Get the colonscopy and my vent.

Clark1961 said:
Sedation wasn't a problem. Propofol was used and it was just like taking a nap. Literally, I woke and was fine.
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I was high as a kite for a couple of hours after the Propofol wore off. Don't plan on driving home.
 
Most providers won't let you drive home after general anesthesia (even my oral surgeon won't). My gastro insists you have private carriage or use an approved medical transport (no cabs or uber).
 
No one mentioned how weird it would be to have a MIL buy your grave.

Or to even be buried with the other side of the family.

No thanks to both.
 
Nate I found it weird but she wants her only child "with" her and well I am married to him. My side of the fa!ily doesn't care one way or the other. Sure hope I don't use her gift for 50'years or so.
 
saracelica said:
Nate I found it weird but she wants her only child "with" her and well I am married to him. My side of the fa!ily doesn't care one way or the other. Sure hope I don't use her gift for 50'years or so.
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As long as you're ok with it.

My answer would be, "It's a lovely offer but no thanks. It's none of your business where I or my child get buried, you'll probably be dead anyway so you won't care either". LOL.
 
denverpilot said:
No one mentioned how weird it would be to have a MIL buy your grave.

Or to even be buried with the other side of the family.

No thanks to both.
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Wait. I'm not into the burial thing to begin with, but it seems that if you are going to be buried with your spouse in a family plot, one of you will wind up with the "other side of the family".
 
I didn't think it was the time to say I wasn't interested but it can be a decision for later. Not even sure of the costs of "reserving" spot for 40 years.
 
For me it's recycle the useful parts and burn the rest. I have no great interest in what happens to my body after i'm gone.

My father-in-law donated his body to science. His statement was that was the only way he was going to get to go to medical school. In accordance with his wishes, off he went when he died. What my mother-in-law was not expecting was about a year later a box arrived ... he came back when they were done with him. My MIL was beginning to get alzheimers for a while and lost him. We eventually found the box under the china cabinet when we were getting ready to put her in long term care.

A couple of months later my wife was relating the story and stated that her father was under her mother's bed at the "home." I had to point out that he was really in our hall closet where I'd placed him for safe keeping.

Eventually when my wife's mother passed, we tucked his remains into the casket with her when she was buried.
 
LoneAspen said:
I'm in my late 40's so need to be thinking about having this done for the first time. But the part that concerns me is the sedation.

I've never undergone sedation before. Never had any kind of procedure before except having some wisdom teeth out, and that was local.

I read that here in the States, doctors tend to go overboard with sedation on colonoscopies, and that in other parts of the world they do it under partial sedation or sometimes none at all.

Partial sedation would appeal to me more than full sedation, mostly because I don't have relatives in the area (I'm single with no kids, and closest family lives across the country) that could help drive me home or watch over me afterwards. I think you're supposed to have somebody certify that they'll watch over you for 24 hours after, or something like that.

Anybody here had one done with only partial sedation?
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I had the full sedation - it was no big deal. They made a point to tell me not to do anyting important - sign any papers . . .
When I woke up and got dressed, I thought I was fine. My wife took me home then went out for the day. We she came home later and saw the dishes in the sink she asked me what I fixed for lunch. I had no idea. I did not remember a thing.
I felt fine - just don't plan on taking it easy for the rest of the day.
 
LoneAspen said:
I'm in my late 40's so need to be thinking about having this done for the first time. But the part that concerns me is the sedation.

I've never undergone sedation before. Never had any kind of procedure before except having some wisdom teeth out, and that was local.

I read that here in the States, doctors tend to go overboard with sedation on colonoscopies, and that in other parts of the world they do it under partial sedation or sometimes none at all.

Partial sedation would appeal to me more than full sedation, mostly because I don't have relatives in the area (I'm single with no kids, and closest family lives across the country) that could help drive me home or watch over me afterwards. I think you're supposed to have somebody certify that they'll watch over you for 24 hours after, or something like that.

Anybody here had one done with only partial sedation?
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I had one this morning with no sedation whatsoever. It was actually a few years past due, mainly because I couldn't find a doctor willing to do it without sedation. But I'm also enrolled in the V.A. health system, and when I mentioned it to the V.A. doc he said that the V.A. allows it; so I had it done at the Albany, New York V.A. hospital this morning.

