Readers- As I mentioned on Monday, I'm taking the rest of the week off. My colonoscopy on Tuesday went fine, but the prep and the procedure were pretty tiring. And normally I'd say I just need a little time to lick my wounds, only that paints a picture that none of us wants to imagine.
I'll note that since it was June 15th, I also wrote another massive self-employment tax check to the government. I figured as long as I'm taking it up the poop-chute anyway, I might as well get it all done on the same day.
See you in the comments section! -Stilton
I wonder if the folks doing the scoping are actually little bug eyed grey guys from outer space?
ReplyDeleteAll behind you now - welcome back to the real world.
ReplyDeleteDid they leave a chip ‘behind’?
ReplyDeleteAs above (comment wise), so below. Take it easy and give yourself time to get back on the horse comfortably.
ReplyDeleteNow you have a lot more in common to the governor of Colorado, (nudge nudge, wink wink).
ReplyDeleteColonoscopies are not fun at all. Due to artificial heart valve installation, I take blood thinners. These medicines have to stop before the procedure, due to possible internal damage. So the procedure is to have shots accomplishing same task but given in stomach (yeah, just like rabies !!) for several days while blood thinner in body is reduced. Twice a day, five days if I remember correctly
ReplyDeleteNot a fun time at all. But the results were great - no signs of cancer so that is a win. I hope you get the same diagnosis. Rest up while you can.
Even under stress , you still come up with good one Stilt !!! ...
ReplyDeleteFrom experience (have had two) can say that the prep is much worse than the actual procedure.
ReplyDeletePut to sleep yesterday also but not for your procedure. Shot in back to stop Sciatica. So far so good. Have a good recovery time.
ReplyDeleteLast August, I had one of those borescopings. All okay, but I was told I was in atrial fibrillation, which makes me wonder where he put that probe.
ReplyDeleteBe VERY THANKFUL your two covid vaccines weren’t administered the same way.
ReplyDeleteOUCH and DOUBLE OUCH!
@Readers- Thanks for the good thoughts! As others have noted, the prep was actually worse than the procedure. You're rolled in, the anesthesiologist says "I'm injecting you now" and then you're back in recovery with seemingly no time passed.
ReplyDeleteThe doctor didn't see anything overtly worrisome, although he WAS able to harvest 13 polyps - each and every one of which would make a better president or vice-president than what we currently have.
And I am indeed taking things slowly today, although I feel fine. And despite my telling Mrs. J that I'm supposed to avoid chores for a week, she heard them say 24 hours so my bluff has been called.
And since I have no medical procedures today, I was free to really read the news this morning...and I'm thinking anesthesia was preferable (wry grin).
While preparing breakfast several years ago, I felt a sudden urge to get to the toilet, but had not had any bouts of diarrhea in the past. Sat down and with a sudden rectal explosion, blew out about a pint of blood. Holy CRAP, Batman. Wife took me immediately to the Emergency room at Kaiser in our Northern California town, where they placed me on a cot, and did a workup with blood test, vital signs, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs a precaution, they placed a portable toilet next to the cot. An hour later, I went through a similar experience, sat on the portable toilet, and passed out due to another relatively massive loss of blood that blew out my bottom.
Ended up on an IV to replace the lost blood, and placed on a 24-hour regimen of a liquid to clean out my bowels, after which the doc was able to use a proctoscope to diagnose a tear in my large bowel that was a real bleeder. Surgery solved the problem and I haven't had a recurrence. The entire episode was a surprise, although I had had a history of diverticulosis and one episode of diverticulitis (treated with antibiotics, but no surgery).
I now stay away from too much dry food like popcorn, potato chips, etc. that might be bad for my aging bowel. So far, so good.
Fortunately for most of us, the colonoscopy experience only takes place once a decade. But those of us who work for ourselves get to experience the 1040ES 40 times during that same interval. Maybe THAT's where the name for the form comes from! The 1040ES has the same effect on my bank account as the colonoscopy prep does on my colon.
ReplyDeleteI hope you recover from both experiences soon, @Stilton.
@ Stilton said- "I also wrote another massive self-employment tax check to the government."
ReplyDeleteAnd meanwhile those of us paying our "fair" share and more get to enjoy those infernal commercials that show some a--hole who owed $87,000.00 taxes who just got the good news the IRS settled for only $3,000.00! I find it strange the majority of those actual persons seem to be POC.
Well crap! This was a shitty post today. Just kidding!!
