colonoscopy

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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cathyf
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by cathyf » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:26 pm

chriml wrote:I went to see the doctor today and told him about my sleep apnea. I'm suppose to get it done on Feb 9 th. He said I would not be able to get sedation with sleep apnea unless I was hospitalized. I do not want to be hospitalized so now i have to decide if I should do it without sedation or not get it done. I am 51 and have had no problems so far. Could anyone tell me how painful it will be without the sedation? I am starting to panic and had having this sleep apnea it sucks. Thank you
Yikes! I had mine on Monday. They told me to bring the cpap and leave it in the car -- basically there was no plan for me to sleep, but if there was an emergency then they would have to put me under general anesthesia and I would need it for the recovery room and for any subsequent hospitalization. They gave me fentanyl and versed for conscious sedation, but I really wasn't sedated -- I was a little dizzy for a minute or two right after they pushed the drugs in to the IV, but that passed really quickly. I could feel the tube going up -- it feels like abdominal cramps in various spots as they go in, and then as they pull the tube back out it's kind of irritating, but not really a big deal. I think it feels a lot like being constipated -- there are various nerve cells in your colon that tell you that there is stool in there and this sends you to the bathroom to go, and you are relieved if you can and feel yucky if you can feel stuff in there and you can't push it out. Having a tube up there that you can't push out is the same sensation.

The bowel prep involves WAY more cramping than the procedure, though, and after 12-18 hours of explosive diarrhea the "constipation" is kind of a welcome change!

But, anyway, given that 20% of the population has apnea, the gastroenterologist better get used to doing colonoscopies on people who have it. I would consider his hesitation to be a warning sign -- my gastro does 20-30 of these per week, and on average 4-6 of those people have apnea. One of the most important factors in a successful colonoscopy is how much practice the doc has in doing them -- the chance that he will miss something AND and the chance that he will perforate your intestine both go way down with a really experienced doctor doing the procedure. Getting all freaky over the apnea is a sign of being an amateur, and you need a professional. Yeah, I know that everyone has to start getting experience on someone, but this guy can get experience on someone else.

Sleeprider
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by Sleeprider » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:28 pm

Sounds like a piece of cake compared to the endoscopy (cystoscopy) that is normally done without any sedation from the front side. But at least you don't need to prep for that one. The urologist is hunting me down for a date on the 22 this month.

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PST
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by PST » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:24 pm

Sleeprider wrote:Sounds like a piece of cake compared to the endoscopy (cystoscopy) that is normally done without any sedation from the front side. But at least you don't need to prep for that one. The urologist is hunting me down for a date on the 22 this month.
You need to prep psychologically. It doesn't hurt to self-medicate a bit either.

cphilip
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by cphilip » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:27 pm

I had mine done this past year without knowing I had Sleep Apnea.... so all went well except two small polyps that were tiny and not cancerous. I got to go back in 5 years though. I'll cross that bridge when It comes. I cannot imagine using the BiPAP very well during that cleansing period I would need to just set it up in the bathroom.

chriml
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by chriml » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:19 pm

Well If I dont have the sedation and there is a polyp will it hurt to remove it without the sedation? Is it like cutting into the skin without numbness? OR will they send me to the hospital to go through this whole thing again to have it removed? I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions but I an getting panicked about this and yet I feel like if I dont have it done I'm asking for trouble . Thank you all!

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Re: colonoscopy

Post by Sleeprider » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:32 pm

I think you should be able to ask for enough sedation to take the edge off without being unconscious. That is more comfortable for you and the doctor, he just doesn't want to have to have an anesthesiologist and ventilation issues. That sort of describes the level of sedation of my last Colonoscopy, and I remember watching on the screen the lasso grasping a polyp and it being aspirated for assay. I was momentarily uncomfortable as the proctologist rounded the corner and peered into the far end of where the sun never shines, but more of a stomach cramp uncomfortable.

Women that have given birth would laugh at me as a wimp. I think you'll be fine, but ask for some reasonable conscious sedation. Oh! and I got color pictures of the trip.

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Last edited by Sleeprider on Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Wulfman...
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by Wulfman... » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:33 pm

chriml wrote:Well If I dont have the sedation and there is a polyp will it hurt to remove it without the sedation? Is it like cutting into the skin without numbness? OR will they send me to the hospital to go through this whole thing again to have it removed? I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions but I an getting panicked about this and yet I feel like if I dont have it done I'm asking for trouble . Thank you all!
Have you had a conference/meeting with either the doctor who would be doing this or his staff?
I had one with my doctor's staff prior to mine and they were willing and able to answer any and all questions. They gave me a list of instructions of what to do and when prior to "the procedure".
I think you're getting too needlessly worked up over this.


