# Colonoscopy



## 16063 (Oct 23, 2005)

Just a quick question. I have a colonoscopy scheduled in January. From what I've read from other posts it seems you get sedated before the procedure. I've just found out from my friends who all have had colonoscopies at the same hospital we just get valium is that normal procedure and will it be painful?


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## 18944 (Sep 15, 2005)

If I remember correctly, I was given demerol for both my colonscopy and EGD. I woke up for a couple seconds during the colonscopy and remember being in a lot of pain, but the next thing I knew I was awake in recovery. I was completely out for the EGD, not waking up once.


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## 19473 (Oct 25, 2005)

Joolz,Colonoscopy's SUCK! Well I should say the prep sucks. You and the toilet will be best friends for 24 hours before the surgery. The phospate soda is GROSS!! It is really hard to get down.The procedure itself isn't bad. You are put to sleep. You wake up very dehydrated, but all in all not too bad. You'll just be a bit drowsey afterwards, but better the next day or so. Good Luck! P.S. See if they will show you the pics of your colon, pretty interesting.


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## OppOnn (Jun 30, 2002)

Click link below to read my very good colonoscopy experience, with a prep which tastes of nothing and is very gentle. And I think I had Demerol. Whatever it was, it knocked my pleasantly out. I didn't even know I'd had anendoscopy before the colonoscopy and I felt great after too.http://ibsgroup.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/75310261/m/374103961O


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## 16063 (Oct 23, 2005)

Thanks guys. My colleagues told me that the prep is the worse part before the colonoscopy. I had my Barium Enema last week and found that pretty bad so I'm hoping it can't be worse than that (can it)?! However, I can forget about it until January. My results from the Barium Enema found nothing significant. It was noted my colon was lower down than "normal" but that's it.


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## peggy06 (Oct 4, 2004)

JoolzHaving experienced both the barium enema and the colonoscopy -- the BE is without a doubt the worse procedure. HugsPeggy


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## 16063 (Oct 23, 2005)

Hi Peggy,Thanks for the re-assurance!


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## OppOnn (Jun 30, 2002)

Joolz - Maybe you didn't read my link?!! The prep isn't bad when you take a prep which tastes of nothing and is gentle.In fact, I felt so good after, I asked my GI if I shouldn't somehow clean myself out more often! I felt so clean, so kind of new, and so much better.O


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## 20025 (Oct 2, 2005)

Hi. I have been reading, and I recommend you follow OppOnn's link on this page. Hope it is OK for me to copy and paste here what I posted there. Good Luck ALL. My turn. I had my first colonoscopy 2 wks. ago. My doctor ordered the 4 Dulcolax, taken the Wed. before the Fri. procedure, taken in the morn. Then on Thurs, I had that totally horrible Phosphosoda. Like someone else said, it is very difficult to put down. They took theirs at 1/2 the morn of the procedure. Not my doc's orders. It was ordered to be taken 1/2 at 4 pm on Thurs,(day before)and the other 1/2 at 9 pm.I managed to get the first half down at 4, but at 8:30, 30 min earlier than ordered, I decided to get it over with, so I sat down with it mixed in diet sprite, I swallowed a mouthful, then paused and shuddered, then repeated the swallow and shudder and pause, then one more time-- at this point-- it kicked in! I ran to the BR, but couldn't even make it. For once, I was GLAD to be wearin panties with a thick sewn-in pad for incontinence...half that large area was filled, but it saved me alot of cleanup, floors, legs, etc. I thought it over and decided NOT to finish the remaining med, which I estimate to be 1/3 of that second half. For those unfamiliar with this phosphosoda, the size you are splitting in half is a total of 3 oz. Very nasty.When I knew I just could not go another swallow, I poured it down the drain. The next hr or so, I went a few times. During the nite, I only woke up to go once. (I had been pretty concerned about losing my sleep)Well, I got a shock when the nurse asked me if I took all of the prescribed prep med. Oops, I forgot one thing, this doctor had me taking one glas of the Miralax (taste fine,no problem) every day for a full week before the procedure.When the nurse asked if I had taken it all, I told her the truth. The shock was: the doctor MIGHT not do it. HE is firm about this. THAT is when I became upset, and just about to cry, knowing I would never go thru THAT prep again. To cover my azz, she chose to give me an enema, which surprisingly did not hurt or make me want to go all over her. Not much but clear came out, which made the nurse (and me) very happy.The reason why the doc MIGHT not do it is this: It is like going into a tunnel, with a weak light or no light. A waste of everyone's time.They knocked me OUT, tho I don't know with what-- but will be finding out tomorrow when I return to his office for follow-up. I felt nothing. After reading the bad experiences here, I will thank him tomorrow for doing it right. No more phosphosoda for me, and I WILL tell him, I just cannot get it down.Everything OppOnn says about Miralax is true for me.Hope this helps someone. texas terri


