Hi Purrfect,

As a Nurse with plenty of endoscopy experience I’d like to try and allay some of your fears.

I can’t tell you that  a colonoscopy is a comfortable experience, but the majority of the time people cope very well. The Nurses who are looking after you will be monitoring how comfortable you are and if need be there are things they can do to help if you do become uncomfortable. This may involve getting you to change position or applying pressure on your tummy to help the endoscope pass through you bowel easier.

If you feel very uncomfortable, you May wish to ask them to stop for a moment before they continue or to stop the procedure all together if it’s that bad.

Choosing between sedation and gas and air is up to you and there are pros and cons that you need to take in to consideration.  

You can find some information about colonoscopy here which explains the procedure really well.

Most people actually find the bowel prep the worst part of the whole thing, but there are plenty of hints and tips around to help with that.

Hi Purrfect,

As a Nurse with plenty of endoscopy experience I’d like to try and allay some of your fears.

I can’t tell you that  a colonoscopy is a comfortable experience, but the majority of the time people cope very well. The Nurses who are looking after you will be monitoring how comfortable you are and if need be there are things they can do to help if you do become uncomfortable. This may involve getting you to change position or applying pressure on your tummy to help the endoscope pass through you bowel easier.

If you feel very uncomfortable, you May wish to ask them to stop for a moment before they continue or to stop the procedure all together if it’s that bad.

Choosing between sedation and gas and air is up to you and there are pros and cons that you need to take in to consideration.  

You can find some information about colonoscopy here which explains the procedure really well.

Most people actually find the bowel prep the worst part of the whole thing, but there are plenty of hints and tips around to help with that.

Hi Rich - thank you for your reply. What I don't understand, having had sedation for dental surgery & for a catarract op, is that people having a colonoscopy don't seem to report they don't recall any of the procedure which has been my experience previously. Also, there is a recent post here where there are some really awful stories about the pain people suffered.

I have a neighbour who had it done a couple of weeks ago. She is 83 & (although not sedated) said she screamed with the pain. This is a lady who has osteoperosis & had a number of fractures which she has barely raised an eyebrow about.

I'm really not good with pain & am dreading it.

During a colonoscopy only light sedation is used but this still tends to have the effect of making people forget the procedure in my experience. There are some people who the sedation has less effect.

Endoscopy Nurses tend to be very good at diverting people’s attention from the procedure, this can help reduce anxiety and pain/discomfort.

I can only assume that the overwhelming amount of people commenting on painful procedures is likely due to our propensity to report bad experiences as opposed to good ones. But I can assure you that the vast majority of people make it through their colonoscopy with minimal issues.

unfortunately there is only one way to find out what it will be like for you... some people just have more difficult bowels, which can increase discomfort.

I think the most important thing to remember is that you are in control. Before and during your procedure.

Thanks - makes sense. Guess I'll find out tomorrow :)

Hi I see you had your colonoscopy a while ago now but what was it like please xx

The colonoscopy is fine the drinks before hand are not very pleasant but are required make sure you stay at home for these they give you gas and air and it’s fine it can be uncomfortable when they get to the corner of your bowel but take deep breaths on the gas and air you will be fine I promise.  It really isn’t as bad as you think.  Hope you are ok