Frankly, having just had the procedure, I'm convinced that that civilian hospitals force the sedation just to pad the bill. I'm not saying that patients shouldn't get the sedation if that's what they want, but rather that civilian hospitals force the sedation upon those who would rather not have it more because they like billing the insurance company ~$900.00 for the $18.00 worth of Propofol that they use than because they're concerned about the patient's well-being. The procedure simply isn't all that bad.

I showed up at about 8:30 a.m. They immediately took me in and the lead nurse asked a few questions, did a quick physical, and hooked me up to a bazillion monitors, while the other nurse started an I.V. The lead nurse explained more than I ever wanted to know about my colon and the procedure. She was also primarily responsible for my comfort during the procedure. She monitored all the gadgets as well as my facial expressions and so forth.

Both nurses also knew just where to push and prod to assist the doctor (also female) in maneuvering the colonoscope around the bends, and they explained the things that were going on while I watched the monitor. Once the doctor reached the end of the colon, she started backing out and gradually hosing down the inside of my colon (to get the bile out of the way) and inspecting, explaining everything she was doing, and talking about things like the importance of fiber and so forth.

That discussion, by the way, triggered a conversation with the lead nurse about bread recipes. Both of us like to bake, and we were having a nice discussion about the merits of various flours and yeasts and other sundry baking topics, pausing from time to time to talk about what was going on on the monitor.

As for the pain, for most of the procedure there really wasn't any. It was more pressure and bloating as if needing a bowel movement. There was pain at only two points, when rounding the splenic and hepatic flexures, and it wasn't very bad. It was like having a case of gas. But each turn lasted only about 30 seconds. The nurses pushed on my abdomen to assist the colonoscope around the bends, and then it would go back to just pressure.

I am 100 percent convinced that I made the right choice by declining the sedation. I didn't need a driver, I got to watch and remember the procedure, I was able to discuss digestive health with the doctor, and I got some new bread recipe ideas from the lead nurse.

Most importantly, I also avoided being reduced to being a drooling fool for the rest of the day, which was my main objection to the sedation. I don't like being sedated. I don't like feeling stoned. I would make a terrible junkie. After I had my gall bladder out, I took exactly one dose of the Vicodin the surgeon prescribed, and promptly decided that I preferred the pain to the Vicodin. I never took the rest of the pills.

I'm not going to give any advice to others about this because it's not my place to say how much pain is too much for someone else to deal with. I will say that for me, the pain at the two curves was maybe a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 and lasted only about 30 seconds around each bend. The rest of the procedure was merely uncomfortable, not painful.

The other thing to consider is how bashful you are. If the mere idea of lying there in a gown with your bare ass sticking out and nurses pushing and prodding at your abdomen makes you uneasy, then maybe sedation is for you. For me, it didn't make any difference. I figure they've seen better asses than mine.

Rich

EDIT: By the way, no polyps were found, and the doctor told me she'd see me again in ten years.
 
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Vicodin is some heavy duty stuff! I was given it once in a hospital and swore I'd never do it again.

Do you do novacaine at the dentist Rich? I find that to be unpleasant as well and usually don't have it for small cavities...something about needle going into my gums that I'd rather pass.
 
saracelica said:
Vicodin is some heavy duty stuff! I was given it once in a hospital and swore I'd never do it again.

Do you do novacaine at the dentist Rich? I find that to be unpleasant as well and usually don't have it for small cavities...something about needle going into my gums that I'd rather pass.
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It depends on the procedure. Novocaine or other local or regional anesthetics that don't make me stupid(er) aren't a big deal for me, but I don't insist on them every time a provider touches my teeth. I pretty much accept the dentist's or hygienist's advice and don't make an issue of it. An hour or so of numbness isn't the same thing as a day of being a drooling idiot in need of a babysitter.

I've declined anesthesia for small cavities when the dentist told me that there would be so little drilling that the anesthetic probably wouldn't be worth the bother. But on the other hand, I took the Novocaine for a scaling procedure when the hygienist advised me to. I pretty much just do what the provider recommends when it's a local anesthetic.

