Monday, June 28, 2010

Colonoscopy Experience


Allow me to share with you my journey regarding my recent Colonoscopy experience on June 25, 2010 at UP-PGH. Why did I have to undergo this kind of medical procedure? In the latter part of  March, I often experienced prolonged constipation and a sudden change in my bowel movement. In mid-May, during the busiest time of my schedule, I saw blood in my stool. When I pressed the lower part of my anus I saw fresh blood on my hand. This was when I tried to check if there’s an open wound in it.



What are the symptoms of  a bowel problem? Symptoms of bowel problems are often very non-specific and the same symptoms can be caused by a number of different conditions, some relatively minor and some potentially life-threatening. And praise God that mine is not the latter. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, constipation and diarrhea, a change in bowel habits, bleeding and unexplained weight loss.

I’m a person who would always try to self-medicate first. Like I posted in one of my blog articles here, I prefer vegetarian diet which helps lessen the frequency of my constipation. But as the saying goes, "If problems persist, consult your doctors",  it is still best to consult a specialist if things didn’t work out according to your expectation. I still suffer from bowel problems most of the time. So I had myself checked by a Gastroenterologist at the Philippine General Hospital as this was home to a specialist on gastrointestinal problems. When the doctor heard all my complaints, he advised me to undergo colonoscopy procedure since colon cancer cell is active in our genes. My grandfather died of this disease.



The preparation is the most crucial part in doing this kind of test, not the pain that you will experience during the actual procedure. If you’re working, I suggest you should take a day’s leave prior to the medical test in order to prepare yourself. Make sure that you have family or friends to accompany you in the hospital. This is not a problem for me since my older sister will undergo the same test, too. Lucky enough for me because she’s a nurse and she’s the one asking for all the medical details and I just follow the instructions she has given me. The hardest part of this preparation is the intake of 2 bottles of castor oil and going to the bathroom every hour of the day. On the last day of preparation is the water therapy, no food intake at all, or else all your sacrifices will be wasted.


During procedure, the first dose of anesthesia wasn’t enough as my sister-in law told me that I was shouting in pain and she gave instruction to stop the procedure. So my doctor decided to add another dose of anesthesia. By the way, I have low tolerance for pain. You will probably feel some unpleasantness and your stomach area may be slightly painful so make yourself comfortable. The procedure usually takes 30 minutes. It depends on what they find in your colon that will require further time to study its appearance. But I fell asleep then. It’s true that you can’t remember anything about the procedure and when I woke up I felt like groggy. Remember that your body has had a bit of a shock so you must begin to eat and drink gradually after medical procedure.

The colonoscopy procedure will cost you P8,000-9,000 for Pay Ward at UP-PGH and will only cost you 500-1,000  when you are on Charity ward (exclusive of medicine fee of less than P1,000 on both wards). So you have a choice. Anyway, you will be lying on the same bed and will be assisted by the same group of medical personnel whether you're on Private ward or Charity ward. Everything went well for me as my diagnosis did not result in anything negative. I had redundant colon and anal fissures caused by forced release of stool and a few polyps, but the specialist said there was nothing to worry about it. Need lots of water intake and high-fiber diet, meaning more veggies! God is so good.

26 comments:

The Perpetrator said...

wow... thanks for sharing your experience. glad you're ok! :)

Karen said...

nice to hear its not that serios, still take extra good care. had problems with constipation as well, good thing prescribed med worked for me. take care!

Anonymous said...

That's nice to know that it turned negative. So they (med group)didn't really find anything off kahit na palagi ka consti? Siguro nga we just need more water and fiber to regularize our bowel movement. :-)

Nenette B. Santos said...

yah they find it negative. And as i observe now on my daily food intake, im getting more constipated when i'm taking 3 meals w/ rice a day. My stool is getting dry and causing it hard to push/release. Yah need more and more water plus High fiber diet. Thanks sissees!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the experience. Sabi din kasi ng gastro, magpacolonoscopy po ako di pa ako sure kasi parang masakit( masakit nga talaga based po sa experience niyo) lalo ako kinabahan. Yung mga nakita ba nilang polyps sa inyo inalis din nila? Yung fissure po, gumaling na?

