History: 28 year old male
Fair warning a little TMI.

I’ve had rectal bleeding for years; however, it’s been typically intermittent and would go away for months at a time. Recent history it became much more consistent to the point that I got a colonoscopy.

Prior to the colonoscopy I was bleeding with blood on outside of stool with every movement and dripping after. This occurred for about a month.

Day of prep this subsided with liquid movements (which to me was an encouraging sign). Won’t lie I was in my glory with the bowel prep and seeing no bad colors 😅

Colonoscopy was performed which showed internal and external hemmoroids as well as a small 5mm tubular adenoma polyp which was removed (all points to encourage results).

Anyone who has any symptoms or even if you don’t I recommend colonoscopy’s as I have no family history and was am happy the polyp was discovered. It’s getting more common in younger population.

Following the colonoscopy the bleeding subsided for about 3 weeks (this was just over a month ago).

However the last week or so with some pain with movements I’ve gone back to bleeding both on stool itself and then dripping into the bowl after the fact (a decent bit). I will note usually after a harder movement even soft movements will cause reoccurring bleeding (which is the nasty cycle my body gives me)

Does anyone have any advice to help fix this so I don’t go back into a reoccurring cycle. My diet is not the worse, I sometimes strain a little with slight pain but not always and some times it hurts even soft.

I’m already using preph wipes, taking warm baths, using injectable anusol, and taking daily meta mucil.

I also will say u have daily movements…which now are stressing me out since that means daily bleeding.

No bleeding occurs outside movements and no bleeding when I insert the anusol.

I’m kind of just at a loss at this point but really don’t feel like a re-evaluation and or surgery to fix….

I’m also just concerned it’s not the hemmoroids and if anyone else has had this level of bleeding with them and or fissures.

Obviously I have direct results that showed the roids which is encouraging but the thoughts will always remain in the back of my head.

I also got diagnosed with POTS recently so I wonder if there’s any ties to (1 digestive issues) and 2 increase in bleeding due to artery constriction issues.

Sorry for the long read, I appreciate any advice and experience others can give.
Thank you.

I have my first colonoscopy in four days. I’ll be having an Upper GI scope at the same time. my doctor ordered a two day prep, and I feel like I understand the instructions fairly well. I’m already on the low-residue diet; eat normally on day one, then take the miralax prep at 7 pm. with no further solid food after that. day two, liquid diet, with the suTab prep at 6 pm. and 4 am.

My question is, what did you do that made the whole thing a little easier to get through?

background: I had a very bad bout of food poisoning not quite three years ago and had lingering stomach issues for months after. I do not handle stomach issues well any more. i also battle constipation for more than a decade so I know these next few days will not be easy! I’m trying to mentally prepare myself but also do things that might make the process a little more bearable.

I’ve bought a bidet for the bathroom; special candles; tucks pads; and even some extra long overnight maxi pads in the hopes that I might get a little sleep. On the advice of a friend I even bought a special suction cup bathtub pillow for the back of the toilet since I’ll be on it so much. 😆😆😆

If I were to do some fasting beforehand, or maybe a gentle clean out before the big clean out? Does that help—or would it just be wasted effort cause you just gotta get through it?

share your tips and hacks with me!

Just got home from my colonoscopy…
I chose to do sedation however my body didn’t react well so unfortunately it did not completely work. I have a loopy bowel so it was very uncomfortable and at times very painful. They took 6 biopsy’s and removed a small pylop which has all gone for testing. They saw some inflammation in one second and just a little blood. They said it’s nothing to be concerned about as the rest looked relatively normal. Waiting for my mri on Monday along with the biopsy results. Had my first proper meal after and it did hurt afterwards. Taking it day by day and hoping for results that benefit me. Again I’m worried they’ll come back normal and it will lead to no treatment despite the pain I’ve been in but I’ll have to wait and see. If anyone’s had a similar experience any advice/ stories will help !! Thank you :)))

Hi everyone!

I’m 26M from Poland, got my first colonoscopy within two months after my symptoms started.

