Friday, January 15, 2016

TMI With Photos




What follows is going to be about medical care and procedures.  If you are young and healthy and do not want to read this, I will understand.  I was like you once...I think, but putting your head in the sand is not always healthy.

I lost about 48 hours this week from my routine, uneventful life.  It was an expected loss as I have done this before.  This loss was time preparing for and time getting a colonoscopy.  I am fortunate that my health  insurance covers most of  the costs of this---although mine did require a $200 co-pay which is a sizable cost.  I had this done first long ago at about the age of 55 and the second time around I was 64.  They recommend it every 5 to 10 years as we age.  My most recent dance with the machinery was this week.  If you have not had this done I can tell you it is a good preventative procedure to have if you are covered by insurance.  It is also NOT a lot of fun.

First, you must be on a jello, bouillon, clear liquid diet for 24 hours.  That in itself requires sacrifice if you are a foodie like me.  No creamy liquids and only sugar in coffee.  Then the evening before the procedure you must drink a liquid preparation from the drugstore that is the most foul tasting drink (sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate and magnesium sulfate) even though they attempt to drown it in cherry flavoring and sugar .  It is a full 8 ounces mixed with 8 ounces of water followed by two more 16 ounce cups of plain water over the next hour.  Your gut is now filled with 48 ounces of liquid.  Within 45 minutes you will be visiting the bathroom every 10-15 minutes.  If you own a Fitbit, be sure to wear it on this day as you will easily reach your 10,000 steps.  This cleansing continues for about three hours before it wears off.  In my case I was really ready for sleep at 9:00 P.M.  While I did sleep uneventfully, I had to set the alarm for 4:00 AM and start the process all over again so that I was really clean for my 8:30 procedure.  In the photo above you can see how clean.  The nurse told me she had lost 8 pounds when she had the procedure done, but I only lost 2.5!!

The doctor puts a probe with a camera up your rear end and looks at your lower and upper intestine for anomalies, polyps, hemorrhoids, etc. and they want you squeaky clean.  They put you under an anesthetic before they pump your bowels with carbon  dioxide air and you sleep through the 25 minute process.  The CO2 is best because when it is over you have very little gas pains or problems.  It just absorbs!

In my case I had a team of really energetic, friendly and efficient nurses and doctors.  They even had warmed the nightgown and blanket in a heater before they made me strip naked and put it on.  I was required to answer the same questions for two different nurses and the anesthesiologist prior to meeting the doctor, which means they double checked everything.  Our nurses are mostly white ladies, but the anesthesiologist was Asian and the doctor was middle Eastern and the receptionist was black and seemed to be a personal friend of Obama according to our conversation.   If it was not for these immigrants I would get very little health care out here in the sticks.  Regular white doctors want to live in the city with their families, it seems.  Even my primary care doctor who is Asian Indian left for greener pastures last year as I wrote in a prior post.  (My new primary care doctor is Latino.)

Well, the procedure went as planned with the primary pain being the injection of the sleeping drug through a vein in my hand.  For some reason it must have pressured a nerve because my arm was in so much pain before I finally went under that it felt as if I had broken it!  The anesthesiologist told me it would feel like a pinch...WTF!!

They found one small flat polyp which was removed at the time of the procedure and sent for biopsy  although the doctor told me he was pretty sure it was precancerous.  At my age, everything they find seems to be precancerous which I  guess justifies all of this medical care.  We must keep us old folks alive as long as forever.  And the young think it is a waste of money...until it is their turn.

The sleeping drug wears off within 5 minutes of stopping the drip which is very different than it used to be years ago when I felt very drugged all day long.  I was not allowed to drive myself home even so.

You would think I would be starving for a big breakfast after this, but I was only a little hungry and very disappointed that either the sleeping drug, the oxygen in my nose drying the olfactory surfaces, or the excessive dryness of my mouth hindered my taste buds and the breakfast at that high calorie place called I-HOP tasted like cardboard.  The only thing I welcomed was the hot tea with honey.  That taste issue lasted until evening when my dinner, prepared by hubby, of some of our frozen crab, asparagus, sesame oil and roasted red peppers over a pasta was delicious as my tongue or nose seemed to be working once again.

I hesitated writing  about this, as medical stuff  is not very interesting and sometimes icky,  but I  felt some who had not had the procedure might find it important or informative.   I am now good "to go" for another 5-10 years.  Sorry,  but I could not resist.

20 comments:

  1. If I went every 10 years, I'd be due sometime in this or the next year but not sure I'll do it, not sure I won't either. I will eventually though. I had nothing 9 years ago. But my experience with the exam was different in that I didn't go out. I was awake through it and it hurt. I heard the nurses gossiping and tried to tell them I was not under but it didn't seem to matter. It didn't take long since that time there was nothing. Naturally I was out from under it totally fast also. I paid little for mine. My husband paid more when he had his and then for awhile there was no co-pay; so I have no idea what the cost would be if I do it in say 2017 or so... I agree, the worst, even given I felt the probe, was the prep. Ugh.

