The little-discussed risks and side effects of colonoscopy screening and why, in some cases, people would do best to avoid them. If you must have one, how to minimize the dangers as much as possible and a safe alternative to consider as a logical middle ground.
March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month each year. At that time, the usual health experts trot out on TV and print media to urge us all to get a colonoscopy. The inherent risks of this reviled procedure especially for those over age 50 are usually conveniently glossed over in favor of an aggressive push about the benefits.
That “kick in the butt” might initially sound like a good idea. However, according to the Annals of Internal Medicine, the rate of serious complications from colonoscopy screening is ten times higher than any other commonly used cancer-screening test.
According to Konstantin Monastyrky, author of Fiber Menace:
The odds of being killed or injured by the side effects of colonoscopy may exceed your odds of getting colorectal cancer in the first place.
He further points out that the procedure is far from infallible. It often fails to catch colorectal cancer in the first place. In addition, it can cause, contribute to or accelerate the growth of colorectal and other cancers.
Let’s go into each of these colonoscopy risks in detail.
Dysbiosis
Intestinal flora is disrupted by a colonoscopy because the procedure requires a thorough washing out of the large intestine with large doses of synthetic laxatives. This is followed by bowel irrigation with polyethylene glycol and hypertonic electrolytes.
These substances kill bacteria, both good and bad just like antibiotics. The gut dysbiosis that inevitably follows contributes to irregularity, constipation, colitis, IBS, Crohn’s, and other diseases known to increase colon cancer risk. Dysbiosis also contributes to a wide range of other autoimmune health problems.
Worsening of Stool Patterns
Those already affected by hemorrhoids, chronic constipation, IBS, or diverticulosis may find these conditions become worse after colonoscopy.
Complications
Serious complications, such as colon perforation, occur in five out of every one thousand colonoscopies.
The risks of delayed bleeding, infection, and ulceration are even higher. Unfortunately, reporting of these complications in connection with colonoscopy is rare.
Increased Risks of Stroke, Heart Attack, and Pulmonary Embolisms
Dangerous blood clotting is a side effect of anesthesia, particularly among patients with diabetes or heart disease.
Infections
Procedures performed under anesthesia are associated with an increased risk of serious infections. This includes pneumonia or pyelonephritis.
False Sense of Security
Doctors miss from 15-27 percent of polyps, including six percent of large tumors. The New England Journal of Medicine even reported that some doctors blast through the colonoscopy so fast they miss cancer in full bloom!
Indeed, the desire for speed is why most colonoscopies today are done under anesthesia. Might there be a profit motive? Some doctors do 60 colonoscopies per day at an average cost of $1,500 to $2000 each. You do the math.
Colonoscopy Alternative
Many people do not realize that you can order an at-home colorectal screening kit to avoid most colonoscopies. They are inexpensive, safe, and convenient. Blood, polyps, and other abnormalities are quickly detected by using a simple stool sample. Results are available fast with lab accurate results.
If you have a positive result from one of these home tests, then go get a colonoscopy. But, in most cases, you will get a negative result, saving you the discomfort and risks of the actual colorectal screening.
Ways to Manage Colonoscopy Risks
Here are a few suggestions about how to increase the level of safety and accuracy in the screening for colon cancer.
- Those with a family history of colon cancer or otherwise at high risk probably should do a colonoscopy. But it is best to request to have it done without general anesthesia. That’s where the majority of the risks are. Some doctors offer inhalation sedation as a safer alternative. Doctors who prefer knocking the patient out use this approach so they can ‘jam’ through the colon much faster. Billing for anesthesiology increases revenues for the hospital too.
- Doing radiography first is pointless. The reason? If they find some polyps, you will still need to have a colonoscopy. Besides, you don’t want all that huge exposure to ionizing radiation.
- If you do decide to go through with a colonoscopy, at least prepare with clear broth you make yourself. Commercial brands at the store are not nutritious and contain unhealthy additives and MSG. Exposure to these chemicals can potentially make digestive issues worse and recovery more difficult.
- After the colonoscopy, follow this protocol to rebuild gut flora. It is the same process recommended by experts after a round of antibiotics.
More reasons for me to give my doctor about why I don’t really want this test!
I once knew a legal secretary. She was a very nice and kind lady, who sang beautifully in the quire in her church. She only had good to say about anyone. She had a father who was in his early eighties, and he was in good health. He never saw doctors. She worried about his health, and persuaded him to get a checkup. After the checkup, his doctor called her and said she had to persuade him to have a colonoscopy, because her father had never had one. It took her months to persuade her dad to have the procedure, as he was afraid of it, but she did.
