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I need to have one of these procedures but am absolutely petrified. I am so afraid that whatever they find will be the end of me! You folks are all so brave.
Brave is not us we are wimps and we all would say call and do it,
Dying is more to be afraid of and this test may save your life as my life.
The drink stuff is not bad if you get miralax with water etc. they don't
hurt you and are aware most of us are afraid. What they find are polyps
as I had pre cancer and the doctor takes them out. The more afraid is to
have cancer. Polyps are common and they take them out b4 they turn into
cancer. Also if none are found you never need to do this for ten long years!
Brave is not us we are wimps and we all would say call and do it,
Dying is more to be afraid of and this test may save your life as my life.
The drink stuff is not bad if you get miralax with water etc. they don't
hurt you and are aware most of us are afraid. What they find are polyps
as I had pre cancer and the doctor takes them out. The more afraid is to
have cancer. Polyps are common and they take them out b4 they turn into
cancer. Also if none are found you never need to do this for ten long years!
I agree with you maggiekate and tarragon, you are NOT alone in your fears. But as maggiekate says, much better to just do it and be done with it and then it's over.
Trust me, drinking that stuff was not nearly as bad as people have made it out to be. I think the worst of it is nerves and anxiety. Just took my blood pressure and it's elevated (but not bad) but can't even remember if I took my medication today! So I'll take it in the morning.
Tarragon, as you can see in this thread, so many of us have been nervous over this and absolutely dreaded it. I'm not even done with it yet but at least I know drinking the stuff wasn't bad. I'm not thrilled with the rules (get up at 4, take cabs), but it is what it is.
Baby steps I say. First make the appt, then get the kit from the pharmacy, then read the instructions your Dr. sends you, figure out how to get there and back, drink the stuff and just muddle through. I am not even thinking about results at this point. It takes 10 to 14 days (at least at this place) to get the results so I'm putting this out of my mind completely. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
I hope this thread has been of some help to others who might be putting this test off or are afraid or just don't want to do it. All of you have helped me tremendously in this thread and I will be sure to report back with my experience after I get home tomorrow.
Oh, thank you! Bless your heart. I am so happy I get to be on my side. The alternative would have really made me uncomfortable.
That is s correct you get this super big gown to wear
then the nurse does the IV and they know all are scared. then you go
and they take take the bed into the surgery room and then you are out
with Peter Pan! I also did think drive home and I would be up fast? Never did happen
I was so sleeping and dreaming let me be! Then it was so cold that I did
wish a down throw which did wake me up!
The places where I've had colonscopies over the years wouldnt allow me to take a cab home.
I hate to admit this but, several times, I drove myself to the site and had a friend show up to pretend to drive me home. The friend would then just drive me to my car, which was in the same parking lot. I dont recommend this but I knew I'd be fully awake and alert enough to drive the short distance home. (If I hadnt been, I'd have had the friend drive me home and then take me back later to get my car.)
Nowadays it's not worth the hassle so I use a service that drives people to and from medical appointments.
Good luck tomorrow. I have to have a colonoscopy every couple of years. I actually like it. As you've found, the prep isnt nearly so bad as it used to be -- and I enjoy going off into lala-land and waking up fully-relaxed.
One time, many years ago, I was alert enough to watch the entire procedure on the TV-like-monitor. I had no discomfort or embarrassment...I guess the drug eliminated my inhibitions. That was the only time I was ever awake, though. I wouldnt mind having that same drug (I dont know what it was called) because I found it interesting to be awake with no pain at all -- but I havent been able to find any place that uses such a drug now.
I wish there were services for younger people to drive us to where need to get for medical proceedures like there are for Senior Citizens.
There is such a service in my city. It's called NEVER ALONE and, while it probably originally targeted older people, it offers all kinds of services to all ages. I learned about it when scheduling a colonoscopy a few years ago and I use them for lots of things....grocery shopping, running errands, driving me to procedures or doctors' offices in the congested downtown medical center, etc. Ask your gastroenterologist or the place where the colonoscopy is performed...sometimes they know of such services but they dont offer the info unless asked.
I wish there were services for younger people to drive us to where need to get for medical proceedures like there are for Senior Citizens.
There is such a service in my city. It's called NEVER ALONE and, while it probably originally targeted older people, it offers all kinds of services to all ages. I learned about it when scheduling a colonoscopy a few years ago and I use them for lots of things....grocery shopping, running errands, driving me to procedures or doctors' offices in the congested downtown medical center, etc. Ask your gastroenterologist or the place where the colonoscopy is performed...sometimes they know of such services but they dont offer the info unless asked.
Sounds like a cool setup. We have something similar, but only for people who are in the mental health system through the state. So I am out of luck.
I've asked for shuttle service before at a place and been told yes, only to be humiliated and have to take the bus in high temps and walk far. I won't take a chance on that again. Yeah, I don't want to pay for a cab, but that's life.
I didn't feel a thing and they completely knocked me out with Versed and Propofol. The only pain was that the cab dropped me off at 10 and the Dr. was running late so I had to stick around and wait for a couple hours - no water or food.
Anyway, ladies (and gents), you must get this done! Fortunately, all my test results came back normal and I don't have to go back for another 5 to 10 years (and it's 5 years only if I notice something odd).
The WORST part was the worrying. I was sleeping before it started and it wasn't embarrassing at all! The second WORST part was just being hungry! The prep really wasn't all that bad at all.
Well, I slept 1.5 hours last night so think I'll eat and hit the sack.
Thanks for all your support and if anyone is afraid, don't be!
Great news! Thanks for reporting back. I hope your experience, being nervous beforehand and then seeing how easy it was, will encourage more people to have the procedure. It really is a life-saver.
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Wow, what that a piece of cake!
