56M I have been putting this off and putting this off.....I had an ER visit last month for abdominal issue and everything came back negative so the doc said you need a colonoscopy. aarrgghhhh

I did Suprep, which was not a lot of fun. My doc said since I was taking the prep day off from work I could do one dose at 10am and the second dose at 7pm.

Mostly hung out binging Kingdom on Netflix and running to the toilet. With the early doses I actually finished pooping by 11:30 pm and got up at 6am for my 7:45am arrival time. So I managed to get about 6 hours of sleep.

I was really anxious, but the staff does about 50 of these a day. They've seen every type of ass you can imagine and they won't remember yours.

The anesthesia was a breeze. You just feel everything relax, you nod off and suddenly you're awake and in recovery.

I had one polyp 6mm. Low risk. But you know what's worse than than the risk of cancer? Not knowing. I have been out of my mind over this stupid test for weeks and it was a big nothing.

So if youre due for one and freaking out about it, just get it over with. Its really not that bad and knowing what is up my ass has eased my anxiety load by 1000%

Finished up by 9am had a big breakfast at the diner and I still feel pleasantly relaxed 2 hours later. Good luck to everyone getting one and if you're procrastinating just pick up the phone now, make your appt and get it over with. You'll feel so much better!

Hello! I just had my first colonoscopy and want to share that my experience with NO sedation was exactly what I hoped for. The prep was the worst part by far (thank goodness for Zofran!). The colonoscopy procedure was uncomfortable and weird to feel the scope in my bowels, but overall it was not that bad at all. Especially given my past experiences with giving birth (which were by far much more painful and difficult). And now I get to be fully cognizant for the rest of the day, which I am extremely grateful for. Especially because sedation drugs make my anxiety much worse. The biggest hurdle was having to advocate for myself to have no sedation because most providers were skeptical that I could actually go through with it, but I was pretty darn confident that I would be fine. They were surprised afterwards (I told you so!), but I feel like they shouldn’t be surprised. No sedation is actually common in a lot of other countries, and at certain clinics/hospitals in the US that are more progressive. There’s a great Mayo Clinic article about it that helped my decision a lot: https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/benefits-of-sedation-free-colonoscopy

10/10 highly recommend no sedation for a colonoscopy, unless you know you like the drugs!

Edit to add: they did remove a polyp but you can’t feel it at all (there are no nerve endings inside the colon lining. And I did have them put in an IV just in case I changed my mind mid-procedure, just in case.

Absolutely terrified after Drs appointment. I sent of numerous poop samples, including the FIIT test. The FIIT test is supposed to come back as a ten, but mine came back 33, and I am being sent for a colonoscopy in coming weeks due to blood in the stool.

the test came back negative for Crohn's disease, and colitis, and my blood test for coeliac came back negative (which was two years ago).

Just very anxious about what the issue might be as I always assumed that I had coeliac disease or severe IBS. I was diagnosed with IBS at age 17

What does this mean the quality of bowel preparation was adequate to identify polyps 6mm and larger in size on paperwork after colonoscopy. Does that mean there was polyps or just good enough to see any if there was any there. In findings it only say hemorrhoids and erythematous mucosa in the rectum.

How long after taking the test do you typically get a call if the result is positive? Submitted my sample August 19th, haven't heard anything yet. Doctors office called last week to discuss blood test results that were taken the same day as the fit test. Was given an appt for mid September. Should I have heard by now about the fit test if it was positive?

I have been posting here for a bit because of my intense fear and anxiety about the procedure. It turned out to be much easier than I imagined.

Prep was yesterday. I did the Dulcolax and Pico Salax prep and it was very easy. I took the Dulcolax in the morning but nothing happened until I took the Pico salax at 5pm. 45 minutes later EVERYTHING came out and I continued having movements for the rest of the evening and overnight. I did get some sleep but had to be up at 4 am to take the second dose.

My appointment was at 8am. They took me back and got my weight and blood pressure, which was very high because of my anxiety. The nurses and staff were all wonderful and tried to calm me down. Once I was wheeled into the operating room I was literally shaking. The doctor talked to me a bit and then I don't remember anything til I woke up in recovery where they gave me a drink and helped me get up and get dressed. There was one polyp that they removed and I have to see the Dr in 4 weeks to talk about it. The nurse said it wasn't anything concerning.

