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Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:20 am
by ang121
Hi everyone! I posted recently about constant pelvic ache I have had for the past 6 weeks, along with gas and rumbling/discomfort in the pelvic region and received some excellent feedback and got my colonoscopy done today.

I received good news in that the colonoscopy was normal and no growths or abnormalities were found. I was wondering, would colonoscopy be able to easily find any mass anywhere within the rectum? Or is colonoscopy mostly for the rest of the colon? My GI doc was able to do a full colonoscopy all the way down to the cecum with no issues. I just wanted to make sure that a colonoscopy wouldnt miss rectal cancer, right? I was concerned mainly about the rectal region since the ache is in the pelvis, where the rectum is. Thanks, and I appreciate the feedback I have gotten from this forum very much!

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 4:13 am
by AussieAssCancer
Hi Ang,

Firstly, congrats on the clean scope, no doubt it’s a huge relief, although annoying that you still have the ache.

Having been diagnosed with rectal cancer by colonoscopy, I can tell you can rest easy. Not only is the rectum the first place they look at, it’s also the last place.

The business part of a colonoscopy is on the way out, and that’s where the specialist spends their time. Because of that, the rectum is the last part of the exam. The other benefit is that I’m pretty sure the rectum is not like the rest of the colon in terms of structure, so while the colon has lots of folds etc, the rectum is relatively smooth, but I could be wrong in that regard - no doubt someone else here is better at anatomy :wink:

Congrats again and good luck finding the cause of the phantom pain

AAC

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 8:59 am
by Deb m
Yes. It would find anything abnormal in the rectum and the colon! Glad it all checked out ok.

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:09 am
by ang121
Great! Thank you very much.

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 1:53 pm
by zx10guy
As someone who has gone through the last 2 colonoscopies awake, I can say chances are real good the doc will catch any abnormalities. While awake, I was watching the same monitor my doctor was watching. He talked through various things he saw. The first colonoscopy I did awake resulted in finding the polyp in the opening of my appendix. Turned out to be stage 0 appendicial cancer.

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:26 pm
by ang121
Ok thats good to hear. My worry was because the rectum was so low, that maybe he couldve skipped over that part. But since its the first thing the colonoscope sees, hopefully it should be visible clearly by GI doc.

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:33 pm
by DarknessEmbraced
Wonderful news your colonoscopy was clear!*hugs*

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:48 pm
by LeonW
zx10guy wrote:As someone who has gone through the last 2 colonoscopies awake.


Did you arrange this, or did it just happen?
I woke up during my last scopy (no fuzz - found it a learning) and have one coming up in June or so. Am thinking of being conscious again, if possible and not too uncomfortable)

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:48 am
by menreeq
You can decline anesthesia. I did this for the sigmoidoscopy and rectal US I had 4 days after my initial colonoscopy. I wanted to see the ultrasound. It wasn't hard at all but I bet it would be more painful if I were awake for the entire colonoscopy, not just to sigmoid. For my followup, I plan to stay awake.