COLONOSCOPY How hard is it on you?

[Nrdsb4]

@artloversplus

@KnearSeattle
I hope it does not get to an operation for you. But even if it does, the surgery should be quick and painless. A friend of ours had to remove a cancerous kidney, the incision was only about 2 inches wide and she recovered in less than a week.

I don’t how you can make that statement based on the experiences of a friend with a completely different issue. None of us are privy to the relevant facts of KnearSeattle’s medical condition.

@KnearSeattle, it’s possible you won’t need surgery at all. It’s possible that if you do need surgery, it could be done via laparoscope or some other less invasive process. It’s also possible that it might need to be done using traditional surgical methods. Whether or not you find the recovery process painful or a breeze will depend upon factors that we can’t really speak to. But the important thing is that you remove a polyp that has a potential to cause you bigger problems down the road. This should bring you peace of mind, which might well make your recovery process at least a little easier to tolerate.

I’m crossing fingers for you that the solution for this does turn out to be as quick and painless as possible.

[VeryHappy]

When I wondered about the compliance of an annual colonoscopy, I was under the impression that was the recommendation for everyone, even without any symptoms, based on the post immediately above mine. If I had symptoms or An Issue, I’d comply with whatever they recommended.

[ucbalumnus]

@VeryHappy

When I wondered about the compliance of an annual colonoscopy, I was under the impression that was the recommendation for everyone, even without any symptoms, based on the post immediately above mine. If I had symptoms or An Issue, I’d comply with whatever they recommended.

As explained later, the recommended yearly test was FIT, and colonoscopy every 10 or 7-10 years, in Germany and Austria.

[KnearSeattle]

Thank you, everyone, for the kind responses. I appreciate them. Still waiting to schedule the next step.

[calmom]

Bumping up this thread to share this article from today’s NY Times – basically focused on wider use of the FIT test for individuals who are not at high risk:

Key points:

• Health care systems like Kaiser Permanente and VHA are now mailing out FIT tests to patients, rather than colonoscopy screening reminders

• US Preventative Services Task Force will likely update its guidelines this year to lower the age of routine screening for colon cancer to age 45

• A study found that Cologuard home testing was less effective than most other methods as well as being much more expensive than FIT

A Colonoscopy Alternative Comes Home

[ucbalumnus]

From that page:

@Paula Span in New York Times

Why do so many Americans still undergo colonoscopies, then? “There’s a large financial incentive for people who do colonoscopies to do colonoscopies,” Dr. Goodwin said, so patients may not hear much about the alternatives.

[KnearSeattle]

My update: about a month after my first colonoscopy, I got one of the test kits in the mail from my insurance company. I just tossed it.

I did make it in for the second colonoscopy, to remove the polyp on the appendiceal orifice. The doctor couldn’t take it out in one piece, so I get to go back yet again, in May (a third colonoscopy within 12 months!), to make sure it is all gone. But the biopsy showed that the pieces that were removed were still precancerous, so that was good news.

A tangential note: my insurance wouldn’t pay for Suprep again so soon, so I tried Golytely. Let’s just say that I think I would pay out of pocket to use Suprep again.