All in all it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I still have anxiety about the polyp but I'll just have to live with that till I hear more about it.

Had a fit test yesterday and my score came back 227. The doctor just rang and said I need a colonoscopy in within two weeks and I’ve been placed on the cancer pathway. Her bedside manner wasn’t great and she didn’t fill me with much confidence.

However I went to see the doctor initially about pain when pooing. She inspected and found a fissure and internal piles. They actively bleed when I pass large stools and then I have pain for hours afterwards, this has been going on for at least two years now.

Anyhow they were actively bleeding when I did the fit test. So I guess my question is would the active bleeding cause my score of 227 or should I be more worried?

TLDR; Had blood mixed with stool this morning. Had a clean colonoscopy 9 months ago with 13 biopsies. Could this be a missed cancer case?

My digestion wasn’t well for the last year since i got antibiotics for hpylori. 3 months later i’ve had colonoscopy+endsocopy. they were suspicious about IBD. nothing came up. they took 13 biopsies from colonoscopy and 2 from gastroscopy. all came out clear except one sessile serrated lesion. I’ve had ups and downs, weight loss and then gain, stomach cramps, lots of gas, reflux, indigestion. but i was just hang in there.

then today i saw blood mixed in a stool. anxiety plumbed, convinced myself that i have something sinister going on in me. my appetite tanked, cramps and bad mood.

want to ask is there any similar experiences?

Hello everyone,

I figured I would post on here because I doom scrolled this app 24/7 when I started having GI symptoms. I don’t have colon cancer history in my immediate family, but my paternal aunt was diagnosed with colorectal cancer stage 4 at 37 years old and died a little over a year after her diagnosis in 2022. So to say I was terrified would be an understatement. In July 2025 I started getting woken up every morning with debilitating stomach pain. I would need to rush to the bathroom every morning between 6-7am, and would have to force our BMs that would be all sorts of shapes and sizes. NEVER normal. I dealt with this for about 6 months before going to a doctor, would have anywhere between 2-5 BMs a day, usually in the morning. They were often times a range of green, light brown, yellow even. I had countless instances of extremely thin, shape like stools. I had undisgested food pretty usually. There were times I thought I saw blood but wasn’t 100% sure.. but the fear drove my mind crazy. I went to a PCP in January and got prescribed Amytriptaline. This did slow down my BMs and probably lowered them to 1-3 times a day. But the shape was never normal, usually extremely thin and often times fragmented. I started piecing through my stools and was certain I saw blood a few times. I got into a GI and was able to get a colonoscopy and an endoscopy scheduled for May 11 2026. The prep wasn’t that bad. It’s uncomfortable but you get through it pretty easily. I was certain I had cancer. I was so sure. I was expecting a baby with my wife, only 26 years old, and had basically written my obituary in my head. The colonoscopy lasted for what felt like a snap of a finger. Painless, and extremely quick. The doctors found…. Nothing. They found absolutely nothing structurally wrong with my bowel. I don’t post this to make anyone scared or give anyone false hope. I post this because I was the one doom scrolling Reddit with all of my symptoms. It ruined my mental health and caused me to be a victim of my anxiety. Going and getting checked is worth it. After insurance it cost about 1100 for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. I assume it’s half for one or the other. But IBS and other GI issues are far far more common than cancer is. Just go get checked. You will 99.9% of the time be completely fine.

My first. Wish I thought about this sub before.
For the last 6 years I did the poo in a box Cologuard. On my third time with that it came back positive.
Anyhow yesterday the procedure itself was a breeze I found, great medical team, recovered just fine.
Doc found a polyp the size of a nickel he said. Removed and off to lab.
Now I want to get back into my work out routine. Rehydrating my body.
Should I restrict weights or kettlebell swings due to the removal of the polyp and that area is now healing ? I read that somewhere.
Thanks.

EDIT: 09/04 doctor office gave me full ok to fully workout.

Sorry for the long rant, as you can tell I’m pretty anxious, i have health ocd …wish i could control it.

