This question comes up pretty regularly here. Respondents seem about equally divided between sedation and no sedation for a routine pouchoscopy. I prefer no sedation.

I've only had one.

No sedation. No choice.

Not comfortable but it doesn't last long.

If I had to again I'd go no sedation.

Richard.

I’ve had two with sedation.

However, my GI tells me, once he longer needs to perform an ileoscopy to examine  the takedown site, I can opt for no sedation for the pouchoscopy exam.

Sedation. Some of you were not alive or children back in the 1970s. At that time sedation was not given to children having colonoscopies. The rationale was sedation was not good for children and letting a child suffer was preferred.

I have had colonoscopies and pouchoscopies without sedation. An unsedated pouchoscopy is doable, but uncomfortable. A 1970s colonoscopy with the old rigid non-flexible scopes? Well I would like to see some of the posters here who tout no sedation endure that experience and then check back here. Fortunately however, that's a thing of the past. But the past does leave some unpleasant memories.

Had my first pouchoscopy a couple weeks ago and did no sedation. Took less than 5 minutes and was nice to just drive there and back to work quickly.

We’ve all had our fair share of pain/discomfort. This felt more like you had to poop and then it was over.

My first full colonoscopy (spell) when I was 40 in 1996 was done with no sedation was memorable.

The Dr actually asked me if I wanted to watch it in the screen. Nope. And he said it shouldn't be hurting. Ha. It did. And was so uncomfortable. Like he was mocking me.

That cruel what they did in the 70's.

Omgoodness.

I went in for my second scope. Same place. But I could hear people in other rooms getting it done. I put my clothes on and left. To find a Dr who sedated. One of the smartest things I did during my period of suffering.

He was my Dr no more. Nobody has to put up with that. Especially when it's just beginning   I was sick as a dog. And didn't know what the heck was going on.

Richard.

The 1970 rigid scopes didn't bend easily when inserted into the colon in a colonsocopy. The colon is shaped like a switchback road, it's a bunch of sharp turns. And when the rigid scopes navigates the turns, it doesn't bend. Rather, it pushes the wall of the bowel.

It was for this reason that what all of you now know as flexible scopes came into existence. GIs had had enough of hearing their unsedated patients screaming and yelling with each thrust forward of the rigid scope. All of you now have these soft flexible scopes stuck up your butts and into your J Pouches, but only due to the sacrifices we, your forefathers and foremothers, were forced to make. You may take a flexible scope and a relatively comfortable unsedated scope as for granted, and many in this thread have. However, it was only due to the great sacrifices of many others that you are having that experience. Myself among them as a young child who could only do what he was told and had no choice but to obey.

Endoscopy is generally from the mouth down.  Pouchoscopy or colonoscopy is from the bottom up.  I had a pouchoscopy a few weeks ago...it was easy, slightly uncomfortable but lasted all of about 3 minutes.

An endoscopy where they look at the esophagus and stomach is hard with the bite block in, the huge tube going down and the gag reflex in overdrive.  I want as much sedation as humanly possible for that one.

@CTBarrister posted:

The 1970 rigid scopes didn't bend easily when inserted into the colon in a colonsocopy. The colon is shaped like a switchback road, it's a bunch of sharp turns. And when the rigid scopes navigates the turns, it doesn't bend. Rather, it pushes the wall of the bowel.

It was for this reason that what all of you now know as flexible scopes came into existence. GIs had had enough of hearing their unsedated patients screaming and yelling with each thrust forward of the rigid scope. All of you now have these soft flexible scopes stuck up your butts and into your J Pouches, but only due to the sacrifices we, your forefathers and foremothers, were forced to make. You may take a flexible scope and a relatively comfortable unsedated scope as for granted, and many in this thread have. However, it was only due to the great sacrifices of many others that you are having that experience. Myself among them as a young child who could only do what he was told and had no choice but to obey.

Thank you!

@Sara Marie posted:

Thank you!

Your welcome! I should note that I have had IBD since age 9 and I am now 60 years old. In those 51 years, things have come a long way as far as making procedures comfortable for the IBD patient. There are only a few posters here (I know Jan Dollar was one) who were getting scoped in 1972, and I am glad we now have the choices that we do. Because back then, J pouches did not exist, flexible scopes did not exist, biologics did not exist, sedating children was not something that was done, and it was a much harsher world for the IBD patient.

@Jaypea posted:

Endoscopy is generally from the mouth down.  Pouchoscopy or colonoscopy is from the bottom up.  I had a pouchoscopy a few weeks ago...it was easy, slightly uncomfortable but lasted all of about 3 minutes.

An endoscopy where they look at the esophagus and stomach is hard with the bite block in, the huge tube going down and the gag reflex in overdrive.  I want as much sedation as humanly possible for that one.

I had a bronchoscopy a few years ago and generally it's done under general anesthesia.

Bronchoscopy is a completely different kettle of fish....you must be asleep as they are entering your airway and main stem bronchi.  It could not safely be completed while the patient was awake.

I’ve had a rigid sigmoidoscopy (I don’t think they ever went beyond the sigmoid colon with rigid scopes). It was certainly quite unpleasant, but it didn’t make me want sedation for a basic pouchoscopy. “Endoscopy” is a general term for a variety of scoping procedures (colon, larynx, esophagus/stomach, whatever). The term is sometimes used to specifically mean a scope of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, likely because the correct name (esophagogastroduodenoscopy, or EGD) is too ridiculous for most people to say, spell, or remember.