Can someone set my mind at rest plz.

[ben0510]

After a weeks stay in hospital last week,It has been decided by the specialist in charge, that I need a colonoscopy as well as a flexible cystomocy. they originally wanted to do one one day, and the other the next day! but thats been changed now.
any way, what I want know, is it best to be sedated for the colonoscopy and get someone to drive me there and back, or not have sedation at all?. in which case will I be able to drive myself home? no one in the hospital will commit one way or the other. hope you can help.

 

[Pino]

Get a sedation, do not drive by yourself.

 

[Trucker7]

I heard several people around me had a colonoscopy and almost all would tell you to get sedation. My ex wife had a really bad time in a colonoscopy after not taking sedation. It depends on you and how you bear pain in this part of your body but I would take sedation if I would get a colonoscopy.

 

[Hemix]

Thou'lt definitely get sedated, I got one 8 years ago.

 

[ben0510]

thanks for all the replies. one of the reasons I asked the question was my neighbour had exactly the same thing about 3 weeks ago, and hes had nothing but trouble in that area ever since. but hes old school and didn't have a sedative. and I'm thinking because he was tensed up and not relaxed he maybe sustained a small internal injury. so thanks for the advice. I think on balance its sedative for me and a driver to take me there and get me home again.

 

[Tenaman]

I have urinary IC issues and wear nappies 24/7 to manage it. I had a colonoscopy last year and did not have any sedation. It was a fairly unpleasant procedure and of course I could not wear a nappy. I did warn them of the possible consequences! And needless to say at one of the more in depth parts of the procedure it set my bladder off ! They were very good about it. There was a disposable mat on the bed which they changed immediately after I had wet it and at the end helped me clean/dry myself and change into a dry nappy. It took an about a day to get over the procedure but it was just uncomfortable not painful.

 

[ben0510]

thanks for the reply. I make take a nappy or some pads with me just for the journey home.

 

[ltaluv]

I've had approximately 25 colonoscopies. Sedation has ranged from too little Versed (which sucked - I was in severe pain the whole time) to full-on general anesthesia (the colonoscopy was done in conjunction with another procedure that required anesthesia).

Get someone to drive you home, and get the sedation. It'll let the doctor get a better look at your colon, since you're not thrashing around in pain while they're trying to see, and it'll be way less unpleasant for you.

 

[antgjuy]

I agree that you should be sedated for a colonoscopy; and most doctors are quite willing to provide the sedation. I also think that sedation would be a good idea for a cystoscopy as that procedure is also quite uncomfortable, but I've never been able to persuade a urologist to sedate me for a cystoscopy.

 

[OnePiece]

I have undergone both procedures. None of them with sedation.
Although, the nurse put a little pain relieving gel in the urethra before doing the cystoscopy, the kind you put on blisters.
I wouldn’t say either of the procedures was painful in it self, but definitely unpleasant.
The colonoscopy did get painful when they entered an area with inflammation, but that was solved with a thinner instrument.
I was given the choice to get a sedative, but opted out.
I could have driven home from the hospital my self, but my wife did as I was a little exhausted from not eating for 24 hours and
the cleaning process.

You do what you think are best for you. Both choices are OK.

 

[Tigercub59]

I'm on the non-sedated side but then again I'm a nurse and wanted to see what was happening. Also, the Dr was able to explain everything as he saw them. It was a little uncomfortable when they had to blow air inside to see what was there but I felt it was tolerable. I have to have another one soon and when I told them I didn't want sedation, they told me I still needed someone with me anyway. Again, do what you think you can tolerate, also I was told that if it became too uncomfortable during the procedure they could still sedate me.

 

[Constantlydamp]

I had a colonoscopy last year and was sedated. They allowed me to keep my pubic pressure urinal on so I didn't drip urine during the procedure and it was unpleasant rather than painful. The nurse moved my urine bag during the procedure to make me more comfortable.

 

[dogboy]

I was sedated when I had mine and wouldn't go through it any other way. My daughter had one done and the sedation started to wear off while they were doing the procedure and she said she was in a lot of pain so you definitely want the sedation.

 

[Edgewater]

My colonoscopy was in November and with a sedative. It is the only way they provide this procedure without a ton of additional paperwork! The fast action sedative was great as I was quickly out and back-up shortly they finished. I was wearing a NorthShore Supreme Pull-up and when I was waking-up it was back in place. Last month I had a flexible cystomocy and that was without a sedative, but did include a topical pain reliever. My Doctor was a true expert and I did get to see the cameral action on a large screen.

I truly believe that the prep the day before is critical for a colonoscopy! One has to follow direction 100% for the best results. Failure to follow the directions and you get to do it again!!

 

[slimjiminy]

I had mine sedated. I can't imagine having it done without.

 

[Zeke]

For the two colonoscopies that I’ve had I wasn’t sedated. While I can see how waking up when the procedure was over could be preferable for some it didn’t bother me enough for me to request it in the one that I supposed to schedule to be done next month. One thing to take into consideration is that my prior two colonoscopies were done while I was on high doses of morphine and hydrocodone and for the first the doctor added a shot of Demerol when I felt some abdominal pain. Keep your sense of humor is my biggest suggestion.

 

[ltaluv]

I've been awake for many of my colonoscopies, mostly because it takes a whole lot of Versed to put me to sleep or make me not remember things. I recall one where I was chatting with the doctor about his friable my colon was (it would bleed any time the scope touched it, and my entire colon was that inflamed) and others where they pushed more Versed and narcotics when the pain became too severe. Because of ask the scarring, my colonoscopies tended to be difficult, though, so maybe I'm not all that representative of what most people would experience.

No more colonoscopies for me, though - i don't have a colon any more for them to look at. They may decide to scope my ileum at some point, but hopefully that's going to be a bit easier to handle.

 

[Remo]

Sedation is the only way to go. Went in with a pull up on and they put it back on me when they were done.

 

[OnePiece]

I wonder, are the colonscopies different in USA than in nordic countries?
I got a tube with the thickness of a finger inserted. It included a water flushing device and a camera.
Thicker objects do pass naturally.
I could feel the flexible tube moving in and out and water running out.
Sure, it was not pleasant and not just a little embarrassing, but not painful.
Not something I thought needed a sedation.
Prior to the examination, I had to undergo a fast and a cleaning procedure, including several enemas to
get an empty and «clean» colon. The fasting was the worst.

 

[Regularnot]

Things apparently differ considerably from place to place, I've had several colonoscopies and by the 3rd had seen a some TV show that described little use of sedation in some European countries - so I tried it, some discomfort but pretty tolerable (on balance unless I have something afterward I can't miss, I'll take mild sedation...) at the end of the procedure the nurses practically didn't know what to do since I was 'off-script' and not unconscious - was kind of funny. Sedation can be too much, once all I could recall after waking up a home was staring at my feet as the ground slid by... found out later my wife took me in a wheelchair to the car...I made sure the next time my dosage was significantly lowered!

prep is different as well - four Ducolax and then two full jugs of Gator-aid spiked with an entire container of stool softener. the sight of Gator-aid makes me want to retch...