Endoscopy/colonoscopy

[Sandie1]

At last the hospital have booked me for the above been waiting since last May, they did get in touch August but I had Shingles, so wouldn't do the test. Not looking forward to it , got to have them both together. The specialist said he wanted to make sure there was nothing else!!! apart from having Gallstone (large) and PBC. Has anybody had the same and is it as bad as I think it will be???

[Hidden]

I had both together, well one after the other. I elected to go without sedation as I suffer from side effects worse than the procedures and I needed to drive.

The endoscopy was uncomfortable but bearable but the colonoscopy which I only had a small part looked at was very painful at times , so I would recommend you have any sedation offered for that procedure I won't do it without sedation next time .. But it never took long and I was out and back to normal in no time and was able to drive on to work in the afternoon. hope all goes well for you.

[moepag]

Hi Sandie1 - I had both done together about a year ago and had no problems at all. As I'm sure you've heard, the worst part is the colon prep but I didn't find that to be horrible either!

I did have anesthesia which was great - I didn't feel a thing! Mine was a conscious sedation but I don't remember anything and slept through the procedures. After the procedure I felt fine although I was definitely tired as the day wore on.

Like you, I was very worried about having the tests together. I was very glad I did when it was over. Good luck to you!

[GrittyReads]

I had a colonoscopy decades ago, with no anaesthetic and a very unsympathetic stranger-person doing it. It was horrendous. So much pain, that they only got as far as top of the descending colon.

However, I had another about 4-5 years ago.

(Nb None of this is for PBC, I don't have it, yet, just AMAs. The first was to rule out things other than ibs. The 2nd was 'cos I have a family history of colon cancer, and I'd recently had some bleeding - sorry if too much info - but that just turned out to be piles!!).

This one was with a consultant I had already talked to. He was 'wonderful'. He gave me conscious sedation just before the procedure, while stressing to me, that if it hurt at all I was to tell him and he would adjust the pain control.

I didn't feel a thing, not a thing, and I was conscious enough to watch the screen and listen to his comments, but drowsy for a while after, and I didn't remember as much of it as I expected to - although all was fine.

So I'd go for sedation and get it all checked out - make sure you get chance to rest after, and have someone there to take you home.

Hope it goes well, sorry can't comment on endoscopies.

Take care.

[Fenderman]

I had a colonoscopy 3 years ago and i elected to have sedation. Never felt a thing including them cutting off a polyp. I can recommend the sedation if offered.

Hope all goes well for you good luck

Rich

[YummyBear]

Hi Sandi1,

I had an endoscopy in November 2015 without sedation and although slightly uncomfortable, I endured the procedure without fuss; 2 nurses held my hands and talked me through what the Consultant was doing step by step. I was found to have a bacteria called helicobacter pylori and they took 2 biopsies without feeling any discomfort. I was glad I did not have sedation, as after the procedure I sat in an outer ward with the 4 patients all recovering from their endoscopies, whilst I sat there drinking a cuppa. You would not be able to drive if you opted for the sedation.

I also had a colonoscopy some years ago and opted for no sedation. I found this to be easier than I had first thought, but the pre procedures were daunting for me.

It must be a personal preference; if you feel you have a strong constitution, and have your own inward controlling methods, then don't have sedation - if not, go with sedation.

Good Luck

YummyBear