*** OFFICIAL *** Colonoscopy Thread

[Dan Druff]

This month I will be having my first colonoscopy. I am almost 49 years old.

My grandmother on my dad's side died of colon cancer at age 66.

My dad was probably very close to colon cancer at age 55, as they found a precanerous polyp in him which looked "super close" to going cancerous. That was his first colonoscopy, so he probably dodged a bullet by a narrow margin, and thankfully is still alive today.

Now I'm only about 6 years younger than he was. I should have had a colonoscopy already, but I just haven't. I was going to in early 2020, but these were shut down during the early coronavirus days, and I didn't reschedule near the end of the year, putting my appointment in about 2 weeks.

I am electing to use propofol (shout out to Michael Jackson). I have heard the colonoscopy without the propofol is awful, so I'm not doing that, even though I really really really hate the idea of being put under.

I am doing the Miralax + Gatorade prep. They tried to prescribe me the awful, salty SUPREP, which everyone seems to hate. I said fuck no, give me the Miralax one, and they switched it. From my research, the two are about equivalent in effectiveness, so I don't know why they don't just direct people to the easier one by default.

Since a lot of people here are old, I imagine some of you have had one.

If you have had a colonoscopy, please post about your experience.

1) Did you use SUPREP or Miralax/Gatorade?

2) What advice would you give to a first-time person doing this?

3) Did you use propofol? What was that experience like?


Interested to hear these answers.

For those of you that don't know, colon cancer is 100% preventable if you get colonoscopies at recommended intervals. This is because polyps grow very slowly, so they can keep finding them and cutting them out before they can do you harm.

My mom has never had a polyp yet, nor has anyone on her side of the family, so I've got that going for me. My dad's side, not all that good. This is apparently very hereditary.

No trolling or junk posts here, please.

Once I have the colonoscopy, I will post about my experience and answer any questions people have.

[Cerveza Fria]

I probably should have had one already, having recently turned 54. Was going to do it, then COVID happened. I guess I should think about scheduling it. I have just heard horror stories about the prep. I had one friend who did the prep. She showed up for the Colonoscopy, and the power was out in the facility that day. She had to reschedule.

These days, many people are doing Colonoscopy and Endoscopy at the same time. I had one friend who had both at the same time. I told him to make sure they did the Endoscopy first. Because, if they did the Colonoscopy first, it might leave a shitty taste in his mouth.

[OSA]

Assuming there are no polyps that are affecting your rectal functions using Miralax etc shouldnt be painful.

However the day before, be prepared to be on the toilet for about an hour per bowel movement.

When they put you under, the anesthesia feels like a cool(almost burning sensation) but you are out super quick so they can get to work on your hole.

[Dan Druff]

I probably should have had one already, having recently turned 54. Was going to do it, then COVID happened. I guess I should think about scheduling it. I have just heard horror stories about the prep. I had one friend who did the prep. She showed up for the Colonoscopy, and the power was out in the facility that day. She had to reschedule.

These days, many people are doing Colonoscopy and Endoscopy at the same time. I had one friend who had both at the same time. I told him to make sure they did the Endoscopy first. Because, if they did the Colonoscopy first, it might leave a shitty taste in his mouth.

A lot of people do endoscopies without knowing why they're really doing it. Unlike a colonoscopy, which has a clear and defined purpose, endoscopies are often more probing for whatever they see.

I don't believe in diagnostic endoscopy without a good reason for one. There always a small risk to things like this. For colonoscopy after 50 (or 45 with a family history), the rewards far outweigh the risk. You definitely should schedule one.

I bet if you ask your friends with prep horror stories, they will have taken SUPREP. It seems to me that SUPREP is the biggest mistake people make. For awhile there was a belief that it was more effective than Miralax/Gatorade, but studies even dating back to the 2000s have proven otherwise.

I was told that the Miralax/Gatorade doesn't taste bad at all (it basically tastes like Gatorade), and aside from the shooting diarrhea all day and the annoying clear-liquid diet the day before (plus the 4 hours of no water before the procedure), it's not that bad. However, I've heard that people with the SUPREP were eventually puking because it tasted so terrible.

The power failure thing is a super bad beat. I would be 1000% tilted if that happened to me.

[Dan Druff]

One frustrating thing I'll have to deal with is the cessation of aspirin and ibuprofen in the week leading up to the procedure. They make you stop this so you don't have excessive bleeding.

I get tension headaches at the rate of about 250 per year, with the worst being in the summer (6 per week average) and winter (5 per week). I know I can take Tylenol, but that doesn't work well.

[OSA]

One frustrating thing I'll have to deal with is the cessation of aspirin and ibuprofen in the week leading up to the procedure. They make you stop this so you don't have excessive bleeding.

