Under the Weather

Experiencing some side effects from the past two days regime of osmo(bleh)prep (don't be fooled by the smiling woman) followed by colon(ugh)oscopy (am feeling some leftover mental muddiness resulting from demerol and versed - - by the way, if you have a colonoscopy and are given a choice, ask for fentanyl over demerol, unless you like the idea of being awake and feeling every twist and turn of the scope.  On a scale of 1-5 yeeeeows, I would give it a 4).

Will be back when the side effects clear.

Comments

[AndyJ]

They recommend one every 10 ears after age 50... wich means we all get one or more in our lifetime... I was sympathizing with the people having to deal with grumpy, hungry, old people so early every morning... She smiled and said "Oh No, we bring em in, get em naked and give em drugs"... Which seemed like some hippy commune ideal from days of youre... I went to sleep and woke with no probs... Then we had to wait for pictures and prints and consultation... THAT was annoying... doctor was ok young guy... we made some jokes-I'm sure he'd heard em before.. and it was a lovely day.

I inform them that I have a high resistance to drugs as a rule... So I get the high octane stuff with the square needle...

Dealing with hungry, grumpy old foggies early every morning has got to be depressing. I always make small jokes-if acceptable-(some days nobody has time for fun) and always-always-always be clean and co-operative... I think it works for me.

I look it as if I had that job and dealt with smelly, grumpy, whiney, complaining people all the time, it would take a Saint to not return some of the displeasure that on I'm receiving. I'm no Saint, nor do I play one on TV... If everyone tried to work with the medical people and look at the world from their side, Things would go a lot smoother for eveyone.

Unfortunately, My medical people tell me that once a person gets on Govt Medicare or Medicaid they develop a sense of entitlement and turn into demanding, complaining, Royalty... That seems wrong...

[Gail]

I had one 5 years ago, while still in my 40s, and I am supposed to go every 4 years due to my health history. I woke up during the first one but felt no pain. This second one was different. I was never fully asleep. Was too out of it to speak, just was able to moan. Guess I should have moaned louder and maybe they would have given me more happy medicine.

My appointment was for 2 pm and they were running late. Didn't start the procedure until 3. They kept me waiting for a bed, sitting in a room in a hospital gown on, freezing to death and with a headache that could kill a horse, but I didn't say a word and just said "No problem, don't worry about it" when they apologized.

I used to be an RN. Most people were pleasant, but I never minded the cranky ones. That was part of the challenge of the job. The best part was being able to make a cranky person feel better.

No matter how sick the medical person is of the job, they are still feeling 100 times better than the person who sits starved and dehydrated, nervously and uncomfortably waiting to have a test, sometimes very frightened about the possible results.

The doc found 2 polyps. Lab results back in a week. Probably nothing, but once burned...

[Leora]

I had my first colonoscopy in my thirties, because my mother died of colon cancer (and family members on my father's side have had it). That time, they used barium, which my father tells me isn't as effective. The one I had this year (I am now 45) was with phospho-soda. Thus stuff made me totally nauseated. My directions said drink it with ginger-ale. My body isn't used to sweets as it is, but drinking ginger-ale on an empty stomach... I don't know if I will ever drink ginger-ale again!

The actual procedure was no big deal for me. They knocked me out, the nurse joked she was going to use a hammer instead of drugs, and I woke up OK.

Gail, I may link to this next week in a health post. Thanks.

[oceanguy]

OK, I won't enter into competing stories of my Proctoscope, or my sigmoidoscopy or my colonoscopy nor the ever uncomfortable and degrading barium enema...

Let's jsut say, I hope you are feeling well VERY soon.