Rich
 
Scheduled for the big C on 6/8 second one. First was all clear we will see how this one goes.
 
And then there's me on the opposite end of the spectrum.

No wife, no kids, no dependents, and I'm already past the halfway point. If nature/the deity of your choice decides that cancer is the way I'm to go, I'm not going to fight it. I will sell everything off, clear out all my retirement accounts, travel the world, and feed myself to the lions in Africa when I'm done with the world tour.

I will have minor repairs done like setting broken bones, but I'm not going to argue with nature. The only doctor visits I plan on having from here on out are with the AME.
 
I'm 50 and have never had one, no doc has suggested it. I was ready to make the call now to set one up, and ask for no medication based on your first post. And then you said...


RJM62 said:
I've declined anesthesia for small cavities....
Rich
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I'm a big baby when it comes to ANY pain. My dentist can barely clean my teeth w/o me asking for medication.

And I only do this once every 10 years?
 
My experience with it was:

Prep = no fun, but whatever. Just take the day off, and try to schedule the procedure for first thing in the morning. Doing the prep the afternoon before means you'll be cleaned out by that night and won't have to worry about waking up in a sudden hurry. You can at least get a decent night's sleep.

Procedure = change clothes, get wheeled into the room, get an IV, close eyes, open eyes, change clothes.

Recovery = Get spouse or someone to drive you home and stop at a drive-through for something to eat. Then, for the next couple of hours, ask "Did I eat yet?" every 20 minutes or so, and look in the trash for the carry-out bag to verify.
 
Gerhardt said:
I'm 50 and have never had one, no doc has suggested it. I was ready to make the call now to set one up, and ask for no medication based on your first post. And then you said...




I'm a big baby when it comes to ANY pain. My dentist can barely clean my teeth w/o me asking for medication.

And I only do this once every 10 years?
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Hey, like I said, it's a personal thing. It depends on whether you subjectively find physical discomfort more or less traumatic than the loopiness that follows sedation. I would never recommend that others decline it. I'm glad I did, but everyone's subjective experience is different.

The interval between exams depend on what they find. In my case, there were no polyps at all, so the statistical probability of my developing colon cancer is very low. Hence the 10-year interval. If they'd found something, the interval would have been shorter.

Rich
 
Colon cancer killed my dad so I'm no stranger to colonoscopies. Versed is my friend.
 
A colonoscopy is the one chance you will have to pass gas nonstop in front of your wife and other women folk and they will not complain.

I was expelling air after my last one. Nurse says that's ok everyone has to do that, I looked at her and said I wasn't worried about it, feels fantastic LOL
 
nddons said:
Same same. And Rich is insane. ;) :D
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Rich isn't insane, he's just curious and wants to experience things in a controlled, medical setting. That's all....:D
 
As long as he wasn't saying, "Don't! Stop! Don't...Stop! Don't Stop!" ?
 
Clark1961 said:
Rich isn't insane, he's just curious and wants to experience things in a controlled, medical setting. That's all....:D
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And Mel Gibson's character William Wallace experienced things in a controlled, medical setting at the conclusion of Braveheart. I prefer to experience neither. :)

However, I would like to eliminate my wife's irritating look when I ask her "So what did the doctor say?" every 10 minutes for the following hour or two.
 
EdFred said:
I will have minor repairs done like setting broken bones, but I'm not going to argue with nature. The only doctor visits I plan on having from here on out are with the AME.
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How old are you? I'm coming up on 56 and I'm not ready to throw in the towel any time soon. Life just keeps getting better. I can't wait to see what's next!

Gerhardt said:
I'm a big baby when it comes to ANY pain. My dentist can barely clean my teeth w/o me asking for medication.

And I only do this once every 10 years?
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I had an ulcer that I'd been taking meds for to see if we could get it to heal, so when I scheduled my colonoscopy we did an endoscopy as well. The doctor started to tell me my options for sedation and I stopped him and said "I don't want to be there when it happens. Whatever you think is best is what I'll go with - as long as we're agreed that I'm going to be gone when it happens."

I had had an endoscopy done once many years ago and I was fully conscious during the whole thing. Something that I definitely do not want to ever repeat again.

