# What was your colonoscopy recovery like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772 "2026-02-18T00:37:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/101 "2026-04-07T21:42:37Z")
I’m reminded of a skit with the Coneheads from old original SNL. Small chance it was really some other alien characters in a Kids In The Hall skit. It was 30+ years ago and my memories of late night TV comedy all start to intertwine. Anyhow … The aliens of whatever nature are discussing the distasteful to them task of performing routine anal probing on all the humans they stun, examine, and release. Which the humans mostly balk at despite the stunning. At which point one of the aliens comments that strangely enough some decent percentage of the humans actually seem to enjoy it. Back to the real world and present times … Congrats on finagling an extra and earlier colonoscopy! I think … 🤪 Ba dum tish! I’ll be here all week; try the veal. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/102 "2026-04-07T22:04:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Congrats on finagling an extra and earlier colonoscopy! I think … 🤪 LOL. Well, a) I just didn’t TRUST that things would remain that good (current theory is that the absence of polyps is due to Ozempic and/or the weight loss resulting from that). b) By next year I’ll be on Medicare, and their clinic doesn’t do procedures on Medicare patients. Having escorted people to such procedures done in hospitals on 3 different occasions, it’s FAR less efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/103 "2026-04-07T22:19:34Z")
I don’t know what they gave me for anesthesia, but they said I’d probably fall asleep and I didn’t. Fortunately, he set up a screen for me. I watched the whole thing. There’s a spray attachment on the end of the scope. Wherever there was some yellow liquid sticking to the side, he’d spray it off to get a good view.. For recovery, they lined us up on gurneys in what looked like a wide space in an office and waited awhile. I was loopy enough that I couldn’t laugh when the nurse said I shouldn’t be embarrassed about passing gas because “it’s the doctor’s gas.” Which was hilarious. I knew it was hilarious, but couldn’t respond at all. Before I left, they gave me a polaroid of the entry to my appendix. I wasn’t unsteady when I walked. By the time I got to the car, I could tell my son and DIL how what the nurse said was funny. Took a nap when I got home. Felt normal after that. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/104 "2026-04-07T22:45:27Z")
That sounds more like “Kids In The Hall.” Has anyone seen this movie? If it shows up in my area, or pops up online, I plan to do so myself. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34963034/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34963034/) ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/105 "2026-04-07T23:33:10Z")
My second ever colonoscopy was yesterday morning. First was only two years ago, because the Miralax-and-Gatorade prep didn’t quite work well enough. This time it was Gavilyte-G, which wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Lots and lots of chemical-lemon flavored water, but just viscous enough to be a little disturbing. But it worked well, no polyps, back in five years, phew. As far as I know I was completely out for the procedure. My only disappointment is that I couldn’t spend juuust a little more time in a dopey haze waking up. I came to pretty quick. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/106 "2026-04-07T23:39:24Z")
Not polite to dump a bare link in there with zero explanation. Why do I care, in a colonoscopy thread, about a movie titled _André is an Idiot_? But thanks to this: > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That sounds more like “Kids In The Hall.” I bothered to look it up. The 21st century still amazes me; that I could readily find something like this and share it with you all almost effortlessly. You were 100% right; it was _Kids in the Hall_. Here you go; right up the old alley as it were! 😉 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/86D2e7-Y2nU/hqdefault.jpg "Alien abduction Montreal Aliens Anal probing Montreal residents") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86D2e7-Y2nU) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/107 "2026-04-08T01:33:06Z")
Here’s a little more information about “Andre Is An Idiot.” It’s totally relevant to this thread, although I’m still not sure who Andre was or how this critically acclaimed documentary came to be made. > **[André Is an Idiot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Is_an_Idiot)** > > André Is an Idiot is a 2025 American documentary film by Tony Benna. > The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and was given a limited theatrical release on March 6, 2026, by Joint Venture. > It explores the story of André Ricciardi, who considers himself an idiot for not getting a colonoscopy and gets a terminal cancer diagnosis. > The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2025. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 6, 2026, by... ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/108 "2026-04-08T01:41:09Z")
Update: He was a friend of the director. > **[Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Tony Benna, the Filmmaker Behind “André is...](https://www.sundance.org/blogs/give-me-the-backstory-get-to-know-tony-benna-the-filmmaker-behind-andre-is-an-idiot/)** > > By Lucy SpicerOne of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival through the... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/109 "2026-04-08T01:54:50Z")
