Grounded after colonoscopy

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Crappy Test

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It has been recommended that I have a colonoscopy because my brother had one that showed some issues that might be genetic. When I have it how long will I have to self ground if nothing abnormal is found. If any issues are found then I will deal with those but I am mostly worried about how long I will be grounded because of the general anesthesia.
 
Well if you have to await 60 hours after a Claritin... that might be awhile
 
Crappy Test said:
It has been recommended that I have a colonoscopy because my brother had one that showed some issues that might be genetic. When I have it how long will I have to self ground if nothing abnormal is found. If any issues are found then I will deal with those but I am mostly worried about how long I will be grounded because of the general anesthesia.
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Unless your doc is using an unusual procedure, it's a very light anesthesia with a "forgetful" part. You're really not out all the way, such as for seriously invasive surgery. If you go in at 7 am, you'll be released by noon, somewhat hungry. Give it a day or two to get completely out of your system and you'll be good to go.

Frankly, the worst part is the 24 hr prep. No red jello. Stick with ginger ale, Sprite or similar and clear soup for the 24 hrs. Even more important, get the softest TP you can buy. BTDT. Family history of colon cancer so I'm on the 5 yr plan and a year late....couldn't take the time off from work last year.

By the way, you get photos of your insides. Suitable for your scrapbook!
 
Crappy Test said:
It has been recommended that I have a colonoscopy because my brother had one that showed some issues that might be genetic. When I have it how long will I have to self ground if nothing abnormal is found. If any issues are found then I will deal with those but I am mostly worried about how long I will be grounded because of the general anesthesia.
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My father just had one this past April. The Docs said no driving for the next 24 hours. He said he remained a bit hungover for a few hours post-op, but later that evening he was just fine. It is a general anesthesia, they used Diprivan on my father, but it's just a light dose.

Based on what my father told me of his experience, I'd keep your feet on the ground for 48hrs.
 
It's more of a dose for sedative purposes than anesthetic.
 
My last colonoscopy they used propofol as the sedative and the recovery was much quicker. It still took a few days for my system to return to normal. So for me about 4 days to be back at 100%.
 
Everyone is different. I was back at full speed a day after the procedure. The prep work involved 6 hours of drinking the laxative and periodically heading to the bathroom. Not a big deal for me.

The answer you need is what sedatives you'll get and how long you need to wait before flying given the half lives of the sedatives.
 
flyingron said:
Frankly, the anesthesia was the easy part. It's the go-go juice and other parts of the prep that are debilitating.
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Yep, the prep is the worst part of the process. However, many years ago I had colonoscopies without any anesthesia. Let's just say the experience was rather unpleasant. Be glad we have anesthesia nowadays.
 
There's no reason to self ground. The procedure itself is simple and in my case I wasn't allowed to drive home but easily could have. I'd have no problem flying the day after but never looked into the regs. My pop died of colon cancer so I get screened accordingly. I've had three colonoscopies.
 
Today, most sedation for colonoscopy is done with a single drug called diprivan or propofol. Some of us will add a little lidocaine to ease the burning sensation that commonly accompanies the injection of propofol. While the elimination half life of propofol is long, the clinical effects are short (with a redistribution half life of only about 10 minutes) due to a redistribution. Typically folks feel back to normal within about 30 minutes of the procedure. Most will advise no driving etc for 24 hours though for legal reasons.
 
For what it's worth I have had a half dozen colonoscopies. Frankly I didn't like blowing a whole day, nor did I like the amnesia. So for the last one I elected to go without the sedation/anesthesia. NO BIG DEAL. When the procedure was done, I put on my pants, walked out the door and was 100%. The doctor doing the procedure was fine with it. However the anesthesiologist, who was missing his fee, whined a little. Really.
It's only the US that has such a high rate of anesthesia use for this procedure.
 
I think my doc uses Versed. I tell him to boost it up so I won't remember anything. I like it. No hangover.
 
I remember the injection, and I remember heading home...sort of. I was hungry, so my wife stopped on the way home to pick up burgers and fries. We got home and ate lunch. I remember for the next 3-4 hrs I kept asking, "Did we stop for lunch?" I also remember looking in the trash, seeing the carryout bag and asking, "Did we stop for lunch?" It was funny, to me, the way my memory had been messed up from the drugs. But once that wore off, there was no after-effect of the procedure at all. I wouldn't recommend flying until you are very sure your brain has recovered.
 