ReplyDeleteGlad all went well, but I'm betting those 13 polyps just put you in the "every three years" category. Sorry.... But hey! Look on the bright side. You take it in the behind from the Biden admin every day! Every three years doesn't seem so bad by comparison. And, hopefully you will be done with the constant Biden probe for your next colonoscopy, and we'll be back to having a president that puts America first.
The prep is always worse than the procedure. Fortunately it only occurs every 5 years or if you are lucky, every 10.
ReplyDeleteHad yet another "Deep Probe" in March of this year. Yea the prep is a pain in the ass, but the few minutes of deep "on-the-table" nap time was the best sleep I had for years.
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ReplyDeleteAs most readers of this blob likely know, medical folks say colon cancer is preventable by having a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy once every 3, 5 or 10 years ain’t no big §#it if anyone asks me.
While I was in recovery after my first colonoscopy, there was quite a bit of "out gassing". (My late wife and late mother-in-law were there.) My remarks were, "Is it raining outside? I hear thunder." My late wife was not amused; my late mother-in-law laughed so hard it brought her to tears. I'll see myself out now...
ReplyDelete@Readers- Lots of funny and on-target comments here. One thing I want to make clear is that, despite my complaining, a colonoscopy isn't that horrible, and it's a potential life-saver. I just got a call from my doctor and he told me that everything was benign (yay!), but that several of the polyps were adenomas which could have become cancerous if not removed. So I'll be doing this again in 3 years (rather than 5 or 10), no doubt complaining, but grateful that we live in a time where this procedure is available to us and surprisingly easy to do. If YOU need one, go ahead and do it.
ReplyDelete@Alfonso Bedoya- Yikes! Glad they got you sutured up in time! And if you ever pay a visit to stately Jarlsberg Manor, please don't be offended if the butler doesn't seat you in any of our "good" chairs. (grin)
@American Cowboy- You've hit one of my hot buttons! Hearing those commercials for people who are wildly behind in taxes and settling for pennies on the dollar infuriates me. If someone can demonstrate genuine hardship, then it might be excusable - but if it's just someone who screwed around and didn't FEEL like paying, they should have to cough up every cent plus late fees. I don't like paying taxes, and I especially don't like having my taxes jacked up because others really aren't paying their (ahem) "fair share."
@Bobo- Right you are. Colonoscopies aren't fun, but they're doable and really important. Frankly, I'm pretty happy to have heard today that I'm not a candidate for rectal cancer for a few more years!
they got me to do one at 60. they said do it every ten years. I told them they had there one shot. not getting another.
ReplyDeleteBobo, colonoscopies don't prevent colon cancer nearly as much as they discover it, as my 46 year-old son found out last summer when he turned up with Stage Two.
ReplyDeleteIt really rattles your world when your kid comes down with something serious. But he's been through the course of treatment: chemo, surgery to remove the cancerous area and an ileostomy to put his colon in drydock for a while, more chemo, ileostomy removed and colon put back to work, and is now winding up the last bout of chemo.
I think the thing that made the difference in his case is that he's been a distance runner for about thirty years and other than the Stage Two, is as healthy as they come.
@rickn8tor.. no argument. My meaning was to discover and remove polyps is to prevent cancer (from becoming a killer).
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ReplyDeleteTwenty years ago I had a sigmoidoscopy--the one they do while you're awake. The prep was the same as for a colonoscopy and I decided I won't do it again either. I'm no more worried about colon cancer than I am about the 'rona. Perhaps my confidence is misplaced, but I just don't care.
The good news, everyone, is that you "age out" from this particular procedure, usually about age 70. If previous tests have found nothing worth bragging about, they move on to find patients with better insurance. That, or they figure you're just not worth the effort to save any more.
ReplyDeleteGlad you will continue with the living.
ReplyDeleteMurphy(AZ), that part about "you're just not worth the effort to save any more" is at the heart of what the Demo_Rats want to do to health care in the USA. It's what Obamacare is all about. It's the "death panels" that Sarah Palin pointed out that the Demo_Rats claimed wouldn't exist. Of course, being old and a drain on the health care system won't affect the Demo_Rats now, will it?
I love the joy juice they give me. Knocks me out completely, and when I wake up, I feel well rested and almost serene.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. When I came out from under a couple of procedures ago, the doctor and his assistant were complaining about income taxes. I startled them by saying, "What are you guys complaining about; I'm the one getting hosed!"