GET A COLONOSCOPY if you are >45 years old !!!

[gerryvz]

So it sounds like cheaper, luxury goods, like watches, handbags, and some $100,000 cars are no longer experiencing bubble inflating prices. Call this the bust of plebeian grade luxuries. At the same time, it sounds like the super esoteric luxury stuff, like art and 7 to 8 figure cars are still high in demand.

I wonder what the boat / yacht market is doing? @gerryvz ?

Sorry for the delay - just got out of the hospital yesterday. Boat prices are beginning to come down, as inventory builds up. High-end stuff is still very pricey.

Good video from my friend Captain Matt on the state of the boat industry, and pricing, right now.....

 

[gsxr]

Sorry for the delay - just got out of the hospital yesterday.

Gerry, hope you are recovering quickly!

 

[gerryvz]

Gerry, hope you are recovering quickly!

View attachment 172642

4-6 weeks for a full recovery for a hemicolectomy (yes, I got a "hemi"). The good news: pathology report came back and everything came out benign.

 

[sheward]

I had a bladder procedure performed 2 weeks ago. Reading about your procedure I would guess you may have been dealing with some pain.

Good news on the report. Rest well.

 

[TerryA]

@gerryvz,
I’m glad to hear your operation was a success and also benign. Here’s hoping that your recovery is short and successful.

Take Care Gerry

lol

 

[195910]

Doesn't sound too bad .. Get well soon Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

My very strong advice to everyone here, over the age of 45, is that if you have not gotten a colonoscopy, PLEASE DO IT ASAP. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among adults, and is often known as the "silent killer" becuase you often don't even know that you have it until it is in a very advanced state. There is an explosion of colorectal cancer among young people, even in their 20s.

DO NOT rely on the Cologuard "poop test" that you see advertised on TV. Get a colonoscopy.

My doctor explained it to me like this -- a poop test is like putting your ear up to the hood of a running engine, to listen to hear if anything sounds odd. If something is really wrong, it may tell you what something is wrong (but it may not, as well). And they you'll need to get a colonoscopy anyway.

A colonoscopy is like a compression test, leakdown test, and borescope that really will tell you what is happening inside your large intestine. I also got an endoscopy at the same time (makes sense to do both ends while they knock you out) and that came back fine.

Here's the caveat of the poop test. They don't guarantee anything. A colonoscopy is a MUCH surer test.

 

[duuder]

Thx for the reminder @gerryvz will get this done in fall!

 

[maw1124]

Thx for the reminder @gerryvz will get this done in fall!

You’ll hate the prep. But it’s necessary.

maw

 

[emerydc8]

I am so glad you are okay @gerryvz and it sounds like good news! As I age (58 now) it seems that a lot of conversations with my friends--mostly much older--are about medical ailments they are going through. I know it's a good preview of what's in store for me and what treatments I wouldn't want to have.

I hope you bounce back quickly!

 

[LWB250]

Glad to hear you're convalescing and got this nipped in the bud, Gerry!

I've got #3 coming up next year. This was after two over a decade. Doc saw some things that he wants to keep track of, so now it's every 3 years.

And yeah, the prep sucks. If you haven't done it before, be sure to stay hydrated. If you don't, you'll be dehydratetd before the procedure and they'll have a beast of a time getting an IV in you. Don't ask me how I know.

Dan

 

[alabbasi]

@gerryvz - Good to hear that you're feeling better. I just turned 50 (50!). I guess it's time.

 

[LWB250]

@gerryvz - Good to hear that you're feeling better. I just turned 50 (50!). I guess it's time.

Despite the prep being unpleasant, the huge breakfast (or meal of your choice) you'll kill afterward is quite enjoyable.

Dan

 

[gerryvz]

PLEASE PLEASE get a colonoscopy. Don't postpone it any longer. I should (and almost did) get it done when I was still living in Texas, but becuase of my divorce at the time, getting ready to move, etc. I didn't. I should have.

Am thankful that I did it when I did, and didn't put it off any longer.

