Just had a colonoscopy and won't ever have another
Posted , 6 users are following.
Tuesday this week I too had this test done. What utter rubbish about how it doesn't hurt and you won't remember it. I screamed the place down for a full hour whilst I was brutalised from inside. My meds were topped up during the nightmare, but didn't work. I checked on the potency of Fentanyl and found it to be 10 times that of morphine. Well, having had my fair dose of morphine recently, I can say that this drug had no affect on me whatsoever. Two days later and I am still feeling bruising to my stomach. I wish I had read all of these comments, I would have declined it. For some reason, I felt unsure about this test, but told myself not to be stupid. Having just recovered from a very bad riding accident with a colapsed lung, broken back, arm and shoulder and 13 rib breaks, not to mention torn shoulder ligaments, I am no stranger to pain. This however, was a whole different ball game. Never, never, never again. Anyone considering going through this, ask to be given full anaesthesia. My test was done at the RBH in case you're considering it.
0 likes, 16 replies
dimmy shelly59146
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Guest dimmy
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I have mixed feelings about both this post and your reply. I appreciate your concern that it could put people off, but the point of this forum is not just to talk about good experiences but all experiences. Everyone is different, in our conditions, our pain tolerance and our reaction to sedation.
I have had a sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy (by the same endoscopist 15 years apart) plus a CT colonography and barium enema. Each of my experiences was different. For the 1st sigmoidoscopy, the sedation was pretty good, but I do have vague memories of crying out in pain. I was later told they had aborted the examination due to my pain levels, but explained it was due to the location of my diverticula, where they could not get the scope round. So if you do have some conditions like Diverticular Disease, and they are located in certain positions, it is painful. This was why I then had a barium enema, which was merely uncomfortable with the bloating and pressure. But I am glad I had both done, as it relieved my mind I did not have something more serious like cancer.
The second colonoscopy was last year. The hospital insisted it had to be done, despite me reminding them of their findings 15 years earlier. This time the sedation was a total failure. The butcher administering it had multiple tries to get the line in, and I was aware of every single second of the attempted colonoscopy, so clearly the sedation wasn't doing its job. Fortunately because it was the same endoscopist, and he read the notes before he started, he was very careful, and after 20 minutes of failing to insert the scope at all, he gave up. No lack of experience on his part, just the severity of my condition. I had to return for a CT colonography 10 days later, and the whole of the back of my hand was still swollen and black from bruising. When the nurse came to input the canula to inject the contrast, she expressed shock, and had to use the other hand. She had no problem and I was just left with a tiny mark. This procedure just made me feel bloated and with slight stomach cramps, but was very quick and easy. I just passed wind for England afterwards!!
But the bottom line is a) I got the all clear, just a worsening of my DD and b) there are alternatives to a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. A person should never be put off taking the test, asking for one of the alternative examinations if necessary, or insisting on a full general anaesthetic. Having watched my mother and brother die of cancer, I know the pain from that is far worse than the discomfort and pain of these procedures, and having it identified early can be a life saver.
dimmy Guest
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Guest dimmy
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dimmy Guest
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At last someone agrees with me!...thanks. I`ve actually had 2 tumours removed on seperate occasions. After my first operation i had 6 months intensive chemotherapy...that was really rough and could potentially be avoided by having a 30 minute colonoscopy...that was my point.
Guest dimmy
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Thanks for sharing your reasons for your strong feelings about colonoscopies. I hope it helps people reading these posts, and they understand experiences differ extremely. I too felt mine were necessary, although I did not have anything like the experience of Shelly. I wonder why Shelly had the test in the first place? Was it as a diagnostic tool, in which case I would always recommend people go through with them, and if they are nervous, ask persistently about sedation, anaesthesia and alternatives? Better safe than sorry, even if it is unpleasant.
However I am aware that in some places colonoscopies are recommended and carried out on a regular basis as a preventative measure, even when there are no symptoms. For example the routine mammograms and smear tests in women. Both mine and a friend's tests picked up pre-cancerous cells which were promptly dealt with, and after 11 and 9 years of annual tests, we are both clear. There is the routine stool test by post every few years here in the UK, for both men and women, which can pick up symptoms requiring further investigation.
dimmy Guest
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jeannette37038 dimmy
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Don't people with Lynch syndrome have hundreds of polyps? That's what I have read. Just curious. Most of the people I have read about have had total colectomies due to Lynch
jeannette37038 dimmy
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Oops I guess it's FAP that develops hundreds of polyps. So far I have met 4 people with total colectomies who have Lynch syndrome
dimmy jeannette37038
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jeannette37038 dimmy
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Colin10944 Guest
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Hi Felina. I have had the stoll test every two years since i was 60 and i am now 72, 2003 had section of my colon removed because of diverticulitis, l have just had a stool test,and three weeks ago had my two year result from my bowel screening result which was normal,now my gp wants me to have colonoscopy test as I alternate between ibs-c and ibs-d, I'm scared to death to have one of these,the guy he wants me to see is the same Dr who did a endoscopy on me in the mid 90s and bloody hurt me like he'll,so I yanked the scope out,Sorry it's not a nice reply,but it's the truth
jeannette37038 shelly59146
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So sorry you went thru that. I have heard that it's probably a scopist problem when you have so much pain, meaning little experience. Mine only hurt once when they went around the ascending colon. I am still waiting on my biopsy results. Doctor said depending on what they find she will let me know when to come back. I share the same feeling about having it done again. I am back to feeling the same way before I had it done. Again I am sorry
craig84609 shelly59146
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I am so sorry you had to go through that. I don't understand why the doctors won't stop the test when someone is in that much pain. They risk puncturing the patient with the scope. There needs to be a better protocol for this king of thing. I would take the option to be put out totally if you are one that may suffer from this kind of test. The problem is one doesn't know until it's too late unless you have had one before. Knowing myself I will opt for sedation, but I have some stipulations on my consent for that say if I am in pain then the doctor has to stop and we reschedule for the hospital or they give me more pain medicine. Most don't have this bad of a time, but still many do and one must protect themselves from this. The best way is to write stipulations on the consent form and ask the doctor up front, what would he or she do if you are in pain and screaming durring the exam? Gauge your sedation choice by their response. One can have several of these that go really well, then you have one that is really bad. I have had several and most were fine, but I had a couple that I was screaming in pain and wanted them to stop. They hope that the drug they give you will make you forget this and most it does, but there are some like me that remember everything. If a patient is in that much pain then the doctor has an obligation to stop, by not doing so they put that person at risk for injury.
jeannette37038 shelly59146
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion, just like you are. Everyone has a right as an individual to speak on a given subject, regardless if someone else doesn't like it. Her experience was her's alone and no one else's. Some doctors are unnecessarily rough and are not good at performing certain procedure. Here in the US nobody can perform a colonoscopy unless they are are GI specialist, these doctors have many years of training and highly skilled. I still feel bad that she endured so much pain and they should have halted the procedure and scheduled someone with way more experience to perform her colonoscopy.