Colonoscopy - sedation or not?

[User415373]

I have to have a colonoscopy next week. It's in the morning. The only problem is that I have an event I absolutely have to attend in the evening. It would be near home and I wouldn't need to drive there, but I just can't miss it.
I initially thought I would definitely have sedation, but now I'm worried that I'll be feeling rough later on if I do?
They've obviously said I can have gas and air if not.

I'm not really worried about pain but I realise that it might end up being very painful. I'm also worried about what I might say when I'm sedated (I don't know why I have this but I would be so embarrassed if I started going on about my personal life or something - does it have that effect or not I have no idea?)

What would you do in my situation?

I’d pop to Sainsbury and pick up some joggers and a robe. There was a period of sitting around before the procedure and jeans would have been very uncomfortable afterwards with the gas.

You really do need a dressing gown unless you fancy walking round in a backless hospital gown with pants which have a hole near the arse on display! Borrow one or buy a cheap one. You can't wear jeans.

I would invest in a cheap pair of flip flops or sliders rather than slippers. hospital floors, shudder, you can wash flip flops and sliders! A dressing gown is cosy if you are waiting around for a while.

I bought some huge sanitary towels just in case of accidents on the way in the car. The journey was an hour.
I wore joggers.
I was extremely ill during the days of low residue diet and by the time the prep was done I was very weak.
But I'd been having diarrhea for weeks previously so was very depleted.

I threw up some of the 2nd round of prep. Luckily it was clear enough to do a proper procedure.

Drink as much fluid as you can besides the prep.

You will be in a gown, with some huge paper bloomers.

At my appointments you put one gown on the correct way and then one backwards over the top. My feet never touched the ground they put me on a trolly and wheeled that into the room. But I am disabled so they might not do that for everyone.

When I was in recovery and I could eat I virtually begged for a sandwich on wholewheat bread.

In France l was offered GA or sedation, so you may be right.

OP go for the sedation. I had just a sigmoidoscopy with no sedation in the UK as part of a screening trial, and found parts of it excruciating.

I wore flip flops and a dressing gown.

I meant jeans for before and after not during! Happy to go and buy a dressing gown, I'll get one on the way.

I've a scop on Monday and the diet restrictions are freaking me out! I'm a hi-fibre fiend !!! I'll' give it up Saturday and stick with white foods though. Are bananas OK I wonder??

Good luck with yours OP

My 97 year old Dad donated to me some of his big blue absorbent pants! They are stacked up in my wardrobe and every time I open it they give me a laugh!

When I left his place with them yesterday the last thing he said to me was "good luck with my blue knickers!" 😅😂

It's a 'no' to bananas.

Good luck.

OK, thank you. I don't understand it really. I can eat turnip which seems very fibrous but not the stalks of cauliflower. I suppose peeled apples is a no too.

Looks like I'll stick to the mashed spuds!

Editing to say, when they say turnip do they mean white turnips and not the yellow swedes?? I'm Irish and when we say turnip we mean swedes. Or neeps to my Scottish comrades!

Bananas are my diet plan as a snack choice! I've had one today!

When is your scope???? I'm Monday and still eating normally. Had a bit bowl of muesli and bran sticks for breakfast!

Is the diet dependent on the prep I wonder. I have Plenvu. Mango and Fruit Punch flavour I think 😟

@Greysowhat mine is on Saturday! I've been told to have 5 full days of low residue diet and nothing at all from tomorrow lunchtime. I'm having moviprep so maybe that's why. I think different trusts have different guidelines also.

During low residue I had bananas. Just not close to the day B4 the prep.

Just for balance - I had no sedation and it was absolutely fine. There was gas and air on standby but I didn't feel like I needed that. It was slightly uncomfortable round the bends but not painful. They told me what was happening the whole time - I had quite a few biopsies but didn't feel anything - there are no nerve endings in the colon.

I saw the person before me come out sedated and I thought I'd rather endure being a bit uncomfortable than being completely out of it like that. But everyone is different. I was absolutely fine after and could eat normally.

The prep wasn't too bad either, the laxative was nothing like I thought it would be. It's not like when you're ill with diarrhea - feels just like weeing. Rather strange but the whole experience was not as bad as I expected.

Everyone is different, of course but I would say that if you are the slightest bit worried then please do have it.
Just in case.
It’s light sedation and honestly, it’s fine. I was very relaxed and possibly a bit too chatty with the lovely Spanish nurse. (About Spain and its regions…)

That's the prep I had its been a year and i still can't eat mangos good luck 😬

I had gas and air for mine. I didn't find it painful at all.
They did have to tug hard to get the g&a off me though. Not cos it was painful, I was just enjoying myself 😁

I think Billy Connolly's piece on colonoscopy prep is spot on.

I had sedation and found it very uncomfortable nevertheless. Apparently I have a very bendy colon. Next time, I’m looking for GA.

I had it without. There was the odd moment of pain as the scope went round a bend but it was fleeting and I had gas and air available if I wanted it.

It was great to just be able to walk out of there feeling normal (and hungry) when those who had sedation were still waiting for it to wear off enough to be allowed to go.

In the unlikely event of another one I would not even consider sedation

Thank you. Yes I'm guessing I won't be able to look at a mango for a long time after the Plenvu!

I had sedation and gas and air and it was excruciating!

Oh no! That sounds terrible. Didn't the sedation work? Didn't they give you enough?? I had a sigmoidoscopy 9 years ago and just got gas and air and it was very uncomfortable at the start, bendy colon I think.