The researchers found that allowing patients to push a button and receive more pain medication did not lead to them having any less pain overall than patients who were given more pain medication by the doctor. Both groups of patients used the same amount of medication. Although there was some concern about the safety of allowing patients to give themselves more medication, both groups tolerated the colonoscopy equally well. Michael Pignone, MD, MPH, tells WebMD that he thinks standard sedation is probably adequate, and that is why there was no benefit to allowing patients to give themselves more pain medication. Pignone, an associate professor in the division of internal medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, was not a part of the Israeli study.
Patients are generally awake for it, but sedation is usually used to relieve the discomfort.
Tenn. Ever since Today Show host Katie Couric televised her own colonoscopy, interest in the procedure has risen. However, colonoscopy isn't the only way to screen for this disease, and it may not be needed by everyone. In previous research, Pignone found that the more informed patients are about the examinations and the disease, the more likely they are to get early screening. According to the American Cancer Society, everyone should get an FOBT and a flexible sigmoidoscopy at age 50. If the results are normal, the FOBT should be repeated annually and the sigmoidoscopy every five years.