Bowel Screening

PhilW1

As I'm 55 now I had the letter inviting me to have a routine bowel scan offered to all 55 year olds. I was a bit sceptical because it involved giving yourself an enema and having a camera crew up your jacksee . Anyway decided to go and to honest it was all ok, including the results.
What amazed me is a lot of men don't bother because of the embarresment and 'indignity'. Now I've just sat in a room of men, 3 of whom would have given anything to have had their problems caught earlier and maybe changed the course of their illness for the better.
Honestly get checked if you have the choice, the worst thing about it and what hurt like fuck was the parking charges.

VimFuego

things like this are embarrassing for sure, but the loss of dignity from this procedure is nothing compared to the loss of dignity you will feel following major surgery. Kudos for going through with it. 

EricTheWeary

Ooh, I'll be 55 this year. Something to look forward to. Given the indignaties my son has had to go through with his bowel issues I can't really say no. 

munckee

PhilW1 said:

As I'm 55 now I had the letter inviting me to have a routine bowel scan offered to all 55 year olds. I was a bit sceptical because it involved giving yourself an enema and having a camera crew up your jacksee . Anyway decided to go and to honest it was all ok, including the results.
What amazed me is a lot of men don't bother because of the embarresment and 'indignity'. Now I've just sat in a room of men, 3 of whom would have given anything to have had their problems caught earlier and maybe changed the course of their illness for the better.
Honestly get checked if you have the choice, the worst thing about it and what hurt like fuck was the parking charges.

Did you like it a little bit : )

Blueingreen

In Scotland at least one of the good things is they've recently simplified this quite a bit, without going into unpleasant detail what you were expected to do was much more of a faff before now it's easy peasy, no excuse for not doing it.

revsorg

Ahhh....  I'm 55 in a few weeks time.   So it seems that the thrill of access to my pension and therefore a new Helix will be offset by someone inspecting my back passage.

FarleyUK

I had a full on colonoscopy about a year ago after some symptoms (I was 38). Was meant to be just part of the large bowel that was checked, but they decided I could take it (without any pain killers or numbing stuff), so gave me the Full Works.

Was quite bizarre - worst thing was the bloody prep for it, and drinking that vile liquid to make you empty your bowels. Not nice.

However, once it was done, I was glad I got checked (thankfully all clear, including multiple biopsies). Was sore at a couple fo points, but glad I had it done. Plus, I got to see inside my bowels on the TV! I remember the person doing the colonoscopy showing me on the camera where it was, by having me press down on my stomach with a finger - and you could see it on the TV!

Reverend

I had fentanyl and it was fine.

This was for Diverticulitis. 

PhilW1

munckee said:

PhilW1 said:

As I'm 55 now I had the letter inviting me to have a routine bowel scan offered to all 55 year olds. I was a bit sceptical because it involved giving yourself an enema and having a camera crew up your jacksee . Anyway decided to go and to honest it was all ok, including the results.
What amazed me is a lot of men don't bother because of the embarresment and 'indignity'. Now I've just sat in a room of men, 3 of whom would have given anything to have had their problems caught earlier and maybe changed the course of their illness for the better.
Honestly get checked if you have the choice, the worst thing about it and what hurt like fuck was the parking charges.

Did you like it a little bit : )

haha....weeellll..not saying

boogieman

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit severy two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

PhilW1

boogieman said:

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit severy two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

That kit takes over from the screening when you hit 60 apparently.
 You should ask your doctor to do a prostate exam next time your there, (its only a small poke and over in seconds!) .

Honestly do it ,you will either get a red face and a clean bill of health or catch something early and save you and yours a lot of suffering.

boogieman

PhilW1 said:

boogieman said:

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit severy two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

That kit takes over from the screening when you hit 60 apparently.
 You should ask your doctor to do a prostate exam next time your there, (its only a small poke and over in seconds!) .

Honestly do it ,you will either get a red face and a clean bill of health or catch something early and save you and yours a lot of suffering

“Next time I’m there” could well be the issue. I’ve been with my GP since 2012, when I moved in with my wife. I’ve only visited the surgery twice in all that time, I’m sickeningly healthy. Actually I think I only went to my previous GP a couple of times in 20 odd years too. 