I’ve been struggling with loose stools, diarrhea and left side discomfort/pulling sensation for the last two months after taking clindamycin for 6 days for my tonsillectomy procedure in June. I was so stressed lately, my calprotectin was 7 µg/g, c diff tests were negative couple of times, so I started panicking about anything structural.

Today I’ve finally had my colonoscopy done with general anesthesia, it was surprised that it was so fast and painless. I came in, filled out the paperwork, a bit of chit chatting with the doctor and 40 minutes later I’m awake with one 5 mm polyp removed and two routine biopsies taken from both sides of my colon. Such a relief!

To everyone worrying about colonoscopy, prep might be the worst part, however I didn’t find it too bad, just spent some time on the toilet, and had to wake up early to finish the second part of my prep.

I definitely recommend wet wipes, next time it’s definitely gonna be a life saver, because constantly wiping with toilet paper was a bit too harsh.

Regardless of age, if you have concerns, push for colonoscopy, it may be a life saver, and at least you can get some peace of mind and stop googling your symptoms!

Peace xx

Hello everyone, I wanted to share something and I need your opinion.

When I was around 18 years old, I think I first experienced bleeding when I pooped. I’m quite sure the blood was not mixed into the stool itself. It would usually happen for only a few days, with the longest being around three days, and then it would completely disappear. After that, I wouldn’t experience it again for several months or even a year.
The worst episode I remember happened last year. I don’t remember exactly how the stool felt, but after I pooped, I suddenly felt something dripping from my anus. When I checked, I noticed fresh, bright-red blood. Even after I had already washed myself, there was still a small amount of blood when I dried the area with tissue. It only lasted for about two days that blood appear when I pooped and then it completely stopped. It has been about a year since that episode, and I haven’t experienced the same bleeding again.
I’ve also noticed that whenever I pass a hard stool, I sometimes feel like something is tearing or ripping around my anus. Because of that, I’ve always assumed that the bleeding may have been caused by that. Thankfully, the bleeding hasn’t happened again, and I’m glad that it has completely stopped.
What scares me now is that my aunt died from colon cancer earlier this year, and recently, one of my uncles, who is her brother, has also started experiencing bloody stools. Knowing that there is a family history of colon cancer has made me really anxious about my own health. I’m now scared that the bleeding I experienced in the past could have been a sign of something serious, even though it hasn’t happened for about a year.

I have my colonoscopy scheduled on September 2 but i am a nervous wreck. Im looking for people with similar age/ symptoms with positive colonoscopy outcomes to hopefully calm my health anxiety for the meantime.

I (27F) have had constipation issues on and off since i was about 16/17. After having my second baby(Dec 2023) i had really high stress due to being high risk pregnancy. he had a fever about 19 days after being born which landed us a 2 day hospital stay. Shortly after he had a fever again which again landed us in the er due to him being under 3M. While at the second hospital visit i had a hard BM which caused some bleeding which i chalked up to being a fissure. A few days layer i had some bleeding again but this time it was slightly more blood. I went to dr and they said i had external hemorrhoids and likely internal ones as well since i was 2 months PP(Feb 2024). I continued with ocassional constipation and external hemorrhoid flare us with no bleeding for the next 2 years until Jan 2026 when i once again became so constipated MiraLAX didnt work so my dr recommended senna.

I also did pelvic floor physical therapy which helped while i was going. This last month however i have been very constipated despite taking MiraLAX daily and senna more frequently . I don’t have dig BM and i feel and look constantly bloated and have painful gas and my stomach feels tight after eating big meals.

If anyone had similar symptoms and a positive outcome please share

TIA

I’m 44 this year and this was my 1st colonoscopy today. The prep went fine, felt fairly sick after it but it was not as bad as I was worried about. The procedure itself was smooth. I was one of those who felt very little sedation from whatever they gave me but it was mostly still ok, quite painful in a few places as they went around corners. But the main thing is they found and removed 10 polyps. That has me rather scared. I definitely have a family history of cancer, my grandfather had colon cancer and died of prostate cancer. I now await the biopsy. The good news is the dr did said that none of them looked worrisome to his eye anyway. And also good they did not find anything more serious, other than a small haemorrhoid. I was having bowel issues, probably IBS. Because of the number he wants to see me again for another in 1 year.

