Colonoscopy Parts 3 and 4. Thanks Druff.

Part 1- Druff got first colonoscopy (COL) about 10 years ago. I actually got my first COL at the same time in Nor Cal as well, no real issues.

Part 2- Druff got his second COL recently and wrote about it here. As far as I remember, he was healthy and no issues.

Part 3- Because of this, I contacted my primary physician and I'm due for my second round as well. I have my second COL scheduled a week from today, March 7.

Part 4- I have a family member that just turned 57, has never had a COL done and has a family history. She is waiting on the final date from the medical office and her COL is pending.

So thanks to Druff, a family member and myself are getting our needed COLs done. So thank you Druff for sharing your life here and giving a little reminder.

Some radio listeners have told me they did colonoscopies mainly because I talked about my own, including khalwat and Bart Hanson.

Bart is relatively young but had a family history. khalwat had no family history, but is over 50.

For those wondering, desertrunner is also over 50.

I am wondering, desertrunner, do you have a direct family history (parents, siblings, or grandparents) of colon polyps or cancer? Or was there something found in your first one? Because if the answer to both of these is NO, you probably don't need one more than once per decade.

Additionally, anyone over 75 who had previous colonoscopies with nothing found can quit them entirely, as the risk of the procedure itself becomes higher than getting colon cancer for these people. My mom is in that category, so she doesn't get them anymore.

But yes, everyone over 50 should get one, regardless of family history. It can save your life. And if you have a family history and are 45+, you should definitely get one. The one I got at age almost-49 was too late, and that's why various adenomas were found, including a large one. Fortunately they didn't become cancerous yet, but had I waited a little bit longer, this could have been a different story.

YES, My COL 10 years ago discovered 3 colon polyps, non cancer. And Yes, my father had a history of colon polyps.

YES, my family member (57), both her father and mother had non cancer polyps. I suspect they will find something in her upcoming procedure.

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Originally Posted by desertrunner

YES, My COL 10 years ago discovered 3 colon polyps, non cancer. And Yes, my father had a history of colon polyps.

YES, my family member (57), both her father and mother had non cancer polyps. I suspect they will find something in her upcoming procedure.

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Do you know if the ones from 10 years ago were adenomas? Those are precancerous polyps which are not cancerous yet. There are 3 grades of them.

If none of your polyps were adenomas, I see why you took 10 years, though I'd still have suggested 5 years. If any were adenomas, you should have had one a lot sooner.

Anyway, good luck.

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

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Originally Posted by desertrunner

YES, My COL 10 years ago discovered 3 colon polyps, non cancer. And Yes, my father had a history of colon polyps.

YES, my family member (57), both her father and mother had non cancer polyps. I suspect they will find something in her upcoming procedure.

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Do you know if the ones from 10 years ago were adenomas? Those are precancerous polyps which are not cancerous yet. There are 3 grades of them.

If none of your polyps were adenomas, I see why you took 10 years, though I'd still have suggested 5 years. If any were adenomas, you should have had one a lot sooner.

Anyway, good luck.

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My 3 were adenomas. My father's were also non cancer. Thanks

BUMP

desertrunner texted me that he's getting one this afternoon.

It might be over by now. GL to him. Looks like he and I have the same issue with a father with a history of colon polyps, as well as adenomas found in us in previous colonoscopies (though the one I had in December 2023 was clean, which was surprising).

So cute that you old faggots support each other.

At 45 ive been concerned about Colon Cancer so i got checked, took a month to get back but we will see...

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Originally Posted by garrett

At 45 ive been concerned about Colon Cancer so i got checked, took a month to get back but we will see...

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Thanks Druff. I’ll be back with an update later this week.

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Originally Posted by desertrunner

Thanks Druff. I’ll be back with an update later this week.

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Don’t forget to include some pics

Presumably I'm not revealing too much here.

desertrunner had 5 polyps. It's not clear if any were adenomas. He did not have any cancer, which I'm sure disappoints some of you.

