Posted by Clem The List--modify as needed! Notes: Don’t let them use the word discomfort too lightly. It’s pain. And if they say “don’t worry” about anything, run like hell.
on 4/28/2005, 1:21 pm
216.170.62.10
I guess the list of questions that was being assembled has been deleted from the page, so I have pasted in a list that I put together from those posts. Most of them you will never need, as they stem partly from my own phobic, terrified, worst-case-scenario nature and partly from experiences that others have posted. Of course you should pick and choose to reflect your own concerns. Many apologies to those who have been quoted but whose quotes appear without quotation marks (starting to sound like Rumsfeld!), now that the original comments are off the page I cannot go back and give credit where it is due.
1. How many colonoscopies have you done in your lifetime? In the last 6 months? How does your rate of perforations or complications compare with the national average? How many people have post-procedure pain? Are you board certified GI or Internal Med?
2. What medication will I be given? If Propfol (Diprovan) with there be a CRNA monitoring me? How sedated will I be (awake and aware but feeling no pain, “asleep” or won't remember a thing). If I give any indications that I am feeling discomfort, what will you do? Who will monitor my pain level? Will you make sure I am sedated before you start, or do you start first and medicate later? Is there a “code” phrase that must be used to get more medication? If so, what is that phrase? What if I am in pain but cannot verbalize a specific phrase?
3. Will you be using Versed? (This is a sedative that is used with Demerol, a pain killer, which is supposed to cause amnesia, but often doesn’t. It is, in my opinion, a security blanket for doctors who then feel that they can hurry and possibly cause more pain than necessary because you won’t remember. I am going to do the next one without it, as it doesn’t do anything for the pain, and I think the doc will be gentler. I do not want to be in pain because the doc is cheap and just not remember it). Stipulate whether you want Versed. It is used with Demerol but not with other drugs (I think).
4. If I request that the procedure be stopped because the pain cannot be controlled, will you comply?
5. Will anyone be pushing on my abdomen to help get the scope through? Or to palpate the cecum? Who will do that? Will I be covered at this time?
6. Will I have a female nurse or attendant? How many people will be in the room during the procedure? What are their roles? What are their credentials? RN, LPN, CRNA?
7. What prep do you recommend? What other prep can I take, and what other schedule can I take it on, because (pick one): I would like to get some sleep the night before instead of running to the bathroom at 2 a.m; I cannot drink a gallon of anything; I have a really strong gag reflex and can't drink the phospho; sorry, I don't do enemas; (substitute your own reason here)
8. What will I feel like one hour, 12 hours, 1 day afterward. If I have pain or diarrhea, what should I do about that? How bad is bad enough to go to the hospital?
9. Will there be a follow-up call?
Important: try to be the first appointment of the day. That way they can’t be behind schedule yet and tempted to hurry and cut corners with you, as in maybe skimping on the sedative/painkiller or not waiting until it kicks in.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread