Colonoscopy - without Anaesthetic?

Hi all,

Got a Colonoscopy coming up from Tuesday to check for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. They've given me MoviPrep to clear me out the day before (which sound delightful looking at the other threads on here! ) and whilst nervous, I'm don't think I'm too bothered about the procedure itself - in fact I've got a mental list of jokes to use whilst in there - but I've been offered the option to have it done without any anaesthetic, which I'm tempted to do, I'm more nervous about the anaesthetic than the procedure, and I'd rather just get it done and get the hell out of there asap!

Has anyone undergone one without a/s and if so - does it make a huge difference?

Cheers and HNY!
Steve

I don't think it is possible to have a colonscopy without at least being half way knocked out, my general doctor said he awoke during his and said it was painful.

Sigmoid scopes you don't have to be knocked out, but they only go so far up in you, basically they just blow air up your behind and you only feel a slight discomfort.

For me, the drugs made the prep all worthwhile :) Don't be a hero. Take the drugs. I've had it both ways and being not sedated hurt like" heck"!-mild understatement. Good luck.

I had a colonoscopy without sedation and pain meds and it was a nightmare, but at the time i had severe pancolitis.

I might consider doing it without sedation, but not without pain meds!!!. I don't like the sedation, makes me feel like crap for at least 24 hours. I rarely take narcotics so they work like a charm the odd time I need them (like when I had a kidney stone).

Yes. I get mine done without any medication. I want to be able to see what it looks like inside.

If you decide to go the non-medication route, then breathe deeply and concentrate on relaxing the muscles. It also helps to have music. Bring a MP3 player or something similar. Then you can listen to whatever you want and have the sound at whatever level you want. I got my scopes done listening to the office music. Next time, I'm going to bring my own. I have some great self-hypnosis MP3's that I think would be very helpful.

I done it both ways, and at least for me, I will NEVER get any sedation. I had no problems, and was in and out in less then an hour. It was not painful at all and the show was pretty cool. Of course, I think it has a lot to do with the skill of the DR preforming it but as I said, for me, no sedation is the route I take.

Yeah, that was me Quincy. That's what my GI told me. And so ya know, I got my future wife to start using rowasa's

I have never had sigmoidoscopy...have had 4-5 colonoscopies. The 2nd one I had the GI Doc only used minimal amount of anesthetic and I woke up at one point. The FIRST thing I said was "put me under!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I remember seeing the screen briefly before asking for more med. Some discomfort may be related the amount of GI inflammation. At that time my colon was pretty messed up, so blowing air in there was enough for me to want to grab the Doc by the ears!!!
And if you do have anestheitic you will not be able to drive for the rest of the day.
Good Luck, Deacon

I have had five colonoscopies with sedation.  I woke up during the last one and it was very painful.  All I remember saying is: "it hurts, it hurts", and then heard the doctor say "give her more medication."  I was very thankful to go back to sleep!

Good to hear! Did you watch the monitor?

Inflamed sigmoid but not the rectum?

Did she take biopsies throughout the colon? (i hope).

When do you go back for the results?

Yeah, the gas discomfort can last a day or so...Keep us posted.

q

I had one without pain medication or sedation...I have anxiety and hate to have any thing messing with my head. Yes their is pain and cramping (like stomach cramps from eating something bad) but i made it through and it was nice getting right up and heading out the door. Give it a shot!

There have been studies done on pain. Apparently, on average people who have experienced serious injuries can tolerate pain better than those who haven't.

When I was 12, my hands went through a window that I was closing it. It was stuck. I felt no pain despite the fact that my arms were bleeding due to pieces of shattered glass making deep cuts into my skin. I ended up having to get stitches on both arms. After that experience, I became very tolerant of pain. I guess it's because I know there is a limit to how painful something can be. If it's too painful, then the nerves shut off and there is absolutely no pain at all.

Giving birth is probably the most painful thing that can happen. I also gave birth to both my children without any pain medication.

I think a lot of it has to do with fear. If you don't fear pain, then it's tolerable.

Post Edited (subdued) : 1/7/2011 2:19:21 AM (GMT-7)