Anyone had a colonoscopy?

[MeDadMeDad]

Hi all I'm due to have a colonoscopy next week has anyone had one and can you tell me your experience.
Was it painful, was it uncomfortable, was it embarrassing. What do they do. Thank you xx

Not embarrassing, its a medical procedure and they do lists and lists of them every day.

Buy soft toilet paper, wype or anusol / prep h wipes for the prep stage. Keep the prep in the fridge and drink it with a straw.

I opted for sedation, it did nothing at all. I found it very painful and threw up afterwards copiously.

I had a large number of biopsies, a large polyp removed / clipped / tattooed so it took quite some time.

Local procedures will differ as to what you are offered.

I found the pain from the gas afterwards very, very painful on the way home.

The prep you take is worse than the colonoscopy!
I've had several and I've always chosen to be sedated. I've never felt anything and it always passes quickly, I don't watch the screen, just chat to the nurse during it, usually gripping her hand.
I don't find it embarrassing, I've got past that, had cervical cancer.
The staff are always very professional and helpful I find

Not me, but my partner's had quite a few due to Crohn's Disease.

So far been fine. First time he did the prep I came home from work expecting him to be in bed groaning - instead he was sat on the sofa reading a book and said all that happened was a few rushed trips to the loo. The procedure itself he said he didn't feel anything due to the sedation.

I have had a sigmoidoscopy which is a similar procedure with no problems -they don't sedate you for that. The prep was fine.

One good thing is they'll often be able to tell you the results straightaway.

There are multiple threads on MN about this which can hopefully offer reassurance. If you scroll down past this message you will see them listed.

In my experience, the thought of this procedure is much worse than the reality. You will be offered sedation which is a huge help. Drinking the prep is unpleasant.

Nothing to be embarrassed about as the staff do these procedures one after the other and it will be very routine for them. They will preserve your dignity.

A cup of tea and a sandwich after never tasted so good!

Also had biopsies taken and felt nothing.
No pain or even excessive farting afterwards, they like you to get rid of tje gas.
I went to M&S afterwards for a treat.
Sorry you had such a bad experience @FurForksSake

I’ve had several colonoscopies and I agree with @catzrulz . For me there are even are positive things about the prep because I don’t find it particularly painful - not compared to having a ‘digestive upset’ - and all you can do is stay close to the loo.

I teach in a secondary school and had a colleague in the next classroom do the prep and teach on the same day. Yes, they are lovely students but the loos are down a flight of stairs. I don’t know how she managed it, but she did.

Yes, the staff are always professional and helpful, and kind.

I don’t enjoy the prep and it takes me a few days to eat properly afterwards. I always opt for gas and air and I’ve never found it painful, just uncomfortable. It’s not embarrassing, it’s actually interesting, I watch the screen to see what they are doing!

I’ve had a couple, I don’t opt for sedation, I find the prep a lot lot worse (get something soft to wipe with or a hand held bidet type thing) it’s not embarrassing (at least for me) I’ve had doctors that have basically taken me on a guided tour of my colon or ones that have ignored me and just talked about this and that with the nurses (didn’t feel rude, actually was a bit better, could just pretend I wasn’t there! And was just light talk about where they were going on holiday) it felt a casual atmosphere.

I did - two weeks ago. Was v anxious but didn’t want sedation as have no one to stay with me. The procedure was actually fine - breathe slowly and use the gas and air (think back to child birth techniques if relèvent). It’s the bends that are a little painful, and you can watch it all in ultra hd! The prep was awful and exhausting - rubbish food for two days then basically a simulated bug for 12 hours, but then it’s all done. The staff were very calm and reassuring, dignity at all times and results straight away. I think it’s one of those where the idea is worse than the reality. Good luck xx

Just to say - there was no option of gas and air here, just “sedation” and that had no sedentary effects and they warned it was very much waking sedation and not the kind where you are snoozy / drowsy. You could opt for no sedation, but that didn’t then give you access to gas and air.

The hospital should give you information or have information on their website regarding what they offer.

I’ve had a few. My tip re the prep is drink black tea along with it rather than water or juice. It’s so sweet that the blank tea counters the sweetness. First time I drank diluting juice and I was really sick. I didn’t find the procedure too bad (the one down the throat is far worse) but the stomach cramp after due to the gas was painful. The medical team are fab and put you at ease and to them it’s their job. I have watched it both times on screen which is your choice. Good luck

I’ve had one, the prep was unpleasant but doable. I made sure it was very cold in the fridge before drinking, and then alternated a gulp with a sip of black coffee. You will be racing to the bathroom several times, but it’s not painful.
The procedure was fine. I opted for sedation and was also offered gas and air if I needed it. Lovely doctor and staff and no pain at all, it seemed to be over very quickly.
I was very tired the next day and you still have to eat bland foods for a couple of days to give your insides a chance to recover.

I have one every year. Don't find the prep too bad as I live with an urgent need to use the bathroom in my day to day life (hence the frequency of my colonoscopies!).
Agree with soft toilet roll.
I have had with and without sedation. Only once without sedation because it was horrific with gas and air. Midazolam is my preferred sedative - a little holiday from myself and my bowels!

