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Propofol sedation - bad reaction in past

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PinkCosmos Fri 17-Jan-25 15:27:41

I am scheduled to have a colonoscopy soon. I have been told that you can have sedation which is Propofol, or partly Propofol.

About ten years ago I had a very bad reaction to anaesthetic following a minor operation. I was told that they couldn't get me to start breathing again. I ended up in intensive care with lots of bruises on my arms and a split lip.

I have never go to the bottom of why this happened but, after doing my own research, I am sure I had a bad reaction to the Propofol. There are no notes on my medical records about this incident.

I have had general anaesthetic three times in my life and this is the only time I have an issue with the anaesthetic.

I had a great deal of anxiety about this reaction for several months afterwards, wondering how close I was to actually dying.

So now I am having the colonoscopy. They have said I can have gas and air but I was wondering just how painful the procedure is without any pain relief. I have quite a high pain tolerance and am not on any medication

I had a positive fit (poo) test before Christmas. I know I have haemorrhoids and am hoping that this was the reason for the positive result. I don't have symptoms related to my bowels.

Has anyone out there had a colonoscopy with no pain relief or just gas and air? How was it?

Thanks in advance

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Jaxjacky Fri 17-Jan-25 15:55:54

There is a current thread on here under health.

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Dollymixtures Fri 17-Jan-25 16:02:33

I have a post on here at the moment in Health and everyone has been very reassuring. I am definitely going for sedation as it will be better for me to float away a bit if I can. I’ve just been filling the form out to take in for my procedure on Sunday and there was a section for if you’ve had any problems with anaesthetic. I’m sure you can mention it as well when you go in and ask for advice. Good luck.

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PinkCosmos Fri 17-Jan-25 16:09:54

Thank you for letting me know. I didn't realise there was another thread.

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silverlining48 Fri 17-Jan-25 19:08:50

I think if you discuss your concerns with the anaesthetist beforehand they can use something else. Though I prefer sedation one of my colonoscopies was without sedation and it was perfectly ok.

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FlitterMouse Fri 17-Jan-25 19:49:34

I am a veteran of the lower endoscopy (lost count) and have never had intravenous sedation.

I have never had any pain from them, just some minor discomfort for a few seconds usually when the scope goes around the bends of the colon. The endoscopist should warn you when a bend is approaching so you can take a gulp of Entonox if you feel you need it. For me that discomfort is no more than I might feel from gas in the bowel or a bowel that needs emptying and it is just fleeting.

I had the procedure just yesterday including chromoendoscopy where a blue dye is squirted into the colon to help identify cancerous or precancerous lesions. That added a bit of extra time to the procedure but the whole thing was done in about 40 minutes. That's for a full endoscopy.

It may be that you are only having a sigmoid endoscopy, a procedure to examine the lower part of the colon only in which case it will only take about 10-15 minutes.

Other thread where lots of people are reassuring that this is never the ordeal people thing it might be without sedation.

www.gransnet.com/forums/health/1344476-Frightened-to-death-of-having-a-colonoscopy

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PinkCosmos Mon 20-Jan-25 10:05:24

Thank you Flitter Mouse. Your comments have made me feel more confident about having no sedation.

I have posted on the other thread. I was asking for more detail about the type of pain and if it was constant. I hadn't seen your post at that point.

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