This is my first reply on this site. Hope I am doing it correctly.
I have had two colonoscopies. The first was done with just enough Demerol (50 mg) to take the edge off, but not to obliterate my memory. The Doctor was very nice, and like some of the others I have read about here gave me the guided tour. I even saw where my appendix hooks in to my colon. He took a sample from my small intestine (to screen for lymphoma) and then removed a Polyp. When he did both, he said 'This will feel about like cutting youself Shaving' - which was very accurate. This only discomfort was some tough cramps when he went around the Hepatic Flexure. It was very interesting. I did not find it arousing though at the time - although thinking about it later did arouse (yes i am gay).
When I went for the second one I was chagrinned to learn that the doctor from the first had moved on, but I figured 'his old partner will be about the same'. What a mistake. He was pompous, didn't listen and obviously thought very highly of himself. It turned out I needed to have an upper endoscopy also. He agreed that we could do that with just Demarol. I arrived at the center and fille dout the paper work. Just for safety I agreed to an IV line, but fortunately I told everyone I did not want sedation. One thing in the paper work was a note about esophageal dilation - which I thought was some ancillary to the upper endoscopy, so I signed it. In the procedure room Dr. I'm so great hops in and was about to give me Versed. Thank God, the nurse said - wait, he wants to remeber this. So Doc says - 160 mg of Demarol. He sprays my throat and I swallow the scope, then things got hazy. I sort of remeber him working the scope control. Then I blacked out. Next thing I remember I sort of wake up[ with a really full feeling in my throat,a nd I hear 'Give him 40 more mg'. Finally I sort of wake up and he says "If you are still awake we are going to the colonoscopy". I don't rember much of that, I woke up fully just as the scope was being removed.
The 'esophageal dilation' came about because when a nurse asked me if I ever had trouble swallowing I said 'Once in a while'. No one explained it to me. It turnes out it involves a fairly large bulb being pushed down your throat to strecth the esophgus. I did sign the paper but I feel as if I did not give informed consent. To be fair it did cure the swallowing problem, but since it is associated with this jerk's behaviour it is hard to feel good about it, even a year later.
Needless to say the next day I called him and told him exactly what I thought. I was so angry I even demanded that he do the exams over (he of course refused), which probably would have been stupid, but it did drive home my point.
Main lesson - when I didn't feel good about my first visit with him I should have run, not walked! I later called the center and talked to the head nurse (I wanted to tell her how the nurse I had had stood up for me), and she told me she never allows sedation for her colonoscopies (they get them regularly as a benfit). She also said point blank - you should have walked when you realized what he was going to do - we would not have charged you.
Anyway that is my first post!