Yep, I understand. But were I to apply those rules consistently, I’d never leave a hospital for I can’t think of one malaise or another that didn’t kill my rather extended first degree family members – I’m including ants and uncles here.
And sure, if my stool samples come back positive then yeah, I guess my butt’ll have to raise the proverbial white flag.
Buying and/or borrowing time, is all.
Da squeeze and I have had colonoscopies. Not at the same time though. I mean there are some things that shouldn’t be shared. We did drive each other to and take care of each other afterwards though.
It really wasn’t bad. I didn’t even remember it. I do remember lookin’ at ACBG and sayin’ “when are they gonna do this?” and havin’ him laugh at me and tell me it was over and we’d be leaving shortly. Heh. He did the same thing when it was his turn.
It gets done, ya go eat, then go home and veg the rest of the day.
I actually sat in on one for the first time today. My patient had to have one and I asked if it was OK to go along and watch what they do in the endoscopy lab. It was kind of nifty to be reminded about how we all look on the inside. It was relatively uneventful and the patient wasn’t in much discomfort at all, from what I could tell. No big deal, really. I’m not nervous about getting one now, though I probably won’t need to for a couple of decades. He was not well-prepared, though, and that was a little gross. They’re serious about cleaning yourself out…if you don’t, the view is pretty crappy. Pun intended.
This is what I had - and I’m not sure I can face GatorAde ever again. I hated the drinking part. The pooping part was fine - I’m not in any way anal retentive - and the procedure itself was fine also. I’ve done more moderate ones without anesthetic, and a full colonoscopy with.
My doctor has me on an FOBT every year, and a colonoscopy ever five or so. I have no family history of cancer problems, especially this type.
For those of you who don’t want to go to the doctor because you feel fine - both of the problems I’ve had were totally asymptomatic, at least to me. I discovered I had Atrial Fibrillation from failing my pulse test when I tried to give blood. I never had any symptoms that I would have recognized. So, just go, and don’t be so sure you’re healthy.
Understood, your info is solid, I’m not arguing. 
I just like to make sure that when folks get told blanket statements like “get a colonoscopy if you are 50” or “guys must have a PSA test at 50” that they be made aware of the actual facts. Which are always more complex than they initially seem to be.
I had an upper and lower GI exam a few years ago and they found bacteria in my stomach (I don’t remember the name offhand) which was “pre-ulcerous”) so my doctor put me on a 30-day antibiotic regimen to nip it in the bud. When I moved here I made a point of mentioning this to my new doctor in case he wanted to do any sort of follow-up.
When I went in for my exam they decided at the last minute to put me out completely; I was a bit disappointed, because I had been told they were only going to use a local and that I would have been able to see the monitor.
BTW, this is not a slam at the OP. It’s an important topic, and screening for cancer of the colon saves lives!! The OP does a great service by publicizing this.
But folks should be careful about making blanket statements that may seem to imply which specific medical tests are needed for others.
My dad has a very… um, over-achieving… gastroenterologist (or however the hell you spell it), and the dude found a carcinoid all the way up in Dad’s small intestine during a colonoscopy. :eek: Pre-cancerous and small, though, so it’s coming out later this summer.