I get tension headaches at the rate of about 250 per year, with the worst being in the summer (6 per week average) and winter (5 per week). I know I can take Tylenol, but that doesn't work well.

There's weed for that

[BCR]

I used osmoprep after using the horrible stuff many times. I don’t know about Miralax version. Do yourself a favor and start the process days out. Not the final prep, but eat lightly, drink a lot of water, and you can make the actual prep extremely mild. Almost unnecessary. I think they always used a benzo drip on mine. I can’t recall what they used on last ones, some twilight sedation, but they certainly used benzo drip on earlier ones as they always had to adjust mine higher as I was already on them and tolerance.

[OSA]

After this procedure, I began to have an increased level of respect for bottoms.

[Dan Druff]

I used osmoprep after using the horrible stuff many times. I don’t know about Miralax version. Do yourself a favor and start the process days out. Not the final prep, but eat lightly, drink a lot of water, and you can make the actual prep extremely mild. Almost unnecessary. I think they always used a benzo drip on mine. I can’t recall what they used on last ones, some twilight sedation, but they certainly used benzo drip on earlier ones as they always had to adjust mine higher as I was already on them and tolerance.

Were you awake at all? Or were you totally asleep?

Other family members who have had the propofol told me that they were just completely asleep.

It is funny because I was warned about the hunger the day before, and it was told to me by this person that I should eat a lot 2 days before, so the day before will be more tolerable. However, you're the second person to say the opposite -- to basically lighten the eating so you don't have to pass as much.

[Dan Druff]

Also, I was clear that I wanted an actual anesthesiologist doing my propofol, not a nurse practitioner. They started pushing this onto nurse practitioners because some felt it was a waste of resources to have an anesthesiologist administer the propofol, but others felt this added a level of danger, and it was only deemed "acceptable" because the anesthesiologist would be available for more urgent work. But for the patient himself, he's definitely better off with a doctor doing it.

Fortunately this office has an anesthesiologist on staff anyway, so that was easy to get.

I want an expert there in case any shit goes wrong.

[BCR]

Each procedure was exactly the same, as I always recalled them making the turn at some point and it waking me for just a brief split second, but nothing else. It’s quick and nothing.

Even the split second I could recall was not painful, it had simply woke me but I recalled nothing else and was right back out. Everything else is the hassle, not the procedure itself. I also didn’t start getting them until they had already did extensive surgery on me, so it’s possible I wake as they are in an area where they reattached stuff internally and I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I had a NA back here in Ohio, I don’t know if it was an anesthesiologist or NA previously in PA. It’s nothing either way. The endoscope feels like something could go awry. Colonoscopies have worse prep, as endoscopes are basically just fast for the night like bloodwork, but feel less troublesome as it’s not going down your throat and your out before they insert it. I don’t know if that’s true, just what made me nervous having had both done. Colonoscopy procedures are you are out and they’re done before you know it. The sedation is more similar to some dental procedure as opposed to surgery. No ventilation or breathing tubes are necessary.

[desertrunner]

Druff- make sure the doctor has a good flashlight.

[tgull]

I have a family history of cancer, so I have had one done. The prep, I just did what they prescribed. It is awful tasting but it cleans you out for sure. When you get there they simply give you an injection which makes you drowsy and impairs your memory. You absolutely cannot drive after the procedure because you are definitely in a fog, which is why they insist you have a driver attend. You simply lie on your back and doze off, and you come around in less than an hour. The Doc will burn off any polyps which is painless. The whole procedure in uneventful, you go home and crash for 3 hours and you are fine. You won't take a shit for a couple days because there is nothing in your system.

I have been told by more than one person, those that do their own homegrown prep does not clean our your pipes 100%, making the test much less effective simply because there is still shit in the system and the polyps which drive cancer are blocked from view. I am not sure why anyone would not simply take what is prescribed. Why go through the procedure at all if you still have 10% of shit in your system which could make one polyp go unnoticed. Seems like a waste of time; Steve Jobs did his own cancer treatment for like a year and it killed him long term.

Colon cancer is the easiest cancer to prevent, but outside of pancreatic and brain cancer the toughest to treat. I have friends for whatever reason refuse to get a colonoscopy, usually saying they don't want anything up their ass. You never feel a thing and never remember the actual insertion. Anyone that does not get a colonoscopy over the age of 45, and certainly 50 is a first grade idiot. LOL and not wanting anything up your ass as a reason not to get the test, if you get colon cancer you likely will end up dead or with a bag attached to your hip for life.

[mickeycrimm]

I've been cardioverted 4 times. That's where they put me under with propofol then put an electrical shock to my heart to put it back in sinus rthym. My heart wouldn't stay in sinus rythm so they finally quit giving the cardioversions to me. But the a fib went away on it's own.

