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Colonoscopy: Is it necessary?

Male 38 / not very active but close to moderate / overweight / 92kg - 166 cm / have had lots of abdominal pain but %90 is gone now due to eating less processed and more natural. / Very pessimistic: afraid of colonoscopy's sedation / have slight pain in mid-left abdomen (it feels like it's around kidneys but it's actually colon. I get %80 relief when release gas of after a good bowel movement)  and of course the ultrasound doesn't show anything in my kidneys.
Sometimes, I get thinning stools. when I eat a lot of fiber and quit milk and coffee, it usually goes back to normal within 2 weeks.
The slight pain close to kidney comes and stays for a couple of weeks, then disappears for a couple of weeks and then comes back. Always the same spot. Occult blood test is negative and I'm usually not constipated. No sudden weight loss or loss of appetite, but feeling tired. (I think it's because of my weight1?!)
Can I avoid colonoscopy? no history of colorectal cancer in the family. How do I know the cause for this slight pinch/stretch like pain?

Thanks
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Avatar universal
Thank you. I didn't get the statistics from the internet. I used to work in an army hospital with access to highly sensitive data. Anyways, thank you for sharing your experiences with those drugs.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Why do you want propofol instead of versed/fentanyl?  That statistic you recited about "it can/will eventually cause PTSD and anxiety attacks in almost 50% of patients" is incredibly unaccurate.  The reason why there is so much on the internet about versed causing problems is because the small percent of people that have trouble with versed, are the ones that go and write about it on the internet.  The ones that don't have any problems (the majority of people) don't have any reason to write about their story on the internet.  Propofol is more likely to cause problems (such as not breathing enough leading to your heart stopping leading to death) which is why they don't use it as often.  Personally, I have had versed/fentanyl five times for procedures and propofol (plus being intubated) five times for procedures.  The recovery was way easier with versed/fentanyl and I haven't had any negative consequences from either.
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Avatar universal
Thank you. I specifically asked my Dr. to use Propofol on me. They refuse to accept my request. I have heard from reliable resources that Versed can/will eventually cause PTSD and anxiety attacks in almost %50 of the patients, since they will start remembering the pain and helplessness (if fentanyl is 80 times stronger than morphine, why should they use versed [the date rape drug]?)
I'm curious to know if virtual colonoscopy can be used as an alternative. If polyps were found, then I will have to give-in to the procedure.

Cheers
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
A scan might tell the story, so you could ask for that in lieu of the colonoscopy for now.  But one thing about colonoscopies that you may wish to consider is that they can clip off polyps, which those things sometimes will turn into cancerous growths.  So, it's a preventive procedure, too.  In addition, let us say you have an abcess, which sometimes happens in the gut if there's a little pouch that sticks out from pressure in the intestine, and it can get infected and hurt.  I have no idea if that shows up on a scan, among other conditions going on in the intestine.  But I just wanted you not to totally abandon the procedure if a scan doesn't show what's going on.

Now, I should say one other thing about colonoscopies.  I am a female, and whether male or female, the whole thing is quite unnatural and thus can be nerve-wracking.  However, for me and many others, they are supposed to sedate you with "twlight" sedation, where you won't fee anxious, you won't feel pain, and it'll be over before you know it.  You are supposed to be well-covered up with a blanket while all this is going on, and a nurse will be present all the way through.  You lay on your side.  And i gotta tell you, when I had mine done, I was suffering with months and months of constant diarrhea, I was a total wreck, AND SO because of the pleasant sedation, that was the best day I had that entire year!  Ha!  But not everybody says the same thing!  Anyhow, just trying to help you deal with it when perhaps one day you might try one.  
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