This is a guest post from Jericho Hill, economist, statistician, and personal finance forums administrator!
“DonÂ’t be scared.” At least, thatÂ’s what I told myself. In truth, I was scared. I hate medical appointments. I have an overwhelming fear of needles. If you couple that with a fear of the unknown, a colonoscopy is a scary experience. ThatÂ’s why many men donÂ’t have them early, or often enough.
And so I say: donÂ’t be scared.
My journey to colonoscopy started about a year-and-a-half ago. Yes, a whole year-and-a-half of delaying the inevitable test. Around January 2007 I started feeling discomfort in my abdomen. I blamed it on indigestion, stress, etc. That got rid of the cognitive dissonance for awhile. Then, after many months, I needed a muscle relaxant to cope with the cramps during the day. I realized that something was wrong, so I finally started to see my doctor, who referred me to a gastroenterologist.
I was first tested for food allergies. The tests were negative.
Then around November of 2007, I had a Barium swallow test. This test is worse than a colonoscopy, in hindsight. You drink “flavored” chalk and lie around for hours while a radiologist takes picture of you in compromising positions. ItÂ’s not fun.
And that was negative. After about ten tests, all that was left was a colonoscopy. Every other test had been negative. We were working under the assumption that I had what’s called irritable bowel syndrome, a catch-all term that essentially means “your intestinal nerves are out of whack and we don’t know why and we can’t really help you”.
When one of my co-workers was diagnosed with a severe case of stomach cancer, the little justification man in my head ceased to exist. I buckled down to get my colonoscopy. And hereÂ’s where itÂ’s not so scary.
I entered the outpatient center at 730AM on a Friday morning, after a day of a liquid diet and drinking the most foul tasting “citrus ginger” laxative. (I suppose medical science will never invent chalk that actually tastes like a banana or a laxative that tastes like oranges and ginger slices.)
Dressing down, I was on my bed, waiting to go into the room. I was scared about the needle for the sedation. They do now sedate colonoscopy patients, and I would stress that if you arenÂ’t offered that option, to go somewhere else. My doctor explained the procedure, and that I would be out of the facility by 9AM. The colonoscopy itself would take 20 minutes. Twenty years ago, it took several hours. I was less scared.
Wheeled into the small operation room, the anesthesiologist engaged in banter and tricked me about the needle. I barely felt the small prick in my wrist. The most painful part of the experience was the slight pain sensation of the painkiller entering my wrist.
Thirty minutes later I woke up. My doctor was soon by my bedside, informing me that I had an excellent colon, and that there were no more tests.
There was absolutely nothing to fear about the procedure. I felt silly that I had put it off for months. I was lucky there were no consequences, and I can say that thereÂ’s absolutely no reason not to have a colonoscopy done quickly if your doctor recommends. ItÂ’s not scary at all. And itÂ’s the only time you can eat massive Chipotle burrito afterwards and not feel full.
A blog entry by Mark Cuban helped me to get over my fear of the operation. DonÂ’t put off a test just because youÂ’re afraid of needles, the unknown, or whatever reason. Having a colonoscopy taught me a lot of lessons.
J.D.’s note: My family has a history of cancer. My grandmother died of colon cancer when I was a boy, and a 46-year-old cousin died of colon cancer last summer. My father and his brother both died of other forms of the disease. Though I’m only 39, I feel like I should have a colonoscopy. My doctor isn’t convinced. “You don’t need one until you’re 50,” he tells me. But my father and cousin were dead by 50. I feel like I should have a colonoscopy.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
J.D., your guest writer’s advice to “go somewhere else” if the dr. doesn’t offer to sedate could be the same good advice for you when your dr. says you don’t need a colonoscopy. Go somewhere else. Seriously. You are not limited to one opinion and you know what’s best for you. Given how many times I’ve read you worrying about this, you should find a dr. who will do the procedure.
JD, my Dad was diagnosed at age 55 with colon cancer (he’s now 83) and I was told for years that I should get my first colonoscopy at age 45 (10 years earlier than he was diagnosed); I stalled until 47 but then just did it (and now I’m off the hook until age 52). medicinenet.com has a similar guideline. I’d push your doctor, just for the peace of mind.
This actually brings up an issue I’ve often thought about: my car comes with a regular maintenance schedule that describes all the checkups that should happen at various mileage intervals. Is there something like that available for humans?
In my city it’s almost impossible to get a family doctor, and I haven’t had a physical in years. I have to take the initiative to get tests done, but I have no idea what kinds of tests I should ask for, and how often they should be performed.