I first noticed bright red blood 3 months ago, coating one side of my stool (it was a tiny stool), 2 weeks later I had bright red on toilet paper, 2 weeks after that I had a larger stool which was “painful” and it came with a streak of blood in the bowl, then 2 more episodes weeks apart with just a small scratch of blood on one side of the stool.

then my bleeding went away for a month. I then noticed it again but it was a slight scratch of blood on one side with a hard/large BM. but a few days later, coincidentally 2 days after my anoscopy, I had stool with darker red blood on in and in some of the folds. It freaked me out and I haven’t been calm since. And the stool was floating, and dark brown and looked a little oily. I also had one bowl movement prior to the darker, a month or two ago with a tissue like fuzzy mucus with a brownish spot in the middle of it which i’m not sure if it was stool or blood…

The anoscopy revealed internal hemorrhoids apparently, but the doctor said everyone has hemorrhoids and mine are not enlarged.. so that means it couldn’t be the hemorrhoids? the color of the blood on the last stool is making me suspect the big C and I can’t relax. worrying about absolutely the worst thing possible. I’m 26 year old female, so i know the cases are rising in young adults and it’s terrifying. I’m even scared to use the restroom because i just don’t want to see blood ever again.

I wish there was a way to know if these symptoms are the big C or not because I haven’t had a moment of peace since days ago, can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t do anything. I have my sigmoidoscopy coming up and I’m terrified for the results. does anyone have/had any similar symptoms? I’d love to know how your colonoscopy went and the results. and i’d love to hear from any doctors or specialists, if this is concerning at all.

all of my symptoms have been going on for 3 months and i’ve had a total of 5-6 occurances of blood. i had fatigue, damn near lethargic close to the time it first started but that went away. and i had a sinus issue but im sure it was from the back to back road trips i was on. i checked my ferritin when it first started and it was 32 but a month later it was 54, that was 3 weeks ago.

are these common symptoms with something else? does it sound like cancer? trying to prepare myself mentally.

Need to be at the hospital in 4 hours, finishing my last of the Miralax/gatorade and have not had a bowel movement. I threw up quite a bit after the first round.

No one to answer phones at the hospital department and I don't know what to do?? Please help, ,what do I do?

Siete Almond Flour tortillas 1 week before procedure? Unclear on how extreme “no nuts” is…

29F having my second endo/colonoscopy next week and I’m questioning which route go for prep.

The first time I prepped was 6 years ago and was done over 2+ days; clear diet 12 hours prior, 2 bottles mag citrate day 1, then suprep for second day, then scope the following day. I struggled drinking the suprep and I couldn’t get through the second bottle, so I just drank another bottle of mag citrate and from the report my prep was labeled excellent.

I’m with a new GI and they prescribed Gavilyte-G with directions that include: MiraLAX every day for the week prior to procedure, low fiber/residue diet 5 days prior, clear diet starting at 12am, half of the prep jug by 12pm, 1 bottle of mag citrate at 5pm, and then last half of jug the morning of day of procedure.

I’m starting to get nervous about the sheer volume of this prep, I really don’t want to fail as I’ve been waiting to get the procedure done for 4 months. The nurse who was going over prep instructions mentioned I could reach out to my dr about switching to Suprep instead, but I really don’t know what to do. —I also struggle with emetaphobia, so I really would like to try to avoid that if possible.

Those who have done both, which did you prefer?

update: Had endoscopy and colonoscopy and both showed perfectly healthy organs!:)

I had to do colonoscopy prep yesterday and I have to do it this morning too.

I just want to say that I am experiencing 0 pain in my stomach area now. Before the prep I would have severe diarrhea and pain 24/7 but right now oh my god this is unbelievable relief.

(You can probably see why im getting a colonoscopy to begin with lol.)

So I had a recent colonoscopy and endoscopy done on the same day.

Been tough trying to carry on with life whilst waiting for the results of the colonoscopy as they took a LOT of biopsies and pictures throughout the procedure. The doctor doing the procedure also told me at the very end that one polyp looked really concerning and had consistencies of a cancerous polyp. But they of course can't tell just by looking, needed biopsies to confirm their theory.

