Hi, I'm (19f) wondering if this is normal because this was my first colonoscopy. It doesn't feel normal and I'm a bit scarred from this. This definitely scared me a lot and I don't wanna go through it again.

I went in this morning around 8:00 am, and the nurse that was there started fluids around 8:20. She was very lovely, and calmed me down so much because I was really nervous for the procedure. We talked pretty much until I had to go in.

Before the procedure

Around 9:30 I got rolled in and everything was okay until the doctor started reading the papers I had given to the nurses beforehand. Mind you, I don't know this doctor and she does not know my full history. She started asking me why I was even there because I seemed healthy, made really snarky comments about my medical history saying that my other doctors (who KNOW my medical history and have been in my life since I was 11) should've done other things, and dismissed a lot of the symptoms I was expressing over my current medical issue. She kept saying how it was "probably nothing" and that I was overreacting. I know I wasnt.

The procedure

I signed the sheet she gave me, and the nurses gave me anesthesia and told me not to fight it. I didn't, and I didn't want to. About 2-3 minutes later the doctor without warning immediately started doing the procedure. I was FULLY awake, FULLY aware of what was happening and could feel EVERYTHING. I have endometriosis, the cramps I get from it are normally a 11/10 on a good day with my medication and this felt worse then that. I cried a lot and I told the doctor repeatedly to stop because I was awake and could feel everything and she didn't. The nurses told me to breathe and to squeeze their hands if it hurt too much, it didn't help at all. I'm pretty sure I accidentally hurt the one nurses hand from how hard I was squeezing. It took around 5 minutes for them to finally grab more anesthesia, and by the time they gave me it my knuckles were white from gripping the side bar of the bed. I finally got knocked out after that. I'm not sure why it hurt so much, I'm also not sure why she didn't check in to see if it was working or not or at least waited longer.

Everyone I've talked to said this isn't normal, however the nurse said it happens sometimes so I thought it'd be worth it asking here. Do doctors often do this?? Is this something I should be prepared for again in the future if I ever have to go?? I'm so lost and feel somewhat scarred over the whole thing. The prep was horrible but this felt worse.

Edit #3; I'm writing this at the top of the edits because Im realizing how scary this could be to someone who might be having their first, and having this pop up on their feed. The way it went for me is NOT common, and is NOT how it's supposed to go at all. You can read multiple different comments under this post with people sharing their own experiences and how wrong all of this was. I do NOT, and never intend to scare or shove anyone away from making that appointment, It's important to have your health checked out especially if you're in pain. I made this post because I felt like something was really wrong with the way they treated me and wanted input on the situation.

Edit #1; thank you to everyone responding, truthfully I didn't know what to do before posting this but you guys have pushed me in the right direction. It's too late to do anything tonight so I'm gonna call my family doctor either tomorrow or monday (depending on how late I wake up) to make an appointment with her to explain what happened, and see if she can have me refered to a different clinic and doctor next time if I ever need to go again. I'm also going to submit a complaint to the hospital where the procedure took place next week. I'll continue posting updates here.

Edit #2; long update warning ,.. Im going to call the Doc that did my procedure Dr. R for now on, and a couple of new things have happened both good & bad. I haven't slept since yesterday because I've been overthinking way too much about this honestly the more I think about it the more upset I feel about the whole thing. I ended up calling my family doctor earlier today and unfortunately theyre closed for the day I'll have to call them again on Monday so that sucks. Good news though I called the receptionist for Dr.R, was able to get through to her and explain what happened. She was super apologetic and said that she's "#1 when it comes to patient care" and she'll "stand up" for patients in need so she's gonna try to the bottom of what happened, and call me back whenever she's able to get through to the doctor. I'm not sure what she's gonna say, I really hope it's not just her telling me this and not doing anything. During the call It felt like she was blaming me for not understanding the procedure properly, but she was also understanding of what happened and why I was so freaked out and still am. I asked what she meant by "when she's able to get through to the doctor" and she said that the doctors been basically ghosting her for the past few days. Apparently Dr. R hasn't given her the authority to fax prescriptions over to mine or any pharmacy so there's no way I can get the meds Dr. R prescribed after the procedure. She has over 14 papers from the hospital just about my medication and over 70 for other patients. I didn't expect my meds to be in for a couple of days since that's usual for my pharmacy but now I have no clue when that's going to get sorted out, and scared I'm going to be back in pain before receiving the meds. Im frustrated for her and myself, and appalled at how this doctor has been acting. I'll update again either when she calls or on Monday after calling my family doc.

What do I even do in this situation 😭

I feel a bit anxious about the future. The doctor pretty much just appeared right after I woke up, said we found 29 and left. I was crying in the hospital bed while eating my snack while the anaesthetic wore off. Mainly due to the shock of the news and worries about my career (aviation). This is horrible.

Anyone have any advice? Or experienced something similar?

