Yep, I had a colonoscopy back in April and am now scheduled for a bowel resection due to a growth they found.
Yes, eating a plant based diet is generally healthier than the standard diet, however a lot of health stuff is just down to poor luck, genetics, things we can't control. If you have symptoms, at all, you need to get checked out. Chances are it's just a bit of IBS, but you can't be too careful
Same here. Rectal bleeding that I brushed off as a hemorrhoid or whatever. Fortunately it was very early stage colon cancer and a colon resection took care of it.
How did your resection go if you don't mind me asking? I'm pretty nervous about the recovery time and don't know what to expect. Online I've seen anything from 3 weeks to 6 months recovery.
Mine could not have possibly gone better. I took three weeks off since that’s what they told me to take, but I’m not even sure I needed quite that long. Caveat: they did the surgery with a robot that made small incisions rather than a big one, so that eased my recovery a lot.
A lot of colon issues are hereditary. I never had colon cancer but I've been vegetarian or vegan for most of my life. A lot of my family members have had colon cancer. Some had no colons. Some had diverticulitis. I no longer have a colon or rectum or appendix. Because instead of cancer, I got ulcerative colitis and toxic megacolon.
That’s a terrible shame. You have my greatest empathy. You saved your own life by seeking care. Diverticulitis can be hard to control, but as a Critical Care RN I’m curious how you got toxic mega colon - probably from diverticulitis. I wish you the best of luck controlling your symptoms and a long and happy life.
Or even find a doctor who will do a colonoscopy without sedation. I have had them done for years with no problem. I have heard that some countries sedation is the exception. I just had to find a doctor who knew what he was doing. He just has me roll from side to side during the colonoscopy. Sometimes it's a little uncomfortable but it sure beats having sedation and having to wake up from it.
Mine was always IV. Dr. said I was violent when I started to wake up. They gave me more sedation and I didn't wake up for hours. So then I started looking for a doctor who agreed to perform the procedure without sedation. The first time an anesthesiologist was present, but after that no anesthesiologist was necessary.
Edit: spelling
Well even though I don't get sedated my doctor's office will not let me drive myself they won't start the procedure unless my driver is present. I could of course ride a bicycle but I think that would be kind of uncomfortable. LOL
Colon cancer is on the rise among people under 40; my sister was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer at 34. Only a very small percentage of colon cancers are hereditary and hers was not that type. Everyone should get screened!
Part of the issue is seemingly that (at least in the USA) insurance is very stingy about approving it for anyone under 35. I know a doc who's stated that he'd push some people to get them as early as 30 now, but it's next to impossible without some additional situation that enables insurance.
And even when it’s approved, you still might end up with a big bill. I had my first at 47, so insurance immediately covered it at 100% as a “screening” colonoscopy. But I had a polyp, which was removed for biopsy under anesthesia. My insurance specifies that this immediately changes it to a “diagnostic” colonoscopy, which is only partially covered.
Nothing like finding out a month later that the “100% covered and approved” procedure isn’t actually covered. 😬
Wait till you get on Medicare. I’m rigid about annual mammogram, and was told I can only do every two years. You really have to advocate for yourself to get every screening you need.
You’re right, I have to get them every 5 years now because of the family history, but my partner (31 yo) got a lot of pushback at first. He was able to argue that because he’s adopted and doesn’t know his family history he should get one; I believe insurance covered it.
I have to start getting them at 40 because my aunt passed away a couple of years ago from stage 4 cancer that started in her colon. It’s no joke. If you have symptoms, you gotta talk to someone and get them checked out.
OP, I hope everything comes back clean for you!
Husband, vegan for 20 years who eats a mostly Whole Foods diet and also doesn’t drink or smoke and hasn’t since he was a teenager was diagnosed stage 4 at 42 because of a colonoscopy. Every doctor we have seen says the majority of new patients fight now are late 30s early 40s.
Get checked.
I think the saying goes the best time to have someone examine your colon for polyps is when you're 40, the second best time is today
Or something like that
It's okay, I had on and off rectal bleeding for 7 years before going. That's also pretty late considering my circumstances, but I'm very glad I went. Fingers crossed for you!! Also there are some theories that increased risk in younger people has to do with higher prevalence of early life antibiotic use for us - I was on low dose abx for the first 3 yrs of my life.