AVN said...

hi,

kasama na ba sa 8-9k yung professional fee and anesthesia? and ilang days ang prep prior to procedure? I heard kailangan pa daw mag soft diet? Kung sa charity ward ba ako pupunta mabilis lang ba yung pag schedule nila or kailangan ko pa maghinaty ng ilang days?
thanks

Unknown said...

i have an aunt that would wanted to undergone same procedure, but the problem po financial, if they have phil health madi-discount an po kaya sila?and do you still have the number of the doctor na tumingin sa inyo?please help po.any numbers na pwede namin tawagan.

Jena Isle said...

Thanks for sharing this information. I have been surfing for information about colonoscopy and I chanced on your blog. I was wondering how many days you have stayed in the hospital. It's a very well written piece, as well.

Unknown said...

Hi,
Would you mind sharing with me the name of your doctor? Im looking for a good one and a hospital that will not cost me additional pain in the pocket.
Appreciate a response.

Unknown said...

My wife had her colonoscopy at FEU NRMF Medical Center, her gastro is Dr. Arnold Vitug. The procedure is OPD (outpatient) and she was sedated. After the procedure of about 30 minutes, she rested for another 30-45 minutes and we were sent home. I believe we paid only about 4K after philhealth deduction.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing..

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing..

quinc said...

Hello po. Ano po yung mga symptoms sainyo? Does it go away yung constipation after days?

Unknown said...

I think my symptoms right now are same with what you have had experienced before. Im more afraid of the cost of colonoscopy cause we really have no budget. ๐Ÿ˜ž๐Ÿ˜ž..

isley said...

Hi, dumaan ka po b s OPD or direkta n s specialista?

Unknown said...

Pwede po mahingi yung name ng doctor ninyo sa pgh? It will be a big help po and kung may clinic po siya na pwede mapuntahan. Thanks po.

Unknown said...

Pwede po makuha yung name ng doctor nyo sa pgh? Kung saan po ang clinic nya. Thank you!

Unknown said...

Good day po, pwede po ba mahingi ang name ng doctor nyo po sa PGH o clinic, talaga po balak ko patingin sa gastro constipated po ako ng makadumi na blood sa stool ko baka po ipa colonoscopy nya ako medyo tight din po ang budget pero may philhealth po. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Hi. Just wanna ask sino po ung doctor nyo sa pgh?. Kelangan din kasi magpacolonoscopy ng husband ko and naghahanap kmi kung saan may magaling at mura na colonoscopy. Hoping for your reply thanks๐Ÿ˜Š

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing..gusto ko ishare yun experience ko..on and off yun bleeding ko minsan pag parating na menstruation ko nag kakaroon ako ng bleeding..sa may poop ko wala naman dugo..after ko mag poop or if kung mag ccr ako may fluid na lumalabas galing sa anus ko dark blood..pero wala naman akong nararamdaman na any pain..kaya i decided na mag pacolonoscopy..magkano na kaya sa pgh ?

Unknown said...

Magknu po b kng magkasama ung endoscopy at colonoscopy

Riri said...

I've been having a weird stomach problem for a week. Matagal na ako acidic and laging nag hyper acidity pero now, 1 week na akong may acid attack not always with heartburn pero yung pain sa upper stomach hindi nawawala. I've been having constipation and diarrhea. 1 week na ring feeling bloated, constant burping. Wala naman akong blood sa stool, I think pero pabago bago ng color yellow, brown and dark brown. Iniisip ko kasi if direktang mag colonoscopy na agad, san po ba yung pinaka mura? I have philhealth po. Badly need help po.

happymomoftwins said...

Pls share po

Unknown said...

good day maam nenette, ano po name ng doctor nyo sa PGH? pwede po mashare nyo maam,salamat po.

Jhen said...

I have same symptoms.. nag iisip din ako magpacolonoscopy.. cguro after this ecq. Like malulunod na ako sa kakainom ng tubig. And puro veggies na ang diet ko pero ganun pa din.. ang bigat lagi sa pakiramdam..

Jhen said...

Hi riri. I wonder if nakapagpacolonoscopy ka na.. saan at magkano nagastos mo? Same tau ng nararamdaman eh

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