2nd Colonoscopy

[braumeister]

I've had four of them now. First and third were clean, but they removed two "very small" polyps on each of the others.

Last time used a prep called Suprep. I can state categorically that it is the vilest tasting substance ever created. I shudder just thinking about it.

But even at that, the screening is definitely worthwhile.

 

[frayne]

+2 Well said.

<more frank discussion ahead>

The prep isn't even that bad. People want to think of it like the stomach flu or something, but IT IS NOT. It is a breeze in comparison. Most of us think of diarrhea as feeling like you will die. That's partly because you probably have all kinds of other stuff going on in your system from whatever is attacking you.

Prep isn't like that. You drink the preparation, and then feel the urge and go in 1/2 hour. No big deal. No fever, no weakness, none of that. Just go. To me the worst part of prep is not eating and having a liquid diet only.

The procedure usually now is administered with an anesthesiologist. Most use propofol. They will monitor you carefully. It is safe. This is not a Michael Jackson situation. One reason MJ used propofol is there really is very little side effect. It is unlike true general anesthesia which puts you deeper since you are cut and sewed. They get you lightly under, but under enough to not remember.

I wake up, have a discussion with the doctor, and am chowing down on breakfast 1/2 hour later. No issues.

Exactly my same experience, it is no big deal just a minor inconvenience for 24 hours. As a side note, after the prep, I weighed myself in the morning before heading to the clinic and I had lost six pounds. No comments please.

 

[Walt34]

As a side note, after the prep, I weighed myself in the morning before heading to the clinic and I had lost six pounds. No comments please.

Sorry, that's just too big of an invitation.

So you were full of _ _ _ _.

 

[braumeister]

As a side note, after the prep, I weighed myself in the morning before heading to the clinic and I had lost six pounds. No comments please.

I'm sure in your case it was simply a coincidence.

But in my case I have often been told I was full of it, and occasionally it has been confirmed like that.

 

[Lsbcal]

I've had four of them now. First and third were clean, but they removed two "very small" polyps on each of the others.

Last time used a prep called Suprep. I can state categorically that it is the vilest tasting substance ever created. I shudder just thinking about it.

But even at that, the screening is definitely worthwhile.

I have had 2 colonoscopy preps.

The first was to drink something like 2 half gallon containers of a refrigerated liquid. It didn't taste bad at first but there was just too much of it to drink. And it was cold which made me cool down too much. But it worked OK.

The next time I took a prep that was a powder you mixed up. Less volume to get through. But it didn't start working until around 2am even though I followed the recommended procedure. That was not something I want to do again.

So next year when I am due, I'll try to a prep that at least works before I go to sleep.

Suggestions for prep that has worked good for you?

 

[Walt34]

Suggestions for prep that has worked good for you?

I wish I could remember the name of it, but the last time it was something that had a lemon taste to it, wasn't that bad, and had extra electrolytes in it to replace those that were lost during the prep. So I didn't have that "groggy" feeling afterward.

Coincidentally, I have an appointment with the gastroenterologist tomorrow so I'll write a note to remember to ask what it was and post here. And I have a pretty good idea of what procedure he'll be recommending for me real soon now.

 

[Texas Proud]

And a note on the down side of not doing this...

My oldest sister lost one of her best friends a number of years ago... she put off having one for many years... she starting to have problems and finally went to get on (IIRC in her mid to late 60s).... very bad news... major cancer... she died in less than 6 months....

More than likely if she had one in her 50s she would still be alive today...


So even if the side effects are as horribly as some say (and for me it was not bad at all... new stuff I think) it is still worth having at least one done... if there is nothing you can just pass on follow ups... but if there is and they find something it could save your life....


BTW, I saw where they use a camera in one of the major overseas hospitals... just swallow a large 'pill'....

 

[HadEnuff]

After my first one I decided I didn't need the meds. Since I live a block from the hospital it meant I could walk to and from the hospital. Did the next 3 "au naturale",,,no real problem but my most recent one, last April, was a tad uncomfortable. Then they snipped a polyp an the doc couldn't find it. It turned a 20 minute procedure into a 50 minute procedure while he looked and looked. All the way in, all the way out, over and over again, until he gave up. What are you going to do? Ugh.

