I'm having a colonoscopy

WARNING: The following blog entry contains explicit info regarding non-sexual bodily functions. If you are skeeved out by natural bodily emissions do not read any further!

It started with intense stomach cramping and constipation around 4:30 PM Monday afternoon. By 7:00 PM or there abouts I was no longer constipated, I now had diahrrea, nausea, and intense sweating. I sweat through my cotton sweater and had to take a shower! Only I was sooo weak I had to lean on the shower wall. :frown1: I put on my jammies and went to bed.

This is the gross part.

Mind you from 4:30 PM on Monday until about 1:30 PM Tuesday I was in the bathroom about every 40 to 60 minutes. From approximately 11:30 PM Monday night on I had rectal bleeding. This is not to be confused with traces of blood in a bowel movement. What I had was just blood flowing from my rectum like Niagara Falls. :yuck: So around 4:30 AM I decided this wasn't going away and went to the ER. Since I have no insurance, all they did was take blood and send me home. :mad: They did refer me to a gastrointernist who was able to see me later that day. The doctor was royally pissed to hear they sent me home with such severe symptoms. He scheduled a colonoscopy for Thursday at 8 AM and set me up with a 3 month payment plan.

In the mean time I haven't expelled any blood since about 1:30 PM Tuesday. However, I have been having the most God awful gas pains and stomach cramps. :frown1:

Right now the doc thinks it's either ischemic colitis or diverticulosis; the colonoscopy will determine what is actually going on with me. Neither one is appealing to me.

I am such a wimp about this stuff. Say a prayer and light a candle. I expect I'll be offline for a bit.

Comments

Did a colonoscopy and a gastroscope a couple of years back. Felt like a pig on a spit. Did both ends at once. Probably the most difficult part about the whole ordeal is getting clean - I mean from the inside. They give you a gallon of this stuff to drink about 4 hours before the procedure. Know how hard it is to drink a gallon of goop? But when it comes out clear you're ready to go.

Whole thing was less than an hour. They snagged a few polyps down there; nothing serious. The only negative after effect was that I had a sore throat for a while. Not a single tingle in the bum.

Good luck!

Cap
 
I'm definitely shooting positive karmic bullets in your general direction. I hope more than a couple find you.

Your doctor is dead on to be pissed about you being sent home from an ER with such obvious symptoms. And you're lucky that he set up a payment plan for your colonoscopy. But what really gets me is that because you are uninsured you're going to pay more for medical treatment in the USA -- the exact same medical treatment and care -- that is not necessarily any better than the rest of the developed world. While back in the USA 8 years ago I had a similar problem with pain and bleeding. Fortunately, my cousin is a proctologist and gave me the “family” discount which meant I just paid his costs for the procedure (clinic fees, medication, attending nurses and PA’s, etc.) which came to exactly $700. Still, $700 is $700, which is a ton of money when you don’t have it.

I could go on a major rant about what’s wrong with the American way of medicine. It’s sad that most US doctors look at patients as X number of BMW or Mercedes payments.

Sorry for complaining to you about something about which you are probably very much aware. Here’s the good advice: Insist upon as much Versed as they are willing to give you (that’s the drug commonly used to relax all muscles, smooth or otherwise) so you feel little or no discomfort during the colonoscopy. After all, you might as well enjoy a good buzz while you’re undergoing such an indignity (especially if they treat you as less than human because of your wallet biopsy). And be certain to drag a best friend along with you to spirit you away back to your home an tuck you in bed. Makes all the difference in the world

Bang! Bang! Bang! That was three more karmic bullets heading your way. Wishing you nothing but the best.
 
I was "cleaned" two days before my colonoscopy with a lot of prescribed laxatives and a no-fiber diet. It involved a lot of quick trips to the bathroom. The actual procedure was not bad, as I was knocked out with some drugs beforehand. I was pronounced polyp-free.

Good luck.
 
Thank you everybody for your positive thoughts, they are much appreciated! I have a tendency to be a bit melodramatic when sick so forgive me if I go into Camille mode. :redface:

Midlifebear, if I were to start ranting about the various problems with the alleged healthcare system here in the US I would start screaming and never stop.

