Hi, I found this site after searching for people who had suffered the same issues as me and thought I would share my experiences. I too had a traumatically palinful colonoscopy in 2017 when a polyp was removed. The pain was excruciating but the Endoscopist persevered and removed the polyp. She apologised and said it was in a difficult position and had to use extra air. I had been given 75ug Fentanyl and 3mg Midazolam which was clearly ineffective - there is no way in the world this experience could be described as ‘a little discomfort’! I also have diverticula disease in part of the bowel which may well add to the problem. This was followed 3months later with a Sigmoidoscopy to check the area where the polyp was removed - no medication given and it was less painful and was quicker. All was well so I thought, great that’s the end of that - no, the Consultant who carried out this procedure decided I should come back this year (Nov 2018) for a repeat colonoscopy. Once again, this involved the most excruciating pain - and like others on this site I too have given birth without any pain relief whatsoever. On this occasion I was given 50ug Fentanyl and 3mg Midazolam - a smaller dose than previously, the only reason I can come up with is that it was in a different hospital? After being on my side and in a lot of pain - which I made very clear to them, they asked me to move on to my back and then a nurse was told to press down on my stomach to try to assist the scope around the bowel! The procedure was then abandoned due to ‘extreme angulation and discomfort’. What I find extraordinary is that this procedure was described in the leaflets from the hospital as ‘you may experience some discomfort, but will remember nothing about the procedure’! Well clearly the person who wrote that has never experienced the procedure. Like others on this site, I remember everything! My husband was there to collect me, as we were told that I ‘could not drive or be left alone for 24 hours due to the sedation’(!) he actually asked me if I’d been given any meds at all as there was no reason to suspect I had! In the letter to my Consultant, it was stated that ‘a softer Olympus scope may help or failing that a CT Colonography’. Fortunately the Consultant decided I should have the CT which I had yesterday. I was extremely anxious as I knew that air would still be used to expand the bowel and presumed it would be just as painful as the colonoscopies. The staff were lovely and really helped me calm down. I was given Buscopan through an IV to relax the bowel and the air was introduced. I can definitely describe this as ‘a little discomfort’ - more like bloating or wind - and nothing like the colonoscpy procedure. I await the results.
My main issues with the colonoscopy procedures are:
Why is this combination of meds used when it is clearly ineffective for many people? Why can more meds not be given during the process, in order to complete the procedure? - having gone through all the starve and purge prep, the very last thing you want to hear is that it couldn’t be completed! Why didn’t my last procedure use the more flexible scope in the first place?!
This is clearly a very common problem during a very common procedure, so why not improve the pain relief given so that people don’t have to suffer a failed attempt and then be sent for a more expensive CT scan costing the NHS more time and money. I really appreciate the NHS and all it offers us, but this seems to me to be a relatively simple problem to solve and would serve both patients and the NHS better.
As a footnote, in France it is considered ‘barbaric’ to perform this procedure without a general anaesthetic.