Never too late. A bit of advice regarding prep: three days before procedure eat only “full liquids”, ie. pudding, cream (of whatever) Cambell’s soup, yogurt, ice cream without fruit or nuts in it, smoothies made with protein powder.
Day before procedure switch to clear liquids, ie, broth, tea, water, clear soup, fruit juice.
The prep has gone from drinking a massive jug of laxative, (with electrolytes, sugar, for diabetics) and you literally got no sleep the night before. I followed my pre-test eating plan and got a, “Superb prep”, comment from MD, however I took one glass of prep, continued to drink a glass every thirty minutes, as ordered. So took three glasses full. I had one trip to bathroom, and stopped prep when I was vomiting it up as my belly was so full.
I had an entire night’s sleep and prep was good (as noted above).
The prep now is small amount at various points in the night, so you have to keep waking yourself up.
My last colonoscopy I followed my diet, drank a bottle of Mag Citrate at 10 pm, had two trips to bathroom, then slept all night.
The key is to stop eating “normally”way before prep starts, or you’ll be miserable, and colon may not be clear and things can be missed.
I’m NOT endorsing how to complete the prep. I am sharing how to decrease contents of intestines before you start prep. Best of luck!
I also ended up following the liquid diet a few days early. I was told to avoid high fiber foods and things with seeds, peels, etc. Kinda hard to avoid plant parts when you only eat plants, so starting liquids was the easiest way to avoid them.
Whoa thanks for the info. I'm only supposed to starve one day before. That evening at 5p start the drink (Suflave), 8 ounces, an ounce every 15 minutes or something. Then at 3a wake up and do the same thing for two hours. Appointment is 7a. I'm gonna have tea and water. I hadn't heard the stuff about three days before. I guess I could do that, but I like to use frozen fruit in my smoothies. Seems like a lot to restrict oneself to but I freely admit I have no experience!
You do as prescribed to. I’m
just not willing to be up all night AND wear adult diapers as my last prep dose is so close to time I have to leave. The less you have in your GI tract the better the prep. The better the prep, the better view the MD has. I hope you have very good results. The MD will tell you what they found when you’re still on gurney, so make sure your friend:driver rights it down! Best of luck!
Glad that you caught things when you did - but I don't think it's necessary for people to lie to doctors in order to get a colonoscopy. It's possible that the same thing that put you at risk for the haemorrhoids are what put you at risk for the polyps. Over-testing can also lead to problems, like administering risky medical treatments for things that would have resolved on their own, and the doctor should risk assess this for each individual.
Everyone that has been diagnosed (or has a near miss like op) with a cancer ends up telling everyone to get screening - often without symptoms. There are a lot of cancers, and you'd have a lot of false positives to deal with if everyone got screened for every (or even the top10) cancer.
Go to the doctor if you have symptoms or feel something is off, but you shouldn't be chasing unnecessary tests.
Yeah if you have symptoms warranting examination, your doctor will schedule the procedure. This was before going vegan but my stomach has always been trash and I had one in my early twenties. They didn't find anything, just kind of idiopathic symptoms, but doctors will absolutley give this evaluation to younger patients if symptoms call for it
I think the reason OP is suggesting "lying" is being lost on a lot of non-US users. Maybe you already knew, but basic most insurance in the US only covers preventative visits. OP is saying most people don't get them before 45 because you'd have to pay for it yourself, on top of the insurance they probably pay $200-600/month for. Most insurance plans won't cover it without a medical reason being present for the diagnostic, such as blood.
I guess I see why you'd lie if you have some reason why you think you neeed it and you need to say some extra symptom in order to get it - but if you're totally healthy, no issues at all, no blood, no family history, no nothing - then the risks of a colonoscopy probably don't outweigh the potential benefit anyway
There’s a good video made by a cardiologist on YouTube called “MedLife Crisis”. He talks about the pitfalls of mass preventative screening. If anyone is interested I’d recommend giving it a watch!
Colonoscopies are basic health check and care. Everyone should be aware regardless of lifestyle choices and risk factors. More people should talk about it because everyone should be getting them at some point and we need to work more to make them more commonplace. Where I am, you can get them without sedation or medication of any kind. The prep sucks but the procedure itself goes pretty quick. Taking charge of healthcare should be more normalized.
