Terrified of colonoscopy.

[jimsie]

I have a colonoscopy in less than 2 weeks to find out if i have colon cancer or not since it runs in the family. After doing a bit of research I have come across many, many horror stories about the procedure is extremely painful even with sedation etc. I have very little tolerance of pain and if it is anything like what people describe i have no idea how im going to go through with it. I know there are people who dont have anywhere near as much of a bad experience but it seems quite common for people to describe it as pure hell.

Is it worth phoning the hospital before hand explaining that I am so anxious? I worry that they will just be dismissive of it as everyone is a bit nervous getting procedures done. I'm not really sure if much can be done about it either. It seems to be something that is a hellish experience for one person and not for another person.

[Annie0904]

I don't know where you did your research but I can assure you that I have a very low pain threshold and I never felt a thing..I was sedated and from being sedated I can vaguely remember be asked to move in a certain position then knew nothing until I woke on the ward and was given a cup off tea. Apart from needing to release wind (which they told me to do) after I never felt any pain at all. I phoned the hospital before I went and explained that I suffer from anxiety so they put me higher up on the list so that I didn't have to sit and wait for so long.

[cmc46]

I put off having a colonoscopy for months and eventually had it last March and wish I had done it before, for one thing it puts your mind at rest and it isn't as bad as a lot of people say, I read a lot of horror stories on the Internet and that was probably what put me off in the first place. Hope all goes well, I'm sure it will.

[Laura123]

My dad has had so many of these, the truth is, if you don't take the sedation, yes, it's very uncomfortable, if you take the sedation, then it's a very vague memory. I usually find that when going in for any kind of precedure hospital staff are very aware that people can be extremely anxious and they are very good at making you comfortable and calm. You can do this and you will be fine. Xxx

[jimsie]

Thanks for the responses, I feel a bit better about it now. It is true that the hospital staff are good at making me feel at ease. Although the fact that i wont remember it afterwards dosn't really make me feel better about it as i will still have to go through it.

I'm not really sure why there are so many horror stories online, surely if its that bad they can just tell them to stop? I hope so anyway.

[Anxious_gal]

There's horror stories about everything!
Tell them you're anxious and they might adjust the Seditive dosage.
Once the meds have kicked in you'll be almost asleep and shouldn't feel much if anything.
I don't think the procedure is too long?
Good luck x

[annette1]

jimsie

I had a colonoscopy a few months ago & like you worried that my anxiety would kick in & I'd panic. I worried about the pain, embarrassment & most of all my anxiety about being touched. I need not have worried, it was all explained carefully, they took on board my worries & I was given a sedation.

It took immediate effect & I didn't know a thing about it until I woke up 2hrs later! Try to avoid reading any more horror stories, there are always people out there who exaggerate!

You will be fine, just accept the sedation.

[jimsie]

So its not long until I have to have the colonoscopy and i'm still really anxious. I seem to be spending all of my spare time doing research about it and reading people's experiences.

I am pretty worried about the sedative they give now. Apparently it dosn't actually relax you at all, all it does is make you forget the whole thing afterwards. I'm not sure how true that is but that makes me really worried. Ideally I would like to be able to remember the whole thing so that I have an idea of how pain or uncomfortable it really is. Since I am supposed to be having these things every 5 years I can't keep going through the anxiety of constantly wondering if its going to be a hellish experience or not.

I have been on the low fiber diet all week which isn't too bad but im a bit constipated which is making my hemorrhoids flair up and im starting to crave fruit/vegetables. I don't think it is helping my anxiety much either, im in a constant state of panic, i can't consentrate very well and im not getting much sleep. The anxiety is probably worse than the procedure itself which is why i don't really want to go through all of this every time i need a colonoscopy.

[nomorepanic]

Why not try it without sedation. I never have it and yes it is painful and uncomfortable but not agonising or excruitating.

[jimsie]

I think my plan will be to ask them to give me the full amount of sedation but also request that if it is still too painful for me to tolerate then they have to stop the procedure. I am perfectly happy to try one of the other methods of detecting colon cancer or doing it under general anesthetic.

I'm not sure if there will be a problem with letting me stop the procedure if it becomes too unbearable? If they can, then once the whole thing is over and if i don't remember any of it then at least i will know it wasn't so bad that I had to tell them to stop.

Does this sound like a good idea? I don't really want to try and tell them how to their job or anything but this is the best plan I can come up with to stop me from having a bad experience or worrying that i had a bad experience and forgot about it.