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Malibu
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by Malibu » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:46 pm

They used Versed and Demerol on me. One is a short term amnesia med and the other puts you into a twilight sleep. Neither the doctor said would effect the breathing at the doses they used plus she said being on your side keeps the apneas from happening. I remember faintly the end of the procedure but that's it. Short term memory was eliminated by the medicine. They said I was talking up a storm asking all sorts of questions but I don't remember any of that. No polyps during the two that I have had. Cheap insurance compared to cancer for sure!!!

Thatgirl
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by Thatgirl » Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:09 am

I had an edg and colonoscopy after being diagnosed with sleep apnea, but before having a CPAP. I wouldn't have been able to use my CPAP anyway had I had it, as I use a full face mask and was having the upper procedure done too. I had Propofol per my request, so I was sedated. Both procedures were done in about a half hour. I was placed on nasal cannula oxygen before even being sedated. When I woke up I asked the nurse anesthetist if I had any apnea. She said no, and that I never dropped below 95% O2 sat. Granted, my apnea is mild to moderate anyway, but there's my experience.

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Chelle25
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by Chelle25 » Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:37 am

I too am going to have one on February 9th. They will use versed and I think fentynal. The doc knows I use a mask at night but did not seem concerned. Should I be concerned?? I'm a little nervous about this whole thing. They will also be doing an endoscopy at the same time. They said the whole procedure would be arond 45 minutes.



chriml wrote:I went to see the doctor today and told him about my sleep apnea. I'm suppose to get it done on Feb 9 th. He said I would not be able to get sedation with sleep apnea unless I was hospitalized. I do not want to be hospitalized so now i have to decide if I should do it without sedation or not get it done. I am 51 and have had no problems so far. Could anyone tell me how painful it will be without the sedation? I am starting to panic and had having this sleep apnea it sucks. Thank you

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purple
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by purple » Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:12 am

I said it before. I have had two colonoscopies while I was awake, without any kind of sedation. There are some uncomfortable moments. First the preparation is awful, two days of fluid, evacuating the whole bowel. You need to be awake for that.

It was a brief moment of pressure when they inserted the scope. Uncomfortable when they pumped in the air. Like I needed to take a BM and could not. In fact, I have BM's that have hurt worse. When they snip a Polyp, one feels nothing. You will not know it even happened.

Turns out the only way our colon can sense pain is when it is overly-expanded. Like it is full.

My doc let me watch the full color picture of the procedure. My colon is like a really pink cave.

I did sign a statement saying the doc could give me whatever drugs he thought necessary, to calm me, or put me to sleep. He said he did forty percent of his colonoscopies while the patient was awake, without sedation. They will hang a bag to get drugs into the patient which ever option we choose.

Think of the great jokes you can tell after it is over. I know the doc has heard a bunch, but he would not share his knowledge of jokes with me.

What really hurts is dying of colon cancer. One friend was laying in a hospice with multiple patches, and getting IV something at the end.

I also have an EGD while I was awake (down the throat to look at stomach). and several Cardiac Caths while awake. (They took my glasses away from me, so I did not get to watch)

One friend had a bleeding problem inside (not from a colonoscopy, but something else), I went to visit him in the hospital just as a doctor was leaving him telling him that he could not find anything wrong, and quickly walked away. My friend looked at me. That guy has been intimate with me three times in the last two days and has never even shared a cigarette. I looked at the guy laying in the hospital bed, "You don't smoke cigarettes, you wanted him to bring a doobie."

It is not a big deal in terms of pain. Not even a medium deal.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by chunkyfrog » Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:05 pm

When my baby brother (age 52) was dying, (of colon cancer) he only had brief periods of lucidity.
Some visitors actually asked the hospice staff to "let up on the drugs so the patient will know they are here."
Those people get shown the door!

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OkyDoky
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by OkyDoky » Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:23 pm

I had my colonoscopy this week. After the prep and difficult IV start, the procedure was a breeze. I had a CRNA with monitors, O2, and propofol. It was a nice nap.
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chriml
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by chriml » Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:47 pm

Doctor will be doing colonoscopy in the hospital at the end of february. He feels it will be safer with my sleep apnea. Will let everyone know what happens. Thank you for all the support.

chriml
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Re: colonoscopy

Post by chriml » Mon Jul 13, 2015 6:36 pm

I finally found a doctor who would do my colonoscopy in his office with my cpap machine in case I need it. I have been trying to get this done since February. I will be having it Wed morning. He said that I shouldn't have any problem with the sedation but still I'm so nervous about it. If anyone out there has had it done without there cpap machine with sedation please let me know how it went? Again Thank you for all your support.