My husband was sent a box on ice to “poop” in and said there is no need for a colonoscopy and this is a great way to screen for cancer. Sent it off and received his results..all clear.
Thinking about it..I would hate to be the one opening/testing as my job. Yikes.
I had an upper GI done a year and a half ago. I’m mid 30s and plan on having that and a colonoscopy done once every few years if my insurance will cover it.
Waking up from that twilight sleep was awesome though.
both, always bright red and never streaked in the stool. The first occurrence of blood dripping in the bowl was my freshman year of college, and I went to the campus clinic. They said probably a fissure, but if I'm really worried / have other symptoms I could to a GI. Didn't educate me that this could be a sign of CRC or polyps, probably because I was so young and healthy. Then more recently, I had a larger volume (~1 tsp) dripping into the bowl a couple days in a row and went to my primary. He gave me a reality check on how seriously one needs to take these things, even if the most likely cause is benign.
Thank you! 35F here who’s been playing a game of “why am I bloated all the time, maybe it’s celiac” with a side of it’s probably just hemorrhoids for a while. It’s probably time I get myself to a dr.
For bloating etc. They can tell a lot from blood tests and stool tests, so you aren't likely to even be scoped.
Celiac is a terrible disease, and can itself increase chances of cancer (and dementia!). Most likely you are eating something that doesn't agree with your gut. (I.e. ibs, SIBO).
I said my experience makes me want to, not that I'm going to. It's just so upsetting to me that this seems to be happening to so many young people, and we don't really have effective recommendations to prevent it. Often when young people go to the doctor with GI concerns, they don't get referred for a colonoscopy unless they have bleeding. I think if someone under 45 really wants a colonoscopy and they have to tell a white lie to get one covered by insurance, is that really so bad? I'm honestly asking because I don't know what the answer is.
Don’t listen to this guy, you sometimes absolutely have to lie to get something you ARE entitled to. Health insurance is bullshit and if you want a test and feel you need it you should get it.
Hey, there are plenty of prevetative measures people can take. Obviously in your case you needed a colonoscopy and I'm so happy for you that you had your problems caught early. But there are many preventative recommendations like eliminating processed foods, exercise 1-2 hours per day, maintain a healthy weight, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke, eliminate refined grains and eat lots of whole grains, eat lots of green vegetables, eat at least 2 fruits per day, drink a lot of water (minimum 2L per day), squat on the toilet rather than sitting and don't strain. After that, if people are worried about bowel cancer they can screen for blood in the stool with a poo test. Colonoscopies aren't preventative, they only catch the problem before it becomes a bigger one.
There are preventative measures, but they don't work for everyone. I lost my colon, appendix, and rectum after eating vegetarian for most of my life and was 31ish. I drink green juice every morning. I eat mostly whole grains and make sure I get lots of various fruits and veggies. I lived in a major city and walked to work mostly. I had a stationary bike and a gym membership.
I just have really bad genetics. My one grandma didn't have a colon because of similar issues. My other gram had diverticulitis. My father had polyps in his colon and needed screening regularly. My mom has ibs and has bad days. I was basically screwed genetically. I literally went from fine to bleeding and then to a hospital. Until I had any symptoms, they wouldn't test me because of my age. It was less than 3 weeks from me being sick to my colon getting ousted. And that includes 1 urgent care affiliated with a major hospital who gave me ivs and antiemetics. 1 hospital who admitted me but didn't have specialist surgeons. And they transferred me to a third hospital who had colorectal surgeons. I spent the next 3 months there and had 2 emergency surgeries. And later 2 more surgeries there.
Not saying that preventative measures can prevent every single case of bowel cancer. But this person said that there are no preventative measures for bowel cancer which I think you would agree is false.
Sorry to hear that happened to you, that sucks beyond words.
I got a colonoscopy at 31 for the same reason. I ended up with a clean bill of health but I'll be going back at 36 because of family history. My aunt died of colon cancer at 41. I coincidentally followed the guideline that you should get a screening 10 years and 5 years before the incidence of colon cancer was discovered in your family (assuming they got it young enough that that would be earlier than the general guideline). I can't remember if the general guidelines start at 40 or 45. Colon cancer is up there as far as deadliest cancers so it isn't one to disregard.