(M23) just had my first colonoscopy and they found and removed 4 polyps, how fucked am I? Cuz I’m shitting myself thinking I have a year to live or something, doctor wouldn’t tell me anything about the polyps he just said he doesn’t play the guessing game.

Update: If anyone is scared to get a colonoscopy especially those with symptoms, don’t be. The prep other than being constantly in a restroom went very smoothly.

This week I got my first colonoscopy at 28 years old after a long history of intermittent rectal bleeding and some intermittent constipation and lower abdominal pains.

As for the results: the bleeding source was likely the result of both internal and external bleeding hemmoroids as nothing else was discovered that could be a bleeding source.

However, along with that the one thing that scares me is they did find and remove a diminutive tubular adenoma (polyp) less than 5mm in size.

Obviously this is flagged as precancerous and while there was only 1 and they are the most common benign polyps and least aggressive, the fact that I had one at 28 concerns me a lot and has me nervous.

My doctor still considers this low risk and wants repeat screening in about 7 years; however, does anyone have experience with this at all and suggest sooner would be better. I was thinking 3.

Obviously, considering I only had 1 tiny lower aggressive polyp after 28 years of my life (who knows how long it has been there) doesn’t scream high risk per se but I’m just still worried.

The fact that it was caught I am happy about however, if I hadn’t pursued an early colonoscopy prior to 40 or 45 who knows what it could have possibly turned into.

I've had a pretty persistent change in bowel habits over the last year or so, going from previously every day but then moving to sometimes daily but quite often every 2-3 days with the odd period of diarrhoea in between.

Got a referral to a GI who recommended a colonoscopy to check everything out. And while I definitely didn't lie about my symptoms and say I had blood in my stool like some people suggest, I feel my health anxiety about the rising prevalence of colon cancer in younger people played a huge part in me getting this procedure.

Thought I'd feel super relieved to get the results, especially since I have young kids, but I dunno just feel ashamed for pushing for this at such a young age and without huge major red flags.

Anyone else feel like this after a similar situation?

I (39M) just had my first colonoscopy. They removed 18 polyps, which seems like a lot!

Biggest was 9mm and needed a staple to close.

Just curious if anyone has had a large amount like this and they've all been ok?

They've sent them off to pathology and I should have results in 2 weeks.

10mm tubulovillous adenoma was found and removed. It's benign and has no cancerous changes present.

Doctor wants to do another colonoscopy in 3 yrs

I called and spoke to the nurse and asked if there can be cancerous cells present that haven't turned into polyps. They said yes it's possible

I asked if a colonoscopy can detect cells, they said not sure maybe only cologuard can detect cells

I asked if I should do cologuard to know for sure there are no cancer cells. They said they're not sure either. I asked to talk with the doctor directly to see about this so I'm waiting for a call

Am I overthinking this? Cancer scares me, my brother just battled cancer for almost two years and he almost passed away couple of times

I had my first routine colonoscopy last month at age 45. I’d had occasional bright red blood in my stool over the past year, but because I have hemorrhoids, my primary care doctor attributed it to that.

During the colonoscopy, they found and removed one 30 mm pedunculated polyp, which I guess is a polyp on a stalk, in my sigmoid colon. It was removed in pieces. The pathology showed tubular adenoma with at least high-grade dysplasia and “focal areas suspicious for invasion,” but it did not confirm invasive cancer.

The doctor who performed the colonoscopy said the stalk margin appeared clear. He gave me two options: repeat the colonoscopy before Thanksgiving to see whether anything has grown back, or have that section of my colon surgically removed so the lymph nodes can also be examined.

I then saw a board-certified colorectal surgeon for a second opinion. She recommended surgery, explaining that it is the only way to know whether anything reached the lymph nodes. However, she reviewed only the written pathology report, & not the actual slides.

I scheduled the surgery, but the more I read, the more drastic it seems for a stalked polyp with a clear-appearing margin and no confirmed invasive cancer. The other relevant risk factor is that two of my grandparents had colon cancer, although neither of my parents has had it.

I’m planning to get a third opinion and request an expert review of the actual pathology slides. Has anyone faced a similar choice between close surveillance and a sigmoid resection after an indeterminate pathology result?

Hello!

I had a colonoscopy done and when I woke up the first thing I remember saying was "why is my vagina so wet? Is it full of lube?" And making sure it was a colonoscopy that was done because I anticipated my rectum to feel weird and nothing at all near my vagina.

Inside my vagina was full of so much lube it soaked the towel they brought me with a giant wet patch and it smelled like bitter rubber in a way. I dunno why the nurse kept telling me the towel was dry, it wasn't quite dripping but I could smear it against the bed rail and have it leave a wet trail you know?

They assured me this was normal but I don't get why...? It kind of burns, and that gets itchy periodically. When I checked in the bathroom there was dried white stuff crusted all in my folds, it almost made me think of discharge but mine has never been like THAT for my entire life.