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## 17648 (Nov 2, 2005)

I found that Visicol worked well for me in my prep!


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## 21555 (Dec 28, 2005)

I just had a colonoscopy, my first since I was 8 and the prep wasn't that bad, I had the phospo soda at like 4pm the afternoon before, and a liquid diet all day, i put it in 7 up and i couldn't even taste it, it kicked in about 40 minutes later, and that evening I took enema tablets, it was extremely irritating to sit on the toilet for about 5 hours, but I just pretended I had eaten chinese food. And they said i would have something like "conscious sedation" which i was very skeptical about. They said i would be awake during the procedure but groggy, which i DO NOT recommend. I found that i am very difficult to sedate, they thought because i weigh 88 pounds, i would be completely out, but i kept waking up during the procedure which was very scary and I remember being in a lot of pain, and I know I whimpered "it hurts" once or twice so they had to keep giving me more medicine and anethesia. So I was completely groggy for the whole day, there was no way i would have been able to drive home. So my experience was not the best, but compared to some horror stories, it is now a dim nightmare I am trying to block out.


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## 20864 (Dec 29, 2005)

Hi there ! I just got a colonoscopy today. The prep was the worst part. (Found out i have IBS) and i did the miralax prep ... i had the worst cramps and the most nausea i have ever had in my life. I was supposed to take 255mg in 64oz of gatorade and then take 4 lax pills. i drank only 40oz of the gatorade and had to quit. i couldn't even look at it without feeling sick. Everyone yelled at me for not finishing the prep but i was on the toilet for 24 hrs straight after only finishing half of what i was supposed to. Everyone's different, and the doctor's said i did the right thing. I was cleaned out though ! I was most nervous about the sedation (intravenous). I couldn't have imagined only taking valium because i knew i wanted to be OUT for the procedure. The sedation was funny because i was so out of it when i woke up that i couldn't even stand. I felt a little pressure in my abdomen afterwards and remember feeling them put the scope in, but i was out after that. Woke up in recovery and i was ok. I would suggest asking the doctor if you can be sedated because i know in my experience, i'm not sure how good valium is, but i would have never wanted to be the slightest bit awake during it !


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## 13488 (Dec 26, 2005)

I went for a routine appointment at my hospital because I was having severe bouts of diaherrea. 30 mins later i had been given a colonscopy and a blood test out of nowhere! Although it wasn't a ( hate to say this--&gt







shoved up fully, he said it was enough to know my bowels were healthy and I had IBS. I guess that was the best because I had no worrying, or sedation. The procedure itself wasn't too bad but I'd rather not have to do it again if you know what I mean. Having IBS-D im more used to things coming out rather than going in! haha!For those waiting on colonoscopy's , the worst part (iv'e heard from everyone that had it) was the procedure. Even relatives of mine have had colonoscopys done and they said their preparation was the worst part. Just hang in there. There really is nothing to worry about.


