My husband and I each do it without "any" sedation. When they went around a corner.....the assistant pressed his fist into my gut.....and I was fine. Do a few sit ups, say...25....and it's no worse than that. I got to watch the screen..... and help look for polyps.....none found. If you get embarrassed being naked, with a robe on......that may be a factor. The doctor was male and his assistant was male.

I was thinking if I go without sedation, I can wear my mask too. BUT, I have to admit--I get gas to get my teeth cleaned. I have low pain tolerance. Just mulling over options.

It's not that kind of pain. You can't feel your intestines. If they had to cut a polyp out, you would not feel it. If your scared...don't do it. They can't sedate you once they start. Yes, I could have driven myself home.....but.....my husband and I go everywhere together. He was in the waiting room.

I don't think it would be the "pain" that would bother you (I never felt any in

the several colonoscopies I have had), but if you are extremely nervous, the

light sedation will help relax you. I never went alone without a driver, though.

Just a good idea...sedation for sure, or even without IMHO

Disclaimer we are in BC Canada

My sister just had a colonoscopy. She was not sedated. One polyp. It is being tested. She is a cancer risk patient.

Legally she was required to have someone pick her up. I have to go into the hospital and she had to be escorted out of the recovery area by an attendant to me. I don't have to sign anything though. I imagine all this has to do with the hospital insurance.

I've done it without sedation. It wasn't pleasant but it really wasn't that bad. It was over quickly. Not painful but a little bit uncomfortable. And it was really nice to avoid sedation.

Chi--could you drive yourself home? Thanks for quick reply too!

my DH does it without. I have restless legs so I was afraid I would move around too much.

If you have a low pain tolerance, I wouldn't suggest it. You will need to bring a driver with you in the event that you will need sedation. So if you need a driver anyway and have a low pain tolerance opt for the sedation.

My brother did without sedation. He drove himself, about a two hour trip one way. He was fine. His wife had sprained her ankle and he didn't want to wait until she was able to go.

Oh my... I can't even think about doing it without sedation! lol I have a very low pain tolerance, plus I like just waking up and it's over!

I have mine with no sedation. But then, I had all 3 children totally natural, so I can clearly cope well with pain. My colonoscopies are barely painful, and only the odd time when the scope is rounding the turns, and might bump the outside wall, like in a Nascar race, lol. But by the time I could think 'Ow' it's around the turn again. I'd advise you to get the sedation though, since you sound more sensitive to pain, than those of us who opt for no sedation. (They still make someone pick me up, even though I was awake and watching my procedure the whole time.)

They have to pump some air into your intestine, and that's what hurt for me--enough to "wake" me a little and tell the doc he was hurting me, my first time. :)

If you need gas to have your teeth cleaned, why would you even consider no sedation? Any friend would be more than happy to have the opportunity to do you this very little favor. They will just bring a good book, sit and read and then take you home. You can always take this friend to to lunch some time to say thank you if you would like, but in most cases that friends do something nice, their pleasure is from the gesture not the reward.

The one time I had one, I had a twilight sedation...I remember seeing the screen watching the procedure...but not much more than that.

My MIL did it without sedation and she said never again. She gave birth to 3 children and said it was way worse than that.

I don't know why it was so painful for her, but I do believe her that it was that bad. I'm surprised to read so many here have done it without sedation and had no problems.

I'd love to know why the difference. She's not someone I think of as "weak" or unable to tolerate reasonable amounts of pain. All I know is, after hearing her talk about her experience (this was decades ago, mind you) - I'm not going to try it for myself to find out.

I've had three with so-called twilight sedation administered each time by an anesthesiologist. Completely uneventful. I'm not sure why one would consider doing it differently?

It seems to me Annegriet is more concerned about having to ask someone to drive her there and back. My question to you Annegriet, Would you not welcome the opportunity to help a friend in this very same situation? That's what friends do for one another. If you have a problem asking, you can always call Uber before and after, but bear in mind, if you never ask a friend a favor that puts them in the position of not feeling free to ask a favor of you when they need one.

Sedation or not, a lot of facilities won't allow you to drive yourself back home.

Frankly, I went the sedation route. I didn't want to flinch while they were "in there" at a delicate moment.

