Colonoscopy & Conscious Sedation

I have been a GI nurse for several years and I would definitely have sedation, even with our best physician doing this. I have seen some men tolerate this okay without sedation, but can't remember any women. Many of the nurses I work with have had this done and they all reccomend sedation.

Another option if you want to see for yourself is to ask your gastro if he would give permission for just the monitor to be video taped during your colonoscopy. My gastro is perfectly comfortable with this, I doublel checked w/the Endo Dept head to be sure the hospital would be okay w/this and we've done it for about 6 scopes now. Until my last scope. Our charge nurse transferred to another department and the new charge nurse gave us some static last time and said it was THE LAST TIME we could video the monitor. So - my gastro and I do my scopes at another Endo center now. I have transferred the videos to CD and have a string of them on CD. You have to take your own video cam and tape and it does take one more person in the room to tape the monitor so that could be a consideration.

Some really progressive Endo centers had the equipment to provide you w/a video of the procedure if you provided your own blank tape which is where I got the idea. But now that digital imaging has come into play .... our new digital imaging center in town has its entire second floor devoted to a newly formed gastro consortium's setting up an Endo center there. From what I understand they scopes are done w/some digital imaging but they don't have the equipment to make a CD for me and the file would be too large to e-mail it to me. Drats. So much for switching to that facility. *sigh*

I'm sure all these colon innards are old hat to my gastro but given my Crohn's disease I find it fascinating to see what my own innards look like when we do a scope.

I have helped with many colonscopies and have helped patients without sedation. That's a choice you should make. However, the distention, from air and going around bends and curves, can be unconfortable. I choose to have sedation when I have my next one. As already suggested, bring a driver in case you change your mind.

I had a colonoscopy without sedation yesterday, and, apart from one brief moment of pain, which was still quite tolerable, I would characterize the procedure as mildly uncomfortable. It was much preferable to having to deal with recovering from sedation.

I had had an IV inserted before the procedure and told the doctor that I didn't think I would be nervous, but if there was a problem, she could give me a dose of painkiller, and if absolutely necessary, sedation. I don't think it was any more challenging for the doctor and nurse, as they chatted with each other as if I wasn't 'there,' checking in with me from time to time when they remembered I was awake. Meanwhile, I was fascinated to watch the procedure on the monitor.

I have also had two upper endoscopies without sedation. They were tolerable, but much more unpleasant than the colonoscopy, as I had to manage the gag reflex and my breathing. Again, not fun, but still preferable to sedation.

Please keep in mind that different patients have different needs around sedation. I am so thankful that mine were respected.

(And in response to Maxm: I am a woman.)

Amen, ciaobelly!!! I, too, am a woman. And I agree w/you completely about respecting the patients' choice regarding sedation!

I found the upper endoscopy worse than the colonoscopy, both w/o sedation, due to my having a very strong gag reflex. And watching the monitor IS fascinating! Especially during colonoscopy when you can ask questions about what you see!! My gastro went thru both scopes w/o sedation before she would agree to do mine w/o sedation and she totally agrees w/me: the endoscopy is more uncomfortable than the colonoscopy due to the gag reflex!!!

I've worked in the GI lab for the last 6 years and I've had 5 patients who have opted for no sedation. They had physicians who were very patient and made sure that they talked the patient through what was going on during the procedure. It really is up to the patient, their anatomy and physician.

In just about every other country they do this without sedation. One of my fellow GI nurses found her self in one of these countries on her 50th birthday and said she wasn't even offered a Sugar Pill! Where I worked it few and far between and even then often it was medical pros who insisted on no sedation ( control issues?). In these cases the doctors seem to want sedation more for their personal comfort ( one doc voiced feeling uneasy when the patients are talking to during the procedure) than giving the patient the experience they claim they want. The spots that are uncomfortable are going past the sigmid and hepatic flexure for some.

If conscious sedation has any effect on pain perception during a procedure, why is it so important to have a drug that causes amnesia afterwards?

yvonnev - you might want to start a separate thread as this thread is over 10 years old!

I didn't think twice about taking the Versed. I got nice and loopy, they pushed the scope up my butt, and I watched by ileus schloop around on the monitor.

A friend decided not to have the sedation and made them stop and drug him.