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To the folks who are all "the next time for a refreshing treat try your colonoscopy without sedation": lol, guys, absolutely not, you do you and all, but hell to the no over here

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There is nothing my wife likes more than to watch me act like a groggy slurring idiot when I wake up after a colonoscopy and I would never dream of depriving her of that pleasure.

i had ~15 of them years ago as part of a vaccine clinical trial. uncomfortable but not painful & i got to watch them use a little metal thing take little bites out of the inside of my intestines which was neat. if i had to do one now i’d probably go w/o but totally get why you wouldn’t want to lol

I find this desperately confusing. To me, one of the distinct wonders of modern medicine is the ability to perform what would otherwise be unpleasant (or intensely painful) procedures while the patient takes a cozy nap. *Skip* it? What kind of thankless jerk do you take me for?

I'd consider going without sedation for two reasons: the main one is I'm needle-phobic (the needle is WAY worse than the prep, as far as I'm concerned), the secondary one is I'm curious.

I haven't had any form of sedation on the two occasions I've had a colonoscopy. It's a weird sensation and a little uncomfortable at times but not at all painful, the effects of the preparatory laxatives were more uncomfortable than the actual colonoscopy.

Last one I had, suppose to be sedated. I woke up when they started to insert camera. Remember one of the nurses..."How is he awake? Give him more!"

I generally wake up near the end of the procedure and it's no big deal. Woke up once when they were doing the transverse colon and no thanks to ever feeling that again. It felt like the worst gas cramps of my life...which I guess it was, since they inflate your colon like a balloon during it.

is that...a thing?? the sedation is the one redeeming thing about the whole process. restful sleep in the middle of the day?! its great!

I'm the other kind. My first colonoscopy was conscious & I fought unsuccessfully every time to have that again. I hate being knocked out for procedures. I had a lovely time being conscious for my knee surgeries.

Counterpoint: unsedated breakfast immediately after is wonderful. And the minute long farts from the insufflation made my wife giggle like a middle schooler.

I hate IVs / needles; it was not “the best nap ever” - I was in the middle of conversation then all went black - next thing I know I’m standing up with my pants half way on, I can’t really talk, I definitely shouldn’t be standing and they’re trying to take me out to the lobby - never again.

I personally do not like the sedation mixes that include propofol, because for me the sedation wears off before the amnesia does. So there were periods of a couple of hours after I had endoscopies where I was conscious, talking, and doing things that I have no memory of. Brains are weird.

I have the memory of having had a memory of going down the hall where I'd had a memory of waking. Like, the awareness I'd had memories and that the memories themselves were now missing. But several times over, as I tracked and listed what I was forgetting.

There's nothing in my intestinal tract that I need to see that badly. If my head is there, I'm sure they can pull it out and notify the concerned parties after.

I've had two of them, and I prep, I show up at the place, fill out some paperwork, get undressed, put on a hospital gown… I wake up some indeterminate time later. I prefer it like that.

Agreed! I’ve had the distinct weird pleasure of having one with Fentanyl(a slow stoned slide into unconsciousness& same back into awareness that made me understand why folks abuse it)and the next one with propofol (bang! You’re out and bang! You’re alert and fully awake again). But commando? NOPE!

Before I went under, I told them we'd split any money, gold, or gems they found in there. They said, "Split? Ha, you'll never know about it!"

Colonoscopy is not a painful procedure. Without going all TMI, I have a far more painful exam annually and sedation isn't an option. If you need sedation, fine, but sedation is not without its risks.

Like the time I had a very delicate neck operation & was given Dilaudid along with general anesthesia. When I woke up, immediately started throwing up with blood in my throat. I was allergic to it and let's say I was not a happy camper. It isn't without side effects..

Yeah, I thought about suggesting that to you and decided that it was unlikely to be of value :-). But I really prefer it--pain's about as bad as bad gas, and I get watch the screen and take a Fantastic Voyage inside *me*!

I prefer the sedation, and not just because of the nice mental health reset it gives me. Seriously, I've only been put under three times now and every time I've come out of it with a nice mental refresh. If it wasn't for the inherent risks to it, I'd find a way to get a yearly RX for it. lol

That reminds me of the time I was seeing my urologist getting my prostate examined... after a few minutes, Doc says to me with a very serious face, "You're going to have to stop masturbating." I said, "Really?? Why?" Doc says, "Because I'm trying to examine your prostate." 🤣 Kidding, of course. 🙃

Every medical procedure: Nurse: Puts mask on me Anesthesiologist: Okay now count backward from 10. Me: 10...9...8... Different nurse: Okay we're done here, you did great!

I got my tonsils out in third grade and the doctor was NOT having any of my nonsense.

When I got my tonsils out: I got wheeled into operating room. Doctor started putting the mask with anesthesia on me, and I waved him away. "What's the matter?" he asks. "It smells," I said. "Ah, baloney!" he said, shoving the mask onto me. Last thing I remember. How very New York of him. 🤣

Years ago when I had my wisdom teeth pulled, as they pushed the Pentothal, I asked “Don’t you want me to count back from 10?”. They replied: “You won’t need” and that was all I heard.

It's the part I always look forward to. Why can't propofol be a legal drug, is my question. It's better being completely out of it for this procedure. I hate pain.

I was so happy and high I was flirting, almost hitting on, with the beautiful nurse! While having half an eye on the physician's progress. Intravenous something. It was a hilarious experience because I knew what I was doing the whole time.

Those drugs are glorious. I ask them to go light so I can watch the procedure. I sometimes break into song to entertain the team. I've had GI issues for 30 years and I've had 10 or so of these. Take the drugs.

I wasn't even offered sedation here in Canada. The whole experience is a bit weird, but it's not that painful; except for a couple of times...

That’s just madness! Here in the UK they sedate you but you’re still conscious unlike an endoscopy and you get to see the screen live. I’ve had 3 and I tell everyone “when the NHS asks you if you want sedation say you want Heavy. None of the weak ass stuff they’ll give you otherwise”.

And if you're hypermobile or ginger, the magic words are "I suspect I have EDS and/or the redheaded variant gene that affects anaesthesia", otherwise they'll give you normie doses and wonder why it's not working.

I came slightly awake during one of mine to the sensation of my intestine being inflated like a bicycle tire and can confirm you do want to remain unconscious.

I was fully awake for my colonoscopy once. It wasn't terrible, but I definitely preferred the one where they said "we're going to administer the anesthetic now" and then a second later said, "okay, we're done, you can get up and go".

Oh yipes, that's scary. My sedation didn't work well and I remember everything ...including the pain as they hit 'the corner.' Suspect my cannula wasn't in right. Having another this Monday and already told them to make sure this doesn't happen again.

I had sedation for my two colonoscopies here in Montréal, but was wide awake for them. Got to see my liver through my intestinal wall during the first! Watched a couple of tiny polyps get snipped during the second. After they were tested, I was told that I was clear for another 10 years.