I am writing to you from my hotel room in the city.
I am alone.
I am nervous.
I am STARVING!
Last Friday I got the ominous envelope in my mail. Colonoscopy time!
I suppose having only a week's notice is better than knowing for a month or two. Less time to dread it.
I am nervous because the last time I had mine (Dec 2012), I learned that sedation in this hospital meant CONSCIOUS sedation (awake for the procedure with the video feed a foot from your face) as opposed to asleep sedation like I had the first time where I went night night.
Not knowing what conscious sedation really meant was a bit of a shock and I admit to crying in front of my specialist and her 14 year old (ok probably 24) intern/resident.
I feel more informed this time.
After the IV fiasco earlier this year (the bruising and sore hand lasted a month and they never got the IV in. I am really anxious about the IV this time. I know to ask for the O2 through the nasal hook up thingie as I had a bit of a panic attack when they tried to
The cost is....pardon the pun....a pain in the ass.
A hotel room is required because the prep drink from hell they make you take requires a bathroom immediately close by. Driving 90 min is just not going to work. Hotels are expensive! And all I am doing is watching TV and running to the bathroom, and then hopefully sleeping.
I can't drive. Sedative prohibits it, so I can't drive myself down. DH did. Fuel costs.
DH can't get all of tomorrow off work, so he had to drive home, work tomorrow morning, then drive back to get me. More fuel costs.
Since I am at the hotel alone I will have to take a cab in the morning to the hospital. No clue what that will cost. Haven't taken a cab in years. Added to that, the bridge which connects directly to where the hospital is, is under construction, so the cab will have to take a longer route.
DH will have to pay for parking when he arrives tomorrow afternoon. My how parking costs here! If there is even a spot available (They are under construction so at least half the parking spaces are out of commission).
I will have some answers tomorrow. How bad is my colon? What is our next step for medication? She was talking Remicade or Humira since the steroids aren't getting me fully into remission.
So this is definitely unplanned, unfun, but necessary expenses. I could think of better ways to spend my cash.
My expenses last time were $280.99. Click here for the whole sordid story.
This time:
Hotel (right now quoted at $159 plus tax and 'hospitality fees'. That is with the hospital discount.)
Prep drink: $25
Juice, ginger ale, water $15
Cab: TBA
Fuel Costs Thurs: $48
Fuel Costs Fri:
Parking Costs Fri:
Curious - For those outside of Canada.....what is the approximate cost of having a colonoscopy?
5 comments:
If you're a difficult IV start, let the nurses know, ask if they could give you a warm blanket a few minutes before they start the IV. wrap the warm blanket around your arm, from just above your elbow down to your fingers, and let your arm hang down at least lower than heart level. It often helps puff up your veins, and can make getting IV easier for you. Hope all goes well!
I am so sorry! I get very anxious as well. The best thing for nausea after sedation is Zofran. It is expensive though - make sure your insurance covers it. They give it to cancer patients. Whenever I do surgery, I have them start it in the IV drip BEFORE surgery, then I take pill after. No nausea whatsoever.
I hope the news is good!
Hope you will be through with it in no time and without any pain or difficulty. If you have bad veins, asking for a blooddrawing nurse from the lab is what I do. I tell them I have extremely problematic veins and I ask for a nurse from the lab. They almost always comply with my request.
Never had a clonoscopy and I hope to never have one but, the cost varies in this country.
If you have some form of social security and choose to go to a state owned hospital or at least to a hospital where they have an agreement with the Ministry of Health, the cost is minimal or non-existent.
If you choose to have that with your private health insurance, it is usually 10-20% of the total cost. There are discounts available to private insurance companies so, you may walk out with paying only 20-80 USD.
If you have only Social Security but, no private health insurance and still want to go to a private hospital, God help you! It can be between 200 USD-1000 USD depending on the fanciness (is that a word?) of the hospital.
oh my goodness, that all sounds just awful. The anticipation, the process, all of it. I hope everything goes as smooth as possible!
I'm glad you didn't have to stew about the colonoscopy for a long time. I was so happy when I got the call about an MRI cancellation and didn't have to wait a long time - I'm a bit claustrophobic and wasn't sure how I'd manage, but it was OK. Sounds like you have your ducks in a row as far as requesting what you need this time. I think I'd want to be totally OUT for that procedure. Good luck and hope all goes smoothly!
Post a Comment