Well, there was my mistake then. I didn’t tell them it hurt, only screamed bloody murder!
Actually he told me that I was aready at max dose but not to worry, I wouldn’t remember any of it. He was so very wrong.
Another good reason not to develop a high tolerance for wonderful drugs in one’s college years. You dance, eventually you pay the piper. I am truly a fearsome patient for anesthesiologists/anesthetists.
And yes, I do tell them my party history. Unfortunately not much can be done about it. Hollow leg syndrome. Heh.
I’ve had Versed a few times during various operations. Versed is my FRIEND during those times. When I had a papilloma (odd tumor thingy) removed from my nipple, I woke up just as the surgeon was putting in the last few stitches. I didn’t feel any pain at all, and I was remarkably unanxious. The anesthesiologist told me that he could give me more medication, but that since the procedure was almost done, he advised against it. I told him that I was fine, except that the side of my nose was very itchy, so he scratched it for me.
I’m pretty sure that Versed doesn’t get me high. If it does, then I don’t remember it. Demerol…Demerol gets me high, and very, very happy. I’m scared of it.
My mother-in-law was dying of colon cancer for a long time without knowing it. The POS doctor she was going to was treating a lot of symptoms, but the cause was never found until it was way inoperable. Her death certificate some months later had the primary cause listed as heart failure caused by anemia caused by the colon cancer. My point is that in earlier times, the colon cancer would never have been diagnosed, just that she was 92 years old and died in her sleep one night of “old age,” having grown steadily more feeble and debilitated during the previous year.
I need one, but I’m having trouble with the part about having someone drive me home. The only one who could do it is my husband, and he’s already taken way more sick time than is due him. He’s also pushing sixty, and is therefore a prime candidate for layoff. Having a colonoscopy would be cold comfort if he’s laid off due to absenteeism and we lose our home as a result.
I called the gastroenterologist to ask if a taxi couldn’t take me home from the procedure, and they said no. “It has to be someone who vouches that they have the care of you.” So I tried to set up a medical transport van to bring me back, and they nixed that as well. I guess colonoscopies are only for those who have plenty of friends and available family members.
So I’m back to square one. I just started with a different GP and hope that they’ll have some sort of answer for me.
Oh come on. Solving the problem of a ride is cake compared to the consequences. And who gets laid off for taking an hour off work for this sort of thing?
Someone whose employers are looking for excuses to cut staff. Yes, really.
teela brown, I’m surprised that the hospital nixed the idea of a medical transport service. Last time I was in for an outpatient procedure, that was one of the options the hospital suggested. They wouldn’t let me take a taxi home - it had to be a “responsible adult” or a dedicated medical transport service (I suppose the driver has special training, as in “call the hospital if the passenger gets sick en route.”).
Unfortunately, if the spouse has a difficult employer, it can happen :mad:.
I’m surprised they won’t let a medical transport company do it - that was explicitly listed as one of the options on my paperwork.
I actually wound up having a friend (kids’ former nanny) take me to/from, since we had just gotten back from vacation (it was Typo Knig’s first day back) and he was relatively new to the job. He could certainly have taken me but I didn’t like to ask him to take a chunk of time off just then. The nanny earned some extra cash, I got my procedure done, Typo got to show up at work - win/win/win.
Forgot to add: My son (not-quite-16) couldn’t have driven me even if he’d been 16 and had his driver’s license - the companion had to be 18 or older. So much for having him do the driving next summer! (hell, I may lie and tell them he’s 18).
This is actually pretty important. Not just for the ride home, but to have someone watch over you for the next few hours.
Most colonoscopies are uneventful, but it’s possible to have a perforation of the bowel, which likely won’t show up before you leave the hospital or facility where you get it done. It’s also possible to have a delayed reaction to the anesthetic and get very woozy and fall or even lose consciousness and stop breathing.
In a perfect world, we’d keep you for several hours after the procedure so we can keep an eye on you, but insurance companies won’t pay for that. So we release you to a responsible party, not just to drive you home, but to keep an eye on you for complications after the procedure.
I’m surprised anyone lets medical transport or a taxi. give a ride home after a colonoscopy. That’s actually a wrong answer on the NCLEX nursing exam.
I understand your husband’s position, though. Perhaps you could hire a babysitter? I know it sounds ridiculous, and chances are that you’ll be perfectly fine and share a cup of tea with them instead of need their help, but there really should be someone there of age and maturity to can call an ambulance if you need it. Is there a college with a nursing program near you? Mine would probably let you put your contact info up on the student bulletin board. I know I’d love the opportunity to put in some community service hours keeping an eye on someone post-colonoscopy! (And, hey, if you happen to live on the North Side of Chicago, send me a PM; I’d be happy to do it.)
Alternately, can you schedule the procedure in the last slot of the day, when your husband is due home from work? If medical transport can drive you home and release you to him, they might go for that.
"Ignatz #14 12-19-2006, 06:30 PM Join Date: Oct 2004
Guest
My first colonoscopy procedure, following bloody stools and a quick sigmoidoscopy, was painless and they fortunately snipped and removed two precancerous polyps. I was conscious enough at the end of it to watch the 'scope’s view of the last couple of feet of my colon on the wall monitor. It looked just like Katie Couric’s, BTW. They even gave me color photos of the two polyps, pre-removal.
But when I went home and went to bed that night, I awoke to the most painful abdomen that I had ever had. I could not even bend to get off the bed to go to the bathroom, but I did, eventually, make that move.
(There was a more detailed narration of that job in the SDMB archives of a couple of years ago. ) " Gone now.
"Prior to the second one, I told the (different) proctologist about that and he felt that that had probably been caused by the air that is blown into the colon to expand it. No pain or polyps resulted from the second or third oscopies. The last one, though, involved a self-administered enema as part of the purging. That was interesting, never having had one before that I remember.
I’ll have no problem about having future scopings when the need or schedule arises. The first one probably saved my life 11 years ago." Now 15 years ago.
