Photo by Fred Kearney on Unsplash

When too much of a good thing is bad

How the solution can be the problem

I had a routine colonoscopy last week. When a family member has had colon cancer, that automatically puts a watch point on the entire family. As a precaution, we must now have a colonoscopy every 5-10 years for the rest of our lives.

The procedure itself went fine. Unfortunately, the anesthesia administered was too much.

Normally, a patient is supposed to sleep through the procedure and just be groggy and tired for a few hours afterward.

Not me.

I woke up halfway through the procedure lying sideways on the table. The doctor and her staff were surprised when I began asking questions while viewing the monitor and watching the scope travel through my…um…internal organ.

It was not a comfortable experience.

In the recovery room, my blood pressure dropped dramatically. It felt like I had been spun on a merry-go-round. I was so dizzy, I felt like throwing up. Because I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours and had to completely empty my colon the day before, there was literally nothing in my digestive system to expel — in either direction.

At home, I slept for the next 16 hours. It was not a good thing. It took two days to feel like myself again.