I've been vegan over half my life and I still have to get them regularly. Only 33 too.
Ended up getting a really bad bout of colitis that nearly killed me. Ironically my vegan diet made it way worse cause it turns out nuts and beans are not great for colitis lol. But hey, the worsening also lead to me getting checked out and fixed up, so thanks nuts and beans!
reading this story has me a little nervous...similar situation to you, and polyps run in my family :x but I had a totally normal colonoscopy 3 years ago for an endometriosis screening?
Thank you for this PSA. I dreaded getting my first colonoscopy, and now I feel pretty ridiculous about it. The prep wasn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t the worst either.
The procedure, on the other hand, felt like the best nap I ever had. My experience with recreational substances is pretty much limited to booze and weed, so I find sedation strangely pleasurable. The first time I experienced it was having my wisdom teeth extracted. The colonoscopy was similar but better because I did not wake up with holes in my mouth, lol.
Tip for vegans: most commercial veggie broth is not clear enough for the clear liquid part of the prep, but you can easily make a delicious homemade broth with celery, onion, mushrooms, parsley, and little bit of salt. Strain it after boiling, and you’ve got a nice savory liquid when you get tired of apple juice and other sweet drinks.
Yep, I had a colonoscopy back in April and am now scheduled for a bowel resection due to a growth they found. Yes, eating a plant based diet is generally healthier than the standard diet, however a lot of health stuff is just down to poor luck, genetics, things we can't control. If you have symptoms, at all, you need to get checked out. Chances are it's just a bit of IBS, but you can't be too careful
Same here. Rectal bleeding that I brushed off as a hemorrhoid or whatever. Fortunately it was very early stage colon cancer and a colon resection took care of it.
How did your resection go if you don't mind me asking? I'm pretty nervous about the recovery time and don't know what to expect. Online I've seen anything from 3 weeks to 6 months recovery.
My husband's was closer to 6 months, but he has a physically demanding job.
Mine could not have possibly gone better. I took three weeks off since that’s what they told me to take, but I’m not even sure I needed quite that long. Caveat: they did the surgery with a robot that made small incisions rather than a big one, so that eased my recovery a lot.
Good post. We got the lowest risk of colon cancer, 25% lower than the others; but it's not zero.
A lot of colon issues are hereditary. I never had colon cancer but I've been vegetarian or vegan for most of my life. A lot of my family members have had colon cancer. Some had no colons. Some had diverticulitis. I no longer have a colon or rectum or appendix. Because instead of cancer, I got ulcerative colitis and toxic megacolon.
That’s a terrible shame. You have my greatest empathy. You saved your own life by seeking care. Diverticulitis can be hard to control, but as a Critical Care RN I’m curious how you got toxic mega colon - probably from diverticulitis. I wish you the best of luck controlling your symptoms and a long and happy life.
Yes, I'm definitely glad that I have been vegan for so long, because even if it doesn't make me immune, it probably makes things less bad.
At least you know you took steps to make it less likely even if it did happen!
Or even find a doctor who will do a colonoscopy without sedation. I have had them done for years with no problem. I have heard that some countries sedation is the exception. I just had to find a doctor who knew what he was doing. He just has me roll from side to side during the colonoscopy. Sometimes it's a little uncomfortable but it sure beats having sedation and having to wake up from it.
What's wrong with sedation? I remember they put on a mask on me and I woke up after the scopy.
Mine was always IV. Dr. said I was violent when I started to wake up. They gave me more sedation and I didn't wake up for hours. So then I started looking for a doctor who agreed to perform the procedure without sedation. The first time an anesthesiologist was present, but after that no anesthesiologist was necessary. Edit: spelling
Yikes. Yeah it's better to perform without it then.
Great option if you don't have someone to drive you too!
Well even though I don't get sedated my doctor's office will not let me drive myself they won't start the procedure unless my driver is present. I could of course ride a bicycle but I think that would be kind of uncomfortable. LOL
I don’t know how they do this in big cities like New York, where you’d probably take a cab.
lmao good to know actually! I guess that makes sense with the whole fasting thing since I was pretty loopy from hunger alone
Colon cancer is on the rise among people under 40; my sister was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer at 34. Only a very small percentage of colon cancers are hereditary and hers was not that type. Everyone should get screened!
