Hi Sammy

I know the first two replies are reassuring and I don't wish to spoil that and I know that everyone's experiences are different, pain levels etc, but I would have liked to have known some honest truths about it before I had mine done. I have had two - the second one was great - they gave me the maximum sedation and I didn't feel anything. The first one however, was awful for me and that was also with sedation. The reason probably was that I was really anxious, also I had a tumour so it was painful going past that and round the corners and it seemed to last a long time. Now I know that may not be helpful to you, but my advice to anyone who has asked me is if you're anxious, ask for effective levels of sedation. You can also tell them during it if it is painful or too much for you and they can top you up with sedation. Maybe if I give you my unpleasant story, you will feel relieved that yours wasn't bad at all!! At the end of the day, what's most important is that you get the reassurance and results you are hoping for. All the best. Julie xx

Hi everyone!

I'm 39 and getting my first colonoscopy in 6 days. I am worried about 3 things and it would be great to get some opinions about the 3 of them or at least about this first one:

1 - I have been reading all the comments in this thread and in many other places in the internet, but very few comments include information about the previous state/symptoms that each one of you had when you went to do the exam.

At this point and for the past 30 days, I've been getting slight but permanent pains in the abdominal area. Also, permanent disconfort and, the worst of it, soft but permanent pain in the rectal/anus area in such a way that it seems like I always have to go to the toilet to flush something out. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. But even when it happens the sensation does not go away for more than just a few minutes.

So, my question is:

Did you have any of these symptoms in the day you went to do the colonoscopy? How did they affect it?

I fear that I have some very sensitive intestines/bowel and that for being sensitive they are at a higher risk of perforation. Is this a reasonable thought?

2 - I have a very short experience with sedation and anaesthesy but it is enough to get the sense that I usually need higher doses to get the effect and also the sense that they only start doing effect a bit later than expected. I happened a couple of times before when I had other medical interventions.

So, this is something I'm also worried about. That I don't get enough to fall asleep with no pain and what I mention in the 1st point gets really painful and unconfortable. Or that they realise I need more and then I get a dose that is too high and I get negatively affected by that.

3 - The third thing I'm worried about is the preparation. Not because of the taste of the "laxative" as I usually can tolerate any taste no matter how unpleasant it may be for other people. 

The problem is that I have some gastric condition (undiagnosed) that makes me tend to get nausea and vomits in the first hours of the day when I wake up. If I start the day with fresh liquids (water, juices, etc) it gets very much worse and it is almost impossible to hang with it without throwing up.

I have it kind of controlled with antihistaminics (yes, no idea why these help, but they do), but even like this, if I start the day with fresh liquids I end up throwing all them up very quickly. So, I'm worried that the day of the exam is one of these bad days (like 3 out of every 5 days) when I can't really bear liquids before I have solids. And if I throw up in the same day I think they can't perform the exam.

I told this to the (man) nurse who is following me for this exam but he couldn't care less about it. I told him I was planning to it differently. My exam is scheduled for 5PM. So I told him I was planning to go to bed very late the night before so that I would do the preparation the night before.

I would get the first dose of "laxative" at 11PM, then the second dose at 3AM and then try to sleep at around 6-7AM. I would then sleep until 1.30PM, have just a hot tea at 2PM and then wait these 3 hours until 5PM without drinking anything (which is not a problem at all for me).

But he says that they do the exam in the evening because if you sleep for 6-8 hours after taking the preparation the exam may not go as well as it should, because of acid reflux production in the stomach that then goes to the intestine. I find it difficult to accept this excuse because I know that many colonoscopy's are scheduled to the morning and so people do the preparation the night before and it is not a big deal.

...

I also have a fast bowels movements. Not diarrhea, they are soft but solid, but it comes out really fast like as if I had a meal 1 or 2 hours before and it is already coming out. I am the exact opposite of a constipated person. So it is much easier for me to have my intestines completely clean.

Besides that I am also a person who can be just fine without eating anything for hours and hours. I'm the kind of person who coul probably even do the preparation (cleaning the intestines) without any laxative, just with diet in the previous 3 days. So, in that sense, the preparation is not a problem, I just worry about the fresh liquids after waking up.

Any opinions? Would be good to know what you think, especially in the number "1" listed above.

Thanks!

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Hi everyone!

I'm 39 and getting my first colonoscopy in 6 days. I am worried about 3 things and it would be great to get some opinions about the 3 of them or at least about this first one:

1 - I have been reading all the comments in this thread and in many other places in the internet, but very few comments include information about the previous state/symptoms that each one of you had when you went to do the exam.

At this point and for the past 30 days, I've been getting slight but permanent pains in the abdominal area. Also, permanent disconfort and, the worst of it, soft but permanent pain in the rectal/anus area in such a way that it seems like I always have to go to the toilet to flush something out. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. But even when it happens the sensation does not go away for more than just a few minutes.

So, my question is:

Did you have any of these symptoms in the day you went to do the colonoscopy? How did they affect it?

I fear that I have some very sensitive intestines/bowel and that for being sensitive they are at a higher risk of perforation. Is this a reasonable thought?

2 - I have a very short experience with sedation and anaesthesy but it is enough to get the sense that I usually need higher doses to get the effect and also the sense that they only start doing effect a bit later than expected. I happened a couple of times before when I had other medical interventions.

So, this is something I'm also worried about. That I don't get enough to fall asleep with no pain and what I mention in the 1st point gets really painful and unconfortable. Or that they realise I need more and then I get a dose that is too high and I get negatively affected by that.

3 - The third thing I'm worried about is the preparation. Not because of the taste of the "laxative" as I usually can tolerate any taste no matter how unpleasant it may be for other people. 

The problem is that I have some gastric condition (undiagnosed) that makes me tend to get nausea and vomits in the first hours of the day when I wake up. If I start the day with fresh liquids (water, juices, etc) it gets very much worse and it is almost impossible to hang with it without throwing up.

I have it kind of controlled with antihistaminics (yes, no idea why these help, but they do), but even like this, if I start the day with fresh liquids I end up throwing all them up very quickly. So, I'm worried that the day of the exam is one of these bad days (like 3 out of every 5 days) when I can't really bear liquids before I have solids. And if I throw up in the same day I think they can't perform the exam.

I told this to the (man) nurse who is following me for this exam but he couldn't care less about it. I told him I was planning to it differently. My exam is scheduled for 5PM. So I told him I was planning to go to bed very late the night before so that I would do the preparation the night before.

I would get the first dose of "laxative" at 11PM, then the second dose at 3AM and then try to sleep at around 6-7AM. I would then sleep until 1.30PM, have just a hot tea at 2PM and then wait these 3 hours until 5PM without drinking anything (which is not a problem at all for me).

But he says that they do the exam in the evening because if you sleep for 6-8 hours after taking the preparation the exam may not go as well as it should, because of acid reflux production in the stomach that then goes to the intestine. I find it difficult to accept this excuse because I know that many colonoscopy's are scheduled to the morning and so people do the preparation the night before and it is not a big deal.

...

I also have a fast bowels movements. Not diarrhea, they are soft but solid, but it comes out really fast like as if I had a meal 1 or 2 hours before and it is already coming out. I am the exact opposite of a constipated person. So it is much easier for me to have my intestines completely clean.

Besides that I am also a person who can be just fine without eating anything for hours and hours. I'm the kind of person who coul probably even do the preparation (cleaning the intestines) without any laxative, just with diet in the previous 3 days. So, in that sense, the preparation is not a problem, I just worry about the fresh liquids after waking up.

Any opinions? Would be good to know what you think, especially in the number "1" listed above.

Thanks!

-