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  2. I've had it done twice. The first time was really bad, not just that horrible prep experience but also the anesthetic that made me crazy for a couple of weeks. The funny thing that happened was that the nurse couldn't get over how different I looked afterwards in my clothes! Whatever that meant. Anyway, I was fine.
    For the second colonoscopy I had to fly to Honolulu to have it done. By then I was on Kaiser, and there are no doctors who do the procudure for them on this island unless you want to pay $800. out of pocket for it. Kaiser paid for my flight plus my husband's, because they believe a person undergoing this procedure needs a companion, and we made a little holiday out of it. Clean again, on that occasion. And a mellow experience with no aftereffects.
    My husband Terry's father died at age 63 of cancer of the rectum. It was just horrible. The colostomy, the several years of misery before he died. So Terry went for his first colonoscopy at age 60 and there was a pre-cancerous polyp in his rectum. Yes, it's highly hereditary. The doc said, "Congratulations on saving your own life. "
    Get a colonoscopy, folks. It's so common and so horrible. Terry's cousin demurred, did not have it done, and was diagnosed with State 3 cancer. He is Canadian so got the most draconian treatment available. He almost died from the treatment, it was so bad, but he survived, very rare in such an advanced case.
    I'm glad you have shared this experience and encourage your readers to get a colonoscopy, even if they don't think they are possible candidates for this disease.

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  3. I've done it twice, am about halfway to the next one at ten year intervals. I was not put to sleep, only sedated. The proceedure was fine, but the preparation is awful.

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  4. I had my third one done in September with an endoscopy done at the same time. I do hate the preparation. Had several precancerous polyps so I get to do it again in three years.

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  5. I love the comment about the Fitbit! I've had two so far, the next due when I'm 75. If I manage to live another 4 years, I'll make the decision whether to proceed with a third. Both mine were A-OK. I found the prep I had to do the second time less involved than the first. I didn't think it was a big deal, and since I was anesthetized for the procedure, I was in lala land so didn't feel a thing. It's mostly the idea of the procedure that is a real put off.

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  6. I had my second one recently, but no one offered me pictures. I had a good long sleep afterwards.

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  7. Good job taking care of this! Glad all seems well.

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  8. Isn't it funny how this procedure is interesting to read for all of us who have been through it a few times. I thought I had my last one a couple of years ago, but no.... they said I'd have another one. I loved reading this post and now you're good for another 5-7, maybe 10 years? My doctor said 10 usually.

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  9. This reminds me that I am due for this procedure. It is important to do and except for the prep, easy to have. Besides you get a few minutes of deep sleep, something that is not easy to have at this point of life.

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  10. I am due for one this year. It was ten years ago I had my last one. The prep is the hardest part, that's for sure! Glad you went, you have reminded me that I will need to pay a $200 copay as well. But it's worth it to have it done. :-)

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  11. I have never had this procedure as my doctor doesn't consider me high risk, but I do the fecal occult test every year or so.

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  12. never had one and from the sound of it, don't want one. going in for my first real physical I've ever had next March since I now have insurance via Medicare. we'll see what she recommends.

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  13. I really appreciated this insight into the American healthcare system. To think that in the UK you would not have spent any money at all! I hope you are recovering well.

    Greetings from London.

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  14. Wow. Sounds like yours was much more medically intensive than mine. I think I like yours better, except for the pain. I had to drink that swill for two days, and nearly died just from that. The doc told me that most of his patients who come in voluntarily - ie, are asymptomatic - have nothing. I wonder if he gets bored?

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  15. It will be my turn again in March. WooHoo!

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  16. I don't know what a FITBIT is but I can imagine. I had lunch with 4 other women my age last week and all we talked about was SS, colonoscopies and Obama or Bernie!

    I know a colonoscopy is the gold standard but being immune compromised I have held off on one with a fear of the fasting and purging. I am planning to have a FIT test which is FDA approve, used as a first line offense in many countries, costs $25 and can detect about 73% of what a colonoscopy can. Of course, if it comes back positive a colonoscopy is recommended understandably. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/dreading-colonoscopy-other-effective-tests-for-colon-cancer-032015

    Let us know how your test turned out.

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  17. Bravo...thanks for telling us the details. I should have this far, far more often than I do, but I am put off my vomiting for 12 hours prior to the test. Last time (tmi) I did a week of clear liquids before, but there were still problems when I got home. This is sooo good of you.

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  18. The "Cleansing" is the worst part, at least it was for me. Hope everything was reported as ok. Wonderful pics by the way.

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  19. There is no history of colon problems in my family, and I have elected to do the FIT test only. If that should warrant further testing I will have it done. My doctor was in agreement.

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  20. I have had one and am due for another - last year. I have been putting it off, mostly because I don't have any time that I choose to lose for the prep/procedure, etc. When I finally bite the bullet and do it, my prep will be with Gatorade, of all things. There's some prescription medication too, but I don't think it's that ghastly stuff I had to drink the last time. I need to get moving on this...thanks for reminding us how important it is.

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.