The doctor called the propofol "Michael Jackson juice." You wear an oxygen mask and breathe it in. It's a pretty easy way to go to sleep. And I never felt any of the 4 electrical shocks I was given.

Coming back to was kind of trippy. It was like being half asleep and half awake....and with hallucinations. Then my vision came back very blurry at first but cleared up. The whole experience wasn't bad at all.

[ftpjesus]

I've been cardioverted 4 times. That's where they put me under with propofol then put an electrical shock to my heart to put it back in sinus rthym. My heart wouldn't stay in sinus rythm so they finally quit giving the cardioversions to me. But the a fib went away on it's own.

The doctor called the propofol "Michael Jackson juice." You wear an oxygen mask and breathe it in. It's a pretty easy way to go to sleep. And I never felt any of the 4 electrical shocks I was given.

Coming back to was kind of trippy. It was like being half asleep and half awake....and with hallucinations. Then my vision came back very blurry at first but cleared up. The whole experience wasn't bad at all.

Propofol aka Diprivan is an injection always has been and no signs of that changing. It’s used as a drip to induce and maintain medically induced comas as well. It’s even used in lower doses for what they call conscious sedation for orthopedic reductions at times if Versed (the amnesiac drug) is counter indicated.

[Texter]

I've been cardioverted 4 times. That's where they put me under with propofol then put an electrical shock to my heart to put it back in sinus rthym. My heart wouldn't stay in sinus rythm so they finally quit giving the cardioversions to me. But the a fib went away on it's own.

The doctor called the propofol "Michael Jackson juice." You wear an oxygen mask and breathe it in. It's a pretty easy way to go to sleep. And I never felt any of the 4 electrical shocks I was given.

Coming back to was kind of trippy. It was like being half asleep and half awake....and with hallucinations. Then my vision came back very blurry at first but cleared up. The whole experience wasn't bad at all.

Propofol aka Diprivan is an injection always has been and no signs of that changing. It’s used as a drip to induce and maintain medically induced comas as well. It’s even used in lower doses for what they call conscious sedation for orthopedic reductions at times if Versed (the amnesiac drug) is counter indicated.

Versed is the best.

[Dan Druff]

I have a family history of cancer, so I have had one done. The prep, I just did what they prescribed. It is awful tasting but it cleans you out for sure. When you get there they simply give you an injection which makes you drowsy and impairs your memory. You absolutely cannot drive after the procedure because you are definitely in a fog, which is why they insist you have a driver attend. You simply lie on your back and doze off, and you come around in less than an hour. The Doc will burn off any polyps which is painless. The whole procedure in uneventful, you go home and crash for 3 hours and you are fine. You won't take a shit for a couple days because there is nothing in your system.

I have been told by more than one person, those that do their own homegrown prep does not clean our your pipes 100%, making the test much less effective simply because there is still shit in the system and the polyps which drive cancer are blocked from view. I am not sure why anyone would not simply take what is prescribed. Why go through the procedure at all if you still have 10% of shit in your system which could make one polyp go unnoticed. Seems like a waste of time; Steve Jobs did his own cancer treatment for like a year and it killed him long term.

Colon cancer is the easiest cancer to prevent, but outside of pancreatic and brain cancer the toughest to treat. I have friends for whatever reason refuse to get a colonoscopy, usually saying they don't want anything up their ass. You never feel a thing and never remember the actual insertion. Anyone that does not get a colonoscopy over the age of 45, and certainly 50 is a first grade idiot. LOL and not wanting anything up your ass as a reason not to get the test, if you get colon cancer you likely will end up dead or with a bag attached to your hip for life.

The "homegrown" preps are off-label but in wide use. They did studies on whether the Miralax (off-label) or Suprep (nasty tasting prescription stuff) is more effective. Believe it or not, they came up about the same in one study, and another actually showed the Miralax one was better!

There simply is no reason to do the nasty Suprep one, unless you have a problem drinking a lot of liquid at once (I don't have that problem). I just think it's one of those things in medicine where there's an easy way and the hard way, and the hard way doesn't benefit you any. The doctors don't bother pushing you to the easy way because it's easier to fuck up the prep, so they just give you the sure thing (Suprep) and obviously don't care if you detest the taste.

Steve Jobs got pancreatic cancer, which is pretty much just running bad. There's no way to prevent it, and as you mentioned, almost impossible to treat. You're basically fucked when you get that.