I am off all pain meds as of yesterday. On Friday and Saturday I was down to just Tylenol and ibuprofen, then Sunday just two ibuprofen all day. Today I'm good enough where I won't need anything.

If my posts here even cause ONE person here to get the colonoscopy they've been putting off, I will consider this a great thing. I cannot underestimate enough that colon polyps (whether benign or malignant) are found in 50% of all people at some point in their life. While only a relatively small percentage end up becoming cancerous (and this largely depends on the TYPE of polyp found), ALL colon polyps are considered "pre-cancerous" (Stage 0) and can easily/quickly/painlessly be removed during the colonoscopy process if small enough.

Please get a referral from your primary physician to a gastro doc, and get this done ASAP if you are 45 or older, and if you haven't yet done it. They have reduced the age from 50 to 45 for all people to get their first colonoscopy, becuase of the prevalence of problems that are being found.

 

[luckymike]

I'll chime in on the importance of this procedure, and add some humor at the end.

A friend didn't follow the advice to get a colonoscopy and is just now finishing up chemo and radiation to try to salvage his colon. Time will tell if his liver will survive after the cancer metastasized. This simple procedure is NOT one you want to ignore or put off.

Glad you are doing well, Gerry. And good for you for putting this out there. EVERYONE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION AND GET THIS DONE.

And now the humor. It doesn't matter how many times I read this, I still laugh out loud. Hope others enjoy it: Some Humor - Dave Barry’s guide to preparing for a COLONOSCOPY

 

[nocfn]

Prep has gotten so much easier than it was for my first time at age 43 (now 57). If you have seen one you have seen them all, nobody is that special.

Glad you got it nipped GVZ, rest easy.

 

[RicardoD]

My wife's last prep was a bunch of pills vs me drinking a gallon of that fluid that made me want to gag with each sip. Is the pills the new preferred method?

 

[gsxr]

My wife's last prep was a bunch of pills vs me drinking a gallon of that fluid that made me want to gag with each sip. Is the pills the new preferred method?

One would sure hope so. Anyone else heard of this?


EDIT: Looks like you ask your doc if he's ok with the pills instead of the tried-and-true PooJuice™:

Colonoscopy Prep Pills: Options, Advantages, Effectiveness

Colonoscopy prep pills are laxatives that are used to empty and clean the bowels before a colonoscopy. They are available with a prescription from your doctor.

www.healthline.com

 

[Bogeyman]

My wife's last one earlier this year was pills plus Gatorade...

 

[Alphasud40]

Yea, Im due as well. Past couple years have cheated with the poop test. Had one about 12 years ago.

 

[LWB250]

One would sure hope so. Anyone else heard of this?


EDIT: Looks like you ask your doc if he's ok with the pills instead of the tried-and-true PooJuice™:

Colonoscopy Prep Pills: Options, Advantages, Effectiveness

Colonoscopy prep pills are laxatives that are used to empty and clean the bowels before a colonoscopy. They are available with a prescription from your doctor.

www.healthline.com

I don't know. I've done the liquid prep every time, and while it's improved over time, it's also VERY predictable. I would want to know more about the pills, how long they take, and how they affect you. When either myself or Mrs. Dan have to prep we just relocate to one of our guest rooms, which have a "Jack and Jill" bath between them. You don't want to be more than a few steps from the "throne" when things kick in.

Dan

 

[gerryvz]

Two different types of antibiotic pills (2x each per day) the day before. Two tiny OTC mild laxative pills morning before. Then one 8.3 oz OTC bottle of Miralax powder, mixed in with 64oz (two bottles) of any flavor Gatorade you want.

I did the Gatorade while out on my boat. By the time we got back in and home 2-3 hours later, I was ready to roll.

It wasn’t THAT bad. Much worse reputation than the reality.

Kind of like driving and owning a 123 or a 107. Favorite thing? No. Better than a 25 year newer Chevy? Absolutely.

It shouldn’t be an inhibitor to getting the procedure done, which literally takes less than an hour. Including an endoscopy down the throat.

