down. This last time I got that prep, I used the Arctic Cherry because it was white/clear and not citrusy. It was kind of sickly sweet thoughā¦lol. I also have difficulty with the sheer volume of it. Itās hard for me to process that much liquid in a short amount of time. I have gotten to the point where, once the āoutputā is the same color as the āinputā, I stop drinking the prep, even if Iām only halfway through it. But you know, with Crohnās, my colon and intestines are never very fullā¦lol. I go - often- all the time. </p>
<p>I think the rush through an endoscopy is the fact that the more scopes that are done, the more revenues are generated. The total charge for my colonoscopy was roughly $3600, the write offs were about $2100, and thus the providers were only paid $1500. Of which, the gastroenterologist earned roughly $350. My gastroenterologist can perform about 15 per day while his partner can easily complete 30. Neither one are private practitioners; they work for the hospital. Who knows what the hospital expects with their productivity.</p>
<p>@Nrdsb4: Thank you for your extensive contributions to this thread. I had my colonoscopy yesterday (good results) and found myself reading the entire thread. Your comments were very helpful.</p>
<p>To the rest of you: a close friend was recently diagnosed with early stage colon cancer because of her routine colonoscopy. She will be cured easily, because it was caught early. GO GET YOUR COLONOSCOPY!</p>
<p>I just attended the funeral last Saturday for a dear relative who was diagnosed 9 months ago with stage 4 colon cancer. He had never had a colonoscopy. I lost a close friend a few years ago to the same disease ā she was in her early sixties and had never had a colonoscopy. She was diagnosed at stage 4 also. Both of these people would likely have lived if they had just undergone a simple test when they turned 50. Dmd77 is right ā GO GET YOUR COLONSCOPY!</p>
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<p>Hooray for good results!!!</p>
<p>Havenāt read much of the thread. Really havenāt been on CC much since the new format premiered early this year.
The prep for my sixth? seventh? one two weeks ago was with Suprep. Yucky stuff!!! Iām OK to go on my Gastoās every three plan if I can change the prepā¦</p>
<p>Likewise good results. Iām going to lobby for every five. The prep, no matter by what means, is a sh@@load of stresss.</p>
<p>I canāt thank everyone enough for this thread! Iām getting mine in less than a week. They are also doing an endoscopy at the same time. I had mentally prepared myself for the fact I would need surgery for a different, previously diagnosed, condition and then after two ultra sounds, two MRIs, and a CAT scan all within the last two weeks, I was shocked when I was told that my previously diagnosed condition, although worsening, was not the cause of my current issues and surprised when I was told I needed a colonoscopy ASAP since I am not yet 50.</p>
<p>This thread has really helped me understand both the importance of the test and the prep. I am still apprehensive but hearing about othersā positive experiences has really helped. </p>
<p>^^^Good luck!</p>
<p>@igloo I had read that people recover quite quickly, but I delayed the test a week in case I had an issue since we had DDs graduation the original week I had scheduled. I realised how lucky that was as I always over-react to anesthesia, I sleep for at least 12 hours after and feel lousy for a week, there was at least one day of significant pain that week. So, I would err on the side of caution.</p>
<p>I am going to talk to my PCP to ask about the spacing between them as my reaction to the anesthesia is so negative and long lasting.</p>