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A thankyou to NormanH!


Chancer
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Today's the day[:-))]

I still think it is daft to give you the preparation twice.

My Doctor's system is that you have to drink that the evening before, and suffer the effects, but after, and the following morning you just keep the rear end clear with an enema.

I hope you don't find your self in the proverbial on the way to the clinic..

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All over an done with and despite my toilet humour the inconveniences were miniscule, they found and cauterized one small polyp and I need to return for the same procedure every 5 years.

Norman would there have been a risk (in my case with family antecédents) of the polyp becoming cancerous or are they quite common in all of us?

I would urge all of you men and women out there to at the very least do a dépistage, your médécin will advise you of whether it would be wise to have a coloscopie, there really is nothing to fear, I knew nothing about it at all and did not even know that I had gone under or even that I had woken up, iI thought I was still in the anaesthésie room and told them that it wasnt working only to find that I was in réanimation and it was all over. It may just save your life.

P.S. Thanks for your words of courage it was definitely not a pointless exercise, even had they found nothing it would have put my mind at rest for 5 years, I am not one to worry about things or to let them affect me and it is only after something is resolved that I realise that it had in fact been affecting me albeit subconsciously, I do feel even more positive and confident now and I had not thought that possible!

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Polyps are fairly common..I had 2/3 removed each time over a few years, at 3 yearly then 18 month intervals, given that  they kept finding them

They can become cancerous, though the great majority don't.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/colonpolyps_ez/

I had a nasty tenacious brute, not the sort like a mushroom with a stalk, but the sort that grows down into the lining of the gut, a flat or 'sessile' polyp

I remember asking the meaning of the word here, and Clair and 5e helping me.

Polyps that are pedunculated (with a stalk) are usually less dangerous

than sessile polyps (flat polyps). Sessile polyps have a shorter pathway

for migration of invasive cells from the tumor into submucosal and more

distant structures, and they are also more difficult to remove and to

ascertain. Sessile polyps larger than 2 cm usually contain villous

features, have a higher malignant potential, and tend to recur following

colonoscopic polypectomy

The first time it was found the surgeon tried to remove it by burrowing under and lifting it out.

Endoscopic mucosal resection

Some specialized medical centers perform endoscopic mucosal resection

(EMR) to remove larger polyps with a colonoscope. For this newer

technique a liquid, such as saline, is injected under the polyp to

elevate and isolate the polyp from surrounding tissue.

I then had a check up a year later, and the doctor took a sample from the site of the removed polyp but forgot [:-))] to look at the results from the lab.

Since he hadn't made a routine appointment to see me, and had previously indicated that he would let me know if there was a problem I wrongly and foolishly  assumed that all was ok

Something niggled however and I made another appointment for a year later.  He then declared that 'OOH the results show that  the polyp I removed was growing back and turning cancerous'

I asked what the next step was and he said that he would remove it..by the same procedure that had already failed ! He also 'forgot' to tell me to stop taking my anti-coagulants before the operation, so at that moment alarm bells began to ring, and I contacted the person who had previously dealt with my prostate cancer at our Regional centre. I explained the whole story by email and he replied ( from his beach holiday by blackberry ) telling that he had made an appointment with at their centre for an immediate follow-up

The next stage was an operation to remove it by going in from behind by 'voie naturelle'. Basically they put something like a hollow baseball bat up you and operate in the space that creates.

That cleared it for 18 months, but then it came back again, and I had to have the major surgery I had last year to remove a section of rectum and bowel, have a temporary stoma and bag to let the wound heal, and then a second operation to close that off and re-establish a 'normal ' ( sick laugh) bowel function.

I bore you with all this to show how far it is from having a simple easily-removed polyp to the state I ended up in.

So don't be afraid of the test, and remember

"is estimated that an individual whose parents have been diagnosed with

an adenomatous polyp has a 50% greater chance to develop colon cancer

than individuals with no family history of colonic polyps"

You did the right thing to be tested. I am delighted all was ok, and hope that there won't be a bill to follow.

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Gardengirl mentioned earlier that there is a big campaign on at present to make people more aware of bowel cancer. I see there is a lot of publicity now on T.V. (U.K) telling people to go and be tested, I have also seen a lot of leaflets around with the same message.

As Chancer said, if you think you have any symptoms go and get the test done and don't sit at home feeling anxious.[+o(]

Chancer you must be feeling slim and lovely now[:)] and ready to tuck into some nourishing meals.

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Thanks for the explanation Norman.

Lose weight Gemonimo? -My Ar5e did I!!!

