1. Community
  2. Tests and investigations
  3. Colonoscopy

Painful Colonoscopy

Posted , 44 users are following.

Vonney63
Vonney63

I am trying to collate information on this. I had one done yesterday and I have never known pain like it. I even shouted for them to stop but all they kept giving me is gas and air and telling me to breath deeply with it. It did not help. I know this is not always the case but after reading lots of messages from people where this has happened to I am trying to get as much information together - trying to see if there is a pattern i.e same doctors, same hospitals. If anyone is willing to put there experience on here for me to be able to put together some kind of proof that this does happen I will be very grateful. I feel so traumatised by this that I want to take this further but I cannot do this without any back up info. So please, I know this is not always the norm to feel as much pain as I did but I am going to try my best to get this recognised and hopefully even if I manage to stop 1 other person going through this I will be happy.

13 likes, 200 replies

200 Replies

Next
  • bencooper
    bencooper Vonney63

    Posted

    Here's what I said in the other thread :

    I think people are having dreadful experiences which are leaving them traumatised is due to less medication being used since bowel screening started for everyone of a certain age.

    Some research recently showed that many people who had had the first colonoscopy for bowel screening and were offered another one two years later, didn't choose to have one.

    It seemed pretty obvious to me why they didn't want one.

    I've had many colonoscopies and speak from experience when I say that it is only since screening started that the procedure has become traumatic.

    Prior to that the drugs used resulted in people not remembering pain and discomfort.

    Gas and air is a joke for people having a colonoscopy. (Maybe they think we will laugh our way through it and be happy!)

    The more drugs they use, the more care they have to offer during and after the procedure .

    People are voting with their feet by refusing to have another one done. You are it seems.

    If you need another , have pethidine and midazolim (and make sure the dose of midazolim is about 5).

    You are right. They need to get their act together.

    • john96381
      john96381 bencooper

      Posted

      hi bencooper,you are right about colonoscopy,i was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia in 1999, had years of pain before diagnosed,had 5 endescopies 6colonoscopies,in the last 5years normally very little pain during procedure, but last one recently killed me, and i am not a soft person,having had bowell cancer 3 years ago also had 2 bad heart attacks during chemo,the white light was shining and i thought this is it, so ,the colonoscopy was bad like yourself gas and air was not working and the pain was very bad,again i thought my time was up, took several hours to recover, still not right,sliding hernia was slightly larger, my gp has given me so many meds,i have my own private chemist not a laughing matter though, if i dont laugh i will cry,told where my op for partial bowell is lot of scarring and a op to sort out would lead to further scarring,i live from day to day i get on with things im knacked if i was an animal i believe i would be put to sleep,all the pain i get is in my head so one doc said,i believe getting colonoscopy causes pain because its to dry in the back passage etc and its like forcing a hose through a pipe which is slightly too small for the endescopy then when it does reach the point where the affending hernia etc is, the area  is less in diameter due to size of the hernia or scarring, needs more lubrication, otherwise the pain will only get worse in the procedure,its time for the docs to listen to us or take a course in basic plumbing,far too many patients are suffering in silence im due to have another procedure soon my hernia has gone so i have been told  by my new specialist he should have gone to spec savers,i told you a laugh a day helps keep the bloody doc away.
    • Vonney63
      Vonney63 john96381

      Posted

      Hi john96381, sorry to hear about what happened to you. This is my point, too many of us are just suffering in silence. This needs to be addressed but everyone has to stop suffering in silence and get together and make them listen. They won't just listen to one or two people we need to get as many people we can together to stand up and say this has got to STOP!!!! I can't do it alone we have to be in numbers. I will never have another one, I have a high pain tolerance but this beat me. If we can stop more people going through the same experience then we've made a difference.
    • bencooper
      bencooper john96381

      Posted

      John, you made me laugh when I got to the end of your message with the comment about spec savers. Thanks for that. And also the suggestion of a training course in basic plumbing.

      I find it disgusting that your GP said the pain was 'in your head'.

      You have a lot to deal with.

      If you need another colonoscopy I think you need to make sure it is done by someone who is fully aware of your previous suffering and is experienced enough to do the job in the most professional way they can.

      Maybe you should get in touch with the complaints department or PALS if it is an NHS hospital. Get them to communicate your concerns and ensure that the next procedure is done humanely.

      You need to know which endoscopist is willing to do the procedure as painlessly as possible and to make sure that person does yours on the day.

      Good luck. Sorry you are having a rough time.

    • john96381
      john96381 Vonney63

      Posted

      hi vonney63, we can laugh ,but we are only human, well most of us are,i dread getting an appointment i know my life was saved by my surgeon,i had no meds to take the pain away ,tough lad ,not so tough now , but i too would like to know why there seems to be alot of us who get a lot of pain during the procedure  i dont know if i will accept pain relieve the next time im 62 now,so i can only feel more pain the older i get, i am on a lot of meds and i look at it this way,age is no barrier to pain ,but i believe the older one is the harder to stop pain,so i try to defeat the pain, if you worry the pain is worse we should be taken into exam room and procedure done straight away the longer we sit the longer the worry , the waiting room is like a dentist room most patints looking like scared rabbits in the lights of a car, and that includes me at times because when im not well my mind starts to do silly things thats why i believe we should have the procedure right away ,too many times i have been kept waiting for ours, this resulted on me leaving the hospital, chicken  told myself ,you know why the chicken crossed the road to get into my car and to get away from the hospital, i have managed the procedure the last two times but i was not happy one bit.   john.
    • Vonney63
      Vonney63 john96381

