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How to Get a Colonoscopy

2019-03-22 · explainer · Hank · 7:44 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health (also: Personal life) · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: heavy topic

Hank, who has ulcerative colitis, walks viewers through getting a colonoscopy (diet a week ahead, the prep drink, the propofol procedure, what results mean, the ride home) and films his own; he hopes the frank video leads more people to screen for colon cancer.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Hank's ulcerative colitis, why he gets colonoscopies, and the colonoscope

  • ★★ Hank says he has ulcerative colitis. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank describes ulcerative colitis as a chronic, so far incurable disease in which the immune system attacks the colon, causing diarrhea, bleeding, pain, fatigue, weight loss and eventually death. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says severe ulcerative colitis can be cured by removing the colon, but that brings its own difficulties. — 00:00:26
  • ★★ Hank says ulcerative colitis raises the chances of colon cancer and other diseases, so the colon must be watched with an endoscope. — 00:00:26

00:01:25 — How to get a colonoscopy: diet, prep drink, the day before, the procedure, results and recovery

  • ★★ Hank says this is maybe his third or fourth colonoscopy; not remembering suggests it is no longer a big deal for him. (hedged) — 00:01:25
  • ★★★ Hank says that with luck everybody gets several colonoscopies, so it is worth knowing about the process before a doctor brings it up. — 00:01:25
  • ★★★ Hank advises avoiding nuts, corn and seeds for about a week beforehand, because they lodge in the colon and worry the doctor. — 00:01:54
  • ★★★ Hank's main tip for the prep drink, which came with a zero-dollar copay: refrigerate it for at least 12 hours the night before, because you don't want to drink it warm. — 00:02:23
  • ★★ Hank says a sip of Coke helps with nausea; clear or green liquids are fine but no red liquids the day before, since red looks like blood; Benadryl can help too. — 00:02:48
  • ★★ Hank says you cannot eat anything the day before the procedure, and the prep will make you poop a lot, so get baby wipes and A&D ointment. — 00:02:48
  • ★★ Hank advises taking much of the prep day off and doing something enjoyable and low-annoyance, like a new project or a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation. — 00:03:40
  • ★★ Hank says people call the prep hell; he finds it no fun but bad only because the procedure itself is now almost nothing. — 00:04:10
  • ★★ Hank says patients are put under with propofol; you can ask to be awake, but staff won't offer that option themselves. — 00:04:10
  • ★★★ Hank says more than half of colonoscopies involve a biopsy or polyp removal, which is normal; the vast majority of polyps are non-cancerous, and finding cancerous ones is the point. — 00:04:10
  • ★★ Hank says the vast majority of polyps are non-cancerous, but finding cancerous or precancerous growths is why you get the colonoscopy. — 00:04:39
  • ★★ Hank says you need someone to drive you home since you'll be on propofol, which wears off fairly quickly, and to talk to your doctor if things seem off afterward. — 00:04:39

00:05:37 — Hank's own prep and trip to the endoscopy clinic

  • ★★ Hank says the prep drink is about a gallon, drunk in two sittings of two hours each. — 00:05:37
  • ★★ Hank says the gut is about 30 feet long and the prep takes about an hour to pass through, which is only 0.0056 miles per hour. (playful) — 00:05:37
  • ★★ During his prep Hank did a surprising amount of online shopping and tells Katherine he bought a bunch of shirts, possibly from bad decision-making. (playful, hedged) — 00:06:17 · Katherine Green
  • ★★ With his IV in at the endoscopy clinic, Hank says he is a little nervous, as expected, and everyone is very nice. — 00:06:17
  • ★ Hank names his doctor (Aaron Stone, as heard), jokes he could have studied stones, and says they must have used the extra smooth insertion scopes from Olympus. (playful, speculative) — 00:06:55
  • ★★★ Editing on the Friday of his colonoscopy, Hank says the video is at least educational and hopefully leads more people to screen for colon cancer, which is why it runs over four minutes. (hedged) — 00:06:55 · Four-minute rule

00:07:05 — Editing on Friday: the video is long to encourage colon cancer screening; sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says Hank talks about his routine procedure to remove stigma, give advice and make clear that preventative medicine is important. — video description
  • ★★ The description says the procedure went great, Katherine filmed him being a dork, and he still has moderate inflammation in his distal colon, normal for him but worth treating. — video description · Katherine Green
  • ★★ For other people with IBD, Hank says he currently takes mesalamine, an anti-inflammatory, and allopurinol, an immunomodulator. — video description
  • ★★ Hank says he was diagnosed in 2005 and, after first getting it under control, has had mild, moderate or no symptoms on and off since. — video description
  • ★★★ Hank says IBD isn't the only reason for a colonoscopy: everyone should get one on their 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays, unless a risk factor calls for more. — video description
  • ★★ Hank's only advice: treat yourself well on prep day, expect not to do much, and know that you can do it. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Hank says it's important to keep an eye on the colon. — 00:00:26

    “And by eye, I mean endoscope.”

  • The colonoscope's listed key benefit is 'smoother and more comfortable insertion'. — 00:00:55

    “So I hope they've got that one in my hospital.”

  • A doctor spots something alarming in the colon that won't wash away with the water gun. — 00:01:54

    “But then it's like, I was a sesame seed the whole time.”

  • The prep makes you feel like a rocket on a launch pad. — 00:03:14

    “except it's not like combusted rocket fuel coming out of you.”

  • Every colonoscopy ends in massive farts because they inflate your colon. — 00:04:39

    “I am one with the wind in the sky.”

  • Hank signs off to viewers who are doing their prep right now. — 00:06:55

    “I hope everything comes out okay.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: colonoscopy · ulcerative colitis (concept)

Also: People: Katherine Green

Works: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Organizations: Olympus Corporation

Rituals: Four-minute rule

Concepts: colorectal cancer · preventive healthcare · propofol · Toilet paper

Products: Benadryl · Coca-Cola

Only in the description or credits: allopurinol · Inflammatory bowel disease · mesalamine · social stigma

Also centred on ulcerative colitis (concept): Health Care Reform: The Hank Factor · The 1200% Increase in my Prescription Drug Costs · Your Illness is Not Your Fault · The Sudden Obliteration of Expectation

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