PhilW1

boogieman said:

PhilW1 said:

boogieman said:

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit severy two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

That kit takes over from the screening when you hit 60 apparently.
 You should ask your doctor to do a prostate exam next time your there, (its only a small poke and over in seconds!) .

Honestly do it ,you will either get a red face and a clean bill of health or catch something early and save you and yours a lot of suffering

“Next time I’m there” could well be the issue. I’ve been with my GP since 2012, when I moved in with my wife. I’ve only visited the surgery twice in all that time, I’m sickeningly healthy. Actually I think I only went to my previous GP a couple of times in 20 odd years too. 

In that case I'd stick to what your doing, it seems to be working. I never used to go and was fine until they got me on the Mens Health(?) scheme, now its always something, high blood pressure , wrong diet, cholesterol, obese-I'm 6foot and 13.5 stone.
 just keep an eye on the flow

There is a good post on here today about Prostate exams too

CloudNine

FarleyUK said:

I had a full on colonoscopy about a year ago after some symptoms (I was 38). Was meant to be just part of the large bowel that was checked, but they decided I could take it (without any pain killers or numbing stuff), so gave me the Full Works.

So, aside from the excellent post by the OP, which is reassuring to those people heading for an imminent bumspection, we have also learned that Farley has an arse like the Mersey Tunnel.

WiresDreamDisasters

boogieman said:

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit severy two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

I'll do it. Send me a PM.

Funkfingers

boogieman said:

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit every two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

I seem to have reached the age of fifty six without being offered any such test. (My local health authority offers a self-sampling kit to sixty-year-olds.) The nearest I ever got to prostate testing was phlebotomy about fifteen years ago. Apparently, there is some sort of indicator for predisposition to the condition. They did not find it.

boogieman

WiresDreamDisasters said:

boogieman said:

I’ve never been offered it. I’m 64, maybe it wasn’t a thing when I reached 55? Never been offered a prostate exam either, so either my health authority don’t do them or I’ve slipped through the net due to my age. I do get the bowel cancer diy screening kit severy two years though, it’s easier the second time when you’ve honed your technique. 

I'll do it. Send me a PM.

Not after last time matey. 

Philly_Q

@PhilW1 It so happens that I turned 55 yesterday (along with our friend Boris Johnson) and I've been reading up on this screening process, partly inspired by the prostate thread this week.

Just wondering, how soon after you hit 55 did they contact you?

(And when you say you just sat in a room of men, you don't all witness each others' jacksie examinations and hear each others' results, do you?)

PhilW1

Philly_Q said:

@PhilW1 It so happens that I turned 55 yesterday (along with our friend Boris Johnson) and I've been reading up on this screening process, partly inspired by the prostate thread this week.

Just wondering, how soon after you hit 55 did they contact you?

(And when you say you just sat in a room of men, you don't all witness each others' jacksie examinations and hear each others' results, do you?)

It was about 8 months later and no ,it was just a waiting room, although it was a pretty cramped small room and we
 all had those ”dignity “ trousers and back to front gowns on.
 My trousers had a gaping hole in them and all me bits were hanging out, turns out this wasn’t normal but they were ripped!
It was quite a good laugh considering, everyone joking about   the situation.

Philly_Q

PhilW1 said:

Philly_Q said:

@PhilW1 It so happens that I turned 55 yesterday (along with our friend Boris Johnson) and I've been reading up on this screening process, partly inspired by the prostate thread this week.

Just wondering, how soon after you hit 55 did they contact you?

(And when you say you just sat in a room of men, you don't all witness each others' jacksie examinations and hear each others' results, do you?)

It was about 8 months later and no ,it was just a waiting room, although it was a pretty cramped small room and we
 all had those ”dignity “ trousers and back to front gowns on.
 My trousers had a gaping hole in them and all me bits were hanging out, turns out this wasn’t normal but they were ripped!
It was quite a good laugh considering, everyone joking about   the situation.

Thanks!  I'll just have to hope I don't get the ripped trousers...

Funkfingers

I like that this forum simultaneously has this Discussion and another one titled Finger Protectors.