[Heartnsoul]

While watching my neighbor go through it again, I thought geez maybe I better call and schedule mine since my last was 5 yrs ago. They told me it's every 10 yrs now. Wow that seems like a long time??

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by Heartnsoul

While watching my neighbor go through it again, I thought geez maybe I better call and schedule mine since my last was 5 yrs ago. They told me it's every 10 yrs now. Wow that seems like a long time??

The gastroenterologist we use (as do many others) recommend every 10 years UNLESS polyps have been detected and removed. Then it is every 3 (some say 5) years until one gets a clear (no polyps) colonoscopy.

btk

[getdul981]

Originally Posted by jazzy48

Doctor decided to do "double header," colonoscopy and EGD.

.

My wife used to work in the Endoscopy unit where we lived. When I had to have a "double header", I told her to make sure they do the EGD first. She told me that they actually use two different scopes.

Unfortunately, I'm due for another pretty soon.

[graciegirl]

NEXT »

Dave Barry’s Colonoscopy ++++++++++++++++++++
This is from newshound Dave Barry’s colonoscopy journal:

…….I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenteritis, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis .
Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn’t really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, ‘HE’S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!’
I left Andy’s office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called ‘MoviPrep,’ which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America ’s enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn’t eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.
The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, ‘a loose watery bowel movement may result.’ This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.
MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don’t want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and star t eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.
After an action -packed evening, I finally got to sleep. The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, ‘What if I spurt on Andy?’ How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.
At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.
Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn’t thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
W hen everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA I remarked to Andy that, of a ll the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, ‘Dancing Queen’ has to be the least appropriate.
‘You want me to turn it up?’ said Andy, from somewhere behind me. ‘Ha ha, ‘ I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling ‘Dancing Queen, Feel the beat of the tambourine,’ and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.
Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.

[msendo]

If you have had polyps, I would urge you to encourage your children to seek advice from a G I doc when they should go for their colonoscopy, if they have not already done so by age 50. The recommendations are that they would have the procedure earlier than the recommended screening age 50. If you know that any of your children have had polyps, and you have never gone for your colonoscopy, then I strongly urge you to get one. Polyps tend to run in the family

There are different types of polyps. Some are harmless, some have the potential to grow into a cancer, and may not. Then there are some that are cancerous. Period. Regardless, they are all sent to a lab for analysis. The type may determine the length of time that you would return for another colonoscopy, as well as if there is a family history.

Polyps can be missed. because of an inadequate prep. That's why we have to suck it up and take ALL of the prescribed prep and diet (so that your doctor can see that beautiful pink colon). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Although it sounds. corny, the GI team is pretty passionate about their work.

[getdul981]

My wife said that many times the patient will wake up afterwards in the recovery area and want to know when they are going to start. They can't believe that it is all over.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by billethkid

The gastroenterologist we use (as do many others) recommend every 10 years UNLESS polyps have been detected and removed. Then it is every 3 (some say 5) years until one gets a clear (no polyps) colonoscopy.

btk

The three year rule applies if there is a history of colon cancer in your family as my mother had colon cancer.

I hate the prep but it's worth the peace of mind knowing I am whistle clean.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Originally Posted by gomoho

Only out my backside!!!!

I mixed mine with a pack of Crystal Light lemon aid and it was wonderful, no issues drinking it at all.

[graciegirl]

I hope all of you will consider finding the best gastroenterologist available and scheduling yours if you are over fifty. Katie Couric sadly lost her young husband to Colon cancer and now campaigns for colonoscopy. Medical guidelines suggest you have your first one at fifty.

It is a test that saves lives.

On my first one, I had cancerous polyps removed. AND never felt ANY discomfort afterward at all. It was painless...The yucky part is the prep, but doable.I would chug and go outside and walk around for a few minutes and think about Christmas trees.

Please do it for yourself and everyone who loves you. And for all of us here so we can enjoy your friendship.

Please share the name of a gastroenterologist locally who you trust.

[rubicon]

I am sort of a pro on this issue because i have had more colonoscopies than the average bear. Colyte( gallon mix) quickly lost my favor even with Crystal Lite. By the way never use a mix with sugar because if during the procedure there is a spark well.............................................. .......

I ask my doc why I was given the colite(sp) as I never could get it down without gagging. he said because they had a lifetime supply on the shelves. So I went to fleet phosphus soda (sp) and that ease my the night before prep