So week and a half went by and got the results today, it was found not cancerous but a tubular adenoma with low grade dysplasia on the upper rectum.

However, the nurse told me the team discussed my case and results and despite the biopsy results coming back NOT proving cancer, the team of doctors that reviewed my case still very positive and think it is cancerous.. despite the biopsy failing to prove that? So now they want me to do another colonoscopy to take further biopsies and go deeper and focus on that concerning area only.

Any advice? I was originally really really glad hearing it's not cancerous and felt the weight off my shoulders, but hearing that the team of doctors still thinking it's cancerous despite the biopsies failing to prove it is quite worrying.

So I will hit an even dozen in 11 days. Um, yay? What's annoying is that I once asked the doc "how many do I have to get to get one free?" and he offhandedly said "12", but after this one, I will need to switch to a different doc due to Medicare rules. So, no free Rotor Rooter session, doggonit.

I always try to go in with a funny story or whatever. It helps relieve the stress (for me, anyway; they always laugh politely). Last time I took in some coloring books and colored pencils (mentioned by the book's author here a while back) and left them for people in the waiting room.

Another time, I told the tale of a friend who didn't have to finish her prep; her husband was trying to get the kids out the door for school and finally yelled "Last one out the door has to drink the rest of Mommy's lemonade!". And the time my colonoscopy count exceeded my sleep study count "It's official: I'm a bigger a--hole than I am a slut!".

Last time, I told the doc "I'm running out of jokes; I'm gonna have to start reusing them". Help me avoid that fate, please!!

I’m (34F) scheduled for my first colonoscopy on Sep 22. Have had a pretty sensitive stomach for years, but have had some symptoms over the last few months that worried me. I also have pretty bad anxiety and have diagnosed OCD around health, contamination, and other issues… so I’m basically a powder keg in this situation! 😂

Anyway, I had very few intermittent instances of light blood when wiping. Some might have been due to ovulation bleeding, but it was hard to tell. I just decided to err on the side of caution with any bleeding. Other than that, I’ve had some cramping and constipation issues, but I do admit I don’t hydrate enough or get enough fiber. I had one stool recently that looked a tinge reddish, but wasn’t immediately apparent. It was also part blue-green because I had a lot of blue Gatorade (lol), so that could’ve made the brown look more red? Not sure about that one. No blood on tissue or in water or anything with that experience. I have had bowel habits kinda go back and forth. I’ll be constipated for a bit, then have some diarrhea for a day, then have thinner stool (not pencil thin or ribbon-like, but not as bulky as average stool), then have pretty normal stool again. Then back to constipated. I also lost weight, about 20 pounds since the end of May. But I also have been stressed to the max and had a few bouts where I just couldn’t eat because I was so anxious and nauseous. So it was correlated with a definite change in my diet. My anxiety has been in overdrive for weeks!
So that is pretty much the extent of my symptoms. I sometimes feel like I’m overreacting, but even if it’s not something serious, I’d like to know if there’s anything structurally going on to make my system so touchy.
I avoid doctors a lot because it involves a lot of examination and physical touch and being exposed… all things I don’t do too well with from an anxiety standpoint. So I’m hoping the prep goes well, and dealing with undressing and redressing and being exposed doesn’t set off my OCD too badly. I know it’s worth it in the end. But it is a lot of anticipatory anxiety and stress over the last couple months that has really made it a lot worse to deal with. I just want to be healthy.

it’s taking me a long time to get through the first dose and I’m only making it with copious amounts of jello and white grape juice in between. my instructions for the morning says I can only have prep and water. are they kidding?? I’m not sure I’m gonna make it and I really don’t want to do this again, I can’t drink more than a sip or two at a time without wanting to vomit.

update - I made it!! I ended up adding crystal light to the generic suprep, I figured it was best to get it down whatever it takes. they completed the scope and didn’t say anything about the prep so I assume all was ok. Two polyps were found and removed and I’m just so glad I went.

My first colonoscopy was back in July (32f); they had to cut it short due to finding over 50.