It's nice that colon cancer is preventable, provided you get the colonoscopies done in time. I will admit I regret not having it done yet, though honestly I was about to do it in early 2020 when COVID showed up. I have a little concern that I will wake up and they will tell me they saw cancerous-looking polyps, or that they saw stage 1 cancer in there. However, aside from the mild anemia readings in October, I do not have any of the symptoms. I don't even have anemia symptoms.

I won't be driving home from the procedure, and I plan to take a nap after that, before I drive anywhere at all.

[tgull]

I have a family history of cancer, so I have had one done. The prep, I just did what they prescribed. It is awful tasting but it cleans you out for sure. When you get there they simply give you an injection which makes you drowsy and impairs your memory. You absolutely cannot drive after the procedure because you are definitely in a fog, which is why they insist you have a driver attend. You simply lie on your back and doze off, and you come around in less than an hour. The Doc will burn off any polyps which is painless. The whole procedure in uneventful, you go home and crash for 3 hours and you are fine. You won't take a shit for a couple days because there is nothing in your system.

I have been told by more than one person, those that do their own homegrown prep does not clean our your pipes 100%, making the test much less effective simply because there is still shit in the system and the polyps which drive cancer are blocked from view. I am not sure why anyone would not simply take what is prescribed. Why go through the procedure at all if you still have 10% of shit in your system which could make one polyp go unnoticed. Seems like a waste of time; Steve Jobs did his own cancer treatment for like a year and it killed him long term.

Colon cancer is the easiest cancer to prevent, but outside of pancreatic and brain cancer the toughest to treat. I have friends for whatever reason refuse to get a colonoscopy, usually saying they don't want anything up their ass. You never feel a thing and never remember the actual insertion. Anyone that does not get a colonoscopy over the age of 45, and certainly 50 is a first grade idiot. LOL and not wanting anything up your ass as a reason not to get the test, if you get colon cancer you likely will end up dead or with a bag attached to your hip for life.

Steve Jobs got pancreatic cancer, which is pretty much just running bad. There's no way to prevent it, and as you mentioned, almost impossible to treat. You're basically fucked when you get that.

Steve Jobs was diagnosed circa 2005 and he actually had the 10% version of pancreatic cancer that was treatable. Issue was he went to herbal treatments for like 9 months, which obviously is a joke and it caused his cancer to spread. He then went to chemo/surgery and it kept him alive for a few years. While there are no guarantees, most doctors insist if he treated it right away he would have lasted a few more years. Herbal medicines are flat out dangerous and provide false hope which generally kills people sooner then they would usually expire.

As far as your prep, you are really wrong. The prescribed prep definitely works and is 99%+ effective, your version is probably 80% effective, if that. If you are not shitting out water at the end, you are basically wasting your time in going through the procedure and might as well cancel it. Yeah, the solution tastes awful, but it goes down you throat in a couple minutes. I have never understood why people go on to the Internet for medical advice when a doctor tells you something totally different.

[Texter]

At the end of that prep you should be human Keurig machine...

[turdzilla]

This month I will be having my first colonoscopy. I am almost 49 years old.

My grandmother on my dad's side died of colon cancer at age 66.

My dad was probably very close to colon cancer at age 55, as they found a precanerous polyp in him which looked "super close" to going cancerous. That was his first colonoscopy, so he probably dodged a bullet by a narrow margin, and thankfully is still alive today.

Now I'm only about 6 years younger than he was. I should have had a colonoscopy already, but I just haven't. I was going to in early 2020, but these were shut down during the early coronavirus days, and I didn't reschedule near the end of the year, putting my appointment in about 2 weeks.

I am electing to use propofol (shout out to Michael Jackson). I have heard the colonoscopy without the propofol is awful, so I'm not doing that, even though I really really really hate the idea of being put under.

I am doing the Miralax + Gatorade prep. They tried to prescribe me the awful, salty SUPREP, which everyone seems to hate. I said fuck no, give me the Miralax one, and they switched it. From my research, the two are about equivalent in effectiveness, so I don't know why they don't just direct people to the easier one by default.

Since a lot of people here are old, I imagine some of you have had one.

If you have had a colonoscopy, please post about your experience.

1) Did you use SUPREP or Miralax/Gatorade?

2) What advice would you give to a first-time person doing this?

3) Did you use propofol? What was that experience like?


Interested to hear these answers.

For those of you that don't know, colon cancer is 100% preventable if you get colonoscopies at recommended intervals. This is because polyps grow very slowly, so they can keep finding them and cutting them out before they can do you harm.

My mom has never had a polyp yet, nor has anyone on her side of the family, so I've got that going for me. My dad's side, not all that good. This is apparently very hereditary.

No trolling or junk posts here, please.

Once I have the colonoscopy, I will post about my experience and answer any questions people have.

Make sure you get a copy of a picture of your ileocecal valve. I framed mine.