Friendly Reminder to get your colonoscopies.

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Thanks for the reminder Rodi and best wishes for your BIL.

I decided to get a basic physical from my family doctor when I was 45 because I felt I the body was starting to break down a bit; more aches and pains. I asked about a colonoscopy but he said to hold off until 50 since I didn't have a family history of colon cancer. And he said to lose some weight.

I'm turning 50 next year so I think I'll likely go back in for another physical and get a referral for a colonoscopy.
I also eat too much crap like processes meats, colas, etc that likely aren't helping either.

 

[Bamaman]

I've had a couple thru the years. Had 1 polyp last time they snipped. Those 5 years sure come up fast.

It's so important that we all take a more proactive approach to healthcare, including getting checkups with chest X-rays.

I lost two friends in the last year with stage IV lung cancer, and both were the only people I knew that still smoked. Early 70's. Had they been getting checkups and quit smoking, they might still be with us.

A close friend works in a endoscopic clinic in a large city hospital as a Registered Nurse. They do between 100 and 125 procedures daily. WOW! She's making so much $ that Early Retirement is out of the picture.

 

[Montecfo]

Rodi, sorry to hear about your BIL. But thanks for the timely reminder.

The prep is not bad. Really.

AND

Get your annual physicals! Your PC doctor may incorporate a simple stool test which can be diagnostic, way before you see any blood.

ALSO

Cologuard is a non-invasive home test which may be appropriate for some folks-ask your doctor.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

A tip for the prep:


Mix it with Crystal Light powder and it is actually not too bad. I did that for mine and it worked great. A friend of mine mixed his with Tequila. He said is was awesome, but I don;t think I'd recommend it...

When I said the prep was the worst part, I didn't mean when it was going in....

(Although I actually really like Crystal Light, that part can't hurt..)

 

[Willers]

When I said the prep was the worst part, I didn't mean when it was going in....

(Although I actually really like Crystal Light, that part can't hurt..)

 

[Nemo2]

Did you mean completely drug-free, Nemo2? That's what I did, because I don't mind physical discomfort or pain that much, but I really dislike being foggy or forced into unconsciousness. Plus, I didn't see any need to have my spouse take off of w*rk to drive me when I could drive myself! And it was fine, just a quick moment of pressure and discomfort in the beginning, and that was it, other than the gas pressure. Much easier than the prep, IMO.

And I ask if you did it completely without drugs because I discussed it with my gastroenterologist, and he said he only had a few patients request that, but of those that did, none of them said they regretted it or asked to be put under the next time, and that gave me confidence in my decision. (Last year was my first one.)

Left Saudi at the end of 1988...I was 46+ years old...part of the Telco 'Welcome Back To Canada' medical package was a colonoscopy. I'd never had one, never thought of having one, so when they said there was a post procedure reacclimating period with drugs I pretty much said "Yeah, yeah, whatever...I'll take it without drugs".

I found it uncomfortable but not painful...(my grandmother used to say "No sense, no feeling" about me, as I also have a fairly high pain threshold)...but afterward I figured, since there were going to be future episodes, that I may as well take the drugs in future......pretty much on a "why not?" basis.

First time 'in' they found a couple benign polyps that they removed, but that started me on a five year cycle......they never found another.

Prep.....as I mentioned earlier, for the first few repeats the only thing I was permitted to eat was (non-red) Jello, which I detest, non-red or otherwise. The other stuff? As Roger Miller sang "Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
Make you want to holler hi-de-ho".

(The second procedure I had was on an island in British Columbia...was able to watch it on TV, so I presume the sedation dosage was low.)

 

[kimcdougc]

Sorry about your bil Rodi. I will pray for him. I've had 2 colonoscopies. One at 48 and the last at 59. had 3 polyps removed last time. I did discover peppermint chewing gum for my prep for the last colonoscopy. I start chewing a brand new piece of peppermint gum right before drinking a glass of that delicious liquid. It worked great! No taste but the chewing gum. Much better prep this past time than last time. I am on a 3 year cycle since sister had stage 1 colon cancer. She has recovered fine but it was a long irritating process.

 

[JoeWras]

A friend of mine mixed his with Tequila. He said is was awesome, but I don;t think I'd recommend it...

I gave that a short thought. But then realized any kind of hangover symptoms the next morning would just be extra painful. Pass.

 

[harllee]

I've had a couple thru the years. Had 1 polyp last time they snipped. Those 5 years sure come up fast.

It's so important that we all take a more proactive approach to healthcare, including getting checkups with chest X-rays.