Interestingly, they told him to come back in 5 years. Even if all of the polyps were hyperplastic (NOT adenomas), that's bad advice. He had 5 polyps and a family history. This 100% calls for a 3-year follow-up, and in fact a 2.5 year follow-up wouldn't even be unreasonable.

I told him to do it in 3 for sure.

I had the same weirdness with my last colonoscopy. Mine was clear, which was great, but the prior one from 35 months beforehand was so bad (4 polyps, 3 being adenomas, 2 being midgrade, and 1 of those being large) that clearly I have something to closely monitor. I didn't argue with the doctor, but I think perhaps she was forgetting my 2021 results, and told me to come back in 5 years out of muscle memory (which is the correct advice for someone with a family history but no polyps found yet).

I decided I'm coming back in 3.5 years, maybe even 3.

I wish a real standard was developed for this. It seems there's disagreement among doctors, regarding this. It's not my brother's specialty, but he told me that he is on the side of doing it more frequently for medium-high risk patients, and not less frequently.

Good post Druff.

Some random notes.

I almost cancelled the COL the night before because the fasting made me sick, but I’m glad I didn’t.

The nurse on the phone advised me that the COL 10 years ago yielded 1 of 3 polyps that were pre-cancerous, so I had to push forward.

I should have done this 5 years ago, but just didn’t.

The process was slightly painful in the beginning, but I was knocked out and don’t remember anything after that.

The pre-cleanse fluid was Su-prep, it was ok and less to drink. Druff wrote about the Gatorade stuff, but I didn’t have access to that.

The Kaiser docs won’t let you do the Su-tabs pills, they don’t work as well at cleaning your out.

Looking back, the 2 day process was not fun, but not a total horrible experience.

The follow up paper they gave me did recommend going back in 3 years as Druff is recommending.

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Add me to the list of people who got a colonoscopy because of Todd talking about it on the radio. Without giving away too much information, let's just say I am really glad I had it done.

desertrunner, a few questions for you:

You say you didn't have access to the Gatorade prep, but there's nothing to access. You just go out and buy the stuff. It involves a (cheap) purchase of a bottle of Miralax, a pack of Ducolax, and 64 ounces of Gatorade (not red, purple, or orange). You might want to ask for this next time. Not sure if Kaiser allows it, but almost all gastro doctors do nowadays, so I'm guessing they will upon request.

You said that the fasting made you sick. Did you get nausea? If so, it wasn't from the fast. It was most likely from the Suprep. Unfortunately, the Gatorade/Miralax prep also causes this in some people. I had mild nausea from the Gatorade prep in 2021, but very bad nausea this last time. I almost vomited but was able to hold it back. I guess either way nausea can happen.

You said it was a 2-day prep. What did you do on the first day? My prep is always a 24-hour process, though I needed to stop eating and drinking certain stuff starting 72 hours in advance (which I screwed up, but it didn't matter).

Finally, why did you get pain at the beginning? Did they not fully knock you out with propofol? I was 100% knocked out before they began any of it, and I didn't wake up until after it was over. My dad had a weird experience last time, where he woke up during the procedure, but could not feel pain. But he watched them do it and even saw stuff on the monitor. I would have freaked out had this happened to me. He never had that occur prior to this, in his many colonoscopies with propofol. He said that he could speak, but chose to just sit there and let it happen. The chance of this happening to me eventually is higher than the average person, due to the genetic similarity.

desertrunner have you broached this topic with druffs mom as well?

Nobody wants desertrunner to have cancer, Druff. Even bcr and sloppyjoe aren't that mean spirited.

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Originally Posted by country978

Nobody wants desertrunner to have cancer, Druff. Even bcr and sloppyjoe aren't that mean spirited.

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True about BCR and Sloppy, but sonatine is questionable.

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Originally Posted by sonatine

desertrunner have you broached this topic with druffs mom as well?

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Not yet, but I do need to call Mother Druff soon and catch up. I’m sure we have a lot to discuss.