The 10 year thing is only if the doctor doesn't find anything up your poop chute. If he finds and removes a polyp or something, he'll probably ask you to come back in 5 years or so - or much earlier depending on the biopsy.
 
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Rigged4Flight said:
How old are you? I'm coming up on 56 and I'm not ready to throw in the towel any time soon. Life just keeps getting better. I can't wait to see what's next!
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41. But when I turned 30 I said if I haven't met anyone by the time I'm 40 that's the game plan. So, that's the game plan. I'm not going to empty out all my savings and accounts just to be destitute.
 
Rich - Thanks so much for posting that info!

Gives me a lot more confidence that when I schedule this procedure, I'm going to try it without sedation.
 
If you have ever been near someone who gets colon cancer, you will see that it is a horrible way to die. Better be ready to jump off a cliff or whatever if you contract this common and easily preventable disease and end it quickly because medical help for it amounts to letting you rot from the inside while taking poorly effective pain meds.
You can hopefully wind up with a much better way to die by getting your colon polyps removed.
I've had two colonscopys. Not a bad experience at all.
Can't understand the reasoning behind not taking care of the equipment - my Cessna or my colon.
 
nddons said:
And Mel Gibson's character William Wallace experienced things in a controlled, medical setting at the conclusion of Braveheart. I prefer to experience neither. :)
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Perhaps evisceration was a medical practice at the time and it was certainly controlled so you certainly have at least one point.

With that agreement I must point out that evisceration is no longer an accepted medical practice in at least 99% of cases even though some may say that a particular procedure feels like it.

:D
 
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LoneAspen said:
Rich - Thanks so much for posting that info!

Gives me a lot more confidence that when I schedule this procedure, I'm going to try it without sedation.
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You're welcome (to say "my pleasure" would be a stretch given the topic at hand).

But again, my experience may not be the same as yours; so my account of my own subjective experience is just that, and nothing more.

Rich
 
For those interested he's now actively dying. He took himself off the nutrition bag. Lot has happened in the year since I posted about it. He was responding to the chemo. To be honest I think the hernia he got was the beginning of the end. They stopped the chemo to fix that problem which is fixed. But while off chemo his cancer spread that much faster. In the year since his diagnosis they went to their timeshare and on a cruise to Alaska. He started complaining of stomach pain lo and behold cancer tumor is in small intestine blocking the exit for the stomach. The Dr wanted to put a stint in to help food pass but that wouldve meant off chemo again. He had enough. Christmas he was okay but on a food hydration bag. We anticipate funeral later this week. Not looking for sympathy just an outlet. Sucks but he had a good year since diagnosis.
 
saracelica said:
For those interested he's now actively dying. He took himself off the nutrition bag. Lot has happened in the year since I posted about it. He was responding to the chemo. To be honest I think the hernia he got was the beginning of the end. They stopped the chemo to fix that problem which is fixed. But while off chemo his cancer spread that much faster. In the year since his diagnosis they went to their timeshare and on a cruise to Alaska. He started complaining of stomach pain lo and behold cancer tumor is in small intestine blocking the exit for the stomach. The Dr wanted to put a stint in to help food pass but that wouldve meant off chemo again. He had enough. Christmas he was okay but on a food hydration bag. We anticipate funeral later this week. Not looking for sympathy just an outlet. Sucks but he had a good year since diagnosis.
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Sorry to hear this.

I don't know if you have been through something like this or not, but I had two elderly uncles who passed a while back and they went through "terminal agitation" near the end. It was tough to see, but ultimately understanding it helped me come to terms with it.

If you want to read about it there is a good article here: http://sunriserounds.com/a-rush-to-dying/

I hope I haven't upset you with this, but I didn't understand this until the second uncle went through it and I looked for an explanation, it would have been less stressful had I understood.
 
