Colonoscopy
Jul. 17th, 2006 08:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stickmakerGot it out of the way in the Subject. If you weren't smart enough not to proceed, any gross-out is your own fault. :-)
At my annual physical exam this year my PCP (primary care physician) insisted I have a colonoscopy. I'd had exactly one before, over twenty years ago, and had _not_ enjoyed it. The preparation was easier this time (though still unpleasant). Well before my ride arrived I was extremely thirsty, actually becoming a little dehydrated by the time they were ready for me.
Normally, they use a mild sedation, and the patient is back to normal after two or three hours. However, I have what the doctor (the specialist doing the exam) called a "floppy colon" and they had to use a lot of extra air. Which meant a lot of extra sedation. I barely remember leaving the hospital. I had asked my mother to take me back home, since I was only expecting to be out of it for a couple of hours after the procedure. However, due to the extra sedation she decided to take me to _her_ home so she would clean house for a church group meeting while I slept. She had plenty of time; I was out for nearly five hours solid.
I'm home, now, and rapidly feeling better. And the good news is that except for hemorrhoids, I have a very healthy colon.
Now, the kicker to this unpleasant experience is, I'd told my regular doctor that I had hemorrhoids and aside from that my colon was fine.
I don't know why doctors won't believe me when I tell them something about my own body. You'd think they'd realize that I know what's going on inside it.
As a bonus, though, due to the extra sedation I'm not supposed to drive tomorrow. So that's another day off work. Another bonus is that because my "floppy colon" is in such good shape I shouldn't have to go through this for another ten years.
At my annual physical exam this year my PCP (primary care physician) insisted I have a colonoscopy. I'd had exactly one before, over twenty years ago, and had _not_ enjoyed it. The preparation was easier this time (though still unpleasant). Well before my ride arrived I was extremely thirsty, actually becoming a little dehydrated by the time they were ready for me.
Normally, they use a mild sedation, and the patient is back to normal after two or three hours. However, I have what the doctor (the specialist doing the exam) called a "floppy colon" and they had to use a lot of extra air. Which meant a lot of extra sedation. I barely remember leaving the hospital. I had asked my mother to take me back home, since I was only expecting to be out of it for a couple of hours after the procedure. However, due to the extra sedation she decided to take me to _her_ home so she would clean house for a church group meeting while I slept. She had plenty of time; I was out for nearly five hours solid.
I'm home, now, and rapidly feeling better. And the good news is that except for hemorrhoids, I have a very healthy colon.
Now, the kicker to this unpleasant experience is, I'd told my regular doctor that I had hemorrhoids and aside from that my colon was fine.
I don't know why doctors won't believe me when I tell them something about my own body. You'd think they'd realize that I know what's going on inside it.
As a bonus, though, due to the extra sedation I'm not supposed to drive tomorrow. So that's another day off work. Another bonus is that because my "floppy colon" is in such good shape I shouldn't have to go through this for another ten years.
