Comments on: Would you undergo a colonoscopy without sedation?

By: Fottmer

Fottmer — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:11:00 +0000

I didn’t get a choice. The meds I take for anxiety and sleep keep the twilight meds from working. I told them weeks in advance and 5 times before the procedure. I was wide awake and furious.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:54:40 +0000

I forgot the best part: my doc said that she has done thousands of colonoscopies and she has NEVER heard of a patient getting perforated unless they were sedated. Without sedation, the exam is almost totally risk free; one of the GI docs on her service would scope himself (no kidding) to demonstrate the exam for residents..he had IBS and needed to get them anyway,, unsedated colonoscopy is obviously very safe.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:51:01 +0000

Sedation for colonoscopy is overused; I got so freaked out by reading the versed horror stories (most are true) that I kept putting this exam off until the symptoms got bad…not a good idea. Not one GI doc that I called would do an unsedated exam (they all said that “it slowed them down too much”)…One day at work (at a University Hospital), one of the GI docs overheard my colonoscopy sedation rant as I was talking to a nurse; the GI doc wrote me a rx for the prep and told me to show up the next day at 0730 and she wold do the colonoscopy unsedated. Yipee! She also called me that evening and reassured me that the exam would be no big deal; she would take her time and talk me through it. The exam was breeze; had a precancerous condition and I will be getting yearly exams for a while. No sedation, no missing work, no memory loss! If you find a doc who will take his/her time, colonoscopy sedation is strictly optional.

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:56:22 +0000

Given the way that most gastro docs use sedation just so they can do colonoscopies more quickly and not for patient benefit, I will skip the sedation and probably skip the exam. I’m an advance-practice RN and the current state of how conscious sedation is practiced is really depressing.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:55:00 +0000

One thing that gastro doc’s often blur is the distinction between sedation and analgesia. I don’t want memory-loss and the trauma of versed-induced sedation (it’s scary and more common than you think), but I don’t want a painful exam. My doc then told me that if I wanted painkiller (fentanyl) only and no amnesia drug (versed), that was possible. Why isn’t the “painkiller only”option offered? A nurse told me it was because “we like to work with an amnesic patient”. I asked her if she would want versed herself and she said ‘no”…so they want YOU to have amnesia drugs but won;t take them..

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:32:51 +0000

I have a comment: I’m 54 and recently had a colonoscopy that probably saved my life. I knew that I needed to have this done at 40, but after seeing the terrible time that several of my friends went thru with the procedural sedation (amnesia, memory loss, almost frank psychosis), I decided to take my chances and skip the exam. Bad decision, by the time I had symptoms, it was almost too late. Luckily I found a good endo doc who said that the unsedated exam was no big deal; they usually do sedation because most people want it……God help you if you are in the 10% who have a bad reaction to the sedation…anyway, the exam was pretty easy; she found a pre-cancerous condition and I had surgery. Now I get yearly exams; I’m lucky enough to have ofund a doctor who is willing to take a little extra time to do the unsedated exam……

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:49:13 +0000

I am a R.N. who understands all the mechanics of colonoscopies. Since I have IBD,I have had many. All with sedation(sometimes with Versedk,but more recently with propofol). I have a low pain tolerance,and some anxiety. I think to label patients as “wimps or whiners” if they take sedation is unfair,and does not take into account that each
and every pt. is different,and therefore has different needs. I agree Gastroenterologists should offer a no sedation option,but should also be willing and have staff capable of
providing appropiate sedation for any GI procedure.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:29:24 +0000

I have a vested interest in colonoscopy because I have to get them quite often; being married to a gastroenterologist has given me some insight into how they are done. Sedation is fine if you want it, but it’s not necessary and certianly not risk-free. The typical versed/fentanyl combo given by most endo centers is usually well-tolerated, but about 10% of the patients report a horrendous experience and often experience long-term memory/psychic trauma from the versed. Not everyone wants amnesia and it can be long-lasting, and this comes from versed/fentanyl being administered by non-anesthesia personnel (endo nurses). MAC (propofol) given by anesthesia providers is bette tolerated, but all sedation increases the risk of perforation becasue the patient can’t respond to pain. I have had all of mine unsedated and they were easy. Why do some people have so much trouble (sedated or not) with colonscopy? My wife says that a lot of GI docs are rushing the exam needlessly for profit motives. Her practice stopped using versed/fentanyl and uses propofol for sedation; except for people like me who refuse sedation (and like most of the office staff who also refuse sedation)… Get the picture? Insiders get a slow, careful, unsedated exam…..Read: unsedated=better, safer, comfortable and without the many disadvantages of sedation. But still, unsedated exams are a “secret” option that you have to ask for and insist upon.

By: Timothy

Timothy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:45:54 +0000

I’m a PA student and have had a colonoscopy (as far as the hepatic flexure at least) without any sedation. I can report that this was quite possibly the most pain/uncomfortable experience of my life. I accept that my experience may be isolated and is most certainly multifactorial (skill of the endoscopist, etc) but I will never attempt the procedure again without some type of sedation. I do agree, despite the pain, that it was fantastic to be able to walk out on my own and drive home after the procedure without any type of sedation hangover.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:22:36 +0000

I’m a CRNA and a significant component of my salary comes from providing endoscopy sedation (propofol for colonoscopies, usually). If you want sedation, get an anesthesia person to administer it. Anesthesia providers use propofol for deeper sedation without the problems associated with midazolam (Versed) that is usually given by endo clinics. I have heard hundreds of sedation horror stories from patients who have undergone colonoscopy sedation with Versed; about 10% have a terrible experience during the procedure and many go home to develop PTSD as the wonderful Versed amnesia wears off. I hate to say it but the reason that colonoscopy sedaionis so common is: money. They want to do the procedure quickly, giving the patient a large dose of an amnesic like Versedmakes this easy..it also makes colooscopy WAY more dangerous for the patient. Find a decent endo who will do your exam unsedated…..you probably don’t need it anyway. And nobody needs Versed……….