Hi Sarah,this sounds like my experience yesterday.i had sedation.didnt make difference.soon as they started I was crying in pain.they then gave me gas and air.but couldnt do it as hands were shaking.they had to stop.they didnt get far and I got no results.i have to do cr scan now.your brave then me for going all way.they cant put u to sleep fully.thats what they told me.it was the worst thing i ever experienced 

Hi Mandy,

So sorry to hear you had a similar experience, thanks for sharing. I’m going to try and go private as they might have more options on pain relief...!

I'm sorry that you had this experience. Unfortunately this procedure is more uncomfortable for some, this is especially true if you have ever had abdominal or gynae surgery. It's very rare that someone is given general anaesthesia for this procedure, unless they are a child. Usually you need to be able to follow instructions during the procedure (e.g. change positioning). Also, having worked for private companies, there's no guarantee you will get different sedative drugs than the NHS, as endoscopy units follow the sedation guidelines from the British Society of Gastroenterology, no matter whether they're private or NHS. The drugs you are given also depends on your age and clinical history. Perhaps a CT colonography would be more suitable for you as a diagnostic tool (obviously this wouldn't allow for any biopsies, polyp removal etc). 

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I’ve had a response from the private surgeon and he can remove the large polyp, but not until December. According to my discharge form, my remaining polyp is an SSA type and is 2.5cm, which seems quite big? The discharge form said the next scope and EMR procedure should take place in the next 4 weeks. Is there any urgency to get this removed, would a couple of months make a difference? I haven’t spoken to my NHS consultant yet, I haven’t met them (just a brief telephone call) and I’m not even sure if the person I spoke to was the consultant. Presumably they will be in contact soon to talk about my initial colonoscopy but nobody has told me if this will happen. I feel a bit in the dark hence leaning towards private because they seem to be so much more attentive...!  

Your SSA has likely been growing in there for quite some time, polyps are slow growing so a couple of months won't make much difference. To put some perspective on this, it can take years for an adenomatous polyp to develop into a cancer. Good luck with your EMR procedure :happy:

Thank you so much Fishtankerous, that’s really good to know. I’ve got a private consultation set up for Tuesday so at least I can talk it through and hopefully put my mind at rest as there is no opportunity to talk to anyone at the NHS. I hope you’re ok and get some answers soon about your own issue, best of luck with that x