saracelica said:
For those interested he's now actively dying. He took himself off the nutrition bag. Lot has happened in the year since I posted about it. He was responding to the chemo. To be honest I think the hernia he got was the beginning of the end. They stopped the chemo to fix that problem which is fixed. But while off chemo his cancer spread that much faster. In the year since his diagnosis they went to their timeshare and on a cruise to Alaska. He started complaining of stomach pain lo and behold cancer tumor is in small intestine blocking the exit for the stomach. The Dr wanted to put a stint in to help food pass but that wouldve meant off chemo again. He had enough. Christmas he was okay but on a food hydration bag. We anticipate funeral later this week. Not looking for sympathy just an outlet. Sucks but he had a good year since diagnosis.
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I know you said you're not looking for sympathy, but you have mine. At least he does. Knowing you're going to die soon is bad enough, but feeling miserable until that point is just plain awful. :(
 
saracelica said:
For those interested he's now actively dying. He took himself off the nutrition bag. Lot has happened in the year since I posted about it. He was responding to the chemo. To be honest I think the hernia he got was the beginning of the end. They stopped the chemo to fix that problem which is fixed. But while off chemo his cancer spread that much faster. In the year since his diagnosis they went to their timeshare and on a cruise to Alaska. He started complaining of stomach pain lo and behold cancer tumor is in small intestine blocking the exit for the stomach. The Dr wanted to put a stint in to help food pass but that wouldve meant off chemo again. He had enough. Christmas he was okay but on a food hydration bag. We anticipate funeral later this week. Not looking for sympathy just an outlet. Sucks but he had a good year since diagnosis.
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Sorry to hear. Best wishes to him and the family members.
 
Terribly sorry for your situation. I had an uncle die from colon cancer and my sister had a good portion of her colon removed, so I am a BIG advocate of colonoscopies. Too easy to spot and correct before it gets too big to fix. I think I am do this May for mine.

saracelica said:
For those interested he's now actively dying. He took himself off the nutrition bag. Lot has happened in the year since I posted about it. He was responding to the chemo. To be honest I think the hernia he got was the beginning of the end. They stopped the chemo to fix that problem which is fixed. But while off chemo his cancer spread that much faster. In the year since his diagnosis they went to their timeshare and on a cruise to Alaska. He started complaining of stomach pain lo and behold cancer tumor is in small intestine blocking the exit for the stomach. The Dr wanted to put a stint in to help food pass but that wouldve meant off chemo again. He had enough. Christmas he was okay but on a food hydration bag. We anticipate funeral later this week. Not looking for sympathy just an outlet. Sucks but he had a good year since diagnosis.
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He's not in pain. Hospice has him on good drugs. I have so far avoided seeing him doing. I want the healthy father in law in my head. Saw grandfather die... Take his last breathes 3.5 years ago and promised myself I wouldn't do that again. Last time my husband went to see him I got scheduled to work.
 
saracelica said:
I didn't think it was the time to say I wasn't interested but it can be a decision for later. Not even sure of the costs of "reserving" spot for 40 years.
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The synagogue wanted around $10K for mama Steingar, actually I think that was back dues or something. I declined. I can't see the point of outlaying that kind of cash so there can be a little grave that the remaining family will likely ignore.
 
saracelica said:
For those interested he's now actively dying. He took himself off the nutrition bag. Lot has happened in the year since I posted about it. He was responding to the chemo. To be honest I think the hernia he got was the beginning of the end. They stopped the chemo to fix that problem which is fixed. But while off chemo his cancer spread that much faster. In the year since his diagnosis they went to their timeshare and on a cruise to Alaska. He started complaining of stomach pain lo and behold cancer tumor is in small intestine blocking the exit for the stomach. The Dr wanted to put a stint in to help food pass but that wouldve meant off chemo again. He had enough. Christmas he was okay but on a food hydration bag. We anticipate funeral later this week. Not looking for sympathy just an outlet. Sucks but he had a good year since diagnosis.
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So sorry it's not any way to see a loved one go. I lost my Dad to cancer 3 years ago after 5 months of chemo...makes me sad every time I think about how he wasted away.
 
EdFred said:
41. But when I turned 30 I said if I haven't met anyone by the time I'm 40 that's the game plan. So, that's the game plan. I'm not going to empty out all my savings and accounts just to be destitute.
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Thing is, if you get the colonoscopy (=cheap) you are far less likely to get the cancer ($$$$). The colonoscopy is the financially erudite thing to do. Mine was covered by medical insurance, all I had to do was buy the rocket juice.

By the way, I can't easily count the number of guys who would envy you your situation.
 
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