“Most of the time, you’ll go through the procedure like, ‘Oh my God, was that it?’” Ladabaum says. “The sedation is so good and the recovery is not a big deal. And people are like, ‘Wow, I worried more than I needed to.’”
It’s just another day at the office for your doctor
Patients are often embarrassed by the nature of the exam, Jonnalagadda says. But it helps to remember that your doctor is a medical professional who has done hundreds or thousands of colonoscopies.
“I say, ‘We do this all morning and all afternoon in here,’” May says. Everyone, at some point, should be screened for colorectal cancer, she adds, and the procedure, while it might feel awkward, is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
Don’t feel bad if you’ve put it off—just do it
If you’ve delayed your colonoscopy, try to get back on track as soon as possible, Ladabaum says.
“Number one: don’t feel guilty about it. Number two: don’t freak out. Number three: don’t get the wrong message, which is, ‘Oh, I don’t need it,’” he says. “The whole point of screening is we are looking for disease when it’s not symptomatic to try to prevent bad things from happening.”