So…my dad’s sick. A number of things sprouted up at the same time, and I got him to a doctor this week. He has a blood clot in his leg, which is being treated. However, he is also reporting dark stools. Because of the blood clot treatment and his age (he’s 79), the doctor said it would be too dangerous to do the colonoscopy just yet.
He had a colonoscopy 2 years ago, where some benign polyps were removed. He has to be on the coumadin for about 6 months for the clot treatment, and then can get the colonoscopy.
How risky is it to wait that long for a colonoscopy, with this history in mind? If something is awry, can this wait be the difference between life and death?
If the need for colonoscopy was that urgent, theyd do it anyway. Either by reversing the coumadin with vitamin K or by just holding the med for 2-3 days and doing the procedure.
Unless blood loss is significant, I wouldn’t worry much about the colon, given the fact that there was nothing more than benign polyps 2 years earlier. Dark stools don’t equal blood. Has the stool been tested for the presence of blood?
Caveat: I am not your dad’s doctor, I didn’t take a history from him or examine him.
Thanks, QtheM. The blood loss does not seem to be significant at this point, though they didn’t do a stool test. This is what I was looking for…just a little reassurance.