Invisibleman I have no idea why this came about so harshly and abruptly! I wish I did. I eat a fairly healthy diet, lots of fruits and veggies, not much red meat. Lot's of water, I don't smoke do street drugs, or drink alcohol excessively. I guess it's just one of those things that can happen when one is on the down side of 40. :mad::frown1:
 
Wow - that is bad news. Looking at some of your past posts, life has not been a bundle of fun recently. I hope all goes well for you and the money is too great a problem. All this makes me very thankful for the UK NHS!
 
I had a colonoscopy to investigate some bleeding a few months ago. It was under anaesthetic, so the most unpleasant parts were the "clean out" stuff that I had to start taking the night before, and what felt like a bruised, swollen prostate for a couple of days after.

They found a polyp, but determined the bleeding was from haemarroids (sp?)- I have since had two lots of banding surgery since, but the problem doesn't seem to have been cured - back to the specialist next week to see whether the next step is more serious surgery, or whether I just learn to live with it (fortunately it is not large amounts!)

Luckily we have a good health system in Australia - urgent treatment gets done on Medicare, the national public health system, but private insurance is also reasonably affordable.

Good Luck with your problem!
 
Awww NJ I'm sorry to hear that you're not doing so well!! :(

I hope that things get better quickly and I will miss you while you're away from us here on LPSG.

*HUGS*

Love, Mandee
 
I've had several sigmoid colonoscopies.

During the first one the physician offered me a choice between using anesthetic (and then a 3 hour wait in the recovery room afterwards) or not using anesthetic (and being able to leave immediately afterwards).

Hey, I thought I was a tough guy. I'd been in uncomfortable circumstances before and could endure whatever came. I knew I could tough out any pain involved during the short scope procedure.

I was wrong.

If you get the choice, njqt, choose the anesthetic.

PM me when you get back online. I'm praying for you.
 
Lucky me . . . NOT!

Turns out the Phosphosoda which I had to start taking at 1:00 PM today to purge my system in preparation for this delightful procedure is extremely high in sodium. This is a problem because I have Meniere's Disease and as a result am hyper-sensitive to sodium. When I ingest too much sodium I get vertigo and nauseous. So I manage to choke down about a quarter of the required dose I am to take and immediately get the head spins and room spins and become nauseous.

I call my doctors office to ask what else I can take to purge my system and the nurse says she has to ask the doctor and call me back.

I wait 90 minutes and call her back. The nurse told me that the doctor called in a prescription for Colyte but that my Wal-Mart pharmacy is backlogged and it's a lot to drink.

I called my pharmacy at:
3:30 PM They said my doc had to call them back w/more info.
4:30 PM and was told it wasn't ready,
5:30 PM I called again and it was ready! :smile:

I send my mom to pick up the Colyte as my head is still spinning a bit. I call the nurse in the gastrointernists office back to let her know the Rx is ready and she informs me that I must consume all of the liquid prior to 7:00 PM. :smile: I said okay. Dad comes home with a big empty jug with approximately 3/4 inch of white powder to which I must add 4 LITERS OF WATER! I look at the jug, I look at the clock and I said no way. I know the stuff is gonna taste like crap. I couldn't drink 4 liters of something I liked in an hour.

So I call the docs office back to re-schedule and get the service (it's after 6:00 PM). They take the message and tell me to call the hospital which I do. Only I get a voice mail box that is full. Grrrrr.

So one day next week probably I will get to do another day of a liquid diet. :yuck: :frown1:
 
I hope everything turns out OK!!!

Yeah, don't get ME started on the health care system in the US either. I am also uninsured, and am very underemployed, only working part time for just a little above minimum wage (and still on unemployment for the difference between my regular benefits and what I am making at my current job.) There is a history of colon problems on BOTH sides of my family, too!
 
Im so sorry to hear this. I hope you feel better. You are in my thoughts and prayers allready. I know you will be fine. Please keep in touch and let me know how you are.
 
Yes, getting cleaned out is the worst part of this procedure. I've never had it done but very well remember my dad and just recently my oldest brother having this done. You want remember much at all about the procedure itself since you'll be put under. I don't remember anything about my endoscopy I had done several months back other than waking up in recovery. I hope whatever is causing your problem is very minor.
 
oh geez! i just read this! good luck, my dear, and take care. I hope all this turns out as best as it can. Health problems suck.
 

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