propofol

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

how safe is this for a colonoscopy and has anyone been put to sleep with this . i know this is the drug michael jackson was on.  will have a anesthesia there the whole time, it just scares me a little

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

i understood what she was saying i know they are going to do iv's no biggy

[patient915]

I would recommend not calling that an IV port; call it a PIV or peripheral IV.  It is just to easy to confuse that with a port (or portacath).  To see what I mean, google "IV port" and you'll see what comes up is a portacath, not a PIV.

[FurballsMom]

The port is just where they put the IV in the vein.  It can be placed in the usual place in the bend of the arm, inside of the elbow, too.

[FurballsMom]

IV port just means putting the IV in your vein.  That was how they did mine each time.  They can then use that little valve, or port to administer medicine and they can administer saline solutions to people who are dehydrated.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

thank you for your story on yourself, i do get sick at stomack but never really had a hard time with going under than sick only when they took my gallbladder.   but i might ask them for some anyways lol. i hate having test done it makes me really anxiety but been 13 years so time i guess to haveanother one plus i have IBS and need to check make sure all is good. i doing it on the 19th prayers are welcome. thank you again hope you have a great week

[patient915]

What do you mean by IV port?  Do you just mean a peripheral IV?  Becuase getting a port (in your chest) is when you need long term IV medications.

[FurballsMom]

I wouldn't worry about it.  I've had both the upper and lower scopes using the generic of this drug.  And, I have chemical sensitivities.  If you are prone to nausea from opiate types of drugs, though, I recommend you ask them to use an anti-nausea medication, like Zofran, at the same time they're administering the Propofol.  That's the only thing I would do differently the next time I need to go under for these tests.  Most people aren't quite as sensitive to the opiate medications as I am, though, so you might not need the anti-nausea medication.

But, like everyone else said, don't worry about it, you will be fine, because you will be monitored the entire time.  Before they even give you the medications, they will hook you up to the heart and lung monitoring equipment.  They administer the drug through an IV port.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

Hi Barbara, Not to worry at all. Propofol is a perfectly safe drug when used under approved anesthetic situations with either a nurse anesthisis or anashesiologist adminstering it properly. In fact, it's a major improvement over some of the older anesthetics, as the recovery times are faster with less side effects to the digestive system and kidneys (constipation and renal slowdown.) It's really a very safe drug used properly. I have had it used on me under both colonoscopy and endoscopy and love it compared to the other anesthetics. The only reason it killed Micheal Jackson was no on was there monitoring his vital signs and respiration. Had there been someone doing that, he would not have stopped breathing. The fact is that had he been injecting any other anesthetic, the drug would have each killed him the first time he used them they are so powerful. He had actually self injected the propofol several, (many) times before that night, and was upping the dosage each time. He died because his breathing slowed down to so very shallow breaths that he finally just stopped breathing all together. All anasthetics will do that, and almost all will do it faster than propofol. Barbituates, morphine, synthetic opiates as well. But all,... used under proper conditions are very, very safe. No need to stress over it, it is a safe drug. I would though, suggest you have the colonoscopy in a hospital setting, and not a physicians office. Here's why, if there is ever any problem, no matter what it is, a hospital team or large outpatient surgery center will be able to respond fast and aggressively to correct it immediately. Although problems rarely happen, if they did,... you would want to be in a hospital setting. That's the rule of thumb I always use just to play it safe. Your insurance pays for a hospital setting just as easily as a physcians office setting. So why take a chance? Hope this

[patient915]

That's probably fine.  It sounds like they are probably just going to give you a small dose so that it will function more like conscious sedation than general anesthesia.  You probably also won't need to be intubated if they are giving you a small amount.  As I said before, I've had general anesthesia (propofol) many times before (and in larger doses; large enough to need to be intubated) and they all went okay.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

yikes , i didnt sleep much last night worring about this,  not sure what to do now, my dr says its very safe and its a litte just to make you not remember, not like they would use if you had a big surgery and had to be out for awhile, plue they montor you the whole time and said if a problem they stop it and its out of your system faster than anything elsa they would use.  here in Ga most drs are now using this check yesterday and the old dr i used for this years ago has now gone to this to.  i really need this done but so stressed over it and lossing sleep

[patient915]

I'm not a doctor but from all of my research and all of the doctors I have talked to, propofol is not safer and better, it is actually much more dangerous and has a higher risk of complications.  I would highly recommend you get a second opinion on this.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

my dr only does the propofol they say its safer and a better way to do it. so not sure what to do,

[patient915]

You should have an anesthesiologist there the entire time.  I've had propofol many times and it always went okay.  However, I would HIGHLY recommend getting sedation (ex. versed and fentanyl) instead of propofol, unless you have had bad reactions to sedation in the past.  For example, I am very difficult to sedate and I have had procedures where my heartrate would shoot up to 200 because I wasn't properly sedated.  This is why most doctor prefer to give me general anesthesia for a procedure instead of conscious sedation.