colonscopy fear

There is nothing to fear.  My mom was diagnosed last May and when I went for my yearly checkup my doctor said I should get a colonoscopy because I now had two family members with colon cancer.   I am very glad I went and got the scope done.  I am 32 years old and they ended up finding 2 polyps in their earliest stage.   I had the fortune of getting the scope on a Tuesday after I finished working a stretch of midnight shifts.   When I work midnight shifts I hardly eat because my body is screwed up.   When I began the prep on Monday I had not had a large meal in alittle over a week.   I may have went to the bathroom a total of 6 times that day and once in the morning of the scope.  No horrible cramps or anything.   When I arrived at the doctors office I went back and a they gave me an IV of something.   I remember laying on my side and feeling warm.  The next thing I know I woke up and it was over !   I have no fears about the procedure at all anymore.  They gave me a coupon for perkins and it was one of my best breakfasts in my life :-)

The first time for anything is usually the scariest - because it's an unkown.  As others have said, I thought drinking the prep was the worst part.  And if you use a straw and a water chaser, it goes a bit better.  Emptying your bowels - once they start moving - isn't really that bad.

Usually on your visit for the appointment they will give you an IV access to give you meds.  I got Versed (an amnesiac) and Fentanyl (a painkiller).  Since it was my first time I told them I didn't want to remember anything.  They took me into the exam room where the GI doc explained the procedure, had me sign a consent form, and that's the last I remember until I was sitting up in a chair in the original intake room. No memory - no discomfort. I think it took like 1/2 hour?

Since then I've had 2 endoscopic ultrasounds.  These are kind of like a colonoscopy but they only go so far as they need to take pictures and ultrasounds of the tumor.  Since it was colorectal, it wasn't that far.  They didn't offer any meds for this - and I asked why not.  They said it was a much shorter, less invasive procedure - but I COULD get meds if I wanted.  I chose not to and I had no issues with it at all.  Frankly, I like to be informed and they talk you through the whole procedure - and you can watch the monitor while they scope, if you want.

It's good that you are getting this done, given your family history.  I hope all goes well for you!

J

It was so no big and like everyone else has said, the prep is the worse part.  Just keep lots of things to occupy you in the bathroom because you'll be there a lot!  If you're not a night owl, I would start the prep early.  Mine said to start at 5 but I started at noon because I wanted to get a good nights sleep.  Actual procedure was a breeze.  You take a nap, wake up and go out to lunch.    Good luck!