I've had a colonoscopy. BEST. DRUGS. EVER. Nice long nap and I got taken to breakfast afterwards (because, let's face it, you're STARVING!)

The colonoscopy is the easy part. It's the day before that's equivalent to ten thousand years in Hell.

Dave Barry wrote the most hilarious column ever about colonoscopies: http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/02/11/427603/dave-barry-a-journey-into-my-colon.html

Who the hell would want to be even remotely awake for that?

Well, my husband's doctor must have taken all these new rules to heart, because he remembers every minute of his last colonoscopy, even though they did give him a little bit of sedation. (He didn't have this problem with his previous colonoscopies.)

I'm scheduled for my next one at the end of next year. I WILL be discussing this with my doctor (different doctor, not beholden to the VA), first. He's already figured out that the day before doesn't have to be torture (easiest prep ever), and I am expecting the rest of the procedure to be as painless as before.

My only concern is that, for my last procedure, as I was being wheeled into the test room, I was greeted with strains of "Another One Bites the Dust." Fortunately, I know my doctor does have a sense of humor, else I'd have been up and running away!

This is how Obamacare will reduce costs. You won't even get a fancy pain pill, you'll just have to put up with butt hurt.

Cheaper that way.

I have had it done both ways - unconscious and mildly sedated and watching my colon on TV. It isn't childbirth. It isn't even a bad day on Parris Island, and every day on Parris island is a bad day. It's way better than pooping in a bag the rest of your life.

Having said that, I'd prefer to be unconscious for the same reason that I don't like camping. It took us a long time to get this marvelous technology and I see no reason not to use it.

Threadwin MarkD

A few quick points…

First. Common use of labor epidurals was non-existent until the late 70s/early 80s (depending on the area of the country, even later); until relatively recently, it was still considered a ‘luxury’ (especially for Catholic hospitals); and most countries outside the United States do not offer any pain control for labor. Remember, no one has ever directly died of ‘pain’.

Second. Everyone falls along a standard deviation (except for the distribution of money): some will be able to pull a Katie Couric and stoically take a meter of scope up the pooper, most will really dislike but be able to deal with it, and some will absolutely not tolerate the procedure. For a majority of patients, it is like having air conditioning in Phoenix during the summer--not strictly necessary, considered a ‘luxury’ to some, but really, really nice to make life bearable. Properly given and monitored sedation makes life much easier to the majority of patients. In real terms (when not paid for in the distorted market of insurance), it costs extra but most people are willing to pay extra for a one-time (or a few times) better, not to mention more ‘luxurious’, service.

Third. The original study comes from the American Medical Association (the AMA, who produces JAMA), who has long since stopped representing the interests of doctors (and by-in-large patients) and has simply become a shill for lobbyists and a felching lapdog to politicians. I received their journals in medical school but quickly realized their printed crap had no relation to reality. Very few doctors support them. The public should be especially skeptical of their journal ‘findings’.

Remember when, during the Obamacare debates, they said that old people would simply receive pain pills instead of treatment? So much for the pain pills.

I agree with Daghain.

The prep was MUCH worse than the procedure. I have never drunk/drank/drinked? anything so disgusting. It was as if my body knew what was going to happen and was making every effort to prevent me from swallowing. There was nothing that could disguise the taste, and after a few gallons, even the smell made me nauseous.
After some mild sedation, I watched the whole thing on TV. Much better than most of the stuff being broadcast and a lot less sh*t.

I'm just guessing that Amy should be a candidate for full anesthesia for her first colonoscopy....

The prep was MUCH worse than the procedure. I have never drunk/drank/drinked? anything so disgusting. -- EarlW at March 21, 2012 7:57 PM

Way back when my lady used about three ounces of Fleet's Oral Sodium Phosphate to get the same results as the gallon of crap you had to drink. The attending nurse even praised her for producing "bile" in what little stool she was producing.

Look into it next time.