| Author | Message | ||
     Carole Johnstone (Carolej) Username: Carolej Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 94.0.72.39 |
Had to have a colonoscopy yesterday. Utterly hideous experience, and the only thing that got me through it was thinking, well, at least I'll now be able to write convincingly about what it feels to have a hosepipe shoved up your bum for three quarters of an hour, while you and a small army of witnesses look at your insides on a massive TV. Surprisingly, this has worked for every horrible thing that's ever happened to me. As far as defence mechanisms go, I don't think I could find a better one! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.152.62.175 |
Oh, Carole....  (I'll be singing that all day, now.) Did you watch your insides, too? I once saw mine projected on a wall, in black and white, when I had to have one of those funny x ray drinks at hospital a few years back. It's quite exhilarating. Are you ok, by the way? | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 213.106.77.123 |
That sounds horrible, Carole- I hope you're OK. But yes- as a coping strategy, it has its good points... | ||
| Carole Johnstone (Carolej) Username: Carolej Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 94.0.72.39 |
Yeah, I'm okay, thanks guys. My dad has very strong evil genes, and I seem to have inherited them all. I have a couple of auto-immune disorders and counting...It's really weird actually: mine switched on at exactly the same age as his did. Consequently, I am now awaiting 40 with some trepidation! Tony, about halfway through (and purely for the benefit of writing research), I made myself look but it was all too gross. And to me, everthing looked vaguely sinister: what's that? What is THAT?!  | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 178.116.61.103 |
I had one of those when I was 18 or so. False alarm, luckily, but I clearly remember the foul-tasting porridge and the immense pressure exercised on my stomach once I had imbibed the stuff. A couple years ago I had a gastroscopy. Now that was a disgusting experience. They basically shove a camera on the end of a rubber hose through your mouth, right into your stomach. One's basic reflex is one of regurgitation - get it of of me! But they said I'd behaved in exemplary fashion. No unpleasantness, as far as they were concened. Glad to hear you're ok, Caroline. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.196 |
"Glad to hear you're ok, Caroline." Hey, Hubert - it's Carole who's had this procedure, not me. Mind you, I have had several of them in the past - and watched the video!! The worst was the last one. I said "never again". It was sooooooooooo painful - I guess because of the fibromyalgia I was suffering from (but unaware of/undiagnosed) at that point. You've heard about the fight or flight syndrome? Well, I swear if I hadn't been pinned to the table with a rubber hose up my backside I'd have leapt off that table and hit someone. I was ruddy furious! Similarly, I had a gastroscopy too - only one, and certainly I'll never have one of those again if I can help it. Hubert, I wasn't well behaved at all - they had to pin my arms down to stop me trying to take the thing out of my throat! Anyway, Carole, hope you're OK. Coincidence, but I have an autoimmune problem too (polymyalgia rheumatica) and possibly another one (Sjogren's syndrome). In fact, I think I'm collecting difficult to diagnose/pronounce conditions as I also have ME (myalgic enceph.... er.. chronic fatigue syndrome). Don't worry about hitting 40 with things like this going on. I'm well past that and still enjoying life! | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.196 |
What's the betting I've been a thread-killer now?  | ||
| Carole Johnstone (Carolej) Username: Carolej Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 94.0.72.39 |
This was probably always going to be an easy thread to kill! Although I find that people do like talking about unpleasant hospital procedures and/or bodily functions quite a lot (myself included obv ) As far as I can tell, auto-imune diseases are like buses. As soon as one comes along... Glad (if that's the right word)that other people are in the same boat; thanks Caroline! And gastroscopies scare the bejesus out of me. I've had a lot of unpleasant procedures in the past few years, but I think that one would be my Waterloo! | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.26.134.231 |
At least it was done free on the NHS. Gary McMahon pays good money down an alley in Sunderland for similar 'procedures'. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.196 |
Now that thought IS a thread-killer!  | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 94.196.118.205 |
Hi Carole - hope the results were ok. I've had one of those and a gastroscopy and can verify comments on here that neither is a particularly pleasant experience! | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 94.196.118.205 |
...no-one's mentioned the liquid explosive you have to take the day before the colonoscopy to clear you out! Stray more than ten feet from a lavatory at your peril... | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.196 |
... not to mention the after effects of all that air they blow inside you in order to get the camera in there ...  | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 94.196.118.205 |
Ooh yes! Brrrp! | ||
| Carole Johnstone (Carolej) Username: Carolej Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 94.0.72.39 |
@ Gary F: I bet Gary Mc isn't able to purchase a digital copy of the whole thing either. Why would anyone want to do that?! I know the NHS is a bit cash-strapped these days, but really? Maybe they should start hanging out in alleyways instead... @ Mick: The bowel prep was almost as enjoyable as what came after. I stopped counting when I reached thirty. I also stopped going downstairs afterwards (and yeah, think it's okay. Awaiting biopsy result, but the doc said he couldn't see anything "too awful". Reassuring!) |