Endoscopy and colonoscopy safety for cpap patients

[JDS74]

One thing I forgot to mention in my post: As a result of talking with the anesthesiologist, he changed the planned anesthesia meds to ones that were very short acting to minimize any problems.

Talk to your anesthesiologist and make sure they understand your condition and concerns. Be prepared by bringing a copy of your sleep study (not the titration study but that might help as well).

You will be on oxygen and the anesthesiologist will be in charge.

[deerslayer]

Have no Fear. Like others have said communicate with your juice man.
am all to familiar with bloating deal (RA) since starts in the gut.
As many times i have gone down the rabbit hole.. Trust in your team & heaven above..You will be fine
i have kept this image as a background on my phone for years as a reminder not to take each day for granted
God Bless
tim

[49er]

I have been issues with gas and bloating for a while now and my gastroenterologist wants to do a upper GI endoscopy and colonoscopy which requires sedation I have great fears about this because I have severe obstructive sleep apnea and I am wondering about the safety of these procedures for people like me any help and advice would be great

dneves808,

I don't know how it works with "scopic" procedures but when I considered having a septoplasty, it was possible for me to talk to the anesthesiologist ahead of time by phone. Perhaps doing that might relieve your anxiety so you could address all your issues ahead of time and not have to wait on the day of the procedure when you won't be at your best for obvious reasons.

[SGearhart]

I've had an endoscopy every 2 years for the past 12 years and I know that I've had sleep apnea a lot longer than that. It wasn't until this August that I had a sleep study, which showed my AHI was 89.2. I just told the gas passer that I believed that I had apnea and they took it from there. If you haven't had one before, the prep for the colonoscopy is the worst part of the whole procedure. Relax and try to enjoy it. Remember, when its done it will be behind you. (a real BAD pun!)

[Janknitz]

There are many people here with severe apnea who come through those procedures just fine. Talk to the anesthesiologist beforehand and bring your machine in case it is needed for recovery or an unexpected overnight stay. The. Trust these professionals whose job number one is to maintain your airway and oxygen levels.

[LSAT]

Some Gastro doctors do this procedure without an anesthesiologist present...they inject sedation prior to the procedure, With sleep apnea, my Gastro said I should not do the procedure with out an anesthesiologist present. I have had this dual procedure done several times without problems.
(Be sure to ask your doctor to do the upper procedure first... )

[chunkyfrog]

LSAT, i think they use different equipment!

[englandsf]

Make sure you have a separate anesthesiologist, ask them to use propofol, not versed (quicker "come round") and go for an early am procedure and you'll be just fine.

Just had a colonoscopy last week, all went fine.

[photonic]

Make sure you have a separate anesthesiologist, ask them to use propofol, not versed (quicker "come round") and go for an early am procedure and you'll be just fine.

Just had a colonoscopy last week, all went fine.

Agree with all of this. Just had mine done last week. Scope time was 12 minutes including the polyp removal. Anesthesiologist applied O2 and guarded airway. Totally safe. Also my doc uses a pediatric scope and CO2 for inflation. NO bloating. Whole thing was a breeze and very SAFE

[rsp5820]

Overall I believe anesthesiologists (as arrogant as they sometimes are) are well equipped to deal with your concerns, so having one present is probably a good idea. I had 4 surgeries (TKR,CTR) where I described my informal diagnosis of sleep apnea and also my "myclonal twitches". Both the surgeons and anethesiologists flatly said "thanks for informing us, but no problem".

If you are intubated by the anesthesiologist (which is very likely), ask them to consider not taking the tube out right away, until they are certain you have recovered. My daughter (LPN) had problems where her breathing did not recover and they had to emergency re-intubate her, which is never comfortable and due to her physiology, effectively impossible. It was scary and touch and go for a while. She made it ok but they said "no more anesthesia ever". BTW her CPAP machine has been gathering dust for years. Recently she needed emergency gall bladder removal, so my wife (RN) got a pow-wow between the surgeon, anesthesia, and a pulmnologist who, after considerable discussion, figured out the right protocol which made sense and worked very well. She did wear a hospital cpap afterwards and slept well for the first time in many years (it's a long story), so I have been encouraging her to get back with the program and use this forum as a resource to work through any problems with cpap.

I was talked into one colonoscopy and the surgeon injured me. I then read up and decided the risks of colonoscopy far outweighed any benefits (I do take several measures which are much more effective in avoiding cancer problems).

Good luck.

[Julie]

No one's going to be intubated for the procedure in question.

[LSAT]

Intubated ? You're kidding. I've had at least 12 of these procedures , with most without an anesthesiologist or a CPAP machine. With these procedures you are not even fully out. You are partially awake, but will not remember anything. Just 30 minutes in "la la land".

[Singer34]

I've had four colonoscopies. Was not out for any of them, watched the video screen.

[englandsf]

CO2 is much better than air for colonoscopy, it is absorbed and causes less bloating.

The risks associated with colonoscopies are tiny BUT the death rate from late diagnosed colon cancer is high and avoidable. I have polyps and a family history and have them very 3 years. Had 4 so far and none have been Any problem.

[dneves808]

Thank you for all the advice my friends you all are certainly easing my anxiety