Reply to Tips for first colonoscopy?

Forum Index » Health and Medicine

Reply to "Tips for first colonoscopy?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You don't need sedation. It's done in the United States in almost all cases but in some countries the majority of colonoscopies are done without any sedation. Personally I don't like being sedated and I don't mind a little discomfort. The pain was extremely mild - like between 0 and 1 on the 1-10 scale - so I'm pleased that I passed it up. Clearly many people prefer sedation. Go with whatever makes you most comfortable, but know that it's your choice. [/quote]

I've had 4 colonoscopies and am going back for my fifth in December (I have well controlled ulcerative colitis and have to get them every 2 years).  I did the first three sedated and the last one without sedation (sedation would have required me to stop a medication 2 weeks in advance, which I didn't want to do).

I vastly prefer without sedation and will never do a sedated colonoscopy again.  I would rank the pain slightly higher than PP - insertion was about a 4 on a 1-10 scale.  It basically felt like bad menstrual cramps.  But that only lasted 2-3 minutes.  And then withdrawal (took about 8-10 minutes) just felt like a bowel movement.  [the process is that they insert the device all the way and then take pictures/biopsies/whatever as they pull it out.]

My understanding is that the discomfort of the procedure depends greatly on one's build, and more specifically the size/shape of one's colon.  I was told that in general the procedure is more uncomfortable for women than for men, more uncomfortable for smaller people, and more uncomfortable for people with lower body fat for some reason.  Since I'm a 5'4" 105 pound woman, they really tried to talk me out of skipping sedation the first time because they were afraid that they'd have to stop the procedure at some point due to my discomfort.  But, again, it was just bad cramps, and I've certainly dealt with those before.

As for why I prefer without sedation so much?  Besides the fact that I can stay on my medication, the recovery was also much quicker and easier.  As soon as they were done, I was wheeled out to the recovery room, given my stuff, and told I could leave whenever I wanted.  I didn't have to hang out and recover from sedation, and I didn't need to arrange for a ride home.

Plus, in the past, I've always felt sluggish and a bit foggy for 1-2 weeks after sedated colonoscopies - I thought this was just due to some stress/healing from the biopsies they take of my colon each time.  But I felt 100% myself after the non-sedated colonoscopy, so I think I'm one of those people that has some lingering effects from sedation.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics