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Avatar universal

Tortuous colon = torture!!!

I recently had my first colonoscopy.  My doc is a personal friend.  Not evil, not malicious.  He gave me a mild does of Verse and pain killer.  At first all went well.  Then I woke up!  It was excruciating!  I was given more meds and dont remember any more pain.  My doc told me that I was in a lot of pain though.  He said that I was screaming and tried to pull the scope out.  Everyone has made me feel like this is very rare.  My colon is tortous and hard to maneuver through.  I had a barium enema later in the day.  So please share your stories of similar situations because I just cannot imagine that I am so unusual.   I will not let this restrict me from this important test.  I will do it through virtual images and a pediatric scope by a children's GI in the future.  I will also insist on heavier medication.  I don't think Versed is the correct med for me.  Has anyone else had issues with this drug?
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Avatar universal
Just one more comment.  My doctor said that I am not a good candidate for the tradition colonoscopy again.  That I should only get virtual and have a pediatric specialist if I need to have a real scope performed to remove polyps.    I think this is an important factor.  Some women are stereotypical for the tortous colon.  Small, who have had any gyn or abdom. surgery and have history of IBS.  These women should be aware of the fact that their procedures are at higher risk to not be the easy procedure most people experience.  Being informed helps a lot with peace of mind!
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Avatar universal
Apparently there is indeed some debate over this.  My parents called into their GI clinic yesterday.  The staff informed them that the Versed Fen. combo is old school.  They do not use it but instead use the Proc. with in-house anesthesiologists.  The moderate sedative is much stronger and patients feel no pain.  So pain would not be an indicator of a botched procedure.  
When pain is felt it is from hitting the walls and turning corners.  My doctor is great and he knows what he is doing.  He kept pushing the scope in but it wasnt advancing.  He knew this because of the image on the screen not because I was screaming.  If it was just a matter of my discomfort he would have continued, and would have upped my dose to assure that I would not have remembered the pain.  He was honest with me!  He came to check on me with great concerned as soon as I was dressed.  So I do think this is an issue of sedation.  Not everything medication works for every person.  
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1340994 tn?1374193977
It's one of the most common drugs used for colonoscopy.  I had it.  I could hear myself saying, Ow, ow, ow, during the procedure, yet I wasn't sure why because I wasn't aware of any pain.  They had to triple my medication and still couldn't get the scope through.  You cannot put a person completely out to do these tests because pain and your response to it is what protects you from perforation.  If you didn't get perforated, he did a great job.  You just have a tough, unfortunate anatomy.    
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