@DrGoogle, no hemorrhoids are not bad if they are not large and painful. LOTS of people have internal hemorrhoids and never even know it until they get the post colonoscopy report from their doctor. Hemorrhoids are very common in women who have been pregnant before, especially if they had long labors and vaginal births.
The majority of rectal/anal bleeding turns out to be caused by hemorrhoids. That fact is NOT to be used to deny the need to have rectal bleeding evaluated. You don’t want to be the one who blows off cancer, telling yourself it’s just hemorrhoids. Colon rectal surgeons have to give that speech all too often, unfortunately.
Done!
2 polyps, but the doctor said he was able to get good views of everything despite some looping.
Versed and Fentanyl. I said ouch at one point, and they boosted something, and I felt nothing else. I remembered most of what the doc said after recovery, so the amnesiac effect wasn’t as strong as last time.
Re the prep:
The Miralax in 2 quarts of G2/Gatorade was much, much more tolerable than the gallon of Go-lytely I had to drink last time. No sweats, puking or other unpleasant systemic symptoms.
Thanks to this thread, I embraced a low-fiber diet beginning four days before the day of the procedure, and went to clear liquids the day before. Result: No gut-wrenching experiences, nor did I feel like I was living in the bathroom. Sucking on a lemon drop (Brach’s makes very nice ones!) after each glass of prep quickly got rid of the salty flavor.
Clear liquids: I got really, really sick of lemon flavored stuff. Lemon ice, lemon jello, lemon/lime prep. Next time I will find a non-citrus jello. Strained chicken soup was satisfying and much appreciated. Beef broth tasted tinny, and not good. I was not especially hungry on Friday (late afternoon procedure) though I was a little bored.
Net: Much easier than 10 years ago. Improvements have been made. Thanks for all the great suggestions!
I just got my packet of instructions from the doctor and he Rx the Prepopik. A quick search thru this thread showed me that people felt this was one of the easier preps, so Yay!
I have a 10 am appt so I’m not crazy about having to wake up a 5 am for the second drink but I’m sure I won’t be sleeping soundly anyway
@artloversplus, sigmoidoscopy prep is not the same anymore. Patients just have to do an enema at home prior to the procedure (sometimes two). The scope is a more flexible scope than 20 years ago. Most patients do not have any sedation at all with Flex Sig procedure now.
I had a patient in recovery room yesterday who had a flex sig without anesthesia. He had gone into the procedure with the agreement that if it became uncomfortable, the CRNA would give him sedation, but it turned out he didn’t need it.
I did have a patient who told me he didn’t want any sedation at all with the flex sig, and I said, “Sure, that’s pretty common.” Afterwards he told me “Don’t EVER let me do that again without sedation! Not a good experience!” But that sentiment has been the exception rather than the rule in my experience.
@artloversplus, I agree. But often the flex sig is done not to assess for cancer, but to assess the healing of an anastomosis after colon/rectal surgery. In other words, when a cancerous section has been cut out and the two remaining ends are re-connected. This area can be evaluated via the flex sig procedure if it is low in the colon.
They put that in the instructions, but I didn’t do it. My husband was on a trip, so my parents just drove me home. I made sure I didn’t do anything risky or strenuous that day, including using the stove (in case I forgot to turn it off).
I absolutely conked out for the rest of the day when I had mine a couple of weeks ago.
I’ll put in a vote for scheduling the procedure late in the day, which isn’t what people usually suggest. With the new prep and following a low-fiber diet for the four days before the procedure, the prep was mostly done the night before, though I still needed to drink a bunch of the solution the morning of the procedure. I was allowed to eat clear liquids (jello, sorbet,broth, soda, water) until 1pm for a 4pm procedure. I was not hungry, did not have to get up ridiculously early, and was not tied to the bathroom the morning of the procedure, though I certainly wouldn’t have gone anywhere outside the house. I ended up getting a lot done until having to leave the house at 3:15. I was home by 5:30, had a few crackers, and went to bed. Woke up the next morning and felt just fine.