Matthew said:
I remember the injection, and I remember heading home...sort of. I was hungry, so my wife stopped on the way home to pick up burgers and fries. We got home and ate lunch. I remember for the next 3-4 hrs I kept asking, "Did we stop for lunch?" I also remember looking in the trash, seeing the carryout bag and asking, "Did we stop for lunch?" It was funny, to me, the way my memory had been messed up from the drugs. But once that wore off, there was no after-effect of the procedure at all. I wouldn't recommend flying until you are very sure your brain has recovered.
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You likely received versed; it causes amnesia like you describe.
 
Lance F said:
For what it's worth I have had a half dozen colonoscopies. Frankly I didn't like blowing a whole day, nor did I like the amnesia. So for the last one I elected to go without the sedation/anesthesia. NO BIG DEAL. When the procedure was done, I put on my pants, walked out the door and was 100%. The doctor doing the procedure was fine with it. However the anesthesiologist, who was missing his fee, whined a little. Really.
It's only the US that has such a high rate of anesthesia use for this procedure.
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Many of us sign over our billing rights in exchange for a flat hourly rate. When doing this folks like you give us a break which we like. The reason we are apprehensive about folks who claim to not want anesthesia preop is that we have experienced many occasions where we are called in half way through the case to bail out someone who changed their mind. problem is that we don't have a great consent, don't know your history, aren't setup and prepared, have no paperwork or in the era of obamacare have no computer work, etc...
 
Crappy Test said:
It has been recommended that I have a colonoscopy because my brother had one that showed some issues that might be genetic. When I have it how long will I have to self ground if nothing abnormal is found. If any issues are found then I will deal with those but I am mostly worried about how long I will be grounded because of the general anesthesia.
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You may feel flu like symptoms or fatigue from the anesthetic for two days (even run a 1 degree temp for a day). But each reacts differently. So expect to wait about four days or so if you want to be solid.
 
I know I was not allowed to drive myself home. I think I was drowsy the rest of the day (I had it in the morning), but felt fine the next day. I didn't go back to work until the day after that. I have had general anesthesia a number of times. I must be one of those people who doesn't have many aftereffects. In fact on another instance, I can remember going from awake and talking to instantly out to waking up and answering questions.
 
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I've had more colonoscopies than I could possibly remember. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease 32 years ago. Since then I have had colonoscopies every 1 - 2 years. One thing I have noticed is that if they remove polyps then it takes a little longer for my system to recover.
 
FORANE said:
Many of us sign over our billing rights in exchange for a flat hourly rate. When doing this folks like you give us a break which we like. The reason we are apprehensive about folks who claim to not want anesthesia preop is that we have experienced many occasions where we are called in half way through the case to bail out someone who changed their mind. problem is that we don't have a great consent, don't know your history, aren't setup and prepared, have no paperwork or in the era of obamacare have no computer work, etc...
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I have nothing against anesthesiologists. This one guy, this one particular time, did have an attitude that seemed somewhat unprofessional to me. Just an opinion. Fact is that in most of the world, and in VA hospitals in the US, knocking someone out for this procedure in not the norm. For me not losing a whole day for a few moments of discomfort (and that's all it was) to get that scope through the last bend was well worth it. In my opinion it's not right that when someone makes an appointment for this procedure he/she isn't informed that it can be done without the anesthesia. The patient has to take the initiative.
 
When I was getting wheeled in to get my ruptured appendix fixed, the anesthesiologist talked with me in the hallway:

"Do you want the regular or the deluxe?"
"What's the difference?"
"With the deluxe, we wake you back up."
"What the heck, insurance is paying for it!"
"Great! Then sign here."
 
Rebel Lord said:
Well if you have to await 60 hours after a Claritin... that might be awhile
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Why on earth would you need to wait after Claritin?

https://www.leftseat.com/medcat1.htm

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Your AME lied to you. As pointed out the non-sedating antihistimines are fine provided you've not observed any adverse reaction.
You might also want to look at decongestants (many also approved). Getting an ear or sinus blockage with pressure shift can be debilitating.
 
Because I don't want to speak for someone and my memory could be faulty, I'll just imply who I am talking about. A certain AME who specializes in complicated medicals confirmed that Claritin and Sudafed are approved, and he encouraged their use for seasonal allergies, provided no adverse reactions are experienced. His name might rhyme with Doctor Deuce.

"Duce"...good catch guys!
 
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Kiddo's Driver said:
A certain AME who specializes in complicated medicals confirmed that Claritin and Sudafed are approved, and he encouraged their use for seasonal allergies, provided no adverse reactions are experienced. His name might rhyme with Doctor Duce.
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Wow.. that's a crappy name :)
 
Propofol, wife says I was goofy that afternoon. One hundred percent the next morning.
 
