Colonoscopy: If Katie Couric Can Do It, So Can I
Newswoman Katie Couric underwent a colonoscopy live on national TV in 2000. I think it’s time someone else publicly humiliated herself in the name of colorectal health. So I nominated myself for the duty. I’m going to blog my colonoscopy.
Most people go for their first colonoscopy at age 50. My doctor recommended I get one now (at age 49) as my family has several colorectal skeletons in the closet.
The preparation
You get a list of instructions to follow. I screwed up right away by taking some ibuprophen three days before. (You’re supposed to avoid that stuff for five days before.) I called the triage nurse and she said it was OK.
I went to the pharmacy over the weekend and picked up the bowel prep stuff. It comes in a big box.
Twenty-four hours before the test, you have to stop eating. The only things you can have are some liquids, popsicles and Jello-O. Lucky for me I love Jell-O. I went out and bought four boxes of lime Jell-O and mixed it up last night.
This morning, I mixed up the bowel prep stuff. It’s a liquid that you have to refrigerate and then drink the night before the test.
I brought a can of College Inn chicken broth to work with me today. I guess that’s lunch, along with a side order of lime Jell-O. I will leave work today at 2:30 so I can begin taking the stuff that will do, uh, the cleaning.
I will be back with more fascinating details later on and tomorrow.
Now, go entertain yourselves:
- Famed sports entrepreneur Mark Cuban blogged his colonoscopy earlier this summer.
- For information on the pros and cons of ‘virtual colonoscopies’ visit RadiologyInfo. Thanks to New Midlife Mommy for tipping me off to the virtual procedure.
- Check out the Poop Report
July 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Your braver than I am. My doctor mentioned having one done the last time I was there – about 4 years ago. It is not a coincidence that I have not been to the doc’s in so long.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Jeff: I understand. I was freaking out about it for a few years. But now that I am on the EVE of it, I don’t really care that much.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
If you have a medical condition that requires you to have this check done, YOU HAVE IT DONE!! I did..
July 30th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
If you have to get it done, do it and get it over with.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
You’ll soon be grateful you followed instructions and didn’t eat anything beyond that which was permitted.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I had mine a year ago – put it off til age 60. Found a few polyps, so glad I didn’t put it off any longer. It was much less bad than I feared.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Oh dear, my heart goes OUT TO YOU! I haven’t had the “pleasure?” just yet, but from what I’ve heard…oh dear.
Will be thinkin’ of ya tomorrow, Rhea! On second thought…maybe…well, YOU know what I mean.
Best wishes for excellent results after the agony.
July 31st, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I did this last year. It was a piece of cake.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:39 am
[...] Believe it or not, it’s hard to come down off the high of blogging your colonoscopy for two days. But I will manage — somehow. Thanks again for all your instructive and supportive comments. [...]
August 4th, 2007 at 11:24 am
Those links are hilarious!
August 4th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
[...] UPDATE: I meant to tag Rhea. I had a feeling she’d like this one. So Rhea, you’re tagged, and you don’t have to tag anyone else if you don’t wanna. To the rest of ya’ll, go read about Rhea’s colonoscopy adventures. And vote for your favorite celebrity baby boomer. [...]
September 17th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I had a colonoscopy done today, I am a female age 35, I was having chronic pain in my abdomin for several months. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the procedure because I was completely asleep, but the prep is HORENDOUS! I feel for anyone that has to go through this…
Just a note of caution, if you suffer from Migraines and MSG is a trigger for you DO NOT drink the broth or bullion in most soups because they contain it and I learned the hard way, I spent the whole weekend starving with a migraine to boot!
