# What to expect for a colonoscopy? (TMI) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148 "2007-05-15T03:38:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/41 "2007-05-17T22:04:16Z")
Had one of those a few years ago and the only bad part was the night before, with all the nasty-tasting stuff you have to drink, pooping all night, and of course not being able to eat, or even drink anything except clear liquids. Procedure itself was under light anaesthesia, I remember nothing of it. Took the rest of the day off, but that was just to be sure I was fully recovered from the anaesthesia before driving. No big deal IMHO. FWIW, the “virtual” kind shares the exact same prep, and has the disadvantage that if anything’s found, they have to start over for the real one to deal with it. With the real kind, if they see something fixable, like a polyp, they just take care of it right away while they’re “in the neighborhood” already. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/42 "2007-05-17T22:15:14Z")
[QUOTE=A.R. Cane] Yeah, I’ve had two and the worst part is the fasting, the laxative and the cleanout the night before. The procedure itself is no big deal. You could go to work the next day, no problem. You will need someone to drive you home, due to the after effects of anesthetic. [/QUOTE] Been through two, and I agree with **A.R. Cane**. The prep is the worst. The prep for the last one left me pretty feeble for the day of the procedure, but I was fine the next day. FWIW, I’ve woken up a little during each procedure. I had some cramping, but it’s more like having bad gas than anything else. They found polyps that needed to be removed both times for me. (My mom died of colon cancer.) It’s a bad death. Get the procedure done. It’s not that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/43 "2007-05-18T02:52:22Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Mapp] So, did everybody else get lovely pictures of their colon to take home with them? [/QUOTE] Along with the Turtle Wax and Rice-A-Roni. I didn’t take the home game, though. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/44 "2007-05-18T16:10:05Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] The pain got bad enough that I had to lie down, and I started thinking to myself “man, I don’t think I can hold out like this, I’m going to have to call an amb-BBBRRRROOOOOOOMMMMMPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!.. never mind.” [/QUOTE] Ah yes, nothing else in the procedure quite so astounding as the resultant _butthole filibuster_. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/45 "2007-05-18T16:28:06Z")
They’re a piece of cake. Don’t drink the gallon of salty crap if they give that for your prep. The phospho soda works well enough and is a lot more tolerable. Going without solids for a day is a bit of a nuisance but if you keep yourself busy it isn’t a big deal. I stayed alert all through mine, watched it on tv and saw them clip off a polyp, drop it, and then go looking for it. I thought it was kind of neat to see my own insides live on television. And when you’re done, you fart and they don’t smell. What’s not to love about that? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/46 "2007-05-18T21:04:22Z")
What’s the recommended age for your first one? ---
**Author:** ![GuyNblueJeans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GuyNblueJeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuyNblueJeans)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/47 "2007-05-19T01:48:42Z")
Some years ago I was scheduled to get one, but I cancelled it figuring I’d rather die ('cause ya gotta die anyway one day) rather than have someone stick something up there and look around. Dignity matters. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/48 "2007-05-19T02:44:23Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] Some years ago I was scheduled to get one, but I cancelled it figuring I’d rather die ('cause ya gotta die anyway one day) rather than have someone stick something up there and look around. Dignity matters. [/QUOTE] Sorry you see it that way. My mother died of colon cancer, and there was nothing in the least bit dignified about it. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/49 "2007-05-19T02:54:40Z")
[QUOTE=Fish] Don’t bet on it. As I said upthread, insurance companies don’t like to pay for CT colonography on the grounds that it’s “experimental treatment.” What they really mean is that the new way costs more than the old way. Believe you me, if the new version were cheaper, then insurance companies would be all over it like stink on shit. [/QUOTE] But what they don’t seem to grasp is: yes, it’s more expensive up front, but it does a better job and detects more, thereby allowing you to head diseases off at the pass instead of letting them get settled in. Once the disease is in place, it costs them a helluva lot more in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/50 "2007-05-19T10:25:52Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] What’s the recommended age for your first one? [/QUOTE] According to the Preventive Services Task Force, for screening for colon cancer, people should begin having them at 50: [http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspscolo.htm](http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspscolo.htm) I consider this the way I regard Pap tests and mammograms; it’s uncomfortable and undignified to put up with, but preferrable to dying much more unpleasantly of a type of cancer that can be treated if it’s caught early on. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/51 "2007-05-19T10:36:12Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] Some years ago I was scheduled to get one, but I cancelled it figuring I’d rather die ('cause ya gotta die anyway one day) rather than have someone stick something up there and look around. Dignity matters. [/QUOTE] I hope that’s a bad joke. Dead is dead and dignity doesn’t matter after that. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/52 "2007-05-19T12:00:53Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] Some years ago I was scheduled to get one, but I cancelled it figuring I’d rather die ('cause ya gotta die anyway one day) rather than have someone stick something up there and look around. Dignity matters. [/QUOTE] I must say, that’s a very immature statement to make. I surely hope you have no family dependent on you. You’d rather risk cancer than go through a common medical procedure? Jeez, man, it’s not like the doctors have never looked inside a colon before. Yours, as much as it may be hard to admit, is nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/53 "2007-05-19T14:03:29Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] Some years ago I was scheduled to get one, but I cancelled it figuring I’d rather die ('cause ya gotta die anyway one day) rather than have someone stick something up there and look around. Dignity matters. [/QUOTE] I’m with **kunilou**. I watched my mom die of colon cancer, and it’s a BAD death. Took 3 years to kill her completely. ---
**Author:** ![GuyNblueJeans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GuyNblueJeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuyNblueJeans)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/54 "2007-05-19T14:31:52Z")
I’m sorry All; I didn’t mean to sound flippant. I’m not a brave guy by any means, and so I’m sure I’d wished like hell that I’d gotten one if I do come down with the disease. But in all honesty I’ve never liked this world ever since the first week I was in it and realized what a big lie it was/is. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148/55 "2007-05-19T15:01:43Z")
Sounds like a missed colonoscopy is the least of your problems, then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-expect-for-a-colonoscopy-tmi/404148.md?page=2)