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## 13364 (Dec 8, 2005)

Just to reassure people who are worried about colonoscopies, and having had most of the relevant tests done (barium top & bottom; colonoscopy; gastroscopies) I would not be worried about repeating any of them.As prep for the colonoscopy, I was given picolax - a mixture of sodium picosulphate + magnesium citrate. Gives you the squits fairly quickly, but no big deal. The procedure itself was, for me painless - I had mine performed under a short term general anaesthetic, and I guess most people could have the same on request. Afterwards, I felt absolutely no pain or discomfort whatsoever, and my paranoia would even almost lead me to think they had only pretended to do the colonoscopy.........if I had not been given a series of colour (!) pictures of the inside of my guts (of course, never having seen that area before, I can't absolutely guarantee that they were pictures of *my* colon, but I guess trust has to start somewhere....)I also had a gastroscopy under the influence of that date-rape benzodiazepine whose name escapes me for the moment (begins with M I think) - that was also sufficient to make it not unpleasant, and I gather the same drug is also used routinely for colonoscopies.So there is really nothing to fear with these procedures - particularly if you discuss sedation options with them in advance.


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

good luck joolz youll be fine


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## kitkat17 Lady of the Loo (Jul 21, 2005)

I have had 2 colonoscopies in the past 3 years.The prep is the worst part. You literaly sit on the loo-pot-toilet for 6-8 hours. DOn;t bother to get up cause it will just run out of you all over. Worst part. I just got another little TV to take in the bathroom with me when I Have my D nights. I burned up the 1st one. so get you a little TV. I asked them if they were going to knock me out. They said no and I got off the table. No way were they going to stick that up my behind and not knock me out. The nurse said they will give me sonething to give you amnesia(spelling) That way they can tell you to move this way or that way and you will, BUT you DON'T remember any of it. I trusted her word and I did not feel anyhting. Or should I say remember feeling anyhting. I is really weird. When I woke up my H was there. He said I tild him the same hting about 5 times in a row cause I forget that I already told him. Funny. They used the same thing when I had a DNC. They say it is the same drug that is used in the date rape street drugs, cause you literally don;t remember. Some suffer from gas cause they use it to go up there but I did not. If you do just walk it out.Good luck and believe me I would rather have a colonoscopy than go to the dentist.You wil be fine and pain free.Good luckKat


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

I have had 4 colonoscopies and 2 endoscopies (down the throat).I was on Versed for 3 of the colonoscopies and took "Go-Lightley" (yep, that's the name of it...) and kept it chilled and when I felt I couldn't drink more, I slowed down a bit.One of the colonoscopies was at Mayo, and I think it was actually a sigmoidoscopy - and I was fully awake for it- very little prep, had a light dose of something IV, but conversed with the Dr. as she performed the procedure.With the other 3, I was out of it, and also asked the same questions over and over and did not remember anything either!They weren't bad at all, and if I had to do it again, I could handle it ... wouldn't want to, but could.You will do fine - just take the prep slowly and chill it... Good luck to you...


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## 21024 (Nov 28, 2005)

Hi All,I had a colonoscopy and EDG this morning. It went well. I have a question. When my doctor came in to talk to me after the procedure he said that the test went fine. He didn't see anything majorily wrong. He did however do biopsy's. He told me to follow up with him in one week. That he would start to treat me. Are the biopsy's just procedure to make double sure that nothing is wrong or did he do biopsy because he saw irritation?


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

great news dj


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## tltrull (Nov 12, 2005)

Kit Kat, I believe you had versed....isnt it wonderful?I didnt remmeber anything! I lost about 2-3 hours that day. I dont remember getting dressed, the ride home, calling people on my cell on the ride home, or drinking a 24 oz coffee afterwards. One minute I was told to turn on my side, next thing I knew I was home and my daughter was next to me doing her homework.


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## 15403 (Jan 6, 2006)

first one I had I was 27 and all they gave me was a little Versed. I was mad as hell b/c he wouldn't quit. Now, After Er colostomy, annastamosis(reconnect) 2 colectomys I see a pain Dr. I've never felt better. been going to him for 2 1/2 yrs now. why did I have to suffer for the 16 yrs? Because most gastro Dr's have no compassion. Luckily I met one in the ER. that graduated in the top of his class


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## tltrull (Nov 12, 2005)

I think I had demerol too for any pain I may have experienced, but since I had the Versed I didnt remember if I had any or not?Maybe you didnt have enough Versed Trouble, it is supposed to give you a sort of temporary amnesia.


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