      Posted

      Hi john96381, yes I agree we can laugh. I have had so many procedures due to my illness, biopsy of a lump in my stomach, biopsy of my bone marrow (both of which I was awake and both in the last two years). Both were uncomfortable and both hurt a little. The difference was this pain was unbearable and both consultants at the time of doing the biopsies asked if I wanted them to stop even though I wasn't writhing around the bed like I was for my colonoscopy - but the pain on these procedures did hurt a little but was bearable. This pain was not bearable at all and the fact that I asked several times for him to stop and he just carried on is the biggest thing that has stuck with me. I felt I had no rights over what was happening to me and that scares me.
    • babs49935
      babs49935 john96381

      Posted

      omg. What a thing for a doctor to say. I take it you will be avoiding that idiot in the future.  Hope you get sorted and thanks for the laugh. Like you say if you don't laugh you'll cry
    • lady67208
      lady67208 Vonney63

      Posted

      Vonney63 I hope your complaint has now been resolved - I came accross this in my research and it reminded me of your post:

      British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) guidance states that, if an unsedated patient demands that the procedure is abandoned, then the colonoscopist must recognise and respect that consent has been withdrawn and terminate the procedure immediately.18 If a sedated patient appears to withdraw consent through verbal or physical actions, the colonoscopist may pause and see if cooperation may be regained. However, if it is clear that the patient continues to withdraw consent and patient safety may be compromised, the procedure should be terminated. 

      https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436770/cs4.pdf

      This was written in 2009 - it seems that you have more say in how things proceed during a colonoscopy if you opt for 'no sedation'

      I myself did, and had a painless colonoscopy, I just had fentanyl (Painkiller) and Boscopan (bowel relaxer) and experienced mild discomfort at one of the bends. I also chose a well experienced consultant for the NHS procedure. I refused any sedative.

  • barbara26695
    barbara26695 Vonney63

    Posted

    I had one and  it was  painful meds  did not work  so i was aware of  everything  saying that  it  only  was  very painful  when the  camera went  around the  bends the  rest of the time  it was just  about  bearable  i dont think  gas and  air  is  any good to help the pain  either  i was supposed to have another  one  3 years  later  and told them no way am i going  through that again
    • Vonney63
      Vonney63 barbara26695

      Posted

      barbara26695 this is exactly my point, because of this painful experience you didn't go back 3 years later. From what I have read and heard the Drs say on TV it is only meant to be a little uncomfortable. Why are there so many of us going through the pain we did then? There must be a reason for this i.e not enough sedation given or not enough care during the procedure. This has to be investigated because even though this saves lives it also stops people going back for further investigation. This cannot be right.
  • bencooper
    bencooper Vonney63

    Posted

    Daily Telegraph 9th Jan 2015:

    'TWO-FIFTHS of people who have an abnormal bowel test result and are referred for further investigation decide to drop out of the screening process.

    EXPERTS in Britain are anxious to find out why so many of these patients ignore their next screening invitation two years later.

    Two possibilities are that they do not think further screening tests are necessary after undergoing other procedures or they are put off by their experiences.

    Just 13 per cent of those who have a normal result opt not to continue with screening, according to the study of almost 40,000 men and women living in the south-east of England.

    In England, everyone aged 60 to 69 is invited to take part in the bowel cancer screening program, which involves looking for hidden traces of blood in stool samples. The age limit is being extended to 74.

    Eligible participants are sent a home-testing kit every two years.'

    But I am not sure that that 'experts' in Britain really are 'anxious' to find out the reason. It will mean spending more money.

    Anyway, good luck with this!

    • Vonney63
      Vonney63 bencooper

      Posted

      Although this will cost them money, surely it is better to get this sorted seeming as it is meant to be an uncomfortable process not a severly painful one. if two-fifths of people with abnormal bowel test drop out of the screening programme surely there must be a problem somewhere - why would someone not go back if it means catching something early enough.
    • bencooper
      bencooper Vonney63

      Posted

      They just can't face it I guess. I'm high risk so I have to face it but it is very difficult.
    • Vonney63
      Vonney63 bencooper

      Posted

      Sorry to hear that bencooper, seems to me that with it being extremely painful for a lot of patients they are undoing the good that they have tried to do in the first place. Hope your future ones are not painful.
  • babs49935
    babs49935 Vonney63

    Posted

    rI don't know whether there is a pattern. My first was a sigmoidoscopy Which is just the first part of the bowel . I passed out with the pain.  The second a full colonoscopy because there was a polyp found was what I would describe as extremely uncomfortable but not unbearable. The third 5 years later I was totally out of it pet hardened and sedation and although I don't remember the procedure was aborted due to me screaming in pain and vomiting. Traumatised isn't the word. I ended up having to have a CT scan as I wouldn't go through it again. The last one was at a private hospital but through the NHS and the care or lack of it before and after was disgraceful I am in the process of making a complaint over a year later as I have only just been able to come to terms with it and actually be able to write it down.  In this day and age there has to be a better way for people who feel more than slight discomfort
    • Vonney63
      Vonney63 babs49935

      Posted

      Sorry for what you went through babs49935, I feel traumatised too but I am so angry with what went on. Having so much pain and not being able to stop the person from doing it was awful. This is why I am trying to put my energy into doing this, there is nothing worse than having pain that is out of your control. I cannot begin to tell people how I feel or explain the pain I was in. All I know is that I never ever want to go through this again which is quite scary considering there might come a time that I need to. It is barbaric that people have to go through this much pain. Pain I can handle but this was nothing like I have ever felt before.

       

    • babs49935
      babs49935 Vonney63

      Posted

      Just spoken to my Brother in law who had this procedure last week. He was given a survey to fill in, from 1 to 10 how bad would you say the pain was. And how bad was it 1 to 10 at its worse. I was never given such a form. ALL hospitals need to do this. They are obviously realising there is a problem here
    • bencooper
      bencooper babs49935

      Posted

      And it would hopefully be filled in when the patient is clear headed.
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.