Piece of cake.
Because of this thread, I scheduled my first for the month I turned 65. I also shifted my diet for several days before, and made chicken soup. I ate that broth for a few days. I got so much helpful info from reading about other peopleās experiences.
My husband has one on Halloween! Iām wondering if I can talk them into keeping him unconscious so I donāt have a doped up back seat driver in the car when I drive him home! (I never drive with him as a passenger unless its a medical necessity!)
Joking aside, I realised today I am having a little trepidation about the whole thing. The last time he went to this doc for colonoscopy almost 6 years ago to the day they found one polyp but, more importantly, the doc decided to do an endoscope while he was at it (he had Barrets esophagus) and he was very unexpectedly found to have cancer that would turn out to be stage 3 esophageal cancer - a cancer with about a 22% 5 year survival rate. We spent the next 6 months travelling to M D Anderson every couple of weeks and even living in an apartment near the hospital for 6 weeks. He is one of the lucky few that did survive and after another 4 1/2 years of visits he āgraduatedā this past April. Silly to feel nervous after the dozens of procedures heās had, but I do - deja vu thing I guess.
Anyways not to hijack the co!on thing, but if anyone suffers from acid reflux get the other end of the tubes checked! Reflux can cause one of the most deadly and dreadful cancers.
@cu123 its a great place for colonoscopy advice! Where else would one get so much open helpful advice. Not exactly a topic for āpolite conversationā
Good luck to you and your husband, @swimcatsmom.
Good luck @swimcatsmom.
Just remember everyone to keep very well hydrated during, before and after you do the cleanout prep since it can and usually does make you dehydrated. Being well hydrated will make you feel well the next day, or else if you come into the colonoscopy extremely dehydrated it will make you feel weak and tired the whole day after your exam.
Survived the colonoscopy prep and procedure. Defintely easier than I was expecting. No pain. Doing low fiber more days prior and two days of clear liquid instead of one were key for me. Ate half an omelet after procedure this morning and that was a mistake. Hoping I can eat something later today.
To reinforce post #1288, hydration is also important so they can get an IV in you, especially if you are a hard āstickā as I am.
^^ There are other places that they can stick the IV, but youād rather not to place the IV into those alternatives.
It is great to have so many responses from the little posting I put up from 5 years ago, I hope this thread will alert those parents to go through the screening in stead ignore it. A healthy parent will raise happy college students, at least they can afford to pay for the EFCā¦^^^^^^ Good Luck to everyone.
^Iāve had IVs stuck in the back of my hands - thatās bad enough!!
Yes, @MaineLonghorn comment about the IV is certainly a real issue. People who come into the colonoscopy very dehydrated have their veins collapsed therefore making their IV insertion very difficult. Especially for patients who generally had numerous IVās inserted in the past for many other medical treatment have very poor thin veins. These patients need to make sure they are well hydrated to keep the veins āplumpā. Since the patients will have to remain fasting, not even water for many hours prior to the exam, if one starts off dehydrated, then by the time the exam comes along they will be even more dehydrated.
I had an IV put in the side of my wrist one time - I think when I had my colonoscopy but maybe the other end. Worst bruising Iāve ever had from an IV - it looked like someone had grabbed hold of my wrist really hard. It stretched a about 6 inches from my hand up my arm and round my wrist. It looked like Iād been battered. I usually have fairly prominent veins but when I have a fasting procedure I guess I get dehydrated and they have a job finding a vein.
Terrible! I had a guy try to stick an IV in the back of my hand once, and it was excruciating. He kept trying and was unable to do it. We suggested someone else might try. When the next person attempted, I asked, why do they need to put an IV where there is little but skin and bone? I have juicy veins everywhere on my arms. He got it into my arm, first attempt.
IV insertions into the wrist and back of hand are commonly done for procedures of short duration (such as colonoscopies) and in consideration of the IV medications that are given for a particular procedure. Nurses and doctors have historically been trained to start with distal veins first (most distant) and work upwards-if you start high in a given vein and it blows, you canāt then go lower in that vein.
Patients often prefer the IV to be inserted into the crook of the elbow, but many patients bend their arms, compressing the IV and making delivery of the medications difficult; this is especially common when patients are sedated. Interruptions of medications during colonoscopy can result in the patient waking up during the procedure.