Lance F said:
For what it's worth I have had a half dozen colonoscopies. Frankly I didn't like blowing a whole day, nor did I like the amnesia. So for the last one I elected to go without the sedation/anesthesia. NO BIG DEAL. When the procedure was done, I put on my pants, walked out the door and was 100%. The doctor doing the procedure was fine with it. However the anesthesiologist, who was missing his fee, whined a little. Really.
It's only the US that has such a high rate of anesthesia use for this procedure.
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I had it done with no sedation or anesthesia, as well. I had to drive two hours to the V.A. hospital to have it done because not a single "civilian" doctor or hospital anywhere nearby me would do it that way. It's apparently pretty routine at the V.A., though. The doctor who did the procedure told me that about a third of her colonoscopy patients decline the sedation.

The "civilian" doctors, on the other hand, were aghast that I would make such a request. One one them even tried to tell me that performing a colonoscopy without sedation would be illegal and that he could go to jail for "torture." I laughed in his face and told him that I hoped he was a better doctor than he was a liar as I got up and walked out of his office.

The truth is that the procedure is no big deal. The fact that practically everyone in the United States who gets one is sedated tells me either that hospitals are padding the bills, or that Americans are the biggest bunch of wusses on the face of the earth. I mean, seriously, I've had cases of gas that were far worse than the colonoscopy experience was. And I didn't even have to fart when it was done. The doctor just vacuumed the excess air right out of my ass when she was through. There was nothing left for me to do but wipe.

I also enjoyed the guided tour of my colon on the monitor with one of the nurses as tour guide. Seriously. I mean, that's not a view of myself I ever had before, despite what my ex used to tell me. And the two nurses who assisted had the whole thing down to a science. They knew exactly when and where to push, pull, roll, and so forth to guide that thing along through my innards.

If I had to do it again, I most definitely would do the same thing. My friends all think I'm crazy. And maybe I am. But I think they're just wusses.

Rich
 
I worked with one guy who used to perform the procedure and chose to have his without sedation. Lance is right, he absolutely should have been been advised of the option to have it without sedation. More power to you guys who choose that alternative. Me, I am a wuss, I don't plan to ride that pony without being unconscious.

Another thing to consider is while some folks have relatively normal anatomy which makes for a routine procedure, those with abnormal anatomy such as strictures or diverticulosis tend to have much more discomfort during the procedure. There have also been studies which found more polyps in patients who were sedated with propofol, presumably due to a quieter operative field.
 
I had my first this year decided to pass on the anesthesia it was no big deal. I don't like the feeling of being out of it. Actually most of the world does them that way. It is a little bit uncomfortable but on a pain scale of 1 to 10 it barely registered. It is interesting to watch for the first 5 or so minutes then it all looks the same.
 
citizen5000 said:
It's a twilight sedation. Some lose memory. But you are awake during it and can choose to watch or not.
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Some endoscopists will give meds such as versed which often provides amnesia and a narcotic such as demerol for analgesia. When anesthesia is involved for endoscopy, typically we use enough propofol to induce unconsciousness for the duration of the procedure. propofol wears off faster and cleaner than the other alternatives while providing what many view as a better experience during the procedure.
 
FORANE said:
I worked with one guy who used to perform the procedure and chose to have his without sedation. Lance is right, he absolutely should have been been advised of the option to have it without sedation. More power to you guys who choose that alternative. Me, I am a wuss, I don't plan to ride that pony without being unconscious.

Another thing to consider is while some folks have relatively normal anatomy which makes for a routine procedure, those with abnormal anatomy such as strictures or diverticulosis tend to have much more discomfort during the procedure. There have also been studies which found more polyps in patients who were sedated with propofol, presumably due to a quieter operative field.
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Obviously, a lot depends on the preferences and priorities of the patient as well as health factors such as you decribe. Some have better pain tolerance than others, some are more bashful than others, some put a higher value on their time than others, some have family members who don't work and are able to escort them to the procedure, and so forth.

In my case, I have a pretty high tolerance for pain (although there really wasn't any to speak of), a low bashfulness factor (the doctor has seen better asses than mine), and no one in my household besides myself. I also work for myself so there are no sick days. Time spent drooling on myself while the anesthesia wore off would have been time not spent making the money I didn't make the day before while I was busy ****ting my brains out.

I also didn't have to ask a friend or relative to take time off from work to escort me to the procedure and watch me drool on myself afterwards. I walked out of the hospital under my own steam 45 minutes after the procedure began, had a quick bite to eat and a cup of coffee, and drove myself home. That was probably the best part. I much prefer spending my time making money than drooling.

The only wasted time was the drive time to and from the hospital, which wouldn't have been necessary had any of the local doctors and hospitals respected my wishes. But two hours of the four were spent driving to the hospital early in the morning when I normally would have been sleeping anyway, so I really lost only the two hours driving back home. It was still a net gain time-wise.

Rich
 
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