 

[LWB250]

Two different types of antibiotic pills (2x each per day) the day before. Two tiny OTC mild laxative pills morning before. Then one 8.3 oz OTC bottle of Miralax powder, mixed in with 64oz (two bottles) of any flavor Gatorade you want.

I did the Gatorade while out on my boat. By the time we got back in and home 2-3 hours later, I was ready to roll.

It wasn’t THAT bad. Much worse reputation than the reality.

Kind of like driving and owning a 123 or a 107. Favorite thing? No. Better than a 25 year newer Chevy? Absolutely.

It shouldn’t be an inhibitor to getting the procedure done, which literally takes less than an hour. Including an endoscopy down the throat.

Absolutely to both. Although I told my now-retired (first) GI guy to do the endoscopy first! I'm sure he gets tired of hearing that. (Are there endoscopy Dad jokes??)

Dan

 

[bclifton]

I had this done recently - got a parasite or something else that caused a very nasty issue when I was in Portugal last year. It ended up causing internal hemorrhoids... which are not painful at all, just causes bleeding.

You're right @nocfn - the prep is a piece of cake. No eating, pills, a BIG bottle of Gatorade mixed with something (Miralax I think, based on above?). Overall, it was a super easy process. The hardest part was pulling out the wallet to pay the copay Definitely worth it for the peace of mind. Kudos to all that have gotten checked out

In my case, they had to use rubber bands to "bob" the internal hemorrhoids... but they did the full inspection looking for polyps and abnormalities. The "inspection tool" has all kinds of crazy things on it - arms for putting bands on, an element to cauterize, lights, and the camera of course.

 

[TerryA]

I'm probably due for another colonoscopy. They told me to come back in 10 years for the next one. I will have to check with my doctor if I'm due.
I do remember the gallons of crap I had to drink. Not pleasant. Hopefully I can look forward to the pills when the time comes.

 

[Duh_Vinci]

@gerryvz recover well and recover soon!

I work in radiology and probably 50% of our patients are from Hematology/Oncology offices. Breast, testicular and colon/GI cancers are the majority indeed.

Please, do as what is advised, get it done!

 

[kwontumspeed]

Interesting timing.

Estimated Lifetime Gained With Cancer Screening Tests

The meta-analysis examines evidence from randomized clinical trials of lifetime gained with use of screening tests for lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer.

jamanetwork.com

Sigmoidoscopy not being quite the full colonoscopy, but empirically the one positive in this study. I'm torn on the impact this study will have on insurance responsibility. Coverage already teeters on procedures that are considered actual treatment versus preventive/surveillance. The latter being the soft ground most underwriters regularly decline. It becomes a very slippery slope when you state that a screening will generally not extend your life. but can also save it.

Yes, go get a colonoscopy. And if there is family history, I strongly suggest you go sooner than 45.

 

[gerryvz]

I don't think any insurer is going to turn down a colonoscopy/endoscopy procedure, in a preventative mode, if one is 45 or older (and possibly even 30 or older). My co-pays for the procedure and lab-work probably all came out to about $600-700 for a bill that was many many times that.

I don't want to even think about what the bills are going to be for the right hemicolectomy procedure I just had done. My wife and I are guesstimating it's going to come out somewhere in the $50-60K range. With two days' stay in the hospital, it may even be pushing $100K? Of course, I'll only be responsible for a small fraction of that, especially since my in-network deductible has already been met with the stuff I've had done to date. That's the equivalent of an 8.5-9 out of 10 E500E, all for a stupid operation !!!

Drink up, @TerryA !!! Glug, glug, glug !!

 

[LWB250]

Heh, I can beat that.

Mrs. Dan had an outpatient procedure (full-blown lady parts type of surgery, not something simple) done at a local hospital where her doctor practices. One of the requirements for the surgery was that she have a follow-up visit with the doctor the next morning at his office.

The doctor's office was closing the next day as a precaution because a former patient had made threats against the practice, so they decided to close until the local gendarmes could round this person up. As a result, Mrs. Dan couldn't do her next morning follow-up visit. This apparently transpired while she was in surgery, so she had no way of anticipating it. Had she declined, it would have been several months at least before she could reschedule the surgery.