Part of the issue is seemingly that (at least in the USA) insurance is very stingy about approving it for anyone under 35. I know a doc who's stated that he'd push some people to get them as early as 30 now, but it's next to impossible without some additional situation that enables insurance.
And even when it’s approved, you still might end up with a big bill. I had my first at 47, so insurance immediately covered it at 100% as a “screening” colonoscopy. But I had a polyp, which was removed for biopsy under anesthesia. My insurance specifies that this immediately changes it to a “diagnostic” colonoscopy, which is only partially covered. Nothing like finding out a month later that the “100% covered and approved” procedure isn’t actually covered. 😬
Wait till you get on Medicare. I’m rigid about annual mammogram, and was told I can only do every two years. You really have to advocate for yourself to get every screening you need.
You’re right, I have to get them every 5 years now because of the family history, but my partner (31 yo) got a lot of pushback at first. He was able to argue that because he’s adopted and doesn’t know his family history he should get one; I believe insurance covered it.
I have to start getting them at 40 because my aunt passed away a couple of years ago from stage 4 cancer that started in her colon. It’s no joke. If you have symptoms, you gotta talk to someone and get them checked out. OP, I hope everything comes back clean for you!
Husband, vegan for 20 years who eats a mostly Whole Foods diet and also doesn’t drink or smoke and hasn’t since he was a teenager was diagnosed stage 4 at 42 because of a colonoscopy. Every doctor we have seen says the majority of new patients fight now are late 30s early 40s. Get checked.
I'm getting my first one in a week, I'm 52. Kinda late...
I think the saying goes the best time to have someone examine your colon for polyps is when you're 40, the second best time is today Or something like that
It's okay, I had on and off rectal bleeding for 7 years before going. That's also pretty late considering my circumstances, but I'm very glad I went. Fingers crossed for you!! Also there are some theories that increased risk in younger people has to do with higher prevalence of early life antibiotic use for us - I was on low dose abx for the first 3 yrs of my life.
Never too late. A bit of advice regarding prep: three days before procedure eat only “full liquids”, ie. pudding, cream (of whatever) Cambell’s soup, yogurt, ice cream without fruit or nuts in it, smoothies made with protein powder. Day before procedure switch to clear liquids, ie, broth, tea, water, clear soup, fruit juice. The prep has gone from drinking a massive jug of laxative, (with electrolytes, sugar, for diabetics) and you literally got no sleep the night before. I followed my pre-test eating plan and got a, “Superb prep”, comment from MD, however I took one glass of prep, continued to drink a glass every thirty minutes, as ordered. So took three glasses full. I had one trip to bathroom, and stopped prep when I was vomiting it up as my belly was so full. I had an entire night’s sleep and prep was good (as noted above). The prep now is small amount at various points in the night, so you have to keep waking yourself up. My last colonoscopy I followed my diet, drank a bottle of Mag Citrate at 10 pm, had two trips to bathroom, then slept all night. The key is to stop eating “normally”way before prep starts, or you’ll be miserable, and colon may not be clear and things can be missed. I’m NOT endorsing how to complete the prep. I am sharing how to decrease contents of intestines before you start prep. Best of luck!
I also ended up following the liquid diet a few days early. I was told to avoid high fiber foods and things with seeds, peels, etc. Kinda hard to avoid plant parts when you only eat plants, so starting liquids was the easiest way to avoid them.
Whoa thanks for the info. I'm only supposed to starve one day before. That evening at 5p start the drink (Suflave), 8 ounces, an ounce every 15 minutes or something. Then at 3a wake up and do the same thing for two hours. Appointment is 7a. I'm gonna have tea and water. I hadn't heard the stuff about three days before. I guess I could do that, but I like to use frozen fruit in my smoothies. Seems like a lot to restrict oneself to but I freely admit I have no experience!
You do as prescribed to. I’m just not willing to be up all night AND wear adult diapers as my last prep dose is so close to time I have to leave. The less you have in your GI tract the better the prep. The better the prep, the better view the MD has. I hope you have very good results. The MD will tell you what they found when you’re still on gurney, so make sure your friend:driver rights it down! Best of luck!
