Originally Posted by
mprelaw
I actually woke up in the middle of my first one. It wasn't bad at all. Just some rectal pressure, and not a lot of pain. Don't worry about it. The scope goes in a lot more easily if the patient is relaxed, and the drugs help on that end. If you go out completely (the drug they gave me was more of a sedative than real anesthesia), you should have no pain. There's no lingering post-procedure rectal pain--at least there wasn't in my case. Treat yourself to a nice big breakfast after it's done.
Yep, usually they use concious sedation rather than fully rendering the patient unconcious. My personal problem is the combinatiion of cramping when the colon is inflated and my genetic sensitivity. I used to think I was a wuss until I discovered that some percentage of the population is just more sensitive to things than others. That has its' pluses and minuses. I can smell and taste things the average person can't. I can take my pulse just by counting beats in my ears. And other weird things. At the same time it is a real pain when it comes to pain.
Even with all that the procedure is very tolerable. I even had one done years ago with no sedative. It wasn't fun. But, it was no worse than the soreness the day after a long ride.
During the course of this exchange I've finished my Golytely and am now going to sign off to take care of the consequences. But, as Kurt said and as has been reinforced by most of the posts, a colonoscopy is a valuable tool and should not be ignored because a person fears the procedure. At its' worst it is tolerable even by a sensitive person and can save a life.