I was meant to have a colonscopy 6 weeks ago but cancelled last minute since then stomach pain has got worse and so has nausea. Lost 5kg in 3 months ( got told that is because I'm diabetic and changed my diet) also blood when I wipe which I've been told is piles.
Feel really unwell and I'm petrified it's bowel cancer. After what I've read I am worried it's going to be too painful to have done. I'm really struggling
Why can't they give everyone virtual colonscopy and save the pain
I understand your worries about painful colonoscopy. I had one 6 months ago and I hadn't read up about the potential pain involved so wasn't prepared in the least for it. It was quite a painful procedure, i won't lie to you, but it was over after 30 minutes. The question is - if you don't have it and then you do have something nasty which could be more easily sorted if caught early, then you are opening yourself up to all sorts of more painful and more invasive procedures. So try not to worry about the short-term pain - you will at least know then if something is amiss and they can start treatment if there is. Please don't put it off. It's too important. And actually, many people have very little discomfort, some fall asleep altogether during the procedure, and even if you do have pain, it's actually really interesting to watch the procedure on the monitor. Let me know how you get on. Best wishes
I can understand that fear. It may be unfounded. And if it's not, then you will be getting the treatment you need. They are making huge steps forward with cancer treatment nowadays - if that's what the outcome is. Remember that other things can cause some or all of your symptoms - like a stomach ulcer - unpleasant but not life-threatening in the same way. Please get it checked out.
Dan - I had one 3 days ago and with some sedation most people don't feel anything much. I find the doctor's exam more painful. Of course you get nervous. I did too. But the condition you have (if you have one) won't make it any more or less painful generally. A lot of gastric symptoms come from the fear. I had terrible bleeding fifteen years ago and you can imagine what I thought. It was actually a burst blood vessel and nothing to worry about. Weight loss of the amount you have could just be diet or even feeling unwell and not eating. I am diabetic too. My weight varies that much weekly! So get it done and have your mind put at rest. Ask for sedation and bear in mind in the first stage (if you remember anything at all) the first bit feels like pushing but once that is over you usually feel very little. Whatever the problem is, it's better to know and be doing something. And it's probably nothing anyway and you are torturing yourself needlessly. No one likes the test but the fear of it is a hundred times worse than the reality for most people, most of the time. Good luck x
Yes, as people have written, it is often an almost painless procedure. Mine was. Some sedation and I was very chatty and found the screen pictures very interesting. I am sure everyone gets nervous, but you have to do it! Keep us up to date. We are all in this together...
It's not painful for everyone. Some people don't feel a thing apart from minor discomfort. Go back to your GP and tell them your fears they might refer you for a CT scan. But you must go back, it's never too late but obviously the sooner the better if only to put your mind at rest
P.S. My only colonoscopy was a follow up a year after my bowel cancer surgery. That was discovered from a CT scan and I was in theatre in about 3 hours as it was an emergency. But all is ok so far almost 2 years from the op, including 3 monthly blood tests and another recent CT scan. Why I am telling you this, is that even if they do find something wrong, it can be 'dealt with' successfully in many cases. Again, you really have to find out. As Ethermail (good name!) said, it might be nothing at all to worry about!
Sorry, can't help you there. Someone will know. Oh, and try not to look things up on the Internet! It can make people worry unnecessarily. Especially in the early hours.
Dear Dan - with me it worked about an hour and twenty minutes after taking (1pm to 2pm) and over the next 2 and a half hours I had a lot of watery motions (sorry for the graphic detail) I then took a second lot 6pm to 7pm and I had the same thing for 3 hrs. I slept all through the night, had nothing in the morning and the test was 8.30 am. I lost about a kilo but that is water loss and it was back on again and more in 24 hrs because I was very hungry once the test was over. You must, must, must drink plenty of water, and whatever else they allow (mine allowed apple juice and lemonade too) until you go to sleep or until two hours before the procedure. But follow the specific instructions on your prep. Mine was Moviprep. It's a real bore, but it's not as bad as gastro-enteritis because it definitely stops a few hours after you take the last bit and you don't feel ill like you do with gastric flu. Some people feel a bit wobbly and a bit nauseous but my stuff didn't make me feel anything. The big thing is to drink the stuff slowly and normally, maybe they a straw. If you panic and gulp it down it will make you feel sick because it is quite sweet (mine was). I made mine up the night before and kept it in the fridge. Having it very cold makes a difference to the taste and it is less bad. Bit like the difference between warn and cold lemonade. You will feel a bit bloated although I didn't get stomach cramps and the modern stuff gives you plenty of time to get to the loo provided you are indoors. You need to use a cream or Vaseline on your behind. If you do that you won't get sore. I recommend wet wipes and not usual toilet paper because it's wiping with that lots of times that makes you sore. I find the laxative bit more annoying than the actual test but you can eat and drink normally after the test although you may be a bit gassy and loose for a day or two, but nothing unmanageable. They should give you a number to call if you get any unusual symptoms above those you might expect with having the trots! Most of us having the test are used to the bowel being a pest so we are more familiar with running to the loo anyway. Hope that helps even if it is a bit graphic. D. PS - if you are on meds then read the stuff they give you as to what not to take and when to take your regular meds.
