Because if they let you drive yourself after they've sedated you the suit against them brought by the mothers of the children you inadvertently ran over will almost certainly be successful. They don't really require anything, they just won't give you the sedative if you don't have someone with you to drive. Then again, you can just tough it out like Rich. Remind me to never pi$$ that guy off.
It's very subjective, Michael. To me, the minute or two of discomfort while they snaked the thing around the bends -- the rest of the procedure is actually pretty painless -- were less unpleasant to me than the after-effects of sedation. I hate feeling loopy. Pain I can deal with. Loopiness, not so much. I'd make a terrible drug addict.
I suppose some people might also find it embarrassing, especially because the doctor and both nurses were female in my case. But I really didn't care about that. I mean, really, what's the difference? They've all seen better asses than mine.
I had the procedure at a V.A. hospital because they were the nearest place that was willing to do it without sedation. When I asked about that option, they just said sure, no problem. Apparently a pretty high percentage of veterans decline the sedation.
The doctor and the two nurses were obviously experienced as a team. They pushed, prodded, and poked at me throughout the whole procedure to guide the scope along with very little discomfort. I was very impressed.
The lead nurse was from Russia, and she obviously was some kind of specialist in this sort of thing. She explained everything that was going on as I watched it on the monitor. It was pretty interesting, actually. I'd never had a guided tour of my colon before. The other nurse was Filipina and mainly just giggled a lot between pushing and prodding, but she also knew exactly where to push or prod to guide the scope along its way. They were real pros at what they did.
I'm not sure whether these procedures are almost always performed with sedation in the U.S. because Americans are just wimps in general, because hospitals want to pad the bill with a $900.00 charge for $18.00 worth of Propofol, or both. But I can tell you that having it done without the drugs was no big deal for me. Maybe it would be for others. Everyone's pain tolerance is different. But it sure was nice to be able to drive myself home and go about the rest of my day without drooling all over myself.
Rich