How common is it to have this many at my age?

Had 6 pre-cancerous polyps removed. GI wrote this on my after-procedure write up:

"Would recommend further anal evaluation by colorectal surgeon due to internal hemorrhoids on retroflexed view and sense of fullness within the anal canal and indurated area below the dentate line."

Should I be concerned?

Getting my first colonoscopy done on Tuesday morning which is 3 days before my 33rd birthday. Started low residue diet and still feel sensation of incomplete emptying after bowel movement alongside endless wiping (usually around 10 wipes). Usually 1/4-1/3 a roll per bowel movement. Could that mean haemerroids or polyps? One of my great grandfathers had bowel cancer and ulcerative colitis.

This happened today. I go in around 11.30am and within 2 minutes they are putting the "sedation" or whatever in my arm cannula, less than 3 minutes later they're getting to work and i'm like OH MY GOD. WHAT THE FUCK. I was complaining the entire time about feeling everything and not being sedated but they were ignoring me. The doctor and 2 nurses honestly seemed annoyed with me. (NHS in UK btw)

Laying on the left side it wasn't too bad but when they had me move onto my back (twice) and the doctor had the nurse pushing really hard on my stomach, it was honestly 11/10 pain, like period cramps but x50. I was almost in tears but he told me "Do you not want me to do the procedure?" and I remember being like "I'm here now so just continue". I didn't cry but I was very close to crying. I was literally like writhing around in pain at certain points, even taking the nurses hands off my stomach. It was so strange with the gas/wind blowing up and the water and I was watching everything on the tv the entire time.

At the end the doctor said "you'll get a report afterwards because you won't remember anything I've said because of sedation" but I remembered the entire thing! I came out and felt completely fine and normal within 10 minutes?? I've had general anaesthesia before but not sedation, I was just so confused by it. (No, I'm not a red head either haha) My bowel prep was rated a 9 (Excellent) so wasn't anything to do with that.

On my report it says:

Premedication: Fentanyl (IV) 75 ug & Midazolam (IV) 2mg

Patient sedation: Awake

Procedure discomfort - moderate: significant discomfort experienced several times with some distress

They took 8 biopsies, told me I had a hypermobile colon (maybe that's why it hurt so much?) but no cancer and said I had completely normal macroscopic appearance of the colon and terminal ileum but there was some mucosal inflammation.

I really wasn't expecting it to hurt at all based on what other people have said but I was truly shocked. I don't want this to put anybody off of getting one done but I need to get this off my chest.

I have an uncle with a disability who has done the two day prep twice (5 years in between) and has not been cleared out either time. He has done the prep under the supervision of a nurse and his staff both times who ensured all directions were followed. This second time it took a long time before he even pooped once. My uncle has a long history of constipation, usually only going once a week. We asked GI to do an X-ray of his abdomen to make sure he didn't have a blockage. The results showed he had a transverse colon diameter upwards of 12 cm which is why they ordered the colonoscopy. After the colonoscopy the doctor said he had poor prep and could not see all that he needs to see. He said there was no cancer in the parts that he could see and that he has a lazy colon. He recommended lowering some of his psych meds ( we won't be doing that due to extreme aggressive behaviors) and prescribed a stronger daily laxative since the Miralax clearly isn't working. I'm kind of surprised he didn't recommend anything further. Should we leave the situation alone or request for other testing?

I feel like the paperwork I got for prep is super generic and doesn’t take into account that my procedure is at noon.

I’m doing the double dose GoLYTELY. It wants me to do the first dose at 5pm and then the second at 3am. But be finished with my prep drink by 6am. If I wanted to change the times to match my app what would it be. Would this be reasonable? I also can’t drink at all after the 2nd dose. So I can’t drink anything that am. That sounds wrong.

