first colonoscopy

hi there! Believe it or not I have never had a colonoscopy, only a bunch of flex. sig's. I have one scheduled for next Friday. We finally decided to do one cause my GI is pushing me to get in touch with the surgeon again, but until I see the "whole picture", so to speak, I'm not doing anything. I'm totally freaking out about the scope & the prep- I am going to use half-lytely, which my GI tells me is not harsh. I guess it just flushes you out, lavage style, as opposed to the other stuff which draws water into your colon & is very corrosive. I'm in a minor flare right now, so will this stuff & the scope make me flare even more? And I've been on Culturelkle fow about 2 months now- will the prep flush out all the good bacteria & put me back to square one? And honestly- will I feel the scope? My doc uses Demerol & an IV, I think it's verset, versed, something like that... I'm totally nerved out! Help!!!!

Its not my FAVORITE way to spend a few hours, but it is a necessity with this disease.  Honestly, its not that bad, and I haven't ever had it make my colitis ultimately worse.  You might have some bad gas...or some D after, but your prep sounds better than many of mine, and you likely will sleep through it all.  I have them A LOT!    I have never woken up or had any pain. I usually get demerol and verced as well. 

It will be fine.

 

It's a piece of cake :) The prep is the worse of it but you won't feel a thing during the scope. If anything, the prep and scope might stir things up a bit in there for a few days but should go back to normal. And if you should see any bleeding after the scope, that's normal especially if they take biopsies. And that should resolve too within a couple days.

thank you so much, everyone! I know it'll be ok, I've talked with a bunch of people who've had them, but..... yikes! I looked up versed on the Net- it's one heck of a powerful benzodiazepine!!! So I'm edxpecting to be in La-La land for a while.... that's fine with me. I am actually looking forward to it in a weird way- when you're flaring, you know how it's all blood/mucous, etc. & very little stool that actually passes? So I'm hoping the prep will get me cleaned out once & for all, then I can start fresh. How bizarre...

Hi Eva. I've had 2 c-scopes and don't remember a thing from either of them. I think I had versed and something else. The worst part is doing the prep and only eating clear liquids the day before (I get super hungry!). I think the HalfLytely would be an allright prep. I've done the GoLytely (twice as much liquid as the HalfLytely). My doctor said the GoLytely is the safest prep to do, so I would guess the one you're doing is safe, too, since I think its the same stuff, just less liquid. Someone here suggested drinking the prep through a straw so you can't taste it as much and that really helped me. Also, make sure it's really cold. That helps a lot, too! I actually felt pretty good UC-wise for a few days after my last c-scope, but my flare did get worse after a sigmoidoscopy.

luckily my appt. is for a Friday afternoon- my husband is driving me, & he better plan on taking care of our daughter the rest of that day & Saturday too! See, that thing about versed being an amnesiac- I read that & it sort of bothered me. So it's this awful experience but we just don't remember it?!?!?! Or are you really knocked out, asleep? I suppose it doesn't matter, either way. But I'm still a little nervous. I swear it's from all the flexible sig's- worst test ever done with no meds!

Don't worry. I had my last one done on Jan.2 2007 with NO drugs. I watched the whole thing. The worst part, other than the flushing the night before was having my colon pumped full of air, that was not a good feeling, but I was done in about 20min. Then I just drove myself home. But, all the air was comming out, and my drive home was with my windows down most of the way!! lol

I agree that flex-sigs can be the pits! The worst I ever had made me cry because the scope felt like fiery sandpaper passing thru-- this was during a severe flare. / Old Hat

I had demerol/versed and it was HORRIBLE. I would never do it again. I woke up in the middle of the procedure, unable to move or open my eyes, but feeling this horrible painful scraping sensation in my colon. I also had mild anterograde memory loss for the next few days, and given that I was temporarily taking over for our office manager (I was a legal assistant in a prosecution office for a year) it made an already stressful situation moreso. Ugh.

I had my first colonoscopy at the end of last year...Before that, I had a flex-sig done which was by far without a doubt, worse!!!If I can help it, I will never have another flex done...The c-scope was a piece of cake...I barely remember anything...I do remember watching some on the sreen as my dr. made his way through my intestines with the scope...I saw them take biopsies and didn't feel a thing...I felt no pain, but at one time I felt a little pressure, but didn't hurt at all...I guess that was them filling my intestines with air...My point being, I had much rather have a colonoscopy than the flex-sig any day...You will be fine!!! Oh, I'm not sure what sedative I had, all I know is that I didn't feel anything and it felt like I was only in there for about 5 minutes, but my husband assured me, it was much longer than that...Good luck and let us all know how it went...

Ediekristen-- you are right that some hospitals are requiring colonoscopy patients to submit to anesthesia, not just in Florida, & it can add a whole lot to the total bill. It happened to someone I know with Crohn's who gets an annual c-scope at NYU Medical Center; he said the added charge was a couple thousand dollars! He was furious about it & so was his gastro. The hospital ambulatory procedures unit likely makes the explanation that a "committee of experts" decided the anesthesia is necessary-- then even your own doctor cannot overrule them. It's pretty outrageous! Recently I saw on one of the AGA Websites that Aetna has deemed total anesthesia unnecessary for c-scope & won't reimburse it-- so the AGA submitted a formal protest to Aetna, stating that they are robbing doctors of their right to decide on individual cases! (But when the hospital committee robs your own doctor of the right to decide on your case, it's o.k.-- double standard!!!!) This infuriates me because I had an IV-drip forced on me at my last c-scope even though my gastro argued that only an injected sedative was necessary, which was what I had been getting w/o problems for 20+ yrs. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])

I'm very grateful for the IV drugs. My first GI did a C-scope and hadn't given me quite enough medication. I was in a bad flare, and it was very painful when they put air into my colon. So now I'm happy to take the drugs. In fact, I've declined to have the sigmoidoscopy, and said "just schedule a colonoscopy for me instead."

To clarify, IV medications are not "total anesthesia." It is "conscious sedation," in that you can be roused from your sleepiness to move or whatever. You're not under nearly as deep, it's more like being given a big dose of Xanax for an MRI. In the past 15 years, they've started using monitoring equipment and keeping the IV in during this because in some cases people can have reactions and it can be life-saving. If a doctor wants to offer his patients procedures without sedation, he has the choice to go somewhere other than that hospital.

Eva Lou-- you should do fine with Demerol/Versed. *Jen* posted last month that she was given Phenergan in addition to relieve anxiety prior to her 1st c-scope, but it apparently caused her some dizziness the day after procedure. So-- just beware of that drug! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJudilyn-- the doctors do not have the option to go somewhere else in my area. They have to use the institution where they are affiliated, unless they can afford to set up a private clinic, which the tight & pricey real estate market makes pretty much impossible. The hospitals mainly care about risk management-- except for the archdiocesan-run facility. There patients get toast + juice in the procedure recovery room! I much prefer that to a continuing IV drip! A GP neighbor of mine told me recently that he took his wife there for c-scope because of their patient-friendly environment, even though he himself is affiliated with 2 other general hospitals! / Old Hat