October 13th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
The so-called “conscious sedation” given during the colonoscopy doesn’t work on a fair number of people….The painkillers are inadequate and they also give a drug to cause “amnesia” of what for many people is a very, very painful event. I kept begging for them to stop because of the pain; the nurses just stood there and the doctor made smart remarks about “she won’t remember the pain anyway”……..what a lousy way to treat prople; it was an awful, painful test administered at a University hospital by people who were some of the most uncaring doctors and urses that I have ever met. At least my screaming finally made them stop. The doctor said: “well versed (the amnesia stuff) doesn’t work on about 10% of the colonoscopy patients, and we really can’t give you a lot of pain meds, so that’s basically too bad that you had a horrible experience. Never again; get a virtual colonoscopy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 18th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
If your colonoscopy is done with versed and fentanyl…..don’t d it……..get a virtual first..then if you need a conventional, get an anesthesia person to put you “under” for this horrific test,,,,not some hurried gastro doc who has a nurse give you an “amnsia” drug” versed and hopes that you won’t remember the test…………it’s horrible
October 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I just got back from having my colonoscopy (Rhea, I was inspired by your bravery)…and thank goodness my doctor gave me something that put me completely under. I told him I didn’t want anything that would just give me amnesia later–who needs that?! I DON’T WANT TO BE THERE. The last thing I remembered was the nurse saying, “Good night! We’ll see you in about a half hour!” and the next thing I knew it was 30 minutes later, I was in the recovery room, and the doctor was saying, “Good news! No cancer!” (My mom died of colon cancer this past summer, so I was really, really worried in a very deep way about this test.)
Also the new prep–with OsmoPrep pills–isn’t as awful as the liquid thing sounds. True, you have to take 32 pills, but you can take it with whatever good-tasting liquid you want. (I picked iced tea.) And it didn’t make me feel nauseated, just…well, emptied out. I guess it’s not good for people who have high blood pressure because of the salt content, but I definitely would recommend it to anyone who can take it. (The funny thing is, they didn’t really offer it to me; I had to ask if it was available.) So I would tell anyone who is thinking of doing this test, make sure ahead of time that you’re really going to go to sleep AND take the pills if you can.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:17 pm
For those preparing to undergo a colonoscopy, there’s a great deal of helpful medical information about colonoscopies here.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:29 am
if hey insist on “versed” for sedation, run, don’t walk and find someone who knows what they are doin unless you want a lifetime of haunting memories……………….
May 14th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Colonoscopy is a good idea; getting it with Versed is a very bad idea. Few docs explain that Versed is a patient-control drug that is given to make you forget the procedure; this is an inviatation to patient abuse. Check out askapatient.com you will not believe all of the Versed horror stories there. GI docs who use this drug without adequate patient consent are uncaring slobs.
May 16th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I had a colonoscopy four days ago and it was the most horrible, painful experience in my life. I had assumed from talking to friends that the prep would be nasty, the procedure a breeze, not so. The prep was not pleasant but going to the bathroom 18 times is no big deal, I get the same thing happening if I eat South Carolina barbecue.
I was given both Demerol and Versed and remained wide awake and alert during the entire procedure so I could experience every second of excruciating pain. I begged for more meds, was told that my BP was too low, sorry! I remember weeping and screaming, finally it was over. I was not at all sleepy, as soon as the Dr and nurses left, I got out of bed to fetch my clothes, got dressed and read a magazine for 45 minutes until the nurse returned to escort me out, WALKING, not in a wheelchair. After that, I have had horrible flashbacks of the experience and how much it hurt and a lot of rage at my Drs for not warning me of how bad it would be. I suspect the Versed did not cause amnesia on me like it is supposed to. I did have a good report and my Dr said that I could have a CT virtual colonoscopy in 10 years. I will also never take Versed again.
May 16th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Wow, your story, Morticia, is amazing. I never heard that this procedure could be so painful!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I’m a nurse with 25 years of med-surg experience and my husband is a physician. Neither of us would ever consent to the amnesia drug Versed (midazolam); do a little research before you consent to this drug and don’t believe the line that “it’s to relax you”. This drug is wrecking patients emotionally. Pay to have Propofol if you want sedation. I’m lucky enough to have IBS and get yearly colonoscopies; I have never had sedation and my exams are difficult because I am a woman (we have more tortourous/twisty colons) and because of my IBS, and these exams are easy and painless. You have to find a doctor who will take his/her time, not an assembly line where nurses seate patients into imobile, docile and amnesic zombies…….then the exam is done roughly (they assume that the patient will not remember it) and thats when it hurts..then the fun starts when you get home and live with the nightmares. I became a nurse to help people; I kick myself when I think of how many patients I have hurt by giving them Versed.