I had one a few weeks ago, like everyone says the prep is the worst bit, and even that isn't too bad, as long as it's followed with black tea or orange squash. I just stayed upstairs near the bathroom with my tablet and a warm blanket, you do get very cold with all the fluid intake . I had sedation and remember nothing of the actual procedure, but the tea and biscuits afterwards were amazing. I had no after effects at all.

I am having one in France next week and they want me on a special diet for four days before the prep to help (no dairy or fruit /veg) and I’ll be under general anesthetic. I had one 10 yrs ago under GA too. Prep was definitely the most unpleasant part. Interesting that it’s done without any sedation sometimes…

I had one two weeks ago. I was terrified.
You'll feel so much better after it's done as you get the results straight away and it's all over.
I barely ate for the week before, as I thought the least food possible in there, the better!
If I had to have another one, I would use Sudocrem after every visit to the toilet (Vaseline didn't really work and I was SO sore). I would also start the prep earlier - I was told 5 pm and 9 pm, as my colonoscopy was early the next morning. I was still going to the toilet at 1 and 2 am and thought it would never end in time. I didn't really sleep.
I put the prep in the fridge and had squash to drink as well. I used a straw to drink it all with. The prep was pretty grim. It is literally like weeing, but from your back passage (TMI). My daughter set up her laptop in the bathroom for me and I sat on the floor or on the toilet and watched the whole of series 2 of 'Nobody wants this' from 5 pm onwards.

I brought spare clothes and sat on a towel in the car on the drive there just in case, but it was fine.

The procedure wasn't embarrassing.

I thought the room would be like a treatment room (eg. for a smear) and so was shocked to see it was more like a operating theatre.
They kept the blood pressure cuff and oxygen sensor on me throughout. I had a cannula in and they gave me Buscopan when they had done the examination and were taking the tube out.
It was uncomfortable at times and a few parts were painful, but only very briefly.
I didn't want sedation, just gas and air. The nurse asked me to ask him when I wanted gas and air, but I didn't have time to ask when it hurt, so I ended up deep breathing my way through it. If I had to have another one, I'd make sure the gas and air was in my hands!
At one point, I felt really sick and the doctor who was doing it said he was right near the nerves to my stomach. It wore off quickly.
He said I had a very long colon!
They removed one polyp. You can't feel it.
They are pumping water and air in all the time and so you end up lying in a very damp patch.
I didn't have any pain or wind afterwards. I was so thirsty.
I had bought lemonade for the prep and Coke for afterwards as a treat! I went to bed at 7.40 pm that night.....
You can do it. Have something nice planned for after or something nice to eat/drink to look forward to!

just had one last week! i felt crappy the rest of the day but fine the day after the procedure.

The worst bit was the prep , the actual procedure was fine and I had mine without sedation as they were only offering Midazolam and that makes me physically sick and affects my breathing .

The prep is worse than the procedure. I had 10 for Sunday lunch and was having the procedure on the Monday. A lot of running to the loo after I’d dished up. But at least I got out of the washing up. Had sedation. I’m a wuss so no way would I have it without that or a GA.

good luck

Due to have one in a couple weeks also. So would it be advisable not to work on the day of the prep

Also what the diet like you have to follow for a few days before, they said will send in the post but they way outlr post is , not likely to get in much time to order foods on weekly shop

It depends on your job. Wfh would be possible if you can stop at any time to dash to the loo. I didn't feel ill so I could concentrate.

I wouldn't travel far, though, nor be in meetings in an office.

I thoroughly enjoyed mine 😂 I had IV Valium, watched my innards on the screen and giggled too much, went to sleep, had a cup of tea.

The prep was nowhere near as grim as I'd expected - I was there because of poo problems anyway; the powders didn't make things any worse. The only part I didn't enjoy was the bland diet.

Poached chicken and white rice. Has to be dull, soft, colourless and pretty well tasteless.

Updated guideline's probably online, have a look!

While many people have ok experiences, it’s not always the case. I had one a year ago along with an endoscopy and my experience was very negative - to the extent I won’t ever willingly have one again!.

I found the sedation didn’t work at all once they had done the endoscopy and they moved onto the colonoscopy - I was told they would top the sedation up if needed but, when it came to the actual time, they refused saying it was too late in the day (they had only offered 4pm) and they couldn’t send me home if they gave me any more sedation. I was almost at the point of withdrawing consent for them to continue with the procedure as, from previous experience, I know I don’t tolerate the movement of the scope ‘round the corners’ of my bowel well at all.

The prep I was given was called Plavex, and while unpleasant in effects, was manageable and I made sure to add plenty of squash and ice cubes to the jug and just chugged it down as quickly as possible both times; the paperwork claims it has a ‘pleasant citrus flavour’ but in reality it was just synthetic and the strong flavour of the squash masked it. I had to do 4 days of no dairy, low fibre and limited protein in the build up to the prep day and then clear fluids only starting 12 hours before starting the prep (which was 24 hours before the procedure.