0.9 kg heavier this morning than when I started the regime sans residues which compared to my (now) healthy diet was malbouffe [:(]

That said I had eaten petit déjeuner at the clinique so tomorrows weigh in will be the definitive one.

To be honest I think my (now) healthy eating régime had kept things very propre and regular, during the flushing period there really was nothing of any consequence other than liquid that came out, I had held onto the hope that maybe the surgeon would give me un coup de Karcher before going in but the scales dont indicate so.

Norman I think using the product on the morning was a good idea, I could not have drunk 4 liters the night before, everything was colourless in the morning which told me that the vidange the night before was sucessfull.

Its an indelicate subject but it was the vidange that concerned me most, I thought that it would be like having diarrhoea but there was no burning or irritation or stomach cramp, I didnt even need my running shoes!

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Glad it went well Chancer.

I had a polyp removed from my Colon about ten years ago and like you need to have a follow up colonoscopy every five years, as if you have had one I have been told you are likely to develop more as you get older. But the good news is that only a minority of polyps become cancerous and it can take up to ten years, so as long as any new polyps are cropped colon cancer is almost totally preventable. In fact in some countries like Japan, everyone over the age of fifty is automatically screened by being given a colonoscopy, and if it was not for the cost there is a strong medical case for all countries to follow suit.

So if you are over the age of fifty and have any history of colon cancer in your family speak to your doctor about getting screened by having a colonoscopy!

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The funniest part had to be the réanimation.  Whilst waiting to be anaesthetised I could hear some thunderous rumbles, I though that it was peoples muscles relaxing after being administered anaesthetic but in fact it was the recovery room. They must inflate you with gas to do the procedure which remains at a considerable pressure, they encourage you to pass the gas and are quite insistent, the ladies on either side of me had already tut tutted when I had tried to let off a few silent ones (impossible and it just makes them longer) and when they were told to let rip they said words to the effect of "Oh I couldnt possibly" so I decided to give them some encouragement [6]

The results exceeded my wildest expectations and once started could not be stopped, I am sure that I outdid the camp fire scene in blazing saddles, I could not see for the tears in my eyes, when I wiped them clear I could see that the women had hidden under their sheets, were they laughing also I asked myself!? The réanimation staff didnt bat an eyelid so clearly they have heard far better than me.

Next time I am going to try and smuggle in a remote controlled péter machine [6]

I would have this procedure twice a year just to be able to play my solo symphony again to a captive audience.

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  • 1 year later...
I'm going to have the double whammy of endoscopy and colonoscopy next week, I've asked for a general anaesthetic as I really don't want to be awake. I'm worried by a poster who said they don't knock you out in France, please reassure me someone that I will be completely knocked out?
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mogs, the Doctors call it top and tailing, something I have had to endure on

several occasions and never once have I had a general anaesthetic, just

sedation. Some people think they have had a general anaesthetic, when in fact

they have had heavy sedation and an amnesiac drug, which means you have no

memory of the procedure.

For an endoscopy you have to have the patient sufficiently conscious to be

able to swallow the scope and the procedure normally lasts no more than a few

minutes. The colonoscopy takes somewhat longer and my partner had one last year

without any sedation to my amazement and said it was absolutely fine!

The risks of a general anaesthetic, which can involve long term memory

impairment in older patients, means that sedation is the preferred option

medically, especially if you have other chronic health conditions such as high

blood pressure.

 

 

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I've had 2 of these fairly recently and was also concerned beforehand as I seem to have a very strong gag reflex.

I needn't have worried, I mentioned this to the nurse who was very understanding and said that she would make sure I got an extra dose of sedative, almost certainly didn't but it is so effective.  Your whole mouth and throat are sprayed with loads of anesthetic so you are aware of nothing. As a bonus, you remember nothing so if there is a discussion with your Doc about your condition afterwards, make sure that there is someone else there as you will not remember.

Needless to say you can't drive afterwards but by next day you'll be fine.  The anticipation is far worse than the actual procedure.

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For those who had this done in France, did you have an appointment with an anaethetist before hand? I am seeing one tomorrow so I will ask the question, sedation or anaesthetic, the gastro doctor told me he is only doing the endoscopy because he might as well as I'll be asleep! I thought they were able to guide the scope down using hi tech equipment these days.
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In my experience in France it is always a general anaesthetic.

I had one last week (the 6th since I have been here) and I asked that very question because I don't really think it is necessary, and I would prefer not to have an anaesthetic if at all possible. However he was insistent.

You have to remember that Doctors in France are paid by the 'acte' so they are very keen to do what they can to maximise their income

In the UK there is more emphasis on what can be achieved on a budget.

Both approaches have their plus and minus points.

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