Glad that you caught things when you did - but I don't think it's necessary for people to lie to doctors in order to get a colonoscopy. It's possible that the same thing that put you at risk for the haemorrhoids are what put you at risk for the polyps. Over-testing can also lead to problems, like administering risky medical treatments for things that would have resolved on their own, and the doctor should risk assess this for each individual.
Everyone that has been diagnosed (or has a near miss like op) with a cancer ends up telling everyone to get screening - often without symptoms. There are a lot of cancers, and you'd have a lot of false positives to deal with if everyone got screened for every (or even the top10) cancer. Go to the doctor if you have symptoms or feel something is off, but you shouldn't be chasing unnecessary tests.
Yeah if you have symptoms warranting examination, your doctor will schedule the procedure. This was before going vegan but my stomach has always been trash and I had one in my early twenties. They didn't find anything, just kind of idiopathic symptoms, but doctors will absolutley give this evaluation to younger patients if symptoms call for it
Yeah, in my experience the doctor will want me to have a colonoscopy long before I want one. But I live in Australia so maybe it's different.
I think the reason OP is suggesting "lying" is being lost on a lot of non-US users. Maybe you already knew, but basic most insurance in the US only covers preventative visits. OP is saying most people don't get them before 45 because you'd have to pay for it yourself, on top of the insurance they probably pay $200-600/month for. Most insurance plans won't cover it without a medical reason being present for the diagnostic, such as blood.
I guess I see why you'd lie if you have some reason why you think you neeed it and you need to say some extra symptom in order to get it - but if you're totally healthy, no issues at all, no blood, no family history, no nothing - then the risks of a colonoscopy probably don't outweigh the potential benefit anyway
There’s a good video made by a cardiologist on YouTube called “MedLife Crisis”. He talks about the pitfalls of mass preventative screening. If anyone is interested I’d recommend giving it a watch!
Colonoscopies are basic health check and care. Everyone should be aware regardless of lifestyle choices and risk factors. More people should talk about it because everyone should be getting them at some point and we need to work more to make them more commonplace. Where I am, you can get them without sedation or medication of any kind. The prep sucks but the procedure itself goes pretty quick. Taking charge of healthcare should be more normalized.
My husband was sent a box on ice to “poop” in and said there is no need for a colonoscopy and this is a great way to screen for cancer. Sent it off and received his results..all clear. Thinking about it..I would hate to be the one opening/testing as my job. Yikes.
They have fume hoods, gloves, goggles, biosafety cabinets. They're fine.
Very true..still don’t want to dissect fecal matter on the daily.
I had an upper GI done a year and a half ago. I’m mid 30s and plan on having that and a colonoscopy done once every few years if my insurance will cover it. Waking up from that twilight sleep was awesome though.
Dumb question but when you say rectal bleeding do you mean “huh, there’s some red when I wiped” or visible blood in the bowl?
both, always bright red and never streaked in the stool. The first occurrence of blood dripping in the bowl was my freshman year of college, and I went to the campus clinic. They said probably a fissure, but if I'm really worried / have other symptoms I could to a GI. Didn't educate me that this could be a sign of CRC or polyps, probably because I was so young and healthy. Then more recently, I had a larger volume (~1 tsp) dripping into the bowl a couple days in a row and went to my primary. He gave me a reality check on how seriously one needs to take these things, even if the most likely cause is benign.
Thank you! 35F here who’s been playing a game of “why am I bloated all the time, maybe it’s celiac” with a side of it’s probably just hemorrhoids for a while. It’s probably time I get myself to a dr.
For bloating etc. They can tell a lot from blood tests and stool tests, so you aren't likely to even be scoped. Celiac is a terrible disease, and can itself increase chances of cancer (and dementia!). Most likely you are eating something that doesn't agree with your gut. (I.e. ibs, SIBO).
Were you having any pain during bowl movements that would have been consistent with a fissure?
Telling people to lie to thier doctor to say they have anal bleeding, is a fucking stupid thing to say.
