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As others have said, the worst part is the prep the day beforehand. I have had 3, polyps on all 3, the first one I was able to watch on the screen, the last 2, I was asleep, which I prefer. It really isn't a big deal. I believe in preventative care, I also get regular mammograms & pap smears.
That's one advantage of the procedure....the opportunity to do something about a polyp, get a direct visual verification of something suspected, and to remove something suspicious for biopsy right at the time....no need to go back through the whole setup, the event, or the $$ again to verify anything. For people who are lucky enough to choose their test, I'd agree that a conservative, less invasive procedure is usually safer. Except for the fact that any passive test can have a false positive or false negative. For those of us who are not in the "low risk" category its just something you do periodically to keep yourself and your doctor informed about your innards.
Absolutely. When a preventable disease has killed members of your family at a relatively young age (my grandparents), you just make the appointment and deal with a few hours of discomfort. Actually, the prep has greatly improved since my first one about 20 years ago when you drank two gallons of a horrible, salty solution.
My doc definitely continues the procedure past age 70. My mother had her last procedure in her 80s and had a huge, dangerous polyp removed. She lived many more years but her sibling died of an intestinal blockage. I have always been thankful there is a procedure that can prevent a devastating cancer.
I have had one and DH has had 4 because of family cancer history. Just do it! It will give you piece of mind and if they don't find anything, you won't have to think about another one for 10 years.
But I won't be having another one.
A friend had his colon punctured during a routine colonoscopy, and you would not believe the complications! He dang near died.
My doctor casually remarked that it had not happened to him yet, and I thought, "yeah, especially with me as a patient".
Get the cologuard test. The risk reward ratio of colonoscopy is insane. Most of them go fine, but when one doesn't it is worse than you can imagine.
If it's that important, why every 10 years? TEN years! Do you know how many things can happen in 10 years?You could get one stepping out of the office.
Thanks for all the replies which helped me realize---more research is necessary on my part. I'm not anti medicine, but we've seen that there are some doctors who let vendors influence their treatment plans. Things like suggesting
tests using expensive equipment to increase their ROI. Is it a coincidence that medical and pharmaceutical companies sales forces are pretty much 100% young, attractive, and rich?
Tbh, unless you have long term family doctor that you know and trust you pretty much have to ask questions.
You have about one third of one percent chance of having something go wrong, and 1/5 % chance of a serious complication. (.2 %)
Tldr: "In conclusion, colonoscopy is a key colorectal cancer screening modality, but may be associated with higher complication rates than other less invasive screening modalities. We found that complications from screening and surveillance colonoscopy are uncommon, with serious complications directly related to the colonoscopy occurring in approximately 2 of 1000 exams. The overall rate of hospitalizations within 30 days for directly and potentially related events was 3.18/1000 exams."
But I won't be having another one.
A friend had his colon punctured during a routine colonoscopy, and you would not believe the complications! He dang near died.
My doctor casually remarked that it had not happened to him yet, and I thought, "yeah, especially with me as a patient".
Get the cologuard test. The risk reward ratio of colonoscopy is insane. Most of them go fine, but when one doesn't it is worse than you can imagine.
Yikes, about your friend. I'm OK with my path to date. That is why my friend had one of the Virtual, is that the same as colorguard....she had fear. I never heard so much talk about these tests until coming to C-D.
Because the quack medical industry can get your insurance to pay for it. Colonoscopies are often dangerous and unnecessary.
Nowhere as dangerous and life threatening as colorectal cancer
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