Colonoscopy without sedation

I had a dreadful experience today during my colonoscopy. I had it following a 2 week rule referral to exclude bowel cancer. I requested gas and air as my family were away so I needed to be able to drive myself to the endoscopy unit and back. I was told the proceedure might be a little uncomfortable , but that taking the bowel prep medicationn was probably the worse part of the whole process.

I was in pain from the start as the doctor seemed quite rough and rushed in his approach. I  could see the camera travelling quickly along the bowel. I stopped watching  when the pain became more intense. I became high on the entanox and started laughing really loudly and was moving too much. So the gas  was taken away from me intermittently.  The pain got worse and a female nurse told the male doctor he should abort the proceedure.  However he just carried on. Eventually a Male charge nurse came in and told the doctor to stop the proceedure. I was so shocked , not just by the pain but also the callass attitude of the doctor and other nurses in the room who did not stand up for me, against him. I was making a lot of noise and writhing in pain. I was told I should have had a sedative because of my low pain threshold. I disagree, I have given birth to 2 children with just a TENS machine and entanox for pain relief. I had terrible abdominal cramps afterwards, I still feel degraded and traumatised by the events and will never have another colonoscopy again.

  • You poor, poor thing, it is so traumatic and awful, isn't it.  I've had two and each was aborted, no pain relief offered, lies about it being slightly painful when in fact it's worse than that, giving birth at least you're in pain for a reason!  So like you I refused my next one and then I received a letter saying I could have a scan instead.  Who knew that they could do this, not me.  So a much more pleasant procedure, laid on a table, needle in my vein and dye injected, a wonderful kind male nurse assuring me all the time and asking if I was alright.  So if you need to have one ask for this and explain why.  We're in the 21st century for goodness sake, we should not have to experience pain like this.  Others sail through it but we're all built differently and if there are bowel problems already then obviously it will cause more pain and stress.  So if you do need one to ckear up your worries then they should go ahead and help you through the procedure.  It's not your fault and some doctors are quite unkind, I had a large ganglion removed from my wrist as it was pressing on the main nerve, when I went for my 4 week checkup I said I was still having difficulty with lifting things, don't be ridiculous he said it should be fine now, he bent my wrist back and I passed out with the pain, I came to on a trolley with lovely nurses saying he was known for his unsympathetic manner, not all doctors are kind!  I hope you're feeling a little better.  Best wishes, Carol 

  • Hello and thank you for your post,

    I am very sorry to hear abut your experience of having a colonoscopy, it does seem that this was very traumatic for you. I do think if you feel that you have a reason to complain about how this went that you do talk it through with the hospital's Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), they would want to know about this.

    Having an invasive medical procedure can be uncomfortable for some and very painful for others. I think if you were ever asked to have  a colonoscopy again that you do get sedated, (with someone taking you home). You were not to know that this is how it would be for you.

    A colonoscopy is the gold standard investigation to see if someone has bowel cancer, this is because the specialist doctor can see the inside of the bowel in real time and take a biopsy if it is needed.  A scan may be offered but may still result in a colonoscopy needing to be done. 

    Of course you may not need to have any more colonoscopies. I hope you know the results of this colonoscopy soon.

    Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Take care,

    Caroline