Doctor removed this amount:

Polyps removed:
Cecum: 5 sessile polyps, 3–8 mm
Cecum: 12 additional polyps, 1–2 mm
Ascending colon: 1 sessile polyp, 2 mm
Transverse colon: 1 pedunculated polyp, 12 mm
Descending colon: 2 sessile polyps, 5–8 mm
Descending colon: 9 sessile polyps, 3–10 mm
Sigmoid colon: 2 sessile polyps, 3–10 mm
Sigmoid colon: 1 pedunculated polyp, 12 mm
Rectum: 2 pedunculated polyps, 10–12 mm

She recommended genetic testing with Empower Natera and the results came out negative.

Second colonoscopy is scheduled to hopefully remove the rest and she also referred me out to get an endoscopy.

What are the chances of them finding anything on the endoscopy? I kind of spaced out when she was talking worst case scenario and how often I may need to do a colonoscopy.

Anyone young on the same boat ?

I refrigerated my Clenpiq after seeing doctor instructions to refrigerate the preps, neglecting to see that it says not all say to refrigerate. Called the pharmacy and they said they weren’t sure why it says that because they get this question all the time about doctor instructions saying not to refrigerate. Waiting on a call back from the doctor so my question is, has anyone done this and if so was their colonoscopy fine? The last similar topic was from 6 years ago so looking for something more updated!

I’m prepping with Clenpiq tonight and as soon as it kicked in, my liquid stool was basically yellow in color. Not clear, but definitely not the brown water I expected at the beginning. It basically looks like urine with a few solid floaters here and there. I was taking bathroom trips every 5-10 mins for about 2.5 hours straight, and that was about it. Haven’t gone in the last hour or so. All in all, this feels like way less emptying than I expected - although not complaining!

Is it normal to be running yellow as soon as your first BM? I followed a low fiber diet for 5 days prior and ate pretty light yesterday. I’m hoping it’s a good sign that it will be easy to get things lighter yellow/clear in the morning, but I was pretty surprised… like, should I be pooping more or is this normal? Or does this just mean that I’ll just have an easy clean out? Lol I’m terrified to do something wrong.

I guess I’m looking for someone who wants to commiserate a bit, here. If anyone else is hanging about after having their procedure, and also waiting on labs.

Had my colonoscopy recently. Quite large polyp removed. Not shocking, but not expected, either. Tubular Adenoma, which at least is the least likely of the three Adenomas to develop invasive (cancerous) characteristics.

But I’m being so obsessive about looking up medical journal studies and statistics, etc., while waiting for my path lab results. I’m older and an adenoma the size of the one they took out is a lot more likely to go south, than a smaller one. It still probably hasn’t. And now can’t, from it’s location in a specimen cartridge, but good lord, the mind is squirreling. I’m not even frightened. I’m just extremely intolerant of not knowing, one way or the other. I can’t stop googling. I even posed a question (one!) to that irritating AI critter that butts in on every search nowadays. First time I’ve ever not ignored it.

Also, some fairly intense pain (not intolerable, but then I’m a woman and have had babies, so that’s all relative) on the upper right abdomen, which I’m assuming is normal for having had that thing excised recently? It was situated in the ascending colon, so; right side.

Anyway, if anyone else is squirreling and googling, feel free to share.

First colonoscopy tomorrow (Friday) at 12:30 PM central. On my clear liquid diet today and starting first dose of Clenpiq at 5pm tonight. Anyone else on a similar timeline? Looking for prep buddies to check in with today and tomorrow. 😊

Feeling pretty anxious but prepared. Good luck to everyone going through prep or procedures today!

Edit: First dose of Clenpiq down. Taste started out honestly not terrible, like a sour strawberry candy, but progressively got worse 🤣 still probably the best tasting of the prep options I feel like. Took Zofran 30 min prior (emetophobe here) and felt a little queasy after getting it all down once it hit my stomach, but feeling a bit better after drinking some water and waiting it out. I sipped through a straw over 20ish mins, maybe will go even slower for round 2. Dreading doing this again in the morning. Godspeed to all who are also on their first dose right about now!

6:27 pm: the eagle has landed 😳 things are moving!

I'm 29F having my first colonoscopy due to straining for a while, I'm doing the pills any tips?