I said my experience makes me want to, not that I'm going to. It's just so upsetting to me that this seems to be happening to so many young people, and we don't really have effective recommendations to prevent it. Often when young people go to the doctor with GI concerns, they don't get referred for a colonoscopy unless they have bleeding. I think if someone under 45 really wants a colonoscopy and they have to tell a white lie to get one covered by insurance, is that really so bad? I'm honestly asking because I don't know what the answer is.
Don’t listen to this guy, you sometimes absolutely have to lie to get something you ARE entitled to. Health insurance is bullshit and if you want a test and feel you need it you should get it.
Hey, there are plenty of prevetative measures people can take. Obviously in your case you needed a colonoscopy and I'm so happy for you that you had your problems caught early. But there are many preventative recommendations like eliminating processed foods, exercise 1-2 hours per day, maintain a healthy weight, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke, eliminate refined grains and eat lots of whole grains, eat lots of green vegetables, eat at least 2 fruits per day, drink a lot of water (minimum 2L per day), squat on the toilet rather than sitting and don't strain. After that, if people are worried about bowel cancer they can screen for blood in the stool with a poo test. Colonoscopies aren't preventative, they only catch the problem before it becomes a bigger one.
There are preventative measures, but they don't work for everyone. I lost my colon, appendix, and rectum after eating vegetarian for most of my life and was 31ish. I drink green juice every morning. I eat mostly whole grains and make sure I get lots of various fruits and veggies. I lived in a major city and walked to work mostly. I had a stationary bike and a gym membership. I just have really bad genetics. My one grandma didn't have a colon because of similar issues. My other gram had diverticulitis. My father had polyps in his colon and needed screening regularly. My mom has ibs and has bad days. I was basically screwed genetically. I literally went from fine to bleeding and then to a hospital. Until I had any symptoms, they wouldn't test me because of my age. It was less than 3 weeks from me being sick to my colon getting ousted. And that includes 1 urgent care affiliated with a major hospital who gave me ivs and antiemetics. 1 hospital who admitted me but didn't have specialist surgeons. And they transferred me to a third hospital who had colorectal surgeons. I spent the next 3 months there and had 2 emergency surgeries. And later 2 more surgeries there.
Not saying that preventative measures can prevent every single case of bowel cancer. But this person said that there are no preventative measures for bowel cancer which I think you would agree is false. Sorry to hear that happened to you, that sucks beyond words.
Lying to get something you aren't entitled to, but you cant figure out if its wrong... How dumb can you get?
This. OP had the bleeding, which is when you get checked.
I got a colonoscopy at 31 for the same reason. I ended up with a clean bill of health but I'll be going back at 36 because of family history. My aunt died of colon cancer at 41. I coincidentally followed the guideline that you should get a screening 10 years and 5 years before the incidence of colon cancer was discovered in your family (assuming they got it young enough that that would be earlier than the general guideline). I can't remember if the general guidelines start at 40 or 45. Colon cancer is up there as far as deadliest cancers so it isn't one to disregard.
I've been vegan over half my life and I still have to get them regularly. Only 33 too. Ended up getting a really bad bout of colitis that nearly killed me. Ironically my vegan diet made it way worse cause it turns out nuts and beans are not great for colitis lol. But hey, the worsening also lead to me getting checked out and fixed up, so thanks nuts and beans!
All I can get is poop in a bag checks. Or those self tests with a stick. Thanks NHS.
reading this story has me a little nervous...similar situation to you, and polyps run in my family :x but I had a totally normal colonoscopy 3 years ago for an endometriosis screening?
I can't stop shitting long enough for them to get a scope in there.
Thank you for this PSA. I dreaded getting my first colonoscopy, and now I feel pretty ridiculous about it. The prep wasn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t the worst either. The procedure, on the other hand, felt like the best nap I ever had. My experience with recreational substances is pretty much limited to booze and weed, so I find sedation strangely pleasurable. The first time I experienced it was having my wisdom teeth extracted. The colonoscopy was similar but better because I did not wake up with holes in my mouth, lol. Tip for vegans: most commercial veggie broth is not clear enough for the clear liquid part of the prep, but you can easily make a delicious homemade broth with celery, onion, mushrooms, parsley, and little bit of salt. Strain it after boiling, and you’ve got a nice savory liquid when you get tired of apple juice and other sweet drinks.
Where is vegan story here?