colonscopy

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Ken - Best I remember there were some abnormalities in his blood tests which brought on more tests. It's sort like an aneurysm which is also a silent killer. Mine showed on a cat scan in 2013 for a kidney stone. Then my PCP monitored it every 6 months to be safe. No pain and no symptoms until it gets ready to bust! On the blood clot in my left leg (which is what I thought it was), my PCP always checks the circulation in my extremities (high cholesterol) so he spotted the reduced flow immediately and ordered sonograms to verify. Now waiting to see the vascular guy to get it fixed. There is great value to having a physician that knows you and your body and can notice subtle changes over time - and that you can build a trust relationship with.
I definitely need to get a baseline established so that any changes will get flagged.
 
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If you're 50, get this done. My sister found out too late she had colo-rectal cancer, had to get the colostopy. My routine colonoscopy revealed pre-cancerous polyps, successfully removed, found a couple more on subsequent checks, also removed. Clean now..... just go. There's nothing stopping you. It's just too easy. Sorry to be blunt, just go.
 

TOS

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Just scheduled my annual physical for Jan 17th and this is my 10 year for colonoscopy. Taking care of your body is like preventive maintenance on your M/C.
Good luck Gary...Sounds like fun. ;-)

I just had another double scope (EGD/Colon) 3 weeks ago. I was dreading the bowel prep, Dr's preference unless you have a preference and Dr will agree. They took Fleets of the market years ago (used to be OTC) because of a risk of renal failure (with some pts). I did not want to drink a gallon of prep, like some are. Spoke with a new general surgeon where I work, that also does Endoscopies, about doing my procedures. He said, he heard a local Rx will compound that prep on site, it is very similar to the old Fleets (phospho-soda) prep. As with the previous Colonoscopies I've had, the prep IS the WORST part of it all!
Anyway, all was well on the inside except a little gastritis. Biopsy showed exactly that. Dr said for me to take 2 Prevacid each day instead of 1 each day.

If any of you ever have chronic "heartburn" (gastric reflux) or abdominal pain (could be stomach related) I would recommend having a upper GI (EGD) with your colonoscopy. Usually EGD takes only 5-10 minutes.
 
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This thread needs a bit of humour. Dave Barry, writer for the Miami Herald, penned this hilarious piece on the subject.

For anyone going in for their first colonoscopy, or, if you already had one, this will have you ROFL!
ABOUT THE WRITER: Dave Barry is a Pulitzer prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.
Colonoscopy Journal:

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.
A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis.
Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.
I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America 's enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.
Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.
Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-litre plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a litre is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'
This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.
MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but, have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another litre of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?’ How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.
Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.

At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point.
Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.

There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.
'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me...
'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.

I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.
Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

On the subject of Colonoscopies...
Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous. A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:

1. Take it easy Doc. You’re boldly going where no man has gone before.
2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5 'You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married.'
6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay'
And the best one of all:
13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'
 

ST Gui

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I've told my doctor he had better never utter the words "if we'd caught it in time..." to me.
Best to never give him a reason to say it.

I'm going in for my second on Monday. A former co-worker and friend lost his dad to colon cancer. He was two years over due when getting his second and the doctor gave him the diagnosis and prognosis. "If you had just come in when you were supposed to..."
 

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Sorry to hear that Steve.
Thanks Joe. You guys there are a few different types of prep Janet had on when she was in the hospital and she had to drink a gallon of stuff, my prep was much easier I had 2 small bottles of stuff I had to drink at a specific time interval and drink a 2 glasses of water after each bottle then a couple of hours later the cleanout started. I timed it so I didn't starve my test gets scheduled for early morning so I get it over with.
 

Mellow

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Mine was 4 Dulcolax tablets at 3pm the day before.. then at 5pm I'd mix some miralax powder w/60 oz of water or non sugar beverage.. drink 8oz every 15 mins until half was gone then on the day of the 'procedure' 5 hr before, drink the other 30 oz of drink and no liquid of any kind after that. Of course, liquid diet the day before.
 

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LOL we really are a bunch of old farts talking about colonoscopies but the message is a good one if you haven't had one go get one
 

ST Gui

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LOL we really are a bunch of old farts talking about colonoscopies
:rofl1: Yeah I usually avoid threads like these mainly because I don't yet have to worry about all the medications that seem so prevalent with people my age. The timing of the post made me laugh.
 

wjbertrand

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I call that prep fluid "Colon blow" cause that's just what that stuff does. Scheduling my 10 year follow up from my first one for the end of the month or beginning of February. Clean as a whistle 10 years ago, no suspicions this time, just family nagging...
 
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Well I had the same thing 18 months ago they found some polyps which they removed during the colonoscopy but one they couldn't remove so it was for the chop...(You have to remember this is the U.K.)....So into hosp. and prepped at eight A.M. operation done at six P.M. five days in hospital they said I was doing fine. but I felt crap...Phoned the wife to get me home...I was told at the beginning that I would have after-care...That did not happen..I got my own G.P. to come and change the dressing and nurses gave me Antibiotics for a urine infection and also oral thrush....It took two months before the surgeon summond me to tell that I had bowel cancer and they had removed quite a large chunk....After much complaining and phone calls I got after-care and the nurses were brilliant...It was while enquiring why I still had stomach pains was told I needed a diet (some foods just don't agree with me now) that sorted I also found out how much they had removed which is a lot This was a two year saga in that time my daughter had breast cancer and was treated wonderfully at the same hospital ..so as you can imagine I was very depressed..it took me a good six months to get back on the bike.
Only this year do I feel better and am now being seen regularly......I suppose somebody has to slip through the net but why me?
A grumpy 76 year old..........
 