I took a taxi over, and a friend drove me home - we stopped off for lunch together on the way, although I wasn't as hungry as I'd thought I'd be (after the night before draining everything and more from the GI tract.)

Are you kidding me? I so look forward to the sedation to kick in. Have no pain tolerance. Would love to be sedated during a dental cleaning. Great part about getting old is no more colonoscopies. I have a family history and had one every 5 years from the age of 45. Nothing was ever discovered. At the age of 75 , said we won’t need again. The worst part for me was the nasty drink the night before. They would always say add unsweetened kool aid and that would make it taste better. Trust me, that didn’t help.

No I would never do it without sedation, twilight. I have had multiple colonoscopies all with some degree of sedation. Glad I did since there was a great deal to remove and it took much longer than expected. And you just never know what they will find. All of my doctors require a driver no matter what.

Indeed, these last two days I drove someone back home from chemotherapy, which requires no sedation. Even so, the hospital didn't want her driving herself home. So anyhow, plan on finding a friend for the task - and Pass It On when someone else needs such a favor.

Hallngarden: The worst part for me was the nasty drink the night before. They would always say add unsweetened kool aid and that would make it taste better. Trust me, that didn’t help.

I had the option of adding that stuff in to the "beverage". Being as I know how my taste buds react to faux sugar, I didn't. I am glad I didn't. Still nasty but at least I didn't have to deal with the aftertastes of that!

I do recommend one keeps a variety of easy reading magazines or such by the toilet, preferably things one is willing to toss out after you get home the next day. Not that they'll get physically soiled, but you just won't want ever to see them again!

I have a high pain threshold and my first colonoscopy with twlight sedation had to be cut short because apparenty I was not a happy camper, some of which I do remember. Colonoscopies since that time have been done with full sedation and it's been great!

Unsweetened kool aid is just that. A packet of flavoring it has no sweetening of any type. Before the company started making packets with sugar that was all that was available. People would sometimes use those packets with gelatin to make different flavored chiffon pies.

Here they will not allow you to take any type of "public" transportation including a taxi at most clinics.

I have wondered if the pain that some have is from adhesions within the abdominal cavity or just a colon that does not expand easily.

My first colonoscopy, the hospital was backed up and running very late. I had been scheduled for 8AM, they put the IV cannula in around 1PM but didn't take me in for the colonoscopy until almost 3. My required ride had leave to get to work, so they decided to just go ahead without sedation. It was excruciating. To this day, I can point to where my transverse colon is located. I've had two colonoscopies since, both with sedation.

Lots of mixed views. I’ve never had one, but am planning to get one once the covid goes down. 95 new cases in my county yesterday! Numbers are rising since reopenings. I didn’t know no sedation was even an option. It would eliminate the risks of sedation.

Jupidupi, that's pretty convincing. I've never had one but you can bet if I do, I'll be doing it under sedation. Your recount of the procedure sent a shiver up my back 😳.

I go for pain shots in my spine for back troubles. I have always had sedation, until my insurance decided it would no longer pay for it. I got the next shot and paid $200 for the sedation. The next shot I did not get sedation. It hurt like a bear, but I saved $200.

With my first colonoscopy, the pain almost from the beginning was excruciating. I had not anticipated any pain so it was an awful surprise. Every bit as bad as having my first child by natural childbirth in a foreign country where they did not believe in things like saddle blocks, and no gas, either. So bad that I cried amidst groaning, grabbed the nurse, yelled at her to make the doctor stop; he said "I'm almost done", and I snarled "Stop", so he did. Six months later I went to a different clinic with a new (kind) doctor, one where they sedated me properly and I woke up with no memory of anything, warm and toasty in my blanket and furry slippers. I've had one or two since then, pleasantly unconscious.

Pain tolerance differs from one person to the next; various docs and dentists have mentioned my high tolerance for pain; one doc told my husband that I had "teutonic stoicism" while having cysts removed under a local anesthetic. It matters where the pain is, what's causing it, and the person's nature. Whether or not someone chit-chats or yells should not be subject to a value judgment!

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/patient-stories/skipping-sedation-a-quicker-colonoscopy

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109467/

I've never had one do I wouldn't know