This reader also sent a pamphlet on Midazolam/Versed that I am going to address in my next post.
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Thanks for all the info on this horrible Versed. Thanks to your blog and a whole lot of others, I got thru my colonoscopy drug free. I am a needle phobic and tend to pass out after any IV so when I read about VERSED, well, no brainer!
I signed up for a drug free colonoscopy last year after my own GP admitted
she herself had had one sedation free. I feel any GI doctor willing to do one
drug free must be pretty good at his/her job. My twin sister chose the drug
route for her colonoscopy procedure and to this day, cannot even tell me what
the doctor reported, why she has to come back in five years instead of ten, she
thinks she was "asleep" for the procedure. Pathetic!
I read your blog, did all the research, knew my strong and weak points and
just went ahead and booked one unsedated. I had to pass on the upper endoscopy
though. I am asthmatic and could never get through that one, sedated or
unsedated. We have to know when we are out of our depth and just refuse these
procedures when we feel we won't survive them.
Note that when you say "no sedation" they still try to shove a needle into
you assuming you will take Fentanyl or some other opioid for pain. I crossed off
all of this on the form and wrote "NO MEDS" with my initials and they still came
into the procedure room and told me to just roll up my sweater sleeve for the
needle. (I didn't get one of those horrible gowns to wear because I wasn't going
to be sedated I guess so no "stickies" on my chest, just a BP cuff and pulse
oximeter ). I refused the needle altogether and for the third time, knowing they
would shove that VERSED into me as soon as I felt the slightest twinge.
How did the procedure go?? Well, after more dire warnings about pain from
the GI who had initially agreed to it, I just soldiered on, one bad moment
where she hit the sigmoid/splenic flexure and I nearly passed out ( but
remember, I have that bad vagus nerve anyhow). Doctor said "Do you want me to
stop?" and I said: "Just give me a minute to catch my breath" and we went on.
Doctor got right to the Terminal Ileum and the nurses, (by this time there were
two of them) told me I was a trooper. (I am probably the first 74 yr. old woman
they ever did unsedated so I hope I made my point to them.)
One thing I now know. Forget modesty! They flip you onto your back part way
through the procedure and I am certain they remove or pull up your gown when you
are sedated. I had on my upper clothes and a paper cover which the doctor
attempted to cover me with when I rolled over (for all the good that did!) I am
sure they do not bother with ANY of this when you are "under the influence"
yelling your head off! They just pretty much treat you as they please and since
you are drugged, they don't have to stop the procedure.
Do I recommend unsedated colonoscopy? Yes and No. You have to be determined
and it apparently helps to be male, to not have adhesions, IBS, not to have had
a hysterectomy, not to have a redundant colon etc. People need to do some
research and know something about their own bodies. Some of these folks might
find the procedure painful, even with a good GI. For me, I would do it again if
I had to but I don't think I will ever have to. Some polyps removed, benign, a
bit of diverticulosis but not serious and let's face it, at 74 I am probably
home-free. This is a "one and done" and should keep my GP quiet and off my case
for the rest of my life.
See attached book if you haven't read it yet on the origin of this
drug.
Keep up the good work. VERSED is a horrible drug for those of us who
- are control freaks
- don't trust the medical profession
- don't take drugs
- want to know what is going on with our bodies
- want to keep our memories and brains intact
- basically hate BIG PHARMA
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