Mike's Colonoscopy

Screening for colorectal cancer, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed counties is important. It was time for me to get my colonoscopy, and after some procrastination, I followed in the footsteps of Larry the Cable Guy and Mark Cuban and got it done.

The procedure itself was uneventful, and much of my anxiety and fear about the procedure was, in my case, unwarranted. I admit that the prep was not pleasant. I didn’t mind so much the day before, with the liquid diet. I also didn’t mind too much being up half the night going to the bathroom, all the endless toilet visits. I had a sigmoidoscopy done years before, so I expected that.

The worst part for me was the repulsive taste of the laxative solution (in my case, Moviprep). It was difficult getting down and difficult keeping down. Following the suggestions of the hospital gastroenterology unit, I added Crystal Light to the solution; in retrospect, that may have been a mistake. The sickeningly sweet taste may have been a combination of the prep itself (which tastes bad) and the concentrated added lemonade flavoring. It may be a good idea to make sure the additive is necessary before using it. If you think you can stomach the laxative alone (some people can and some cannot), then that might be the more prudent approach.

There are other prep solutions of course, and some people use the pill option. But I have read that, in some cases, the pill options and related prep types can cause kidney damage, so I went for the more standard prep options. Keep in mind that these preps, even with insurance, are somewhat expensive, but are necessary (in some cases, patients are told they can use a cheaper MiraLAX-Gatorade prep option).

So, based on my experience, I agree with Larry and Mark and advise to follow your physician’s recommendations about getting your screening done. There is a low risk of complications from the procedure, but in the hands of a capable and experienced endoscopist, these risks will be very low – certainly lower than the risk of cancer.

For those more interested in technical details and some recent advancements in technique, I would recommend to watch YouTube videos from a well-known MD Anderson gastroenterologist, Dr. Raju, who has helped to refine advanced endoscopic techniques that I hope will one day be the standard of care here in the USA (and elsewhere).

Actionable: Follow the advice of your physician, get screened for colorectal cancer when appropriate, utilizing whatever method you and your physician agree on.