So they admitted her overnight.

The total bill was $101k. I think our out-of-pocket was about $2k total, but we are in the process of fighting this one. It's not a matter of the money, it's a point of why she had to stay overnight, and how a less than 24-hour stay in the hospital after using their outpatient facility could generate a bill of over $100k.

We're still dumbfounded over this.

Dan

 

[TerryA]

I don't think any insurer is going to turn down a colonoscopy/endoscopy procedure, in a preventative mode, if one is 45 or older (and possibly even 30 or older). My co-pays for the procedure and lab-work probably all came out to about $600-700 for a bill that was many many times that.

I don't want to even think about what the bills are going to be for the right hemicolectomy procedure I just had done. My wife and I are guesstimating it's going to come out somewhere in the $50-60K range. With two days' stay in the hospital, it may even be pushing $100K?

Drink up, @TerryA !!! Glug, glug, glug !!
View attachment 172771

@gerryvz,
I have one advantage for being old. I’m on Medicare / Actually the Kaiser Senior Advantage Plan. My costs are pretty minimal probably less than $500.00 for a colonoscopy. I’m not sure I paid $200.00 for the last one.

The disadvantage is I’m OLD. Give me back 30 years and I would gladly pay more.

 

[gerryvz]

I am happy to report that I'm about 90-95% recovered now, after ~2.5 weeks. Barely any sensitivity around my belly button where the incision was made, and the surgeon cut through the stomach muscle to get to the colon. I visited the surgeon yesterday for a two-week checkup appointment, and he was very happy with my recovery. Also happy that my body (colon/small intestine/bowel) has been gradually settling down into a more normal pattern over the past week, as well.

I have one more post-op appointment with the surgeon in a month, and then will have a follow-up colonscopy in a year or so. If they don't find anything at that point, then I can go to a three-year colonoscopy pattern, and if nothing is found then, can go to a more normal 5-year pattern.

The surgeon confirmed to me yesterday that the polyp they removed was "Stage 0" -- in other words, totally benign, but POTENTIALLY pre-cancerous. It was only stuck to the very inner lining of the colon wall; had not penetrated the colon nor had anything spread to the surrounding lymph nodes, etc. So all of this physical evidence confirmed that it was 100% benign.

BUT, he said it was large, and some "characteristics" of it would lead him to believe that it COULD HAVE become malignant in the future. I asked him how long that could have taken, and he said three months? six months? a year? three years? Difficult to say, if ever. But, important as has been said in this thread that we got it nipped in the bud. And any future polyps will be caught when they are small, and totally removable during the colonoscopy procedure.

One last plea for everyone - please get a referral to a gastroenterologist from your primary physician, and schedule a colonoscopy. For peace of mind, and to know that all is well with the lower digestive tract. Remember, 50% of all people will have a polyp at some point in their life. It is a very common thing, and although most polyps are benign, many of us have relatives or know people who have had cancer of the lower digestive tract, and it is nothing to mess around with.

Thanks for taking care of this!

 

[nocfn]

Thanks G! Glad it is proving to work out. The pics taken of polyps while they are in there are magnified when they are healthy, they look huge in the picture but are really pink pencil points. You are right, if you got them even pink ones, they get bigger and may obstruct, turn black and proliferate. Best case is to get the screening. Metamucil helps keep you de-spackled (industry term for cleaned out) and the chances of development are less. If you are clean, the prep is really no big deal.

Men get this done as a baseline and go from there. This is not a painful process.

 

[gerryvz]

I don't think any insurer is going to turn down a colonoscopy/endoscopy procedure, in a preventative mode, if one is 45 or older (and possibly even 30 or older). My co-pays for the procedure and lab-work probably all came out to about $600-700 for a bill that was many many times that.