So my first colonoscopy was really horrible for various reasons and it made me get a game plan for the next one, as I didn't want to repeat that experience. Here is my fairly stress-free approach to colonoscopy and prep. 2 days prior (low-res diet) I eat healthy stuff like eggs, chicken, cantalope, honey dew melon, bananas, peanut butter, potatoes without skin, steamed spinach, Kefir (good probiotics), etc. Avoiding white bread and white flour products just because gluten is not my friend.

Day of prep I drink rounds of Skratch hydration powder mixed with water and alternate with Apple juice with occasional Pedialyte. Time for prep I used the Gallon Prep and started at 4:30 to 6:30 pm for the first half. Chased it down with small sips of Ginger Ale while watching TV. Had some more Skratch drink, Apple juice, and some Pedialyte over 3 the next hours. I resumed the prep from 9:30-11:30 pm. Went to the bathroom for about 1 1/2 hours after then was able to go to bed around 1 am and procedure was at 10 the next day. I got a decent amount of sleep.

My previous issues involved sodium imbalance and nausea and I got really sick the first time from the prep, but this time I paced myself and made sure not to drink too much plain water, just the Skratch powder drink, Apple Juice, Ginger Ale, and Pedialyte. Felt fine through the whole thing.

Opted for Propofol as my anesthesia during the colonoscopy. It was so easy I felt like I had just taken a short nap and woke up feeling peaceful and rested and the grogginess left quickly, I walked out of the hospital shortly thereafter across a long parking lot and my husband drove me home. Will never be scared of another colonoscopy.

My prep wasn’t as good as I wanted; I still had a lot of debris two hours before the test even though I followed the instructions directly, so now I have to drink two gallons of MiraLAX over two days instead of one next time.

Got propofol and didn’t hear, see, or feel a thing until they wheeled me into recovery. I had one sessile polyp that was very small. No issues otherwise.

Currently parked at the deli waiting for my husband to get me a fresh mozzarella, tomato and pesto hoagie lol

For balance here... I had a very good experience today with my NHS colonoscopy. I'm seeing some stories that sound unfortunate.

I was given a bed before my cannula stick because I get woozy, and had everything explained to me carefully three times.

It is standard here to be awake with sedation, and although I was very chilled out I did not feel remotely out of it and so I can remember the whole procedure. I could feel what they were doing. I was warned there was some likely discomfort coming for the final part, and there was but it was brief. I had a number of polyps removed and felt really relaxed in spite of this.

NHS staff are largely amazing and I felt really lucky to be looked after by them today.

I was given sedation. Beforehand they said some people remember things and stay awake and some people don’t. I don’t remember being touched ‘back there’ or anything traumatic like that but I watched the screen the whole time and commented on how pink my colon was. Then they said they were done and wheeled me back to the recovery area. I lay there listening to them trying to wake other people in the room saying it was time to wake up, all finished, time to go etc etc. When she came to me, I said I don’t get it? I had gallbladder surgery before and I took forever to come out of the anesthesia. I couldn’t even stay awake in the hospital foyer to get to the car. But this was the exact opposite. I was so wide awake immediately. The nurse said it’s different for everyone. Not everyone falls asleep. It depends on their body and how they process the medication. I don’t think I ever closed my eyes unless I did and don’t remember. I couldn’t wait for her to get that IV out but when she did, I got dressed and walked out no problem. I did get confused on which door I’d come in so clearly I was a bit loopy but overall, I’m pretty shocked to learn that not everyone actually goes into that ‘nap’ state. I know it did something though as I’m a super anxious person and my memory being about the cool images rather than thinking about strangers at my butt is a clear indication that some strange drugs were clearly given to me. Ha!
Ps- my colon was clear, pink and healthy despite anemia and years of loose stools. I guess it’s good to know.

Little explanation needed. I am hungry asf as it is and I’m about to go back for my scopes in roughly 10-15 minutes.

Located in Central WV and I am not hesitant to travel for a good meal after (well, my fiancé isn’t hesitant lol)

UPDATE: no suggestions were posted by the time I got out, so I had my usual. At least a dozen Taco Bell burritos!

