MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Mate of mines been invited to have an internal examination of his plumbing by either a colonoscopy or barium enema, or specialist CT scan.
Anyone any experiences of any of the above,
What does your mate need to know?
What to expect , and what they might find may be of help to him.
Well TF it's not you that's got a medical problem this time project, and it's a 'mate' instead.
Hope everything's fine with you now, btw.
They are all diagnostic tests designed to allow the docs to see what's going on in his large bowel.
The CT will be the least unpleasant, and will involve drinking some aniseed flavoured contrast medium called Gastrografin, probably. Then you lie on a table and get slid in and out of a big doughnut shaped thing.
Colonoscopy is a look with a long flexible scope about as thick as your finger and about 2 and a half feet long. The scope blows air into your large bowel as it goes, expanding it to improve the view. He may well be offered a general anaesthetic or some sedation to allow this. Picolax or some other bowel prep may well be involved prior to this.
A barium enema involves having an enema with a thickish milky white fluid that contains barium, and then having a series of X-rays.
All these things will allow a doc to see if there is any abnormality in his bowel, they are usually looking for narrowings or changes in the normal lumen of the bowel.
The C word usually raises it's head at some stage; bowel cancer is usually investigated in this way, although so are other structural abnormalities in the bowel.
as above. it's indicated if there's altered bowel habits or blood in the stool. certainly an important investigation to exclude the C word but as above, commonly done to investigate other problems as well as sometimes if there are problems in the family.
your mate might be given some happy juice which has an amnesic effect as well, to at least make the unpleasant procedure of having a camera up the... a bit more bearable.
If given a choice I'd go CT every time. May not be the best thing for his problem but will certainly be the least unpleasant....
They can take biopsies during a colonoscopy which can help reach an accurate diagnosis.
I had the big C word to!
COLONOSCOPY
Was OK ,but thay didnt let me watch the pics ?
looking for 'polups" speling?
Had a colonoscopy about 10 years ago. The worst pain I've ever experienced even with a sedative 🙁
The pain as they inflated my bowels was excrutiating and after a few minutes I passed out because of the pain and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room.
Well thanks for the advice, colonoscopy seems like a pain in the arse, from what has been said, will pass the advice on.
I had a colonoscopy. The drugs were ace - medazzalan (sp) I think. It was like being leathered without the hangover. And I got fit nurses shoving stuff up my poo pipe into the bargain. Whats not to like?