Good Luck!! Keeping fingers crossed.

I volunteer at the GI lab at one of the hospitals here and I can tell you they rarely find anything. There are 9 docs there and they do a lot every day. One of the docs averages 14 a day. They say it only takes 10 minutes--it's the recovery that takes so long. I went back to recovery the other day and those folks were snoozing up a storm. I was so jealous. The worst part is the preparation. You'll want to stop on the way home and get something to eat. A lady was in the other day and that morning she'd had a cup of coffee and they wouldn't do hers. They sent her home to do the prep all over again. So, when they say "fast" they mean "fast."

Good thoughts to you tomorrow. I had one some years back. I don't think my recovery was very long. It is just something else a person has to put up with and take up time to make our doctors happy. Things will probably be just fine and you will be glad you did find that out.

Sue

Good luck. Have you started drinking the bowel prep stuff yet? That is VERY GROSS. I just had one last Tuesday. I remember them telling me I'd be going to sleep and then I woke up in the recovery room. Piece of cake!

Will someone please improve the prep for this! The procedure is nothing, but that icky bowel cleanser is gross.

Unless something IS found, you don't have to repeat this all that often.

Whatever, it sure beats trying to fight colon cancer.

I had one last week. The prep is the worse.

Take a tote bag with you. Have a big bottle of water, juice, etc., in it along with some nutrition bars. You can eat them as soon as you're dressed and they'll keep you going until you get to a buffet!

Good luck and don't worry. They found one small polyp in my, removed it, and said it looked fine. I will be getting the biopsy report this week, but they doctor said not to worry.

That bowel prep stuff kept me feeling full all day and the next. Ugh!! The best part was the snooze after a very wakeful night --pre procedures jitters.

Had my first one the other day. They told me that I didn't have to have another one until 7 years. Most everyone I know say they have to go back in 5 years. Is it because they didn't find anything when they did mine? I was really surprised that I wasn't more hungry than I was after not eating for a day and a half! Never have I gone that long without eating. lol

Best of luck. To answer part of your question, lulie-wayne,
I have to go back every 3-4 years, but that is because
my Mom had colon cancer. If you don't have a family
history, and they don't find any pre-cancerous polyps,
I think your 7 years is probably about right.

I just had my second one Dec 31st...I had to be there at 10 and was leaving the place at ll:10...PIECE OF CAKE!! They found nothing this time...5 years ago they removed 6 polyps and all were benign...my dad had colon cancer so I'm pretty gung ho about going even though I'd rather have a gum scraping then drink that awful stuff...it's amazing how much the procedure has improved in the last 5 years...they give you a good cleaning out!! We stopped and ate on the way home...I was starved!! Good Luck and hope you get a clean bill of health!

i am only 43 with no family history and am currently dealing with colon cancer... so i am so happy when i hear people are going for colonoscopies. I think 5 years should be the absoulute limit for anyone..not the 7-10 they tell some people. My colon cancer forums that i visit are full of not only people under 50 but people who were told to come back in 7-10 years and are in stage IV. Myself, I had 3 polyps found during my colonoscopy/2 small ones and 1 large one.. they were 99% sure it was benign but low and behold it wasn't..so here i am ... my best wishes to you for a clean and clear exam tomorrow!! By the way there are some preps now that are much better than the standard golytely crap (hells gatorade as i call it) moviprep is not bad at all and you only have to drank 1/2 gallon.. and if you have your exam later than 1:00 the next day you only have to drink 1/2 of it the night before and the other half in the morning.. there is also a prep with miralax that everyone says is not bad as well.. you just have to ask for alternatives.. the moviprep costs more but is so worth it in my eyes...

Mine was last week.. the prep wasn't bad - ducalax tablets, miralax and gatorade [non-red or purple] I drank a lot of fluids, ate popsicles, non-red/purple jello...
My appointment was at noon -- so I drank the 2nd batch at 6am... glad I wasn't an early appointment - up at 2.30 am for 2nd dose for those...

Don't be concerned. Afterward, your problems will all be behind you.

I had my first Oct 31 2008, good thing to do for Halloween. They found nothing bad and I got taken out to lunch afterwards. My DH gets them every 5 years, since they once found a polyp and he has a family history of colon cancer.

Back from my colonscopy tody, they did find that I have Diverticulosis, they couldn't complete the whole test so have to back for a barrium (sp) enima to check the rest of my colon but the doctors thinks everything is OK.