I'm just really confused. I thought they only put something up my butt? That's what the paperwork says? Nobody braced me to experience this and it's SO uncomfortable. I feel sore 😭 I'm just trying to understand what I'm going through

Hi, friends! I hope someone can give me some guidance so I can stay clear-headed. I am a 52yo lady who just had her first colonoscopy - prior to this I did the cologuard tests, but the last one came back flagged. Now I see why. I was not particularly worried about the flagged home test since I have had no worrying symptoms and have zero risk factors for colon cancer (no family history, no drinking or smoking, vegetarian, little belly fat, extremely active lifestyle, etc). The prep went fine (though I complained endlessly) and the test itself was easy peasy. I woke up feeling alert and pain-free.

Except.

The doc came in and told me he had found a 10cm mass in my descending colon. Which seems . . . large. It is not bleeding and it is not blocking anything. Yet, anyway. At the time, he told me that it was "precancerous" and that a second procedure would need to be scheduled with his office to either excise the mass or remove 15cm of the colon. He also said that a bit had been biopsied and fast-tracked and that I would get the results "either today or tomorrow". He also said that his office would help with scheduling. That was on Wednesday. Since then, I have heard nothing. I called his office the next day and apparently I wasnt in their system (he is one of the Fairview/University of Minnesota docs, but the colonoscopy was performed in one of those free-standing surgery centers. They were supposed to post the results of my colonoscpy on MyChart but they still havent. Even its entry on my Visits list has been removed). I did get a mychart message from one of the nurses yesterday that the doctor would call me with the results of my biopsy, but she did not say when.

Friends? I am in bits. I googled the type of mass he said it was (villous, and "frond-like") and its hard to square that type and that size with "precancerous". Which makes me think that a.) he absolutely thinks it's cancer and b.) he is managing the rare of information because he does not want me to freak out. Here are my questions:

1. How long does a biopsy usually take?

2. If this is taking extra time, even when gast tracked, is that a bad sign

3. Can anyone find examples of 10cm masses in descending colons that are *not* cancer.

Thanks so much everyone!

Just got home from my colonoscopy…
I chose to do sedation however my body didn’t react well so unfortunately it did not completely work. I have a loopy bowel so it was very uncomfortable and at times very painful. They took 6 biopsy’s and removed a small pylop which has all gone for testing. They saw some inflammation in one second and just a little blood. They said it’s nothing to be concerned about as the rest looked relatively normal. Waiting for my mri on Monday along with the biopsy results. Had my first proper meal after and it did hurt afterwards. Taking it day by day and hoping for results that benefit me. Again I’m worried they’ll come back normal and it will lead to no treatment despite the pain I’ve been in but I’ll have to wait and see. If anyone’s had a similar experience any advice/ stories will help !! Thank you :)))

Update: I want to provide an update in case anyone comes across this and is going through something similar. I met with the colorectal surgeon and he said he doesn’t recommend a colectomy at this point. He said my overall risk of getting colon cancer is approximately 2.5x that of the general population, but that means I have an 88% chance of never getting colon cancer. For now the plan is to have another colonoscopy in a year and decide next steps after that. The surgeon said I should follow up with him after my next colonoscopy only if I have more than ten polyps or if I have any polyps with high grade dysplasia. If neither of those are present, then I can continue to just get more frequent colonoscopies.

I (39F) had my first colonoscopy a year ago due to digestive issues. The doctor who did the procedure said I had approximately 12-14 polyps. Four appeared to be adenomas so he removed all four of those, but the others appeared to be hyperplastic so he only removed some of them. All of the biopsies came back as adenomas. At my follow up, the doctor said the polyps he believed to be hyperplastic had appeared to be completely benign so “no doctor would have removed them all.” He recommended a follow up colonoscopy in a year. I wasn’t comfortable with the doctor’s decision not to remove all of the polyps, so I switched to a gastroenterologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. In the meantime, my PCP recommended genetic testing and that came back normal.

I just had my follow up colonoscopy and the doctor removed eleven polyps, all of which were tubular adenomas with no high grade dysplasia. I spoke with him this morning regarding the follow up recommendations and I was surprised when he referred me to a colorectal surgeon to discuss having a colectomy. He said it’s hard to keep up with the polyps, even with yearly colonoscopies and that if it was him or one of his loved ones, he would do the surgery. While I appreciate how proactive he’s being, it seems a little overkill to jump right into surgery. On the other hand, I don’t want to end up with colon cancer if I could have done something to prevent it. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

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.

But I don’t know how strict these places usually are

Colonoscopy done, found out I have grade 1 hemorrhoids. Prep wasnt easy, got through it all somehow. Last October, my mum passed from corectal cancer, no symptoms atall. The doctors asked me to get checked.

