Get a Colonoscopy NOW!!

[Tig]

Best wishes on your recovery Mike.
I agree, don't wait. Ten polyps on my first check at age 50. Two were the bad kind, but no complications because they were caught early. Follow up three months later to look for any that were missed, found a few more. Going back every five years now.

 

[ray66v]

A friend of mine's wife, decided since she was 50 years old, it was time to go for her first colonoscopy. They found cancer, and saved her life.

Due to a medical condition, I have had at least 10 of them, in the last 35 years.

The prep is the worst of it, and that has improved considerably over the years.

If your Doctor, wants you to do anything, other than what is now known as the Dulcalax/Miralax prep, you should get a Dr. who isn't stuck in the stone age.

The Dulcalax/Miralax prep is the latest way to do it. And it's a breeze, compared to the other preps, and I know, I've had them all.

Better doctors are also now using Propofol to sedate you, which puts you in a deep, restful sleep, so you don't know, or remember, being invaded by a garden hose.

 

[CCWKen]

I'm in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis treatment and had a MRI of the torso. The doctor was more concerned about side effects of the RA medications but the analysis indicated all the body parts are free of abnormalities, including the colon. I wonder if a colonoscopy is still needed? You can't get much more detail than from an MRI.

This was after x-rays and a CT scan. I guess the doctor spotted what appeared to be lesions on the liver but the MRI reveled that they were just spots and of no concern.

 

[check]

A friend of mine's wife, decided since she was 50 years old, it was time to go for her first colonoscopy. They found cancer, and saved her life. Due to a medical condition, I have had at least 10 of them, in the last 35 years. The prep is the worst of it, and that has improved considerably over the years. If your Doctor, wants you to do anything, other than what is now known as the Dulcalax/Miralax prep, you should get a Dr. who isn't stuck in the stone age. The Dulcalax/Miralax prep is the latest way to do it. And it's a breeze, compared to the other preps, and I know, I've had them all. Better doctors are also now using Propofol to sedate you, which puts you in a deep, restful sleep, so you don't know, or remember, being invaded by a garden hose.

Hey, Ray, can I ask you why the Dulcalax/Miralax prep is better?

 

[tjflicek]

I'll try and make this short. My last colonoscopy was 13 years ago at age 60, I was clean. I was going to have another at 70 but didn't. Recently in prep for an upcoming physical I did a stool sample test. It came back with some blood in the stool.

I immediately scheduled a colonoscopy. The results were not good, one small polyp, one very large polyp removed in pieces and one very large mass in the ascending colon. I was immediately scheduled for colon surgery, where they removed about 4-5" of the colon and reattached the bowel. The pathology came back cancerous with some small cells just outside the colon that were cancer.

After recovery from the surgery, another 4 weeks I will begin Chemo, 8 sessions every 2 weeks for 4 months. Could all of this been prevented if I had one at 70, probably not, but at least it has been caught and I will move forward.

So, get that colonoscopy on time!

You stole my story! Last December I decided to have a colonoscopy because I was going on Medicare in February and had my deductable satisfied. I had one 7 years prior and everything was good, see you in ten years the doctor said. Well they found cancer an d I had 12" of ascending colon removed. It had been growing about a year. If I had waited 3 more years it would have been much worse. They got it all, it hadn't gone through the colon wall yet, no chemo, nothing to radiate, scans and bloodwork every 3 months, colonoscopy every year from now on. I GOT LUCKY, HAVE IT DONE! It may be distasteful but not as bad as crapping in a bag the rest of your life.

Good Luck to You Mike,
Jeff

 

[dickfoster]

Already had an appointment scheduled to go in for the initial consultation for one on the 2nd. I've had one before so I am not looking forward to it. Anything that starts with drinking antifreeze just can't be a good time.

 

[Wagtail]

You stole my story! Last December I decided to have a colonoscopy because I was going on Medicare in February and had my deductable satisfied. I had one 7 years prior and everything was good, see you in ten years the doctor said. Well they found cancer an d I had 12" of ascending colon removed. It had been growing about a year. If I had waited 3 more years it would have been much worse. They got it all, it hadn't gone through the colon wall yet, no chemo, nothing to radiate, scans and bloodwork every 3 months, colonoscopy every year from now on. I GOT LUCKY, HAVE IT DONE! It may be distasteful but not as bad as crapping in a bag the rest of your life.

Good Luck to You Mike,
Jeff

Similar story here but for a different 'part'.

I had some sort of bladder blockage & was retaining urine. I went in for an ultrasound and the technician confirmed that I was holding in about 375ml. Then she said, "Seeing as I've got you here, let's have a look at your kidneys as they're part of the urinary system."

She did... then said, "Wait right there whilst I get a Doctor." (Yeah, like I was going to get up and go home). Short story; the left kidney was twice the size of a regular one. There was no pain or symptoms associated with it and a MRI confirmed cancer. A week later they popped that bad boy out (plus surrounding lymph nodes) and all was done and dusted. No chemo/radiation. Nothing has returned and it's been 8 years now.

If you've got a niggling problem, have it checked out.

 

[hawkeye08]

Sometimes folks want to try an alternate treatment, here is a place to start.

Rick Simpson Hemp Oil Medicine May Help Treat Cancer

I also encourage folks to get regular colonoscopy. Lost my younger brother to cancer/chemo, he might have had a chance if treatment was started sooner. Yes, I got one after my brother was diagnosed, all good here.

 

[JimRB]

Note that I am an IT guy, not a medical guy. Moviprep and Suprep are the primary preps prescribed at the gastroenterology place I work for. I think we have 18 doctors doing procedures. In days of old they had you drinking a gallon of prep. The Moviprep I think is 2 doses of a quart. Suprep is smaller dose, a pint to drink, but you have to chase it down with lots of water so it is basically the same quantity. The goal is to get all the stools out and a good rinse so the doctor can see what he/she needs to see. It happens often enough that some person isn't man or woman enough to finish the prep which means they just paid a $1,000 or so to be told to come back again when they are ready to do the prep properly, getting billed again. The insurance company is not interested in pay for a second procedure because you did not want to do the prep properly. My wife found the Moviprep to be more disgusting than me. I can chug a quart of Gatorade in a few minutes so that prep went down pretty quickly for me. She sips which is not all that much joy.

Regarding MRIs. I suspect that if you were looking for skin cancer on your hands or arms you would rather do it with your eyes versus an MRI. A colonoscopy scope lets you see the insides of the colon where stuff usually grows from. Anyhow remember I am an IT guy. There are plenty of videos from the Mayo Clinic and other sources that talk about the procedure and why it might be a good idea to have one.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

My wife and I each had our first colonoscopy at age 51. Hers was clean, but they found a little something in mine. So, I had my second one early this year at age 56, and it was clean. Now I'm on a every 5 year schedule, and she is on every 10 years.

And, like others said, it's really not that bad.