 

[audreyh1]

DH had a polyp removed. So we expected to be on the "five year" plan. But when the doctor reviewed the pathology report she told us that it was actually muscle fiber which would never turn cancerous and DH can stay on the 10 year schedule.

 

[Hermit]

Did my second one this summer. Totally clean as was the first. In a case like mine, you get to be on a 10 year plan.

 

[Ian S]

Suggestions for prep that has worked good for you?

My doc has been tweaking the prep every time I have one. The last one utilized Miralax and ducolax I believe. Both available as cheap generics OTC. Liquid used was gatorade or equivalent but couldn't be colored red. Works well and no prescription needed. I've also found that it helps me to eat lightly the day before the prep. I also always get an early morning procedure. I'm now synching it with an endoscopy for my Barretts esophagus. Every three years.

 

[JoeWras]

Since I have a diagnosis, as opposed to just screening, it is no longer covered as a preventative procedure. The entire $1,600 was my responsibility. That's fine. Just letting you know the financial aspect of polyps.

This *may* have changed. I fully expected to pay on my last (3rd one in 4 years), but paid zero, even for the prep! I'm on a high deductible plan too. Perhaps my Megacorp plan is golden, however, I actually paid for the prep on the first one. Something in the law changed. And my GI office apparently knows how to code the bill.

It makes sense. Let's see, a few thousand every few years, or 100s of thousands for cancer treatment.

Last time used a prep called Suprep. I can state categorically that it is the vilest tasting substance ever created. I shudder just thinking about it.

Ah, braumeister. Judging by your name, you appreciate a brew, and you sip it and enjoy it. There's your problem!

I also had Suprep, and I literally channeled my college years of drinking Bud Light with the boys playing chugging contests. I took that Suprep cup, opened up, and down it went in seconds. Drink chug-a-lug. Done! It is the best way.

 

[Freedom56]

Freedom56, thanks for the comment and one of the nice thing about this forum is I feel comfortable posting just about anything. And yes you are correct this screening is very effective in preventing a possible future cancer and is a no brainer. After the procedure was telling DW about feeling sorry for the folks that don't have the means to get this done as they will probably die an early and miserable death which is easily preventable. Like most if not all here, no fun watching someone die from cancer.

Frayne,

Under the ACA, all insurance plans have to cover this procedure as zero cost preventive care starting at age 50. So there are no excuses for not going through with it. My wife asked me what the procedure was like. I told her it felt like an alien abduction (like in the sci-fi movies) with probes and all.

 

[athena53]

This *may* have changed. I fully expected to pay on my last (3rd one in 4 years), but paid zero, even for the prep! I'm on a high deductible plan too. Perhaps my Megacorp plan is golden, however, I actually paid for the prep on the first one. Something in the law changed. And my GI office apparently knows how to code the bill.

It might have. I wanted to use my previous doc for my third one, which was last year. Since it would be diagnostic I expected to pay and I had a HD plan. I reluctantly chose not to go with the guy who did it before because I knew what he would charge but not what the hospital would add as a "facility charge". I chose one recommended by my PCP who had done some of DH's because he worked in a self-contained facility and they could tell me the total cost ahead of time. They asked for it up front, I paid it- and the insurance covered it. So, I got a refund of what I'd paid up front. No idea what happened but I took the money and ran.

 

[ncbill]

had an older friend recount he was admonished by the doctor to stop flinching.

to which he responded "you try holding still while having a garden hose rammed up your <naughty word here>"

made everybody laugh...well, except for the guy undergoing the procedure...

 

[Ronstar]

Did my first at 49 as part of diagnosing abdominal pain. Turned out to be ruptured appendix. Had the 2nd at 57. Couldn’t do a complete colonoscopy due to a bend in my colon that was a result of my appendectomy. So I had to have a lower g.i. a week later to complete the inspection. That’s right - 2 preps in less than a week. I was told that I will need a pediatric colonoscopy next time.

 

[Winemaker]

While I have been polyp free for both of my colonoscopies, I gave a sonogram tech and myself the heeby-jeebies after a procedure. Everyone says they're normal to have but it is very unsettling to know I have 4 cysts on my right kidney about the size of golfballs. And they were discovered before I started making wine 10 years ago.

