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"Colonoscopy"

About: Grantham & District Hospital / Gastroenterology

(as a service user),

I was scheduled for a colonoscopy 2 weeks ago, and after isolating, drinking 2 litres of the most noxious substance (movilab) and spending hours on the toilet, I was sent home without having it done, as my blood pressure was too high.

I was devastated.

So having it rebooked, I insisted on a different laxative (after my own research) I asked to have citrafleet which is slightly less unpleasant to take and less volume.

I arrived for the procedure and a different doctor agreed to proceed as long as my bp did not increase, thank god (it was just as high as the previous time).

The whole procedure was extremely painful throughout, despite gas and air and sedative and buscopan through the cannula.

I have now been told I need a virtual colonoscopy to establish if any polyps are present.  I am terrified.

The information provided for the colonoscopy states that it “may be uncomfortable “ as does the information about a virtual colonoscopy.  I have no confidence that this is the case and am terrified of experiencing pain like before.

I am reluctant now to go to my gp with any problem in case I get referred for any investigation.

This is in no way a criticism of the staff, who were very caring throughout. I think it is wrong to say procedures can be “uncomfortable “ if there is any chance that it will be very painful.  We need to be aware, and there should be a way to alleviate ANY pain.

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Responses

Response from Elizabeth Withers, Sister, Endoscopy, Grantham Hospital 3 years ago
Elizabeth Withers
Sister, Endoscopy,
Grantham Hospital
Submitted on 14/04/2022 at 11:21
Published on Care Opinion at 11:21


Dear Sue65

I am sorry to hear that your experience has left you feeling this way, if you would like to contact me directly to discuss please do get in touch using my contact details below.

It was unfortunate that we had to cancel your procedure due to your blood pressure, I do appreciate that this is very frustrating and upsetting when you have gone through the bowel preparation and made arrangements for the day. The clinician on the day would have made this decision in the interests of your safety to undergo the procedure as the risk of complications can increase if the blood pressure is too high.

In relation to the level of pain that you experienced, I can understand how this has caused you great anxiety in relation to future tests. Fortunately the majority of patients do find the pain relief offered controls their level of pain well and remain fairly comfortable throughout. We do audit this on a regular basis as we want our patients to have a positive experience and so are very sorry to hear that this was not the case for you. Again I would reiterate that you make contact with me so that I can discuss and investigate for you to ensure that you have a much more positive experience in the future.

Kind Regards

Liz

Elizabeth Withers

Endoscopy sister

Endoscopy Unit Grantham Hospital

101 Manthorpe Road

Grantham

NG31 8DG

01476 565232 ext 464085/464181

Elizabeth.withers@ulh.nhs.uk

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