Mellow

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Well I had the same thing 18 months ago they found some polyps which they removed during the colonoscopy but one they couldn't remove so it was for the chop...(You have to remember this is the U.K.)....So into hosp. and prepped at eight A.M. operation done at six P.M. five days in hospital they said I was doing fine. but I felt crap...Phoned the wife to get me home...I was told at the beginning that I would have after-care...That did not happen..I got my own G.P. to come and change the dressing and nurses gave me Antibiotics for a urine infection and also oral thrush....It took two months before the surgeon summond me to tell that I had bowel cancer and they had removed quite a large chunk....After much complaining and phone calls I got after-care and the nurses were brilliant...It was while enquiring why I still had stomach pains was told I needed a diet (some foods just don't agree with me now) that sorted I also found out how much they had removed which is a lot This was a two year saga in that time my daughter had breast cancer and was treated wonderfully at the same hospital ..so as you can imagine I was very depressed..it took me a good six months to get back on the bike.
Only this year do I feel better and am now being seen regularly......I suppose somebody has to slip through the net but why me?
A grumpy 76 year old..........
Ouch... well, glad you're at least doing better now, hopefully, you are good moving forward.
 
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Just had this last week after a test came back abnormal and good to say that I was clean as a whistle with no polyps this time or anything so he said 10 years before the next one. And was just getting "use" to the drink and run fun of the prep. You get to the point you are pleaseeee can it just stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No way I could have eaten that much!
It is better to be safe than sorry.
 
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I caught opportunistic colds after the first 2 ones because it drags down your immune system so much for a couple days , the 3rd / last time , I was popping vitamin C - 500 mg every few hours - no cold
 

TOS

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Well I had the same thing 18 months ago they found some polyps which they removed during the colonoscopy but one they couldn't remove so it was for the chop....It took two months before the surgeon summond me to tell that I had bowel cancer and they had removed quite a large chunk....
A grumpy 76 year old..........
Somewhat different than here in the U.S. or what I'm used to anyway. I've been involved in Colonoscopies where you find hyperplastic polyps. Those are removed with a snare connected to electro-cautery and sent to Pathology. A polyp that has grown into a cancerous lesion/tumor is obvious just with the visualization from the magnification of the colonoscope. In the instance with obvious tumor, the surgeon usually goes to the family and tells them surgery and bowel resection are necessary and many times patient has the surgery same day...while bowel in already prepped. Much easier for everyone in my opinion.
The longer a Malignant Tumor stays in the body, the more likely it will Matastasize to other organs. That's what happened to my Mom. She had a GP doctor do a colon scope. He decided she just needed a Sigmoidoscopy (maybe 1/2 of lower large bowel), not a full large bowel scope to the Cecum. Two years later she was still having problems/symptoms, i.e. diarrhea and rectal bleeding. Same Dr decided to do a real colonoscopy this time. She had a bowel tumor. He told us she needed a bowel resection. During this procedure he noticed that she had "Mets" on her Liver...she died 7 months later.

Not trying to scare y'all, but it is important for anyone to follow up on symptoms you may be having. Sometimes these don't seem of much importance and sometimes happen over a few years, so you kinda get use to them. Maybe it is just hemorroids or could be something growing, you really don't want in your body!
Unless guidelines have changed... 1st colonoscopy at age 50 if all clear, every 10 years thereafter.
If you have family history of colon cancer 1st colonoscopy at age 40.
If you have any colon polyps, every 3-5 years until clear (depending on Dr).
 
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I had 2 uncles die of colon cancer, one in his 30's, so I've been having these every 5 years since my late 20's. In the 80s, it was more like a surgical procedure and you got to talk to the Dr. beforehand. Now, it is like an assembly line; one patient after another. I've had polyps removed several times. I must have had a bad one because I went on the 3 year plan for a while. Now I'm back on 5 years. I don't know how you guys get away with ten years.
 

TOS

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I had 2 uncles die of colon cancer, one in his 30's, so I've been having these every 5 years since my late 20's. In the 80s, it was more like a surgical procedure and you got to talk to the Dr. beforehand. Now, it is like an assembly line; one patient after another. I've had polyps removed several times. I must have had a bad one because I went on the 3 year plan for a while. Now I'm back on 5 years. I don't know how you guys get away with ten years.
No Family History and NO Polyps. JMO
 
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Well as I said in my post I was very unlucky at my hospital there was no communication between surgeon and the follow up team therefore I was left with no info, Luckily I had the e/mail address of a nurse on the follow up team and she gave everyone concerned a rocket as most info I never received until months later and to be told it was bowel cancer nearly three month after the event was shocking.....I did go to a meeting of sufferers a few months ago and everyone there had been treated as should be with no complaints....I am glad that it was sorted but my time in the hosp. was dire I just don't know what has happened to our health system...we are in big trouble here in the U.K....
I will say all the other times I have been to Hosp. they have been great I was there a couple of weeks ago at A&E for eye problem (I rode there?) and was seen to right away and as I said my daughter was treated with much respect and quickly and was looked after through chemo to my relief .......I was just unlucky but to anybody out there who have these troubles "Get it sorted" the worst bit is the bowel prep.!!!!
 
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