Colonoscopy - is it ok without sedation?

[Peonytimeguys]

I have to have one next week and I really don't want sedation. It's early morning, and I'm hoping I'll be back at my desk by 1pm. They've offered gas and air, or even sedation mid way through.

Wld love to hear if people have gone through it without, but perhaps its a person to person thing.

Sadly the problem with that is that those of us who don’t have anyone are then left either to have procedures with no pain relief, or not have procedures that might be needed. They don’t seem to have any options, like letting you stay in the waiting area longer or something, or the new virtual wards where they phone and check in on you, or whatever - there should be some options for the cases when you really don’t have support.

Yes, I had to be collected & it's not enough to just say someone's is coming, they have to come in the clinic

Yes this is very true, also applies to dental sedation, I had to have someone come to pick me up afterwards. Just as well as I was groggy for awhile. Since there are more people who are on their own these days with no children or relatives available, it's difficult for them. I still have my partner but if I didn't, I'd be stuck.

My son had a gastroscopy under sedation last month and they had to physically see me there when I dropped him off, get my contact details, and then hand him over to me in person at the end.

I just wanted to say OP that no matter what arrangements you have to make, please do go ahead and have this procedure. Your screening hopefully did just throw up a marker and you are fine but colon cancer is really not something to mess with. A close relative had advanced colon cancer with absolutely no symptoms until a sudden incident that landed them in hospital. Luckily they were just one stage before it being incurable and recovered after some gruelling treatment. They had never had screening but early screening could have detected it when it was at a very early stage and avoided so much treatment down the line or in other cases could save your life.

Just had mine done OP and I strongly recommend taking the sedation, I don't think I'd have got through it if I hadn't. They had to top up my fentanyl three times but thanks to that they were able to go all through it and up the small intestines a bit too.
Didn't need to stay in recovery afterwards, they used an antidote medicine to stop the effect then a chat with the doctor about what she saw then I was fine to go.

I haven’t had the procedure but my DH has. The bit he found unpleasant was having to be in and out the loo for hours and then eventually just staying put on the loo for a very long time 😫😂

I had one with gas and air a couple of years ago - I just didn’t fancy being woozy afterwards, and wanted to know that I’d take the results in properly. It was pretty uncomfortable but perfectly manageable, and they gave me a cannula so that if I changed my mind they could instantly have sedated me after all. There was a wonderful nurse rubbing my stomach and squeezing my hand and telling me how well I was doing, and to be honest the whole thing felt so like childbirth that I felt a bit cheated not to be handed a baby at the end of it - but I said that and the doctor said it would be a bit frowned upon for her to steal one for me.

I think the main problem with turning down the sedation is that you retain more of your inhibitions. They have to pump you up like a football to inflate the colon and get the camera through, and I just got more and more full of air until I felt like I was about to explode, and eventually the nurse said “you do realise you’re allowed to fart don’t you?” And the doctor said “oh my God, yes, do fart!” I hadn’t consciously been restraining myself, but obviously the instinct preventing me from farting in the consultant’s face was still intact, which presumably it wouldn’t have been under sedation!!

On the plus side the recovery was immediate - I felt absolutely fine, took in the full joy of being told everything was clear, and went home to eat steak to celebrate!

The prep is utterly grim though. I was really strict about the diet beforehand so was starving and miserable from several days of incredibly bland food (including my birthday). Then the drink was enormous and vile and despite having it super chilled and alternating with sips of fizzy lime to cut through it is still absolutely revolting. And then you’re up all night on the loo - though I didn’t get the kind of cramps you get with a stomach bug; just a very insistent emptying. I second the advice about Vaseline, you’ll get really sore otherwise.

Ugh, haven’t relived it in quite such detail for a while! It’s not fun, but all the staff were completely wonderful when I had it and it’s an incredible, life-saving technique. Good luck.

eventually the nurse said “you do realise you’re allowed to fart don’t you?” And the doctor said “oh my God, yes, do fart!”

I could not fart in front of everybody during my last one, even though I was already lying there with my arse out and a camera up it, so it wasn't as if i had any dignity left to preserve! The nurse (who was wonderful and was called Princess) kept saying 'It's our air, not yours! We put it in there and we want you to let it out!' 😂

My first colonoscopy and its associated farts led to my worst ever autocorrect mortification. My DS had just started Reception a couple of weeks beforehand and I was only just starting to get to know the other mums. One of them had texted me asking about DS going round to her house for tea or something, and said 'I'll catch you after school to sort it out'. I'd just sent a text to one of my oldest friends who'd asked me how it had gone and whether I was home, saying that I was 'still waiting in the pharmacy, trying not to fart'. When I texted the school mum back, I had intended to keep it vague and say that I wasn't going to be at the school that day because I'd just done a 24-hour fast and was feeling a bit wobbly. My phone, however, decided in light of the previous text that I actually wanted to tell this very nice woman I barely knew that I was feeling wobbly because I had just done a 24-hour fart....I nearly died when I spotted it just as I pressed 'Send' 😂This was a plain old text on a brick phone in 2011, before the days of unsending WhatsApps. Fortunately she saw the funny side after a hastily-sent follow-up text, but OMG!! 😳

Haha @spiderlight that’s brilliant! And Princess sounds like a gem…

They reminded me to fart today and I tried but I couldn't, still haven't farted but don't feel gassy at all.

