Endoscopy and colonoscopy safety for cpap patients

[dneves808]

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

[JDS74]

Having gone through this same issue but for different medical issues, I can tell you what I did.
On the day my ENT exam was scheduled, I had a long talk with the anesthesiologist about my apnea issues. In my case, complex sleep apnea. My procedure was scheduled for late afternoon and the anesthesiologist thought the risk was too high to continue that day without his presence in recovery so the ENT exam was rescheduled for a later date but early in the morning. He requested that I bring my ASV CPAP machine and give an inservice training session to the recovery staff so they could connect me while I was still sedated after the procedure which they did. All went well without complications.

It was a different story with the colonoscopy since it was just a routine exam. In that case, the exam wasn't done because of my age and because of the risks associated with the pre-exam prep. I have kidney issues and the prep chemicals posed a risk. In your case you are having symptoms so proceeding after consultation with the anesthesiologist is likely the way to go. Indeed, they may just set you up with your CPAP prior to they exam and it will be just like sleeping at night.

If I had had intestinal symptoms, the decision would have been different as the risk of not doing the colonoscopy would likely be greater than that of the exam.

There are two alternatives to the traditional coloncooy. One is a virtual exam via MRI technology whike the other is a photographic exam in which younswallow a small camera which takes digital photos if your entire tract. Perhaps your doctor would find one of those useful.

[dneves808]

Having gone through this same issue but for different medical issues, I can tell you what I did.
On the day my ENT exam was scheduled, I had a long talk with the anesthesiologist about my apnea issues. In my case, complex sleep apnea. My procedure was scheduled for late afternoon and the anesthesiologist thought the risk was too high to continue that day without his presence in recovery so the ENT exam was rescheduled for a later date but early in the morning. He requested that I bring my ASV CPAP machine and give an inservice training session to the recovery staff so they could connect me while I was still sedated after the procedure which they did. All went well without complications.

It was a different story with the colonoscopy since it was just a routine exam. In that case, the exam wasn't done because of my age and because of the risks associated with the pre-exam prep. I have kidney issues and the prep chemicals posed a risk. In your case you are having symptoms so proceeding after consultation with the anesthesiologist is likely the way to go. Indeed, they may just set you up with your CPAP prior to they exam and it will be just like sleeping at night.

If I had had intestinal symptoms, the decision would have been different as the risk of not doing the colonoscopy would likely be greater than that of the exam.

There are two alternatives to the traditional coloncooy. One is a virtual exam via MRI technology whike the other is a photographic exam in which younswallow a small camera which takes digital photos if your entire tract. Perhaps your doctor would find one of those useful.

thank you for the advice it is the upper GI tract endoscopy they want to do as well as the colonoscopy at the same time and I am very scared because I have severe obstructive sleep apnea I guess if they put in a nasal pillow it would probably be okay but I usually wear a full face mask and of course the doctor assured me that they deal with this type of stuff all the time but I just don't know I am thinking about changing dietary habits for a couple of months to see if the constipation relieves itself

[Julie]

If you talk to the anesthesiologist when you go in you shouldn't have a problem. For one thing, it's a relatively short procedure and when you're 'out' you're on oxygen the whole time, and when you're done, you'll wake up quickly because they use quite short acting anesthetic for that type of procedure, so the time in Recovery won't be long - and I'm sure you can be set up to have Cpap there in any case.

[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.