Gastroscopy & Colonoscopy

Posted by Edwin on Nov 12, 2007 in Health | 0 comments

Last Thursday I was sick – nauseous and eventually, vomiting. I had to drink a bowel evacuation fluid called “Fleet” – part of the preparation for a colonoscopy. I opted for the pleasant procedural duet because Dad’s cancer had to do with digestive ruminations. Doctors know what causes esophageal cancer, so I took it upon myself to get checked out.

I was given a review sheet for “Fleet”. Needless to say, it scored poorly. I think the pharmaceutical companies can put a bit more effort into their drugs, seeing as how they are amongst the richest companies on earth. Even the plastic container was cheap!

So. On Friday, I was given the same drug that made my father loopy (fentanyl) and I went under for the examination. No opiate pain killers are particularly good due to terrible hallucinatory side effects. I had a pipe with camera inserted into my anus and then another down my throat. I awoke just in time to see the (really nice) doctor remove one tiny (4mm) polyp from my lower intestine.

It looked like a beautiful, lone tree in a cave of blood. Phosphorescent green drizzles of Fleet cascaded down the walls of my lower intestine. Then. A small pair of pliers came in, holding the head of the tree – while a mini pair of scissors snipped at the base – plucking the potential nasty from my intestinal wall. A tiny pool of blood formed at the base where the tree stood. And then it stopped.

It was actually quite beautiful to watch.

Apparently, a lot of people have polyps. They can only be found randomly during a gastroscopy. If left unchecked, polyps can grow and turn cancerous. It takes 12 years for an unchecked polyp to reach 5cm. Most big ones have gone cancerous. Blood in the faeces is one symptom. But, as is the case with most cancers – if you have symptoms – it may be too late.

The initial endoscopy reports were normal. Although they did send bits of duodenum and oesophagus off for analysis. Look forward to hearing about those.
I’m telling you all this personal stuff in a roundabout effort to save your life. Get checked if you have any kind of heartburn or stomach cramp. They can fix these things in the early stages, but if left for too long, you will die an awful and painful death.

It’s 40 degrees and I’m stuck inside a poorly ventilated house marking assignments. Eating buttered toast. But I’m alive.

There was nothing wrong.