I lost two friends in the last year with stage IV lung cancer, and both were the only people I knew that still smoked. Early 70's. Had they been getting checkups and quit smoking, they might still be with us.

A close friend works in a endoscopic clinic in a large city hospital as a Registered Nurse. They do between 100 and 125 procedures daily. WOW! She's making so much $ that Early Retirement is out of the picture.

Annual x rays? I am almost 70 and have never had an X-ray (except the one time when they thought I had pneumonia). My doctor has never suggested an annual x-ray. I have never smoked--should I be getting an annual lung x-ray?

 

[Teacher Terry]

Maybe they do annual X-rays for smokers but not for others.

 

[Chuckanut]

My doctor is a chatty friendly guy. The only time he has ever been uset with me was when I had delayed the colonoscopy since " there isn't much cancer in my family". He snapped at me and in a VERY stern voice told me that was true until his father got colon cancer and died from it. I was on the 10 years plan, but thanks to some nice sized polyps I am on the 5 year plan. I friend I know is on the three year plan since several relatives have had this disease.

 

[38Chevy454]

My trick for the prep solution: channel your best 19 year old college years of chugging beer.

Seriously! I fill the glass, and take a memory lane trip back to quaffing beers at age 19. I may sing a certain drinking song in my head, then open up and down it goes in one fell swoop.

I know, not everyone developed that skill. But if you did, bring it back. It is like riding a bicycle.

And then drink a real beer after. It helps wash down the prep and you can be a little happier Seriously, I do drink a beer or two. Doctor said clear liquids only and no red dyes. So make it a lighter beer like lager or pilsner


Rodi, sorry to hear about your BIL. That is a life changing diagnosis and he will have a tough road ahead. I had my first colonoscopy at 50, and second at 55. Both times clear, thankfully. But once every 5 years is not a bad thing for something that is so preventable with regular colonoscopy checks.

 

[cyber888]

I did ColonGuard 2 years ago instead of colonoscopy. It is 92% - 94% accurate to detect Colon cancer and was recommended by my doctor. Cost was about $500. Found no cancer. So, I was able to avoid colonoscopy, but still got tested for colon cancer.

https://www.cologuardtest.com/effec...mance in adults ages,of patients 50 and older.

 

[sengsational]

I'm on the two year plan, and the dreaded letter came a few months back. I wrote back, suggesting that the situation demanded an alternative, and wouldn't Cologuard be a good choice. Crickets.



I guess if you are a scope operator, which is pretty much what my GI dude is, Cologuard is like the beast on the first Alian movie.

 

[SecondCor521]

I'm on the two year plan, and the dreaded letter came a few months back. I wrote back, suggesting that the situation demanded an alternative, and wouldn't Cologuard be a good choice. Crickets.

I guess if you are a scope operator, which is pretty much what my GI dude is, Cologuard is like the beast on the first Alian movie.

If you read the fine print on the Cologuard ads, they're for people at low- to medium-risk and are not for people who have had adenomas. There are also certain circumstances where a Cologuard result will require a followup colonoscopy anyway.

I had a colonoscopy the first time around since it's considered the gold standard. They found an adenoma, so I can't do Cologuard now anyway.

 

[fh2000]

My doctor gave me stool test each year when I was in my 40s. When I was 51, he called and said test was positive, meaning blood was detected. He urged me to do colonoscopy.

Since then I have done total 3 times with 5 year schedule, and 2-4 non-cancerous polyps were removed each time. My next one is in 2 years.

Why would people choose Colonguard instead of doing an annual stool test to see if blood can be detected?

 

[JoeWras]

If you read the fine print on the Cologuard ads, they're for people at low- to medium-risk and are not for people who have had adenomas.

Yes. From their faq: "Contraindications: Patients with a history of colorectal cancer, adenomas, or other related cancers "

My doctor gave me stool test each year when I was in my 40s. When I was 51, he called and said test was positive, meaning blood was detected. He urged me to do colonoscopy.

Since then I have done total 3 times with 5 year schedule, and 2-4 non-cancerous polyps were removed each time. My next one is in 2 years.

Why would people choose Colonguard instead of doing an annual stool test to see if blood can be detected?

My understanding is that Cologuard goes way beyond blood in stool. It looks at DNA and other markers, along with blood.

My plea to anyone, especially the younger set, is to not ignore any issue of blood, even just once. See a streak? See your doctor. Is your blood hemoglobin running low? See your doctor. In both cases discuss your colon. Don't assume it is: hemorrhoids, menses, food, etc.

You can discuss further testing with your doc, whether it be cologuard or a full scope.

