Is colonoscopy painful?

When it comes to colonoscopy, many people feel that it will be painful, because a series of preparations should be done before the operation. So is a colonoscopy really that scary? Let’s take a look! Colonoscopy is a great test of the doctor's skills. If the doctor's skills are not good, it is easy to cause discomfort to the patient, because our intestinal structure is tortuous and difficult to inspect, so it is a great test of the doctor's skills. So is colonoscopy painful? Is colonoscopy painful? Colonoscopy is a diagnostic method used by doctors to examine the intestines and internal changes of the sigmoid colon. A colonoscope is a long, thin, flexible instrument with a diameter of about 1 cm. It is inserted into the duodenum through the anus and into the intestines, allowing the doctor to observe the internal conditions of the sigmoid colon and intestines. Initial colonoscopy was mostly used for quarantine certificates and was simpler than modern colonoscopy. Modern colonoscopes are often equipped with cameras and are longer in length, so they can detect diseases in greater depth. What is colonoscopy: Colonoscopy is a procedure that uses a flexible fiber tube about 140 cm long with a light source and a small electronic camera at the end to gradually enter the intestine from the anus to check for intestinal lesions, tumors or ulcers. If necessary, tissue testing or intestinal polyp removal can be performed. Which type of patients need to undergo this examination: 1. Lower gastrointestinal bleeding of unclear cause. 2. Unclear causes of intestinal dysfunction. 3. Low intestinal obstruction of unclear cause. 4. Suspected intestinal or caudal ileum tumor. 5. Intestinal polyps, tumor bleeding and other diseases require colonoscopy treatment. 6. Patients who need regular follow-up colonoscopy after sigmoid colon surgery or colonoscopy treatment. 7. Colorectal cancer survey. 8. Those who have colorectal cancer or cystadenoma in their extended family and need to undergo routine physical examinations. 9. Health checkup for people over 40 years old who have never had a colonoscopy. Preparation before examination: 1. The examination time will be assigned by the doctor. Inspection address: Hospital outpatient endoscopy room. 2. You need to prepare your stomach in advance for this test. 3. Three days before the examination, it is advisable to eat a semi-liquid diet with no residue or less residue, and avoid eating vegetables and fruits. If you suspect intestinal polyps and are preparing to undergo electroresection, you should avoid eating milk and dairy products. 4. Take 25ml of castor oil orally at 6:30am on the day of inspection, and avoid breakfast. Start taking the enema solution at 9:30 in the morning. Mix 1000ml of boiled water into each bag, and drink a total of 3000ml of enema solution within 130 minutes. If there is still fecal residue in the stool, you need to drink another 1000ml of colon cleansing solution until the excretion is cold water. If nausea, vomiting or vomiting occurs, the patient should inform the doctor or nursing staff and a cleansing enema should be given if necessary. 5. You can have meals at 2:00 p.m., but avoid eating liquid food. At around 3:00 p.m., the nurse will take you to the gastroscopy room of the hospital outpatient department. 30 minutes before the examination, the nurse will inject you with 10mg of stable saliva and 0.5mg of atropine to relieve the discomfort caused by the colonoscopy. 6. It is not suitable to bring electronic products such as mobile phones and BB machines into the gastroscopy room to avoid affecting the normal operation of the equipment. 7. Three days before the test, stop taking iron supplements and start eating semi-liquid or low-residue foods, such as fish, eggs, milk, beans, porridge, noodles, bread, bananas, winter melon, potatoes, etc. 8. If you take a laxative the night before the examination, you can take magnesium sulfate or mannitol orally the next morning and drink plenty of water. 9. If necessary, clean and wash the intestines 2 hours before the examination, and rest quietly 30 minutes before the examination. 10. As colonoscopy is an invasive examination and may cause complications, you should also sign for it when making a reservation. An examination form will be issued immediately after the colonoscopy. Some patients will need to wait a few days for a pathology report due to a puncture biopsy. 11. Patients with severe heart disease, heart failure, severe hypertension, acute diarrhea, severe ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease of the sigmoid colon, peritonitis, pregnancy, mental illness, or those who have undergone abdominal surgery and have significant adhesions are strictly prohibited from undergoing this examination. During the examination process, in order to understand the real-time condition of the stomach and intestines, the doctor will continue to inflate and vacuum the stomach as the colonoscope moves forward. There will be a feeling of bloating in the abdomen during inflation, and this pain is within an acceptable range. The colonoscope will go through three turns during the process. The first is the sigmoid colon area, the second is the splenic flexure where the descending colon turns into the transverse colon, and the third is the hepatic flexure where the transverse colon turns into the ascending colon. Going through these three turns is a great test for both doctors and patients. If the doctor is skilled and can easily go through these three turns, the patient will not feel much pain. However, if the doctor is not skilled, it will be a relatively painful thing. These three turns, from most painful to least painful, are the splenic flexure, sigmoid colon and hepatic flexure. In other words, the second one is the most painful. Passing the splenic flexure is the one that tests the doctor's attentiveness and technical skills the most. This turn usually takes a long time and requires more attempts from a technical point of view. Once you have passed the splenic flexure, the most difficult stage of colonoscopy is considered to be passed, and you should be able to handle the rest. There is no pain when you remove the mirror. 1. You should sleep on your left side with your knees bent. 2. The doctor will slowly insert the colonoscope through the anus and check the intestines for any changes. You may feel abdominal distension and a urge to urinate. You should take a deep breath to relax yourself. 3. The entire inspection process takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Common questions after the examination: 1. After taking a puncture biopsy or electrosurgical cystectomy, please stay in bed and rest. Do not exercise excessively within three days and do not undergo barium enema examination. After the electrocystectomy, the doctor will generally ask you to fast for three days and give you intravenous drips based on your condition. If there is no blood or pus in the stool and the condition is satisfactory, you can be admitted to the hospital. 2. In the early stage, due to the accumulation of gas in the intestines, you may feel abdominal distension and discomfort, but it will gradually subside after a few hours. If your abdominal distension is significant, you should inform your doctor or nurse, who will give you appropriate solutions. 3. If there is no special condition, you can eat normal food or follow the doctor's instructions. 4. If you experience persistent abdominal pain or excessive blood in your stool, you should inform your doctor immediately to prevent accidents. Frequently asked questions before inspection: 1. Smoking is strictly prohibited the day before inspection. 2. An adult relative or friend must be present during the operation. Remove removable dentures before the operation and women should remove makeup. (Gastroscopy) 3. Avoid eating spicy food within 24 hours and drinking alcohol within 12 hours after the examination. 4. You are not allowed to drive a motor vehicle, operate machinery or perform high-altitude operations within 24 hours after the inspection. 5. Check if the meals you had a few days ago are easy to digest and should be eaten with semi-liquid food such as rice porridge, and avoid foods containing dietary fiber. 6. Check the liquid foods such as millet soup, milk, and soy milk the day before, and check what you should not eat on the day. After reading the detailed answer to the question above about whether colonoscopy is painful, I believe that everyone has a certain understanding and knowledge of the process of colonoscopy and the common problems before and after the examination. Colonoscopy can effectively detect many diseases, such as intestinal diseases, tumors or intestinal cysts, etc. Therefore, if you feel uncomfortable, don't worry, follow the doctor's instructions, prepare for the colonoscopy, and cooperate with the doctor to reduce the pain.