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Actually, I can tell you I did the sigmoidoscopy, and it wasn't that bad. The colonoscopy isn't bad either, so I have heard. It's way, way better than getting cancer.
Can't say anything about a sigmoidoscopy but I can speak to the colonoscopy. It's not bad at all. You're during the procedure given a drug cocktail that, if you could buy it on the street, would quickly become all the rage. Put differently, you get to enjoy the first 10 seconds of the procedure and then you wake up asking if they're done. An hour or so later, you go home.
Frankly, it was less "distressing" than a digital exam.
My wife, in contrast, found out that she could stay awake for it if she wanted to. She was curious, did stay awake and was fascinated by the things she saw. Unfortunately, she wouldn't shut up about it for three weeks afterward. The doctor did warn that there would be some pain/discomfort at times but he told her during the procedure when "the next few seconds are going to be uncomfortable", they were and she appreciated being warning about it.
Of all the medical procedures I've come to be familiar with (wisdom tooth removal, root canal, "full physical exam", surgical fracture reduction, broken baby toes, flu, head colds, cardiac stress tests), the colonoscopy rates toward the bottom of the list in terms of discomfort and after effects. Honest.
