Won't get a colonoscopy

[Poohforyou]

My college age dd has vasovagal syncope (passes out for medical things) and needs to get a pap and a breast screening.

I have been looking into other screenings for her that are non invasive/painful. Upon doing this research there are alternatives. One is thermography.
http://www.breastthermography.com/

Not sure how to get her a pap smear. Still looking into that.

I also would be interested in different types of screenings.

I don't mean to be flippant but if my daughter had this issue I'd be looking for ways for her to deal with it, like therapy. She isn't going to be able to make it through life without some unpleasant medical procedure, test or treatment.

 

[Jennasis]

There IS a procedure out there, not widely available, that involves swallowing a large capsule containing a camera. When you pass it, you fish it out of your feces and bring it in to have the images downloaded. I covered this story 15 years ago when i worked in television news. No clue if it's still an option anywhere or if insurance would cover it.

 

[Jennasis]

There IS a procedure out there, not widely available, that involves swallowing a large capsule containing a camera. When you pass it, you fish it out of your feces and bring it in to have the images downloaded. I covered this story 15 years ago when i worked in television news. No clue if it's still an option anywhere or if insurance would cover it.

 

[Chelley00]

There IS a procedure out there, not widely available, that involves swallowing a large capsule containing a camera. When you pass it, you fish it out of your feces and bring it in to have the images downloaded. I covered this story 15 years ago when i worked in television news. No clue if it's still an option anywhere or if insurance would cover it.

Bravo. You don't have to fish it out, you wear a monitor and it records images, PH etc.

 

[Jennasis]

Here...http://pillcamcolon.com/is-it-right-for-me/who-should-consider-pillcam-colon

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't mean to be flippant but if my daughter had this issue I'd be looking for ways for her to deal with it, like therapy. She isn't going to be able to make it through life without some unpleasant medical procedure, test or treatment.

I know which is why I am looking for alternative forms of testing for her.

She has had therapy for many yrs for anxiety and is on meds as well already. We are past that part.

She cannot take meds prior to a procedure due to the syncopy. It is really a conundrum.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My sister had her first routine colonoscopy this past October at age 53. We have no known family history of colon cancer. Her test revealed a suspicious-looking area that the doctor biopsied during the procedure. I was with her when the doctor said it was malignant. She had surgery a month later to have a portion of her colon removed. Luckily, the cancer had not spread to any other part of her body and she did not need chemo or radiation. She needs to follow up with her doctor every six months and will need another colonoscopy in three years.

If my otherwise very healthy sister did not have a routine colonoscopy, she would still have cancer growing inside of her. As her sibling, I have been ordered by my doctor to also have one. I currently have my initial appointment scheduled with the specialist who took care of my sister. We are trying to get our brother to schedule his, which he says he will do.

Yes, there are risks to any invasive medical procedure. But if my sister's story doesn't show that the benefits outweigh the risks, I don't know what will.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't mean to be flippant but if my daughter had this issue I'd be looking for ways for her to deal with it, like therapy. She isn't going to be able to make it through life without some unpleasant medical procedure, test or treatment.

I agree. Dd19 had a bad pap, so needed more extensive testing done. She was nervous, and afterwards said the pain wasn't bad, but she felt violated a little. Welcome to womanhood. I think many men have a hard time when they get older, and have some health problems, dealing with unpleasant procedures. Women, on the other hand, deal with menstration, childbirth, incontinence issues, menopause, and a host of other unpleasant and occasionally messy and or undignified events. It's not always pretty.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I agree. Dd19 had a bad pap, so needed more extensive testing done. She was nervous, and afterwards said the pain wasn't bad, but she felt violated a little. Welcome to womanhood. I think many men have a hard time when they get older, and have some health problems, dealing with unpleasant procedures. Women, on the other hand, deal with menstration, childbirth, incontinence issues, menopause, and a host of other unpleasant and occasionally messy and or undignified events. It's not always pretty.

My dd's issue is syncope with medical procedures. It is a PITA.

Where I am getting my cancer treatment, a nurse told me about an GYN that would work with her. I have my fingers crossed that it is true.

It is very difficult to find someone that will work with her.

Thankfully she is OK with her teeth. She needs 2 implants and at her oral surgeon they don't freak out about it.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

OP while I don't agree with your opinion on colonoscopies, since you asked for an alternative I would suggest starting with stool studies and a fecal occult test.

If those came back negative you can do a cologuard test. They send you a kit in the mail, you provide a stool sample in the kit and mail it back to them. They then can test the DNA for signs of cancer.

This is what the Nurse Practitioner I work for does when his patients refuse to get the colonoscopy he recommends. They are not as good in our opinion but they are better than nothing.

 

[kandb]

OP while I don't agree with your opinion on colonoscopies, since you asked for an alternative I would suggest starting with stool studies and a fecal occult test.

If those came back negative you can do a cologuard test. They send you a kit in the mail, you provide a stool sample in the kit and mail it back to them. They then can test the DNA for signs of cancer.

This is what the Nurse Practitioner I work for does when his patients refuse to get the colonoscopy he recommends. They are not as good in our opinion but they are better than nothing.

Thank you, I appreciate the information.

 

[kandb]

My dd's issue is syncope with medical procedures. It is a PITA.

Where I am getting my cancer treatment, a nurse told me about an GYN that would work with her. I have my fingers crossed that it is true.

It is very difficult to find someone that will work with her.

Thankfully she is OK with her teeth. She needs 2 implants and at her oral surgeon they don't freak out about it.

Yes, some doctors will work with fearful patients. Hopefully, you can find an empathetic one. Anxiety is real to people that have it and hopefully she can still get the tests she needs.

 

[crazymama]

It's all about choices people... choose whatever you are comfortable with but always with an eye to risk/benefit ratio. Keep it sensible...

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My dad & I have both had numerous colonoscopies without ever an incident. Grandma died of colon cancer at 56, Dad wouldn't have even made it that long if not for testing (none of my polyps have ever been pre-cancerous). Dad's 76 now, healthy & active. Hard to imagine missing the past 20+ years (and who knows how many future ones) had he not been tested.

 

[low-key]

to me the hardest part is not eating and pooping all day, the day before

 

[Cantw8]

to me the hardest part is not eating and pooping all day, the day before

you are so hot

 

[Minnesota!]

Had my first at 33. I watched my dad die, at 51, after a brutal, 9 month battle with colon cancer. I will GLAdLy take the.miniscule risk of issues with colonoscopy over that horrible death.

The prep was nothing...the procedure was a breeze. No meds needed, even. They put the port in, in case I needed something, but I was fine.

Don't put your family thru watching a preventable death. If your Dr orders one, suck it up and get it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The day that medicine cares only about money is the day I leave my profession.

 

[roseaster]

A few things.

People are saying to do a test for fecal occult blood. This only detects blood. The causes of blood in the stool are many, from something as minor as hemorrhoids, to inflammation, to ulcers, to cancer. You can have colon/intestinal cancer without having blood in your stool. So really a fecal occult blood smear only alerts you to the presence of blood. Not the cause of the blood.

Diet and healthy lifestyle are important, and may help as a preventative, but if you have a gene mutation it doesn't matter and colon cancer is one of the cancers known to have a genetic link. Of course, other times it's just plain bad luck.

The pill camera is available, but it is very unlikely that it would or will be covered by insurance unless the doctor can affirm that you have a valid medical reason that you cannot have a colonoscopy. The pill cam is not as effective as a colonoscopy at detecting cancers. Studies have shown that it is on 50-70% as effective as colonoscopy.

 

[Unas]

If the pill cam detects polyps, a "scope" is needed to biopsy them. That means a second prep . . .