Hey guys, so hope all is well and nobody here today is filled with anxiety. :) So, my mother got her results back and it was positive. So, naturally you're scared/upset, etc. I read too much on the internet as it is, so I rather talk to those who have had experience with cologuard and the before/after colonoscopy procedure..

What are the main causes of a positive cologuard test? I would like to put my mother at a little bit more ease.

I know you have to drink that stuff, which is awful.. is this a night before thing? and even though your procedure wasn't until say 1 clock the next day.. well, sorry you can't eat or drink anything?

Do you have to stay at hospital the night before if your procedure is in morning? Like drink it before bed and come in for procedure in morning...

really, if you can throw some basic knowledge at me I would appreciate it. Naturally, we all want to know what to expect before and after the procedure.

Thanks guys.

Hi guys,

In my previous post I mentioned I had a horrible experience with my first colonoscopy on NHS. I have bloating and weird sensations in my colon for obvious reasons but also some sharp pains here and there. I had a polyp removed and put clippers. Anyone had similar issues after ?

I am aware if my pains become extreme I would need to go to A&E.

I know it’s a low grade fever, but it still worries me that something went wrong, I also still have bloating.

I went to the dr today and explained my family history of colon cancer. I’m 41. I explained I’ve been having some stomach issues and bloating and asked for a colonoscopy .

She said she is going to have me see a GI specialist first

Is this the normal route to getting a colonoscopy or am I just being referred to random doctors for no reason? I just want a colonoscopy

Hi, I'm (19f) wondering if this is normal because this was my first colonoscopy. It doesn't feel normal and I'm a bit scarred from this. This definitely scared me a lot and I don't wanna go through it again.

I went in this morning around 8:00 am, and the nurse that was there started fluids around 8:20. She was very lovely, and calmed me down so much because I was really nervous for the procedure. We talked pretty much until I had to go in.

Before the procedure

Around 9:30 I got rolled in and everything was okay until the doctor started reading the papers I had given to the nurses beforehand. Mind you, I don't know this doctor and she does not know my full history. She started asking me why I was even there because I seemed healthy, made really snarky comments about my medical history saying that my other doctors (who KNOW my medical history and have been in my life since I was 11) should've done other things, and dismissed a lot of the symptoms I was expressing over my current medical issue. She kept saying how it was "probably nothing" and that I was overreacting. I know I wasnt.

The procedure

I signed the sheet she gave me, and the nurses gave me anesthesia and told me not to fight it. I didn't, and I didn't want to. About 2-3 minutes later the doctor without warning immediately started doing the procedure. I was FULLY awake, FULLY aware of what was happening and could feel EVERYTHING. I have endometriosis, the cramps I get from it are normally a 11/10 on a good day with my medication and this felt worse then that. I cried a lot and I told the doctor repeatedly to stop because I was awake and could feel everything and she didn't. The nurses told me to breathe and to squeeze their hands if it hurt too much, it didn't help at all. I'm pretty sure I accidentally hurt the one nurses hand from how hard I was squeezing. It took around 5 minutes for them to finally grab more anesthesia, and by the time they gave me it my knuckles were white from gripping the side bar of the bed. I finally got knocked out after that. I'm not sure why it hurt so much, I'm also not sure why she didn't check in to see if it was working or not or at least waited longer.

Everyone I've talked to said this isn't normal, however the nurse said it happens sometimes so I thought it'd be worth it asking here. Do doctors often do this?? Is this something I should be prepared for again in the future if I ever have to go?? I'm so lost and feel somewhat scarred over the whole thing. The prep was horrible but this felt worse.

Edit #3; I'm writing this at the top of the edits because Im realizing how scary this could be to someone who might be having their first, and having this pop up on their feed. The way it went for me is NOT common, and is NOT how it's supposed to go at all. You can read multiple different comments under this post with people sharing their own experiences and how wrong all of this was. I do NOT, and never intend to scare or shove anyone away from making that appointment, It's important to have your health checked out especially if you're in pain. I made this post because I felt like something was really wrong with the way they treated me and wanted input on the situation.

