It's Not so Bad - Really!

If I had a dollar for every Colonoscopy that I’ve had I would have….? Well $2. So I am obviously not having colonoscopies to get rich. In point of fact I worry about the high cost of having a colonoscopy even though the health insurance company paid for both of them. I don’t like having a procedure that I wonder if I would have had to pay for it out of my pocket (if I had a high deductible or a health savings account.) More on the cost later but first you need to know… Colonoscopies can and do save lives. A small little polyp (a growth inside your large intensive) can eventually grow larger and become cancerous. During a colonoscopy those little growths are snipped off and never have a chance to do that. Colonoscopies are recommended for everyone over the age of 50, but a lot of people don’t get them and there is certainly a negative stereotype which probably has a lot to do with the fact that having a colonoscopy means that you roll over on your side while a Dr. sticks a tube with a camera up your anus. Actually that part wasn’t as bad because they gave me an amnesia and I slept through the whole thing and I woke up groggy but generally feeling pretty good. You also can’t drive yourself anywhere and they tell you “not to make any important decisions.” The worst part actually is the day before when you are required to clean yourself out which no eating and taking heavy doses of laxatives. As bad as this sounds the good good news is that if you every have been sick (ie stomach ache and diarrhea) this is a lot better. It’s also over in just a few hours and despite the fact you have consumed a half gallon of liquid with laxative in a 4 hour time span your stomach doesn’t feel too bad and you can sleep and you are ready for the morning and to have it all over. I don’t know if most spouses are into this sort of thing but if you know my wife Esther you would not be surprised. She asked if she could sit in and they welcomed her as a fellow medical professional spending time explaining what they were doing and what they were seeing and it was all on a big screen high definition monitor. I of course missed all that. The good news and the bad news for me is that they found some polyps (that’s bad news) the good news is that those polyps were removed and they will never turn into colon cancer. If there had been no polyps I might not need to get tested for ten years as it is it will be three years. I read someplace that this testing in the U.S. can cost up to $9000. That’s a hefty bill for anyone…even an insurance company or the government (in the case of Medicare or Medicaid) so I think in three years if I am still healthy and have an urge to travel I think I might go to Costa Rica. Medical Tourism is big there and I think I will be having my next colonoscopy in January or February of 2015 right before I spend a week at the beach. Suggested Reading: Do a search (google?) for an article by Dave Barry on his colonoscopy.