Had one without sedation earlier today. According to (lovely) dr it was a challenging procedure due to the shape of my bowel. I chose no sedation due to far quicker recovery time. (In my experience, have mainly had sedation previously).Also you don't need someone to pick you up, which you do with sedation. (Can be tricky as you have no idea when you will be free to go - although today was quick). It was temporarily unconfortable but fine. Half an hour in recovery then took public transport home. Thank you NHS.
Give yourseld a break though, don't go back to work, have a rest

Well you're a braver woman than me taking public transport after a colonoscopy after all that prep and interference! Medal to you but I would likely have shit myself with what was left .

I’ve had about 20 over the last 10 years. Sedation doesn’t work on me. It is uncomfortable yes but you are able to drive home straight away afterwards 😂

I found it very painful WITH sedation

Book the afternoon off, you've no idea how you'll be

Ooh me either. Even though dentist sedation does. Mystery

I have to travel an hour into London for mine and have never had a problem using public transport.

Just to say if you have sedation - you can't get a taxi on your own - you need some one to go with you. Perhaps reverse the plan and get taxi there and partner to pick you up. I have had colonoscopy x2 and due another v soon.

Take the drugs I reckon. I think it varies from person to person but my DH tried having it without sedation first time and he says he’s never been in so much agony. They had to stop and then he had to do all the prep again a few weeks later. That time he took all the drugs offered and he said fentanyl was properly dreamy! The procedure was completed successfully that time. I had to pick him up but that was no problem.

A CT scan isn't the same though. I had a colonoscopy after a routine bowel Screening test flagged positive, and the colonoscopy revealed a couple of potentially pre-cancerous polyps, which were removed during the procedure, and a great big cancerous tumour which the operator could mark with a tattoo to enable the surgeon to later see which piece of bowel he needed to remove....

I had one yesterday - I couldn’t have the sedation (midazolam) because I don’t have anyone over 18 to take me home, but they did let me have fentanyl which they’ll let you have if you stay in recovery for at least an hour before going home.

I was really worried but it wasn’t bad at all - about 2/10 when the camera first went in and a couple of 3/10 sharp stomach cramps. I also had gas and air if I needed it and they said they woukd give me buscopsn if needed (it wasn’t).

Afterwards my 16yo and I walked a mile into town and ended up getting a bus home rather than a taxi (taxis always make me anxious for some reason). I wfh and could have done some light work but was just a bit washed out from the fasting and the pooing and the having a camera stuck up my backside. You’ll be dehydrated even though Plenvu has electrolytes in so make sure you take some water with you.

I also had plenvu for the prep and it was worse than the colonoscopy for me. It made me feel really nauseous. First dose (6pm) took me about an hour to drink and started to feel sick and crampy about half way through. I was on the loo from about 8.30pm to 11pm and just didn’t bother getting off. Bought some adult pull ups and had a waterproof sheet on the bed but I did get up once in the night. ‘Dab’ rather than wipe - I had wet wipes but found that these stung more, so just used tissue with balm (not toilet paper) and applied Vaseline which helped. The second dose (6am) made me feel even more nauseous but no cramps. It took me five hours to finish it rather than the one hour the instructions said. After the first hour I stopped drinking it for about another hour and then started again and it didn’t seem as bad. It wasn’t really the taste (which is like drinking seawater with added cloyingly sweet aspartame in it) - maybe the chemicals that’s in it or the volume 🤷‍♀️

Dh had his without sedation, he was released 20 minutes after it finished whereas with sedation he’d have had to stay hours. He said it was fine - apparently mens anatomy does make them easier but it is a personal preference thing too

I had one in January and both the consultant and two nurses sucked in through their teeth when I said I was going to try with gas and air. The consultant tried to convince me to get my husband to collect me and pick up the car the next day so I could take the sedation and I said, “Ian, that car park is £6 an hour, I don’t think so”. One of the nurses then asked if I’d ever had abdominal surgery and grimaced when I told her yes, two c sections and laparoscopic ectopic surgery. Apparently women’s bowels are loopier as they’re usually squashed more than men’s, then combined with scar tissue it’s not ideal.

I managed with just gas and air in the end but there was a point the consultant stopped and asked me if I wanted to continue as it was so intense. It’s not constant pain, it’s really just when they pump you full of air to get through a loop but that was a good 8 or 9/10 for me pain wise. At the end he told me I have a particularly loopy bowel (smug) and to get the sedation if I ever have to have another. I happily agreed and then made him give me a hi five.

For about an hour or so after I had what I can only describe as arse daggers, which I think was my splincter protesting after what it had just been through. Tummy was a bit sore, but nothing a few puffs didn’t sort out. I could have WFH if absolutely necessary but I was tired and was glad to just relax.

Hope it all goes smoothly for you- I will be getting sedation if I ever have to do it again, but it wasn’t traumatic or anything. I was quite proud of myself after as I generally avoid anything that causes me the slightest bit of physical discomfort!

“Ian, that car park is £6 an hour, I don’t think so.”
😂

I got to be honest, the more posts I read, the more I'm totally dreading it! Mostly the prep. I already feel nauseous at the thought of 2 litres of Moviprep. Any thoughts on how to make it bearable?

I have taken on board wipes and vaseline. My poor piles won't thank me after this experience!