Help!

[ColinJ]

Hi All. Can anyone help me, recently i had a partial small bowel obstruction which with the help of a nasogastric tube cleared its self,now i have to go for a colonoscopy and a endoscopy this thursday and i am absolutely terrified of both these procedures as i have never had them before,and more terrified of what the results could be,any advice or reassurance would be much appreciated.

Colin

 

[2thFairy]

Do you know if the doctor will sedate you for these procedures? In the US, we get knocked out for both endoscopy and colonoscopy..not fully asleep, but a conscious sedation that makes us feel as though we are asleep though able to respond to questions and a drug to make us forget everything afterwards.

Endoscopy requires no prep other than nothing to eat or drink after midnight generally. Colonoscopy, on the other hand, does require prep of cleaning out the colon which, though generally not painful, the cleansing requires drinking a lot of medicated fluid which is very unpleasant tasting and can cause vomiting and abdominal distension until everything kicks in and you have diarrhea for several hours. Once the prep is over with, the actual test of colonoscopy is a breeze if you are knocked out. If you are kept awake and alert, you may have some pain during these procedure.

If you are terribly concerned, I urge you to call your doctor's office and talk to someone about it.

 

[Kip1]

Hi
If you are at all worried then opt for sedation. It is not given routinely in the uk but after having the tests with & with I would opt for with sedation anytime.
The prep for tests is just as 2th Fairy says.
I would get some cream for your bottom for the colonoscopy prep effects as you can get quite sore from having the runs with that. I think it was 2th fairy that described it as butt burn & its a pretty apt description I think.

 

[ColinJ]

2th Fairy. Thank you very much for your reply,yes in the UK you can choose sedative or nothing,they are doing both the endoscopy/colonoscopy at the same time,i had a ruptured colon almost 10 years ago due to diviticulitis disease,where they removed a certain amount of the colon [i think about 14ins]
the thing that baffles me is that i have just had a SBO and they are doing a colonoscopy investigation
I think the most frightening thing about all this is, you dont know what the results of the tests are going to be,the previous operation was a very painful operation to get over,so i dont want another one of those.

Colin

 

[ColinJ]

Kip1.My wife as got me some Aquaous cream i think thats how you spell it,i have just had the diarrhea for almost 6 weeks so i know what a sore bottom is,i dont really like talking about this,but since the 6 week episode of diarrhea i have had horrible smelling wind,but the docs just shrug their shoulders.

Regards

 

[2thFairy]

I have really foul wind when in an active flare.

Definitely go with the sedation. I think it is good that you are having both done at the same time. I prefer mine to be at the same time. Get them over with in one go!

Best wishes that your tests. Think of it this way, if they do find something on these tests, it can be treated appropriately, even if that means surgery. I realize you really don't want surgery, but it is better to be able to plan ahead for surgery rather than have emergency surgery which can complicate recovery and make for a longer hospital stay and more pain from the surgery itself. If you are in a more healthy position going into any sort of treatment, the recovery is faster and much easier to deal with mentally.

 

[lizzy]

I recently had both of the these proceedures and I was really nervous, I booked a week off work!

In fact, I quite enjoyed it!!!! I don't remember the endocopy but I was chattering away although my colonoscopy and I got to see my insides which was really interesting! You can't feel a thing.

Good luck!!

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks Lizzy thats a little reassurraning,is there any pain after the procedure,the thing i am really scared about is the results,and how did you get on with the bowel prep,i can go to the dentists with no problem-but hospitals and procedures like this i aint go no bottle

Regards Colin

 

[Kip1]

I last went for both procedures at the same time 3 weeks ago & they had the sedation ready for me when I walked in.
They did the the gastroscopy 1st then the colonoscopy. I had about 8 biopsies taken & altogether I was in the room for about 35 mins.
Was so embarrassed that I had a small botty explosion all over the bed during the colonoscopy & in recovery afterwards but they weren't bothered.
Definitely use the sore bottom cream. I know having the runs anyway can make you sore but with the bowel prep I always get a burning feeling when I go.
Its best to be prepared for it. I used conotrane cream.

 

[ColinJ]

Kip1. Many thanks for the reply.

Regards

 

[ColinJ]

Hi All. Found out from the tests i had,on my admission to the hospital i had a distended upper abdomen and lower abdomen also a intestine that had gone into a loop causing a the small bowel obstruction,just thought i would let you kind people know.

Regards