Painful colonoscopy
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Had a very painful and uncomfortable colonoscopy performed at an NHS hospital today.
I'm absolutely convinced that I was either not given sufficient sedative or else none of it got into my blood stream. [b:1da0301ebd]I did NOT feel in the least bit sedated!![/b:1da0301ebd] The doctor (who seemed rather impatient and not very communicative) made a complete hash of inserting the needle in my arm and there was blood all over the place. I didn't even feel mildly dizzy when he administered the versed drug. I was COMPLETELY ALERT throughout the ordeal, feeling every twist and turn off the tube inside me. I was crying out in agony from the procedure and the nurses kept telling me to relax. How the hell do you \"relax\" your colon? I have no control over that. On several ocassions I pulled the the heart-beat sensor from my finger and the oxygen tube from my nose - just randomly grabbing at anything within reach. I wish I could even experience the \"amnesia\" effect that people describe from [i:1da0301ebd]versed[/i:1da0301ebd] so I could forget about the whole episode. But I don't.
I was discharged an hour afterwards and despite being told someone needed to drive me home, I walked all the way and felt better for it.
The only plus side is that I don't have any residual pain from the actual procedure. The only negative is slight diarrhea after eating which I attribute to the Picolax prep laxative.
The thing that really annoys me is that this was a completely unwarranted procedure as my gastric problems should have been investigated by scan and upper endoscopy. But my flippant GP had referred me for \"rectal bleeding\", which I don't have and \"Diarrhoea\" which is not my main problem. I sometimes wonder if health professionals listen to a word you say. Looks like I'll have to blow the remainder of my savings and go private again to get this thing seen to.
I would add that the majority of people who have colonoscopies do not seem to experience as much discomfort as I did. So please don't let it put you off having this procedure if you need it. I really do believe that mine was a problem with sedation - of which I evidently had none.
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Guest
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Bonzo
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spennock
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Bonzo
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heather66497
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for me. The worst thing for me was that the consultant performing my gastroscopy and colonoscopy was
someone I knew after I worked at the hospital for 13 years - not many people would want their bum examined by someone you know! I'm not saying it was something I wanted to have done every week, but I'm sure any discomfort experienced is outweighed by the benefits of either having peace of mind with a clear result, or catching any potential problem early enough. I did have to use the gas and air during the colonoscopy, but it wasn't as bad as the colic after taking the liquids to clear the bowel during bowel prep.
I would encourage anyone about to undergo this procedure to approach it with a positive attitude - and please don't be scared - horror stories are few and far between.