I always prefer to use the veins on the underside of the forearm, but these veins are often not visible or palpable in dehydrated patients. Most colonoscopy clinics do not have the technology available to help visualize these veins (there are some cool instruments that bathe the arm in a certain kind of light or use ultrasound, which helps the doctor or nurse see the veins through the skin when they donāt pop up even with a tourniquet). If I canāt find one in the forearm, I have no choice but to look at the back of the hand or the wrist. Also, during colonoscopies, most patients are placed on their left side, so using a vein on that arm is often discouraged by the anesthesia provider. IV insertions sites are limited in patients who have had mastectomy.
Certainly some doctors and nurses are better at starting IVs than others, but just because someone has āmissedā does not mean they have messed up or are not competent. Veins can collapse, roll, āblow.ā Some patients have terrible veins always; dehydration makes it much more difficult. If there is a valve at the insertion site (not always visible, and some patients are more āvalveyā than others), the IV catheter canāt advance. If the patient has had a recent blood draw in that vein, it canāt be used. Etc.
The best people to insert IVs are people who do it all the time. Some doctors never do them-just being an MD does NOT mean they are the preferable person to do it. Anesthesiologists, CRNAs, ER personnel, and others who do them on a daily basis are your best bet. But even the absolute best will not have 100% success on a given patient. You can help them out by arriving as hydrated as possible. But some people are just hard sticks, period.
All that said, I havenāt worked the pre-op area in a couple of years now, so I may not be up on current best practice in same day, short procedure surgery centers. But the above may explain why certain IV practices are done and historically have not been considered to be āhorribleā practice, uncomfortable as they may be.
***I have seen IVs placed in some very weird places in situations where time was of the essence. Iāve seen them in the feet and in breast tissue, and on the temples in babies. Peripheral IVs are placed in the neck when a very competent practitioner is present. In emergencies, medications can be inserted directly into the bones of the leg!
When I had my colonoscopy 2 months ago, the IV was placed in the top of my hand near my wrist. It was uncomfortable, felt sore after, and was bruised for days after (I bruise easily so no surprise).
@alexgrin, colonoscopy IS an endoscopic procedure.
Two questions, and as someone mentioned above, CC is the best place to get a range of advice and opinions.
I am 54 and have not had a colonoscopy. I have a routine physical coming up, and I know doctor is going to mention it again. My reluctance is focused on fear of being put under - never have been; fear of false positive leading to unnecessary treatment and fear of injury during procedure. I have no family history of colon cancer and no symptoms. Am I making sense or being foolish?
My dr suggested last year that if I would not do the colonoscopy to at least do the colon guard stool sample test. I was ready to do that, but my Aetna insurance will not cover and the test is $500 or so. I am leaning towards doing that, even if I have to pay for it.
Thoughts?
From over 20,000 colonoscopies Iāve experienced , it is extremely rare for a significant complication from a routine exam for a relatively healthy person. The āput to sleepā you mention is really a very comfortable sleeping med, most often propofol, when administered by an anesthesiologist is extremely safe. The main benefit from the exam is the peace of mind that if you have any symptoms that makes you wonder if you have anything in your colon, knowing that you have a clean healthy colon will put you at ease theres nothing to worry about. A hemorrhoid bleed will just be from the hemorrhoid and not feom colon cancer.
No cancer treatment would ever be initiated without extensive pathology being done on any biopsied tissue. The risk of āfalse positive and unnecessary treatmentā would be extremely extremely
remote. As stated above, propofol puts you āto sleep,ā but not as deeply as more traditional anesthesias that mandate that you be placed on a ventilator during the surgery. With propofol, the patient breathes on their own and complications are rare.
My DH had no family history of colon cancer, though his mother did have polyps. He was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer after his first colonoscopy.
My sister - 51 - who is much more inclined to seek medical treatment than I am, is apparently having one next month. Iām going to procrastinate and see how hers goes. Logically, I get I should probably do it. Just not there yet. I avoid doctors and anything medical as much as possible. Having an annual physical and gyno visit in 2 weeks is enough stress for the moment. Decided to do both in one day and get it over with. I would like to think that as long as I eat healthy and exercise, thatās sufficient. Logically, I know people who have healthy habits get cancer tooā¦