 

[misanman]

A timely thread as I'm scheduled for this Thursday

This is my second and nothing was found the first time around so I'm currently on the ten year plan. If it's clear then I understand they might give me a life time exemption

Fifteen and twenty years ago I had sigmoidoscopy, less extensive but also done without anesthesia. Certainly a strange feeling.

 

[omni550]

A possible alternative for some

For those who are considered low-medium risk, this might be of interest.

My doctor just ordered a Cologuard collection kit for me. It costs $650 and is covered 100% by Medicare. https://www.cologuardtest.com/

It's a non-invasive test that arrives in an 8" cube box, with all the instructions, etc. (A major thing is not to collect on Fri or Sat so as to reduce the return shipping time.)

It avoids a lot of the issues with a colonoscopy: having to do the prep, arrange for a driver, take the day off work or play, deal with anesthesia, etc.

My doctor said she's planning on doing one of these every X years (I forget what she said, 6 or 10 years) until she dies, assuming her results are good.

I have a friend who is scared-to-death of having his colon perforated if he undergoes a colonoscopy, so he is quite interested in the Cologuard test.

------

Colon cancer is nothing to mess with. My BIL had stage 4 colon cancer. He had chemo, radiation 2 major surgeries, and now wears a [permanent] osotomy bag. Initially, he was returning for follow-up tests (MRI, colonoscopy) every 3 months. Two years later, they found that it metastasized in 2 locations in his lung. He had another surgery to remove those. Soon thereafter, his follow-up testing was increased to every 4 months, then every 6 months. And now, 7 years since his original surgery, he's on a 12-month follow-up testing schedule. He's considered a cancer "success" but not without some loss of quality of life. (Living with the ostomy bag is not easy, it makes airplane travel difficult (as he needs to vacate his system the day before) and he needs to watch what he eats, (as some things give him trouble).)


omni

 

[Scrapr]

Did my first at 49 as part of diagnosing abdominal pain. Turned out to be ruptured appendix. Had the 2nd at 57. Couldn’t do a complete colonoscopy due to a bend in my colon that was a result of my appendectomy. So I had to have a lower g.i. a week later to complete the inspection. That’s right - 2 preps in less than a week. I was told that I will need a pediatric colonoscopy next time.

Got you beat. 2 colonscopies in 2 days. First one was like yours. They could not go as high as they wanted to. This was at the factory clinic. Next day over to the Hospital out patient unit with my GI doc and snipped a couple out.

Have had 6 I think. First one about 55 Shortly thereafter Dx with Crohns. Mine are typically not diagnostic as we are looking for inflamation or other problems. So full out of pocket. One earlier this year was clear so possibly good for a while. Had a bowel resection about 2+ years ago. Typical 10 years between resections.

Only problem was one that I aspirated vomit while under. It went into my lungs. They discharged and i got home and was shivering and cold. Pneumomia. Could not breathe well. Amubulance ride back to ER and 3 day stay at hospital. Pretty unusual case

 

[Livefree]

I've had 2 colonoscopies and both found nothing. However, this February, while watching the Super Bowl and eating typical junk food, I developed abdominal pain and next day it hurt to move around. Went to the doctor, he did a cat scan and found I had Diverticulitis. I've been ok last few months but it took a long time to find the right diet etc.

 

[Moemg]

Frayne , You win ! I worked at a Colonoscopy clinic for a few years and I never remember anybody having 18 polyps removed .Your prize is probably annual tests.

 

[Philliefan33]

I just sent in my Cologuard test last week. It was my first colorectal cancer screening.

The kit was very easy to use. Just use the provided frame to hold the container in the strategic spot on the toilet. Seal, label, repack, and drop it off at the UPS store.

It did make me think of what a terrible job it would be, to be on the receiving end of those test samples.

 

[frayne]

Frayne , You win ! I worked at a Colonoscopy clinic for a few years and I never remember anybody having 18 polyps removed .Your prize is probably annual tests.

Maybe the Dr. was getting paid by piece work. Actually he didn't seem all that concerned about it but I'm now on the annual rotation.

 

[davebarnes]

I had my first colonoscopy at 65.
“Congratulations, you have colon cancer”
Now, I have to go every 3 years.
Oh, well.