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A colonoscopy is easy and painless. The worst part is the preparation.
The first step in the procedure is an iv drug that knocks you out in about 10 seconds. The next thing you will feel is waking up after it's all over. Twenty minutes later, you'll be out of there.
I've had this done twice; it's easy peasy!
I second this post, I have had two, they use anesthesia to keep you in the twilight zone, so you do not feel a thing. As mentioned, the worst part is the prep, it cleans out your colon, but as long as you stay home & close to a toilet, even that is not too bad.
Get one done, if that is what the doc recommends.
Yes, gotta be the same guy who was also willing to risk testicular cancer rather than be "humiliated".
No one cares, OP. You are not the center of the medicos' universe.
DH had the same symptoms you have, and he had a potentially cancerous stomach polyp they diagnosed AFTER a colonoscopy. I've had 3 of the procedures and had polyps each time. Not at all painful.
A colonoscopy is the best way to rule out such things as colon cancer, and it's not a "horrific" procedure.
The prep is definitely unpleasant (you have to drink nasty tasting stuff, and you have galloping diarrhea for several hours), but the actual procedure is done under anesthesia.
I will concede that the colonoscopy I had about fifteen years ago was very painful, because that doctor used a much lighter type of anesthesia. With my most recent colonoscopy, done three years ago, the doctor (a different doctor from the first one) used propofol, and I. Felt. Nothing. It was wonderful.
Get more facts about colonoscopy before you rule it out completely.
It sounds like your symptoms are similar to mine. After my colonoscopy ruled out everything else, my doctor diagnosed me with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The only way to diagnose IBS is to rule out everything else; there is no test for IBS itself.
While stress is a factor in IBS, your diet is extremely important. You said you don't eat dairy, fried food, pork meat or elaborate sauces, but there are lots of other things that you might be eating or drinking that could be causing or contributing to your problems.
I suggest you do some research into FODMAP foods (just Google FODMAP), and consider an elimination diet avoiding all FODMAPS to see if that helps. It's been very helpful for me. I now know not to ingest wheat, coffee, alcohol, and dairy, as those are IBS triggers for me, but one person's trigger foods are different from the next person's. An elimination diet can help you determine what your trigger foods are.
IBS is the first thing I thought of as well.
But young people do get colon cancer. Being treated for advanced colon cancer is far more humiliating and painful than a colonoscopy. And the survival rate for colonoscopy is 100% for all practical purposes, while it's MUCH less for colon cancer.
OP, you could try following the Monash University Low FODMAP protocol for IBS, deferring the colonoscopy, and see whether it helps you. But I think it's risky to refuse a colonoscopy. I think if your doc is seriously considering IBS, s/he's a great doc. It's amazing how many docs aren't really sure that IBS is a thing.
There are serious life-threatening diseases that present with the same symptoms as IBS, like Crohn's and celiac, and the colonoscopy is useful in sorting them out. Frankly, I think that having a colonoscopy is less painful and/or humiliating than having uncontrollable diarrhea in public. Which is where you could be headed if you don't get proper treatment, and to get proper treatment, you need a good diagnosis.
MuustardCharlie, I completely get what you're saying. I'm almost 59 & have never had a colonoscopy. Not only because of the misery of the prep. There's also the risk of infection or perforation. There's also the humiliation factor. A few years ago a guy won 1/4 million dollars (I think that was the amount) in a lawsuit after his cell phone audio-recorded his entire colonoscopy. It isn't any big surprise that medical professionals sometimes say bad things about their patients behind their patients' backs. But you would HOPE they wouldn't be saying cruel, insulting things about you while you're lying there naked & completely vulnerable.
In my case there's also the transportation problem. I live alone, no kids, no S.O. They will not let you take a cab, bus, or Uber or Lyft home. It has to be a friend or relative who is then supposed to stay with you for several hours afterwards. Some of us so not HAVE someone we can ask that kind of favor from.
MustardCharlie, like you I've at times had severe GI problems. In my case it was always either stress, in which case it eventually cleared up on its own, or it was something I was ingesting. The people who mentioned FODMAPS are absolutely right. I've had to learn the hard way the terrible effects certain foods can have on me. I can't even chew gum that has saccharine or any sweetenter ending in "tol". Mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, they all give me severe GI symptoms. I've even switched to a toothpaste that doesn't have any of those ingredients.
Another thing I learned about the hard way recently, I cannot comsume anything with chicory or inulin listed on the ingredients. Luckily, a couple months ago I came across an article on the internet that mentioned what severe symptoms either of those 2 ingredients can cause. And they're in a lot of foods. Once I stopped eating anything with chicory or inulin my symptoms disappeared & my digestion went back to normal.
It turns into a vicious circle. For those of us who already have anxiety, just having these terrible GI symptoms & not knowing what's causing them leads to even MORE anxiety. I sincerely hope you get some relief soon. Please keep us updated.
It sounds like nothing will help this person and maybe this person doesn't want to be helped. The person has been given suggestions--see another therapist or eat a diet of benign foods (food map), force yourself to get the colonoscopy--but they have an excuse for everything. The person sounds like another person we had and we got the same excuses, all too humiliating and embarrassing. Person--do something, but please do not come trolling on here. If you really want help, do what these people have suggested.
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