After the colonoscopy, his health deteriorated, and he was dead in two months.
@ Stanley: This is almost word for word what happened to my Dad except he was in his early 90’s. He grew up without doctors (on a farm about 70 miles from the nearest town with a doctor) and was absolutely the most healthy person I’ve ever known. When he applied for life insurance the company required him to have a colonoscopy. Inside of 6 weeks he was dead. And the doctor(s) told the insurance company that he had colon cancer and that’s what was also put onto his death certificate. They literally buried their lies. My family knew for a fact he had no colon cancer or any other problems.
Allopathic meddling causes more problems than they’ll ever solve. WHY would a healthy person really even want one of these? It’s like taking a well baby to a doctor appointment and then the doctor uses it as an excuse to vaccinate. He deeply damages the emerging immune system of the baby, but doesn’t care as long as he’s following the modern medical code. It’s beyond disgraceful.
I have a friend, whom I’ve known since high school and that was eons ago, who is a nurse in a clinic which does only colonoscopies, and she’s been there for at least 25 years if not more. The clinic is affiliated with Mayo Clinic. She told me recently that if you cannot actually SEE blood in your stool, don’t worry about your intestinal/colon health. She also said the doctors play the genetic/family association card almost 100% of the time, and that’s an inaccurate picture. YOU are not your father or mother or sister or brother. Also, she said if you DO have problems try to find something alternative to treat it, and never use chemo, surgery, radiation or any of the myriad drugs prescribed for this. She’s been keeping track for a long time, and her patients who do NOT follow allopathics do much better and live much longer. Imagine that.
Read about the Natural Allopathic cancer regimines recommended by Dr. Mark Sircus. That will give you a good place to start looking.
Ooops. Typo. That should be early 70’s not early 90’s. Sorry!
so far a colonoscapy has cost me a year of my life. By the time they fix ALL the complications of what they did after the discovey of 1 small polyp less than 2 cm inside the rectum it will have cost medicaid a quarter million dollars & I may never be the same again….Now a doctor wants to use a simular proceedure on my uterous & I cant bring myself to face any more pain.
@Bob, your doctors are right. You are, unfortunately, in a high-risk group, and you should be screened. Just find a good doctor to do this procedure, and follow the links recommended by Dr. Daniel.
No way am I ever letting someone stick a tube up my butt! ugh! Sorry I’ll take my “chances”!
@Rebekah: Dr. Daniel’s article doesn’t overstate anything, but simply states that there are risks associated with screening colonoscopies, and this conclusion is based on academic research, coming from the doctors who perform these procedures in the first place.
Wow! You don’t know how useful this is to me right now. The doctors have been urging me to get a Colonoscopy because of my extensive family history (Grandfather died at 52, Dad at 53!!). It’s good to know about the anesthetic because I definitely understand the need to get this done. I will say that I keep myself rather healthy – its one piece of the motivation to keep myself extremely healthy (to live a longer life than Dad & Granddad!).
Thanks so much for this info
Sarah Couture Pope … PhD or no, this article overstates the dangers of colonoscopies.
Joan Clifton Coldiron This post was written by a PhD.
Written by a PhD? Okay, so she has a PhD from an online unversity in ‘Nutrition Studies and Anti-Aging Therapies.’ Doesn’t sound a like a reputable field of study, more like a make-up-your-own PhD and get someone to grant you a doctorate. And why should we take her seriously knowing this and when most of her inforamation looks very similar, in both organization and content, from information on Konstantin Monastyrsky’s website?
There are several points in this article that are valid. However, being a GI rep for the past 5 years, several things mentioned above are just false.
1. There is not 1 gastroenterologist in the US that performs 60 colonoscopies per day…not even close. In fact, those that do 20-25 per day are looked down upon by their colleagues. Not sure where this number came from but it is so far off. Physically speaking, it would be impossible to perform 60 colonoscopies per day as a physician. The national average is 10-12 per day.
2. There are risks with all medical procedures. However, colonoscopy continues to be the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening. With new technology coming every year, the adenoma detection rate will continue to move in a positive direction via colonoscopy.
@JH: These figures came out from the article in Las Vegas Sun dated March 9, 2008 and entitled: “Assembly-line colonoscopies at clinic described:”
“She ran three rooms where a total of 30 procedures a day were done, at the most. Desai was doing 60 procedures in two rooms – a pace that McGregor said compromised patient safety.”