They offered sedation or gas and air though.
I went for gas and air as it meant I didn’t need anyone to come pick me up and I could go home straight after.
Honestly the prep is the worst part.
For myself and many others, it's not really about the pain (supposedly there is little to none), it's just the unsettling thought of that scope so far up one's...
I was sedated with Propofol and that seemed to be routine in the facility I went to. It was a white fluid that came in through an IV. I remember saying to the nurse as I saw the propfol going in "that tingles..." and she said "that's normal", but it seemed to me that she said her answer before I finished saying "tingles", then a herringbone pattern visual from my tightly shut eyes, then nothing, and I woke as I was being wheeled out to the recovery area and felt no grogginess at all, seemed that only a couple seconds had elapsed from the time I saw the propfol (it was 20 minutes). Powerful drug.
I wonder if I just passed out mid-sentence?
The last one the doc doing the colonoscopy was training (under supervision) and kept not making the turn, that was somewhat painful but generally yeah they aren't very painful (for me, ymmv etc).
The nurses were very uncomfortable with the whole thing, the doctor had to come in and assure them it was fine. Since it was preventative I didn’t save any money by forgoing anesthesia (I HATE anesthesia, and my mother had had psychotic episodes after coming out of anesthesia, so I’m cautious). The whole procedure was fast and it was interesting to be awake.
So I went for the simpler option.
Not to mention the follow up bill from the out of network anesthesiologist.