Colonoscopy experience without sedation

i had a colonoscopy last week due to bleeding from back passage I am 37 and went down two week rule due to family history just wanted to say it was absolutely fine took the laxative drink night before and in the morning was not as bad as thought!Had colonoscopy at 1 30pm and had it without sedation staff were amazing felt at ease and not at all embarrassed!The only time it hurt was when going round the corners of colon but as soon as I felt the pain it was gone again!Was over in 30 mins and was out and done within an hour whilst everyone else was either asleep or not totally with it!I drove home and before I left told result was normal such a relief had lots of wind rest of day and worst part was not going lol for a couple of days after but would definitely do it again without sedation and to anyone worrying it’s honestly not bad at all so happy result was normal was so worried especially with symptoms and family history I also work in a cancer hospital so I see lots of cases s of bowel cancer!Its definitely worth going to the test for anyone worried better to be safe than sorry!My brother was diagnosed with stage 2 and his only symptom was tummy Pain and loose stools on and off!

Bowel cancer symptoms can be mild and if caught early can be cured!To anyone worrying about the procedure honestly it was fine would do it all again in a heartbeat!Its easily treated when caught early but caught late it’s a horrible cancer to have!Its also a cancer associated with older people but if your worried and have symptoms see your GP if your fobed off with IBS keep pushing as symptoms are very similar and we have cases daily of young people the youngest case I have seen was19!My brother was fobed off for 6 months luckily enough after 6th GP visit he demanded colonoscopy and had stage 2 which was treated and he’s fine if he listened to the doctor and just accepted it was IBS this story could have been very different!Trust your instincts you know your own body!

Parents
  • I think the experience is different for everyone. I have had 2 colonoscopies, one 20 years ago in Germany, where lots of people would routinely opt for no sedation, and one here yesterday. I found the worst of the whole experience was the drinking of klean prep beforehand. I didn't quite manage the whole 4 litres, after 3,6 litres even the sight and smell of the liquid made me heave! With the procedure itself I found nothing embarrassing, the staff were all lovely, very professional and matter of fact. I was anticipating it to hurt more than it did, but it was just a bit of a weird sensation to feel the tube going in and that was it apart from a second or two of slight crampy pain when it went round the corners.Every time that happened I thought '' oh, this is where it starts to hurt ' but by the time I'd thought that it was gone again. The doctor was good at explaining what was happening and told me when he was coming up to a corner and I found being kept informed was helpful in knowing what's happening and made me relax. I just concentrated on my breathing exercises and just occasionally peeked at the monitor. Was surprised when it was finished as I thought it would last much longer. 

    Happy to say that results came back all clear, blood in stools must have been from a tiny haemorrhoid that I was unaware of. As I've recently been diagnosed with endometrial cancer I'm very glad it's nothing, one cancer is enough to deal with!

    All in all it wasn't a difficult experience apart from the klean prep which was vile!

     

     

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  • I think the experience is different for everyone. I have had 2 colonoscopies, one 20 years ago in Germany, where lots of people would routinely opt for no sedation, and one here yesterday. I found the worst of the whole experience was the drinking of klean prep beforehand. I didn't quite manage the whole 4 litres, after 3,6 litres even the sight and smell of the liquid made me heave! With the procedure itself I found nothing embarrassing, the staff were all lovely, very professional and matter of fact. I was anticipating it to hurt more than it did, but it was just a bit of a weird sensation to feel the tube going in and that was it apart from a second or two of slight crampy pain when it went round the corners.Every time that happened I thought '' oh, this is where it starts to hurt ' but by the time I'd thought that it was gone again. The doctor was good at explaining what was happening and told me when he was coming up to a corner and I found being kept informed was helpful in knowing what's happening and made me relax. I just concentrated on my breathing exercises and just occasionally peeked at the monitor. Was surprised when it was finished as I thought it would last much longer. 

    Happy to say that results came back all clear, blood in stools must have been from a tiny haemorrhoid that I was unaware of. As I've recently been diagnosed with endometrial cancer I'm very glad it's nothing, one cancer is enough to deal with!

    All in all it wasn't a difficult experience apart from the klean prep which was vile!

     

     

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