Three years ago I started this thread about the procedure. I just had another one done this morning. I am happy to say that everything is fine. I’m even happier to say that because everything is fine, the doctor says I don’t need to come back for five years.
So, now that I’m a veteran at this, any questions?
Do you think this procedure gets a bad rap? Because I had one a few months ago and it was a breeze (I was sedated, but that’s the standard now). I was expecting much worse based on what I’ve heard from other people.
But maybe I’m just more accustomed to discomfort than some, I’ve had some chronic issues for most of my life.
I was told to come back in five years. Then the biopsy report came and now it has shortened to 3 years. I will be more veteran than you at this rate.
I think you’d agree that the most unpleasant part of the procedure is the prep the day before, but even that’s not so bad.
However, I had a sigmoidoscopy many years ago and it really was painful. Maybe the doctor was incompetent - I don’t know. I suspect a lot of people aren’t aware the procedure has been improved over the years.
Cicero, may your next procedure be polyp-free!
I think the title of this thread *should *be Ask the Man Who Had a Colonoscopy - the Caecum
I had Twilight dentistry done about a fortnight ago- it is the same deal- virtually out to it. I’ll sure be having that next time I need root canal therapy.
The prep was slightly different though 
I’ve heard the prep is by far the worst of it. I know it’s necessary, but it’s kinda brutal. Nothing like knowing exactly why your stepdad is disappearing into the bedroom w/bath for a good 24 hours…poor guy.
I just turned 54, and I’m a bit late for my baseline exam, I think. I was about to get one a year or two back, but it didn’t get scheduled. My HMO decided to get out of the medical care business about this time, and drop back to just being an insurance company. Their doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists, all of them went into the assorted existing medical practices around the area. In this upheaval, my opportunity to host a spelunking TV camera got lost. Did I stand up and say, “Uh - guys? Please, I want someone to inflate my innards and and pass a well-lubed plumber’s snake from my hairy tuchus up to the base of my brain.”
I did not. But my annual physical is scheduled in about 3 weeks, and I suspect this issue will come up.
The prep was a breeze for me even though I took the full recommended doses of Dulcolax and Miralax and I’m the size of the average 11-year-old. I think I only shit twice and peed out of my butt three times in about six hours, then I slept through the night.
RalfCoder, you really should have one done, especially if your insurance will still pay for it. You have a physical in three weeks. Talk to your doctor, get the name of someone. My guy provided really cool pictures of what the camera saw.
My doctor changed the prep procedure since my 2007 exam. The Dulcolax/Miralax/Gatorade prep was somewhat less uncomfortable than my previous routine.
Dave Barry has a chapter about it in his latest book and he highly recommedns it, not for the fun, but to stay healthy.
I was given a permission slip for it last winter but have put it off worrying about the prep.
Been there myself recently and while the prep wasn’t fun, the part that scared me the most was the IV (I have very, very bad veins). Then I got a nurse who had honed her leet IV skillz… setting IVs in preemies in the NICU :eek: (the eek is for the babies… having had a kid spend time there it’s a scary heartbreaking place).
So the IV was No Big Deal.
Oh, and the morning-of prep… when you know you have to leave at 11:00 and at 10:55 you’re still excreting unmodified Gatorade :D.
Good on you for getting it done. I wouldn’t have rushed, myself, but I needed them to check the other end and hey, I was at “that age” anyway so why not kill 2 birds with one sedative. And I’m glad I did - there was one polyp that had a non-negligible chance of going bad; the doc said he wouldn’t have wanted me to leave it be for 5 years.
I get to do it all again next summer as a result. Then hopefully I’ll be back to the normal 10 year schedule.
OK, for the question: what was your prep method? Love it? hate it?
(I had Osmo-Prep which is a phosphate pill prep, but I still had to drink a half gallon of Gatorade. Have since found out this one is probably not a good choice for me so I may ask for the Miralax next time: same amount of Gatorade but less chance of destroying my kidneys).
You lucky son of a bitch.
Preach it!
The night I did my prep, I skipped using my CPAP. When I saw the sleep doc a few weeks later I noted that I’d been diligent, except for that one night, and explained why. He concurred with my reasoning: any delay in getting to the bathroom could have proven quite… unfortunate. I was unnecessarily cautious, as it turns out, as the worst was over well before I fell asleep… still, I really did not want to risk it!
For all the good it can do ,you may as well shove it up your ass.
As much as we all love to bitch about it, don’t let the fear of prep keep you from getting the procedure.
Here’s what happens. The day before the exam, you will take an unusually large amount of laxative and drink an inhuman amount of Gatorade or something similar.
At that point, the worst you will feel is extremely bloated, to the point of never wanting to see Gatorade again.
After awhile, the laxative will begin to take effect. Actually, I only pooped once after taking the laxative. After that, everything was liquid. This particular prep never gave me painful cramping. My gut started gurgling, and that was all the warning I needed.
Like rhubarbarin I slept through the night, although it was kind of a restless sleep. All in all, it was considerably more comfortable than your average case of stomach flu/food poisoning, or even some of the hangovers I’ve had.
(insufferable teenage voice)Yes, Mother… :p(/voice)
Actually, I did plan to ask about it if he doesn’t bring it up. I know the general process - my wife had hers done a couple of years ago, and I saw the prep process, and saw her as she came out of the anesthetic. I didn’t get to see the actual exam, of course, but that’s just fine - there are some things, such as the making of sausage, that mortals should never witness. And the medical insurance is still pretty decent, all told, so I have no real excuse, other than the inherent massive loss of dignity.
On the other hand, I DO like the idea of using the pictures on our Christmas cards this year…
I think my partner had a more restless sleep the night before in case I made a mistake and deposited 5 pounds of toxic mud over her after the prune juice.
RalfCoder- there is no loss of dignity normally. Those paper pants are a real blast and very fetching.
I had to have one without anaesthetic, which was horrifically uncomfortable - but they did wheel the TV screen round in front of my face for me to have a look up my own butt, which was cool.
Is it turning into a fetish at all? Have you started looking for enema pr0n?