A colonoscopy sounds scary, but about 15 years ago I had something perhaps even more nervewracking, for men at least: a fiber-optic visual inspection of my urethra. I get the heebie-jeebies just remembering the process; I’ll spare you the details but you can imagine what it involved. I did have a local anaesthetic but watching the procedure was creepy and once the scope got up to my bladder I could feel it moving around in there. Eeeks!!
JD, I agree — find a doctor who will help you with this; 11 years is too long to worry!
I had a colonoscopy at 50 (7 years ago, and was given sedation even then) even though there’s no history in my family, but I thought, this is a no-brainer. It’s covered by my insurance, and if you have one you can forget about it for 10 years, so why not do it when I’m feeling fine and up to any of the rigors… The hardest part was the prep, and even that wasn’t so bad. Afterward, I encouraged everyone I know to do it, too, as soon as their doctor suggests.
Cancer is hard — I was diagnosed with breast cancer in November of 2004 and it wasn’t until October of 2005 that all the direct treatments ended — and compared to that a colonoscopy is very very easy, and very effective.
It’s too bad we have such a cultural aversion to even thinking about this test…
Jericho Hill, I’m glad your all cleared from the colonoscopy, but I hope they can diagnose you soon. Sounds like a very annoying and painful disorder!
Go to another doctor.
Um, yeah… I’m not a medical doctor but, given your family history, it sounds a bit reckless to advise you to wait 11 years for a colonoscopy. What’s the harm?
My grandma had colon cancer and beat it. I had a colonoscopy a few years ago when I was only 20 to diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I’m supposed to have one every year starting at 28.
Jericho (and JD),
I am right there with you on the soda laxative. It tasted so badly that I threw it up. It’s really taking turns facing a different directions over the toilet. So, after two days sans food, and my gut in tatters from the partial treatment, I then had to get to the store to buy another bottle to finish up before heading to the Dr’s office. That was a good morning.
I was partially awake for my exam. I remember a bit of it. The prep was worse than the test.
Joe and Jericho,
There is an alternative to the yucky liquid laxative, that some people might prefer, though it’s not much better (maybe worse). They’re 40 large pills that also don’t taste good (they should coat those things). You take one or two every 15 minutes, half the night before, half the next morning. Fun stuff.
Thanks for sharing. Often the fear of these things is a lot worse than the actual procedure.
I just had a colonoscopy this April myself! I’m only 19, but they were testing me for Crohn’s Disease. Luckily, I don’t have it– I got lumped into the IBS catergory instead– but it’s really not so bad. Have your doctor give you a referral to a gastroenterologist and see what the expert says– my GP ended up doing this after she’d run all the tests she could think of.
But seriously, to anyone reading this who’s hesitant about it: if a 19-year-old kid can do it, so can you.
J.D. – I work for a colorectal cancer prevention program and I have to urge you to either convince your doctor to give you a referralto a gastroenterologists or to find another one who will. Having colorectal cancer in your family raises your risk factor making a screening before age 50 reasonable. Colorectal cancer is a PREVENTABLE disease and it doesn’t always show symptoms in early stages. If you get a colonoscopy they will be able not only to see if you have cancer but also if you have polyps that will turn in to cancer. If you do have polyps they will remove them so that they won’t turn into cancer. Feel free to contact me if you want more info to share with your doctor or to help you feel more confident about the need for a colonoscopy
I’m quite surprised that with all that family history, that your doc wouldn’t have you get a colonoscopy. I work at a hospital and see patients come in for colonoscopies based on family history very frequently.
I’d get a second opinion, seriously.
J.D., my sister had colon cancer last year and I had my colonoscopy the next month. Given your family history, you should most definitely have a colonoscopy. I am a Peds GI nurse and quite frankly I’m appalled that your doctor isn’t sending you for a scope right away. You need a second opinion and a referral to a gastroenterologist. Emily is absolutely correct when she says they’ll take out any polyps, which is where the cancer develops. Peace of mind is priceless!
You should absolutely find another doctor. If nothing else, getting one now can set a good baseline for the future and with cancer, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I am scheduled to have a colonoscopy at the end of November, an i will tell you this……I AM SCARED! They want to do both an upper GI and then a colonoscopy the same day to rule out cancers or ulcers. I know i need to get it done so they can find out where i am losing blood at in my body because i was just diagnosed with anemia where my Iron is why to low, low enough to where i have to take a prescription for it 2x a day. I am just really really scared to do it! It is the procedure itself that i am afraid of. So if anyone can help relax and easy my mind, i may go through with it. I WANT ONLY THE TRUTH, NO SUGAR COATING IT, PLEASE! Thank you in advance for your comments!
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