As to Andre’ … thanks for the backstory. I agree that really fits here. There’s a very sad story of the late Doper @Maggie_the_Ocelot who died of colon cancer a few years ago. After a sorta similar process of passive and active denial until it was too late to prevent the tragic outcome. It makes for awful reading. May each of us take her lesson to heart and do our screening diligently despite any ick factor or cancer fears we may have. That she will not have died in vain. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/110 "2026-04-08T02:24:29Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Ask all these questions of the doctor who schedules the colonoscopy. I think I asked one of the doctors a question he wasn’t expecting. When I was scheduling my procedure, I was able to verify that the location and the doctor who would be performing the procedure were both covered under my insurance and all I would have to pay them was a twenty-five dollar deductible. But the scheduler was unable to tell me if the doctor doing the anesthesia was in the network. An important question because it would involve a two thousand dollar payment if he wasn’t. So when he stopped in to discuss the anesthesia, my first question to him was whether he was in the same insurance network as the other doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/111 "2026-04-08T02:56:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But the scheduler was unable to tell me if the doctor doing the anesthesia was in the network An important question even here, in Aus. As it happens _for colonoscopy_, surgeon and anesthetist normally, almost always, just take the government rates, and I have to pay the out-of-pocket just for the Hospital. There is about a 18 month wait for public-hospital colonoscopy, so I could put my name down now, and have no out-of-pocket if I wanted to go that path. But – that’s not generally automatically true for any other random procedure, so _you have to ask_, or _just take it on trust_, which is what most people do, and what your doctors receptionist expects, so the information isn’t always clear or easily available. Around here, the amount of money involved is not life-threatening. If you can’t afford private, you go public, and wait an amount of time that is non-zero for non-critical procedures. If you go private, mostly, you will be told up-front what you have to pay, because it makes debt recovery easier. (And if you go private, and they decide to charge more than the recommended\* rate, it’s probably unrecoverable unless you’ve signed in advance) But – when we had the cesarean, there was a second surgeon attending, and I’m d-d if I saw that coming, so for the colonoscopy I _asked_ if I was going to be billed by the anesthetist, and I was eventually able to get an answer before the procedure. \*For a lot of stuff, the recommended private rate is around twice the government rate, and that difference is non-insurable. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/112 "2026-04-08T03:28:05Z")
The recovery, you ask? I got a guinea pig out of mine. I went through the prep the day beforehand and reflected that Movi-Prep was a dreadfully unfair name. Sounds like it ought to go with popcorn and a Star Wars marathon or something. But no. Definitely not something I’d drink if an important health issue didn’t demand it. I was dehydrated enough that three different nurses failed to get an IV on me. (Usually I lend my arm for advanced EMT students’ very first live sticks.) Eventually got medicated and remember nothing of the procedure. Afterward, I came to full consciousness with my wife helping me dress, so I assume I was at least somewhat awake beforehand. I remember her putting me to bed at home with, “are you OK to sleep it off while I go to the (daughter’s school) rummage sale?” I answered, “zmmphxznnpppl-yeah-surrrre.” The next I knew she was shaking me awake with “_Can we get a guinea pig_ ?!!” I replied: “Zmmphxznnpppl-yeah-surrrre.” I dread to think what the next procedure will bring. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/113 "2026-04-08T04:21:37Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > The recovery, you ask? I got a guinea pig out of mine. Wait…you’re Richard Gere? ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/114 "2026-04-08T06:14:45Z")
Guinea pig, not gerbil. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/115 "2026-04-08T06:36:02Z")
The first time I had a colonoscopy, after starving myself for 24 hours on a clear-liquids-only diet (accompanied by drinking a gallon of “pee out of your butt” cleanser), I finally went under, and when I returned to consciousness, I was told that … my prep was “inadequate”, the doctor couldn’t see enough in my colon, and I’d have to repeat the procedure. Grumble grumble grumble. Of course, I couldn’t just do another 24 hours of prep and come back the next day. No no no no. It was done in a surgery center and had to be scheduled weeks in advance. So I had to go through the whole thing all over again a month or so later, but this time with **48 hours** of starving myself on a clear-liquid diet and **two** gallons of diarrhea-inducing colon cleanser. 😠 At this rate I think colon cancer might be less traumatic. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/116 "2026-04-08T10:16:28Z")
Now that would be some extreme spelunking! ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/117 "2026-04-30T04:30:22Z")
I will finally be undergoing my first colonoscopy on Monday, so I will be able to meaningfully contribute to this thread… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/118 "2026-04-30T13:37:01Z")
Welcome to the club! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/119 "2026-04-30T13:51:54Z")
Yep. See also **[What was your colonoscopy recovery like? - #89 by LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/89)** upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772/120 "2026-04-30T18:10:45Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I will finally be undergoing my first colonoscopy on Monday, so I will be able to meaningfully contribute to this thread… I’m having one on Monday too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-colonoscopy-recovery-like/1027772.md?page=7)