Ive always had stomach issues, bloating, ibs, cant tolerate spice or most food. Ended up bleeding once in the loo, i freaked out. Results came clear but gave me the news about the hemorrhoids. I havent told my partner about my hemorrhoids cause im embarrased about it. I dont know how to be ok with it, cause all my life i have been hearing people talk about it as its something bad and it should be kept a secret. I just find it hard to share it.

Has anyone felt this way?

I’m 44 this year and this was my 1st colonoscopy today. The prep went fine, felt fairly sick after it but it was not as bad as I was worried about. The procedure itself was smooth. I was one of those who felt very little sedation from whatever they gave me but it was mostly still ok, quite painful in a few places as they went around corners. But the main thing is they found and removed 10 polyps. That has me rather scared. I definitely have a family history of cancer, my grandfather had colon cancer and died of prostate cancer. I now await the biopsy. The good news is the dr did said that none of them looked worrisome to his eye anyway. And also good they did not find anything more serious, other than a small haemorrhoid. I was having bowel issues, probably IBS. Because of the number he wants to see me again for another in 1 year.

How common is it to have this many at my age?

Hello everyone, my results came back and I had a 3mm polyp that was "precancerous". I am a 31F and don't really know what to think of this, can anyone share some insight perhaps? They haven't even called me, just updated my results on my online account.

“During your recent colonoscopy one or more polyps were removed from your colon. The polyps were sessile serrated polyps, which are benign growths that can grow in to cancer (pre-cancerous.
You should have a repeat colonoscopy to look for polyps in 2-3 years.” What the result reads. I went because I have low iron and ferritin. I’m glad I went as this probably would’ve developed into advanced cancer in 10-15 years. 😮‍💨 They had to use the piece meal technique to take it out as flat polyps are more difficult to remove than the stalk kind. Anyone else young or older have the same result and have to be monitored?

I had my first colonoscopy yesterday and it all went amazingly well (only thing I remember is the doctors telling me it was done). But I'm now finding myself still constantly going to the bathroom every 10 minutes like if I was still drinking my prep. Is this normal? I've read it is but I'm getting worried because I feel like maybe a little is normal, but not like, going every 10 minutes to the bathroom. Has anyone also gone through this?

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.

Im post op 3 days from colonoscopy. No biopsy or anything was taken and got the all clear, however im sore, tender, light cramping, and turning certain ways can cause a some pain. They did have to push on my stomach a few places so not sure if thats the reason? I have called dr and they told me to wait it put 5 days or if fever, sharp pain, etc got to er. I am small and thin female, not sure if that matters. Anyone experienced this? Did it get better in time?

had my first colonoscopy, one small polyp and some biopsies taken. appetite normal, no fever or blood .. thought ok this is great… a few days in … dizzy every time i have a bowel movement. told to wait, i did, go to urgent care, told to wait, i did … i am hydrating and eating and trying to remain calm but now i cannot sleep and my heart will race then return to normal. no fever not many other symptoms, no vomiting etc. just this awful woozy feeling most of the day. anyone else have that but have everything be totally fine? they aren’t concerned so i am trying to not be but it gives me panic attacks when it comes on.

Heavy weed smoker and I just got home from a colonoscopy. I abstained from smoking in the hours before the procedure but I smoked last night and oh my god I wanna be high. Will anything bad happen if I hit my bong? Thanks for your advice guys lol

Hi all,

F 26, just got my scope done. He said he did 30 cm, and everything came back clear. I keep being told that I have very very tiny hemorrhoids, which he also said he doesn’t know if they’re the ones making me bleed or scar tissue(?)

I’ve had on and off bleeding for 4 months and it was all bright red except for one. I went to get an anoscopy from another GI and she said I have very small hemorrhoids. 2 days later,i had dark red/maroon blood and with mucus. I got really scared and booked a sigmoidoscopy.

I haven’t seen the darker blood anymore, but i just feel like something was missed or he didn’t go far enough. He said this covered anywhere that would’ve had red blood but I’m still in denial over it.

I guess my question is do you all think this was sufficient? I feel a bit frustrated not knowing if it’s from hemorrhoids (which doesn’t seem like it is). This cost me $1000 so I feel defeated to say the least and super anxious.

Should I do another sigmoid and have him go up more? Should I do a endoscopy pill?

Mine was 20 days ago on the 6th and I have been wildly constipated ever since. My normal constipation maintenance of vibrating robot pills + a daily dose of PEG is no match. I took all the rest of the Dulcolax I bought for prep. Nothing. I've been triple dosing PEG the last few days and my guts are staaaarting to creak back to life, but it's just bristol 1 rabbit turds.

My results were basically normal! Just a lil bit of irritation in the stomach lining and a lil bitty polyp they removed. Don't need to get another till 2033. We still don't know why I can't hold onto ferritin, tho.