BTW, I managed to always test negative for blood in stool with the simple in office test, even though I had enough bleeding to have mild anemia, which my doc and I assumed was due to blood donation. Blood can come and go. Even when I had an event that was not possible to ignore, my next movement looked fine. I think Cologuard is typically sensitive enough to detect blood even if you have intermittent bleeding.

All this testing is fine, sure. But never ignore what your eyes are seeing. Don't wish it away.

 

[sengsational]

It seems like everyone I know that went in for their first colonoscopy at age 50+ said "I had a polyp (or three) removed". That happened to me too, but no polyps found since, and I've had a few more colonoscopies.

So, thinking about the Cologuard contraindication with adenomas, I started thinking back and I don't think I ever heard the word "adenoma" uttered by a doctor. But had heard "polyp", so I looked it up on the colon page of Mayo Clinic:

There are two main categories of polyps, non-neoplastic and neoplastic. Non-neoplastic polyps include hyperplastic polyps, inflammatory polyps and hamartomatous polyps. These types of polyps typically do not become cancerous. Neoplastic polyps include adenomas and serrated types.

So it sounds like as long as you had the benign kind of polyp, you're still ok with Cologuard, but if you had the less benign ones, you're not. I'm glad for this discussion because now I know a bit more about the topic and will be able to kind of prepared when I discuss it with my doctor.

 

[JoeWras]

It seems like everyone I know that went in for their first colonoscopy at age 50+ said "I had a polyp (or three) removed". That happened to me too, but no polyps found since, and I've had a few more colonoscopies.

So, thinking about the Cologuard contraindication with adenomas, I started thinking back and I don't think I ever heard the word "adenoma" uttered by a doctor. But had heard "polyp", so I looked it up on the colon page of

DW, and a coworker of mine (whom I pleaded to get the test) both had no polyps at all. It does happen.

My GI doc talked to me when pathology came in and explained what a tubular adenoma was, and where mine were on the spectrum of danger. He uttered the word. I may have a good doctor. I like him a lot too.

 

[athena53]

My GI doc talked to me when pathology came in and explained what a tubular adenoma was, and where mine were on the spectrum of danger. He uttered the word. I may have a good doctor. I like him a lot too.

I had my first scope at age 52 after a positive fecal occult blood test. They found and removed a tubular villiform adenoma. That was 15 years ago and I shudder to think what it would be now. I've gotten regular tests ever since and a polyp or two have turned up but nothing scarier.

 

[kgtest]

BIL had been putting it off. He's 63 and finally went in for his first colonoscopy. He has stage 4 rectal cancer. No pain, no symptoms... says he's in the best shape, physically he's ever been in. (Has recently started doing more cycling.) There are masses in his lungs and on a kidney.

He's kicking himself that he didn't do it sooner.

So, yeah... colonoscopies are not fun - especially the prep. But do it on a regular schedule.

Sorry for the diagnosis! Sis has been fighting this for a while in MN here. She did NIH study that we feel proonged her lively hood. Currently after having colon and now working towards liver tumor removals...less hope for lungs but she is living her best life.

Godspeed

 

[harllee]

My doctor is old school and says that the colonoscopy is the gold standard. He said you can get the Cologuard if you want to but you still need the colonoscopy at the recommended times. For those of you getting the Colonguard test do you also get colonoscopies?

 

[Estuaryman]

Just had my third colonoscopy 2 days ago. The first was 16 years ago (age 50), looked good so was put on the 10 year plan. A few small polyps snipped at age 60 and put on the 5 year plan. I let it slide till this year (age 66) and 2 more small polyps, minimal diverticulosus, and small internal hemorrhoids. Stay on 5 year plan.

The prep is much improved from earlier colonoscopies, 2 days of stool softener (Miralax OTC), then the night before one bottle of solution chased by 32 oz of water, up at 4am for 2nd bottle and more water, procedure at 9am, eating at the local taqueria by 11:30am. I did take it easy the rest of the day. Do this for yourself and your family.

 

[Maidensong]

So sorry to hear about your BIL, Rodi.

In 2008, an eager-beaver resident doing my yearly physical noticed that I was over 50 and therefore, I DESERVED a colonscopy. I had zero symptoms, but went along with it. She saved my life. I had 1b stage colon cancer and after a colectomy, I've done great. I'll never skip a screening no matter how inconvenient they are.

 

[meleana]

Terrible. I’ve been in an every year schedule these past few years, which I don’t understand why. Now that I’ve moved to another state I am getting a second opinion before I have my next one for this year.