Thanks for the concise details. I'm already nauseous will this make it worse? My plan was to just down rather than drinking it slowly? I've been given the wonderfully named Klean prep
Will there be blood after the procedure when I go to the toilet? I'm hoping to get my haemorrhoids banded that was the original reason for referal but no one mentioned that
Hi Dan! May I ask how old you are if its not too rude? I am early 60s. I was very worried about the stuff because I am on powerful heart meds and there was the usual warning things on the packet but nothing actually was that bad. I expect they have to cover themselves. I think whether it will make you feel nauseous is a very individual thing. It didn't with me. And they are the same kind of laxatives. When I had the first test in the 90s they gave you this really vile stuff which was like a nuclear weapon lol but the modern ones have electrolyte things inside to keep your electrolyte balance right so they make me feel much less bad than the earlier meds did. I suggest you try and think of it like a sweet drink you had as a kid and not the evil fluid. I drank mine watching a film on the TV. A glass every 15 minutes. I also had swigs of water in between. It doesn't stay in your stomach very long and you can feel it move into the gut after a bit. Everyone on here seems to react differently to the taste. I didn't find it awful - just too sweet. I took a pantaloc tab for a couple of days to keep my stomach acid down but check you are allowed that and don't take any antacids near to when you take the stuff unless they say it's ok. I have the dreaded piles too but the specialist said they didn't warrant banding or injection. I have never had blood afterwards and I have had it three times but I gather from others that if you have polyps then snipping them can cause blood spotting for a few days. There is obviously a risk of some bleeding given the procedure but it has never happened to me. I didn't have polyps. They tell you what amount of blood is acceptable. The second one I had was because I was bleeding from the bowel but in fact it all stopped after the test, as did the IBS curiously. If your main problem is nausea, have they thought of a gastroscopy just to check your stomach? Now I have a REAL PHOBIA about that one but in fact I have had it four times over my life and that wasn't bad either, much to my surprise. The gag reflex I feared lasts about a second. My BP went sky high before the first of those. I was in super funk, but it was nothing in the end.
I had endo 2.5 years ago and now my gp says they'll only do one every 5 years. Not sure if that's true or whether he's trying to save the surgery money. Ironically I found the endo no big deal at all apart from the nasty stuff they spray that makes you gag..I need another as not normal to feel sick and pain all the time. I'm not buying anxiety that's a lazy diagnosis
I already take diazepam so I'm kinda worried the sedative they give won't work. As long as I'm out of it I'm ok but from what I read you are only dozy and feel everything. Lots of people say it's like having their guts ripped out which is what bothers me.
A youngster! I can only tell you my personal experience. The first time with the old meds I felt so bad from the laxative I didn't care what they did and the only thing I remember is falling off the trolley which everyone including me had a fit of giggles over. The second one on better meds I do remember even tho I was sedated. I did not feel like being ripped apart. As the camera went up the first side (the sigmoid colon) I felt some pressure. It wasn't pain but I did feel definite pressure. As he turned the corner to go across the lateral colon and distal side I felt nothing more. Withdrawing the camera feels quite natural as it's like passing a motion if you feel anything at all. This time, I was away with the fairies and only felt slight pressure. I asked the consultant how long he had been up there and he asked me how long I thought and I said three minutes. He said 15 minutes. Shows what the sedatives do. With the other one we were mentioning. I had to have 6 of those over 10 years. One I have no memory of (the first); four I have some memory of but it felt very quick and the last was a bit more troublesome though nothing that dreadful. They should take a history of your meds and I would discuss your point about whether your usual NED might lessen the effect of the sedative although I suspect it won't make any difference. So, with me, the sedatives work differently with me on different occasions but they have always been enough. I read the "ripped open" posts too which are genuine and distressing and in one case looked like medical malpractice to me but I have never had that feeling and I don't know any of my friends who have either and when you get to 60 all your mates have had this! Some of my friends have said they did not like the sigmoidoscopy which just goes up the one side, I suspect this is because the pressure stays because the camera never turns the bend. Personally I find the GP exam with a light by far the worst. Good luck! D.