Colonoscopy at 21

texasgal232
texasgal232 Member Posts: 5
in Colorectal Cancer #1

Hello,

I am needing some advice/reassureance. I have been having horrible pain in the bowels for 4 months now. Every morning I have diarrhea and unpleasant gas. I sit on the tiolet for about 15 minutes, and there is no break. It's like having the worst stomch bug ever, it is so painful! Some days it is only in the morning, other days it's through out the day. I  also found small red specks of blood in my stool 3 weeks ago, and it continues. I went to my doctor who did blood tests- all normal. She suggested I go to a professional. He told me that my symptoms are strange, normally IBS does not continue for 4 months in a row, and blood in my stool is not a good sign. He believes its a chornic case of IBS, but to be safe he suggested I have a colonsocopy. He did say that I could start taking antibiotics, but if those don't work, I will have to come back and try new medications until it resolves, or until he suggests a colonoscopy. I have decided its better to get the procedure now since I am not a fan of anitbiotics, and of course my family wants to know it's nothing serious as soon as possible.

 

I've been reading many articles online about the dangers of conoscopies, and it is making me worry. I've never been under anesthesia, I have been lucky till now to never have any major procedure done. I am a 21 year old girl. 

 

I trust my doctor, and have looked him up online to see his reviews- all positive.

Do I have any reason to be concerned?

Comments

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #2
    Are you worried about the

    Are you worried about the colonoscopy or what you might have? My guess is it'll turn out that you have Crohn's. Not pleasant but not cancer. The colonoscopy won't be as bad as you think it will. Paricularly if you are put under for it. I was put under for my first one and the only unpleasant thing was having gas afterwards which came out rather quickly. And loudly but that's another story. For the colonoscopy they have you just lie on your side with your legs pulled up so it's not even that humiliating. I wasn't sore after or anything like that, it was like nothing had happened.

    For my second one I was awake and I didn't like that very much. It wasn't bad but it just wasn't something I wanted to be awake for. I got to see my tumour on the TV screen and it's a picture I'm not thrilled to have in my mind. 

    But it's best to get it done. You're quite young for it to be colon cancer but anything is possible. Good luck!

    Jan

  • traci43
    traci43 Member Posts: 773 Member
    edited June 2017 #3
    colonoscopies are pretty routine

    Most folks are more concerned about the prep, which consists of drinking a lot of salty water that will give you the runs.  I prefer being awake for the colonoscopy as I want to see what's there, or hopefully not there!  Whether your are totally out or not really depends on where the procedure is being done. If you are not totally out, they give you something to calm you and so you don't feel any discomfort.  Really it's not bad, and far better to know what's going on than not.  I hope whatever they find is not life threatening.  Good luck to you, Traci

  • EissetB
    EissetB Member Posts: 133
    #4
    My advice to you is to have a

    My advice to you is to have a colonoscopy test done as soon as possible to make sure you're colon is not the issue. Blood in stool isn't a good sign either. I had pain in my stomach, then I became constipated for few weeks, then bloody stools afterwards. If I went to see my GI doctor right away when I had stomach pain I am sure I could had saved my colon from cancer stage IIIc. I thought I had an ulcer then. Having colonoscopy test isn't as bad as you think it would be. The irritating part is the preparation. They'll give something to drink before the test. You have to be nearby the commode when you take the prep solution. It will clean up your colon faster for the colonoscopy test. Hope and pray you don't have a bad result. 

  • NewHere
    NewHere Member Posts: 1,429 Member
    #5
    It Is Pretty Easy

    As Traci said, the prep is the probably the "worst" part.  The first one I had, the prep was the salty type thing.  Yuck.  The next three times, the prep was done for  procedues at Memorial Sloan Kettering (one surgery, two colonoscopy).    They use Miralax and it was fine.  Got big bottles of proper color  (red, orange things generally not allowed) Gatorade and no bad taste at all.  Make sure you have some of the wet wipes around because the prep has you in the bathroom non stop for hours.   If you are up for it, starting the prep a day earlier (modification of diet) makes sure things are good for the colonscopy.  Try to not worry too much, and hoping for the best news for you.

    The recipes are here

    MiraLax Prep At MSK

     

    Two Day Prep here

  • Woodytele
    Woodytele Member Posts: 163
    #6
    It's no big deal

    I would get the colonoscopy ASAP, don't delay, it's a simple procedure, you feel nothing, and it can save your life. 

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