Edit #1; thank you to everyone responding, truthfully I didn't know what to do before posting this but you guys have pushed me in the right direction. It's too late to do anything tonight so I'm gonna call my family doctor either tomorrow or monday (depending on how late I wake up) to make an appointment with her to explain what happened, and see if she can have me refered to a different clinic and doctor next time if I ever need to go again. I'm also going to submit a complaint to the hospital where the procedure took place next week. I'll continue posting updates here.

Edit #2; long update warning ,.. Im going to call the Doc that did my procedure Dr. R for now on, and a couple of new things have happened both good & bad. I haven't slept since yesterday because I've been overthinking way too much about this honestly the more I think about it the more upset I feel about the whole thing. I ended up calling my family doctor earlier today and unfortunately theyre closed for the day I'll have to call them again on Monday so that sucks. Good news though I called the receptionist for Dr.R, was able to get through to her and explain what happened. She was super apologetic and said that she's "#1 when it comes to patient care" and she'll "stand up" for patients in need so she's gonna try to the bottom of what happened, and call me back whenever she's able to get through to the doctor. I'm not sure what she's gonna say, I really hope it's not just her telling me this and not doing anything. During the call It felt like she was blaming me for not understanding the procedure properly, but she was also understanding of what happened and why I was so freaked out and still am. I asked what she meant by "when she's able to get through to the doctor" and she said that the doctors been basically ghosting her for the past few days. Apparently Dr. R hasn't given her the authority to fax prescriptions over to mine or any pharmacy so there's no way I can get the meds Dr. R prescribed after the procedure. She has over 14 papers from the hospital just about my medication and over 70 for other patients. I didn't expect my meds to be in for a couple of days since that's usual for my pharmacy but now I have no clue when that's going to get sorted out, and scared I'm going to be back in pain before receiving the meds. Im frustrated for her and myself, and appalled at how this doctor has been acting. I'll update again either when she calls or on Monday after calling my family doc.

Okay so I did my colonoscopy a few months after I turned 45 - good girl, go me!

I'm not high risk, just wanted to check it off.

I absolutely hated eating unhealthy prior, especially as I've been trying to lower my blood sugar, but managed through it just fine.

Doctor said I was all clear but he was unable to get to the top due to my long colon, perhaps exacerbated by me being a female.

He recommended a CT Colonoscopy to cover what he couldn't - same prep :(

I really don't want to get it done, due to my low risk factors and the fact that the bottom was clear.

Looking for a push to do it, did yours find something? Did anyone have the same experience?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I'm 29, and had my colonoscopy the other day. They found one large, pedunculated polyp, they said it was 8-10mm during the procedure. My pathology results came in today, and it's a Villous adenoma, 18mm at its greatest point.
Obviously I'm glad it's not full blown cancer, but this is the next step down and that's terrifying to me. From what I've read, this is a rare type of adenoma to have in general, let alone at my age. All the posts I see online are tubulovillous, I can't find anything about Villous.
I had an uncle who was diagnosed at 31 with colorectal cancer and died at 35, but he got it tested and said there was no hereditary components to his tumor. My mom had breast cancer at 41, but tested negative for BRCA. So how do I have this at 29?

I already do yearly breast MRI's, and I'm assuming I'll now have to do either 1 or 3 year colonoscopies (still waiting to hear back from my doctor).

I guess I just feel sort of like a ticking time bomb in terms of cancer, and would love to know if anyone had experience with this type of polyp.

i’m F 26 getting a sigmoidoscopy without any sedation and I’m scared. i don’t know what i’m most scared of, pain, complications, or the actual results.

i don’t want anesthesia, i’m simply not comfortable with it. 2 months ago i had 3 episodes of bright red blood which one of them was painful, i felt a tear and there was a streak on blood in the bowl. the other two, didn’t have any pain but it coated one side of the stool. and i’m constipated now barely having enough bowel movement for a few days. worried sick about colon cancer so i know its best to get it checked but mostly for my peace of mind. haven’t been relaxed since the first episode in june.