I don't want to even think about what the bills are going to be for the right hemicolectomy procedure I just had done. My wife and I are guesstimating it's going to come out somewhere in the $50-60K range. With two days' stay in the hospital, it may even be pushing $100K? Of course, I'll only be responsible for a small fraction of that, especially since my in-network deductible has already been met with the stuff I've had done to date. That's the equivalent of an 8.5-9 out of 10 E500E, all for a stupid operation !!!

Drink up, @TerryA !!! Glug, glug, glug !!
View attachment 172771

I had the surgery about 4.5 weeks ago now. I'm 100%+ healed up, and everything was fine. I'd say that the first week after surgery was a PITA (hard to get up off the sofa, couldn't get on the floor to play with my dog, etc.). After two weeks I was about 80% healed; by 3 weeks about 95%, and by 4 weeks completely healed up.

Medical bills are starting to come in. Right now things are running around $25,000+, and I will be responsible for around $1,800 of it. Have already paid much of that total. Insurance (United Healthcare) is picking up the rest.

Hopefully others have scheduled a colonscopy as a preventative measure.

 

[r44raven]

......... and looking on the funny side, here's a good clip :-

 

[svhamelly]

I had the surgery about 4.5 weeks ago now. I'm 100%+ healed up, and everything was fine. I'd say that the first week after surgery was a PITA (hard to get up off the sofa, couldn't get on the floor to play with my dog, etc.). After two weeks I was about 80% healed; by 3 weeks about 95%, and by 4 weeks completely healed up.

Medical bills are starting to come in. Right now things are running around $25,000+, and I will be responsible for around $1,800 of it. Have already paid much of that total. Insurance (United Healthcare) is picking up the rest.

Hopefully others have scheduled a colonscopy as a preventative measure.

Great to hear you're well now Gerry!!!
I had my last colonoscopy a year ago, I've been on the 5 year plan since I started.
I am happy that only small benign polyps have been taken during the procedure so far!
I don't mind because those drugs are so good! Best sleep I've had since the last one!!!

 

[gerryvz]

I don't mind because those drugs are so good! Best sleep I've had since the last one!!!

Propofol is good stuff, no question! Michael Jackson thinks so, too......

 

[DerFuror]

I'm probably due for another colonoscopy. They told me to come back in 10 years for the next one. I will have to check with my doctor if I'm due.
I do remember the gallons of crap I had to drink. Not pleasant. Hopefully I can look forward to the pills when the time comes.

Just got my results from routine colonoscopy procedure conducted earlier this week. All good. A benign polyp was removed. Come back in 10 years.

I have done both the liquid & pill preps in the past. I prefer the liquid prep. It works faster for me. The pills took forever to "unleash the hounds". I was afraid no purging would take place prior to my procedure (not getting the anticipated result was more stressful than getting the desired result). Plus, not being a depressed Hollywood starlet, I found it difficult to ingest the required size & amount of pills.

This time I had what's called the Miralax Split-dose prep at prescribed time & quantity intervals the day before & day of procedure..

1 bottle of Miralax 238 gm, mixed with 64 ounces of Gatorade (the flavor of your choice but no red or purple color)
4 Dulcolax (Bisacodyl) 5mg tablets,
2 generic simethicone (Gas-X) tablets

I'm glad I had the procedure. I'm glad it's over. The piece of mind is priceless. I always remember a good, long-time friend of mine who is no longer here because he refused to have the procedure.

 

[LWB250]

My brother was part of a research cohort at Indiana University School of Medicine where they were only twilighting people for colonoscopies. He said it wasn't bad and that he was awake, but not really aware, of what was going on. Not something that has come up in general conversation of late, just putting it out there in case someone is concerned about general anesthesia. I'm not sure if twilighting is being done broadly, but it's worth asking if going completely under concerns you.

I've got an endoscopy coming up in a few weeks for GERD, something else that's really important to check out if you're experiencing reflux. And - it can be done when you have your colonoscopy, too!

Dan

 

[gerryvz]

Yep, that's what I had done - both ends while on the same sleep.

What I've read as a rule of thumb is that you should only have general ("full") anesthesia once every year or two, no more frequently than that. I'm hoping I don't have to have it again for many years to come.