2nd colonoscopy

8-10 YEARS?!  Oh my gosh - that SHOCKS me.  My GI does a colonoscopy on me every 3 years, unless something comes up and I need one sooner. 

I had my 1st one in 2004 which diagnosed me with Crohn's.  I had multiple ulcerations throughout the colon. 

In 2007 I had my 2nd colonoscopy.  Not much had changed in 3 years - nothing was better but nothing was worse, either. 

Now in 2010, I just this week had my 3rd colonoscopy.  Although I feel fine, the results showed an overall progression of the disease since the 2007 colonoscopy and my GI now wants me to change medication as it would seem the Colazal is no longer working.

My particular insurance pays for my colonoscopies because I have Crohn's Disease.  I find it strange that a GI would just blanketedly said "insurance would never pay for it".  Not true - not in my case anyway.

I might also add I've never heard that 8-10 years is "STANDARD" after a Crohn's diagnosis.  That just seems like a REALLY long time to wait because of the nature of this disease.  It's always there, working its awful magic, whether you can feel it or not.

I think you're totally right in wanting a colonoscopy every 3-4 years.

When I was first diagnosed in 2005 I was almost 41 years old. I had a colonoscopy at that time, and my GI said that I would not officially have my next one until 50. That was because my Grandmother had colon cancer and as a follow up for the Crohn's. However, that does not mean that if I needed one to check on a flare etc. that I wouldn't have one in between. In fact I have had 2 since then, and several sigmoidoscopies. I think that insurance will not pay for a colonoscopy if there is nothing new to learn. SO if you are in remission, or have no flare ups then they expect you to wait for the 8 to 10 years. Procedures that do not give you new information are generally avoided by the GI's that I have heard about. I finally talked my GI into a CT Scan because I was having a lot of activity which I felt the scopes were not giving me information about. I think that you should not worry about whether or not you will get a colonoscopy, but worry about taking care of yourself. If you end up needing one I'm sure your doctor will give you one. On the other hand if you feel that your GI is not responding to your concerns, you should think about finding someone that you feel more comfortable with.

My GI told me I would not have another colonoscopy for 8-10 years also. I have been on many sites that also have that recommendation. Now, having said that every case is probably different. I have mild crohns and there was not a lot of damage in my colon, just the active inflammation. He did say that if symptoms warranted it we would perform another but if I am responding well to med and my cbc looks good he would not do one. But, if you have a more aggressive form of crohns and feel you need it every few years I would have a serious discussion with the dr. As for insurance I know every one is different, but I work for an insurance company. As long as the dx is not routine you can have them more often. And a dx of crohns is most definitely not routine so check with your insurance on that.

I was diagnosed 6 years ago, and have had 4 colonoscopies to date. I didn't have any problems with the insurance covering them either, and if I did, I would have raised he** :)