I just read this account of the process leading up to and the procedure of having a colonoscopy. If you are over 50, especially if you are still in your 50s, you should have this done soon.
My account isn't as "dramatic" as this one. In fact, it was actually quite easy. Certainly the day-before-procedure cleansing of one's bowels isn't pretty, but it actually wasn't horrible either. I forgot what I had to drink, but it wasn't the awful liquid that I heard about from others. In fact, I get to mix it with sodas such as 7-up or gingerale. I also get to eat jello, lots of jelly, till 6:00 pm that day. It is only after that that I can't consume anything else. I think the cut-off point for all liquid was midnight.
The procedure the next day was early in the morning. After the prep, I was given the option of being put out for the entire procedure, or being fully awake. The gastro-int specialist told me that most of his patients opted for the latter, and described to me the kind of discomfort that I will encounter. I decided to bite the bullet and stayed awake for the entire thing. The advantage of not being put out is that there was almost no recovery time. You can get dressed and drive away afterwards, whereas if you decide to be put out, they will have to put you in the recovery room and made sure you are fine before they let you go, and even then, you can't drive yourself out for the rest of the day.
Just as a precaution, they put an IV drip in just in case I changed my mind. I didn't.
I got to see the entire procedure on a large-screen monitor. The surgeon described to me in detail what we were seeing. They found a total of 5 polyps, which they snipped and removed. The discomfort that I felt happened whenever they had to pump air into my colon. When they do this, it felt like you're having a tummy cramp. While it is a bit painful and uncomfortable, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. The surgeon and the nurse kept telling me to pass gas whenever I was having such cramps, but it wasn't that easy when your instinct has been trained not to do that in public, and when you have something stuck up your butt!
Because they found polyps for this first procedure ever, I will have to go back and do another one in 3 years. But after having done this for the first time, I won't say that I am looking forward to the next one, but at least I now know it isn't going to be as bad as most people expected.
Zz.
