Fear, Dread, and Colonscopies

It’s been a day or two since I posted…have you missed me? 

Some of you know my grandson was bitten by a snake while visiting his dad in Oklahoma early last week. He is home now and doing very well. He’s not even limping, just a little swelling and a fang mark remains. They never did determine what kind of snake it was, but he was in the hospital three days and off weight bearing for a week. I am most grateful to God…He was definitely there through the whole ordeal.

Tulips at UNA

Tulips at UNA

Did you enjoy the flowers? I hope so, because now, we’re going to talk about something serious…Colonoscopies! I know you are so excited!

I had my first one Monday. I also had an endoscopy to see why I was having chest pain and why my food sometimes gets stuck. Turns out your esophagus can have spasms. Painful ones at that. But I think that’s better than a stricture or a hiatal hernia. The hypochondriac in me won’t be satisfied until the doctor tells me for sure it’s not my heart. 

Ah, but the colonoscopy. I don’t always like to admit it, but I am at “that age.” You know, when you not only get all the fun stuff like hot flashes and mood swings, you also need to be having all the internal stuff checked out as well. (As if the yearly gyno exams aren’t invasive enough. And do I even need to mention the torturous mammograms?) It is important…just ask anyone who didn’t do it at 50 and ended up having major surgery because she did have polyps, and they had grown to a danger zone size. At that point, you are most likely looking at losing part of your colon. If you do have polyps, it’s best to get it taken care of earlier when they can do during the colonoscopy, wouldn’t you agree?

Daisies to lighten the mood (Huntsville Botanical Garden)

Back to ME…when I left the hospital Monday after the deed, I was convinced I was awake throughout both procedures. But I was still pretty stoned when I left. Sometime later, after a meal and a nap, I was able to process more rationally what happened. 

I remember the nurse putting a drug in my IV. About three seconds later, I asked her if I should already be feeling the effects. She grinned. The next thing vaguely remember is the mouth guard being placed for the endoscopy. I remember a little more clearly waking up during the colonoscopy. I was aware of what was going on, and I was uncomfortable. I opened my eyes and saw the monitor, and I groaned a time or two (I had to let them know I was awake, of course). Then I was waking up in recovery; it was all over and I had survived!

I was really scared to have the procedure. I thought of everything that could happen (and some of them were outrageous fears), including waking up during the procedure. Upon evaluation of the whole process, waking up wasn’t as bad as the prep, and it only lasted a few seconds, as opposed to the whole 24 hours of prep time. The time wasted dreading it was worse than going ahead and having it done.

So there you go. Don’t put it off. It is not nearly as bad as it seems like it would be. The staff, nurses and doctor couldn’t have been any nicer. By the way, my sister remembers briefly waking up during hers too, and she never felt any pain. My other sister slept right through it.