The other suggestion is to request a copy of your pathology report if you do have any polyps. It is a lot easier to get that information a couple weeks after the colonoscopy than to try and remember the details years later.
I had mine last week. I was looking forward to some blissful sleep once I got home, but I wasn’t the least bit tired. I will second Arabrab’s vote on scheduling the procedure for later in the day. I’d had my previously procedures first thing in the morning. This time, my appointment was for 2 p.m. I was able to eat a light breakfast and lunch the day before and I drank half the prep the night before. I didn’t make too many trips to the bathroom overnight, thanks to the low residue diet for several days before. I didn’t start the second half of the prep until 8:30 or so the next morning. I got a lot of stuff done around the house before I left for the center and even had time to do some reading. I wasn’t allowed to eat anything that day, but I wasn’t hungry. The worst part of the whole things was inserting the IV. I have very small veins and this is always an issue for me. I still have the bruises where they unsuccessfully tried to get me hooked up.
I left the center with the report, including color photos of the polyps they removed.
Well my appointment is set for 10 am, I made it back in May and this was the first available with the doctor I wanted. I thought about postponing (see my post in the Parents Caring for Parents thread) but if I do it would have to be till September and I am worried I would put it off again, plus I am already overdue.
Good to know the low residue diet may help make the prep easier.
I’d just keep the appointment and get it done, surfcity. Good luck!
Compared to prep (the mis-named Go-Lytely) ten years ago, the new prep was a breeze. The stuff didn’t taste horrible, there was SO MUCH LESS of it to drink, I never got the shakes/queasy feelings, and the low fiber diet for several days really, really helped.
The chicken broth was fantastic. I get very, very tired of sweet things, and I do not like artificial sweeteners. Before my next one I am going to try to find a great recipe for a good, homemade beef broth, and make up a batch of that.
And next time (5 years for me) I am so totally going to give into my inner child and celebrate 4 days of low fiber eating. Grilled cheese on white bread. Lobster Newberg over white rice. Chocolate Cream Pie. I just lacked creativity this time.
Here is an update. My colonoscopy is scheduled for next Thursday at a nearby location. I am on a 5 year schedule because polyps were found last time. I called BCBSNC (North Carolina) twice to confirm my benefit. Both times they told me it would be 100% covered. I called back the second time because it seemed too good to be true. Today (missed the call) I had a voicemail from my healthcare provider telling me they confirmed benefits with the insurer and it would go against my deductible (my $5,500 deductible! In other words, I pay the whole thing). So I called her back on the number she provided and had to leave a voicemail. Next, I was upset and called BCBSNC for my third time. This time the customer service rep told me that because I had polyps the previous time this next colonoscopy would be “diagnostic” and therefore on my dime up to the deductible. No point in arguing with the customer service rep, I hung up and vented a bit. But moments later the lady called me back from the healthcare provider billing department. She told me that after my voicemail she called BCBSNC back, gave them the details (polyps, 5 yr schedule) and was told the procedure would be covered 100% at any location!!
So the moral of this story to this point is this is still a controversial and unsettled area. I will go into this one expecting to pay zero, but realizing I might get a bill. I will be in a much better position of disputing/challenging a bill, versus trying to get a refund if I had to pay up front.
I clicked on this thread out of personal interest. My parents have religiously scheduled colonoscopies every 5 years for my Mom and every three years for my father who has to be monitored more often. I was visiting them when they did it the last time and here are a few “elements” for doing it in Mexico:
The specialty clinics have the latest equipment and superb facilities
They send you home with the DVD and printed pictures of any potential issue.
They handle all the post diagnostic issues such as getting getting the biopsy for polyps
The preparation is the 45 ml Fleet product that costs 11 dollars. I am not sure that the product is allowed in the US. My father said it beats the cherry tasting stuff that was nasty. This one requires drinking eight small glasses of water with a tbsp. of Fleet.
Cost including the "sleep doctor" is ... 265 dollars or 4,000 pesos.
The procedure takes 30 minutes prep and 1h30 rest for a total of 2h30.
People with high deductibles might very well start thinking of booking a trip and combine health and beach time!
