Over the last 12 hours, I drank…
September 2nd
Sorry for the clickbait title, but hear me out, please.
…five liters of water with a soluble powder to prepare me for a gastrointestinal medical examination. I haven't eaten anything over that period, and in the morning I checked and found out that I lost 3 kilos off my body weight in that time. It was an extremely unpleasant time and a tough night since I didn’t get any sleep. In the morning, I was a mess, and only barely able to take a shower before going to the doctor. I already knew that endoscopy and colonoscopy are deeply unpleasant procedures, but needed as a way for any preventive action to be taken healthwise. And I just wanted it to be over.
And it was over in an hour, surprisingly mostly painless and with only some mild discomfort. I opted for local anesthesia and there was only one moment when the probe was in my duodenum when for about 30 seconds I had to take deep breaths and hold on to a rail on the examining table to endure the strong and unpleasant pain. But except for that, the examination went smoothly and much better than I expected. I think the preparation for that examination was much worse… As I was leaving the medical office, seeing the ashen and scared faces of those waiting their turn for examination told me that the prevalent expectations for those procedures are commonly negative. In my experience, it really wasn't so bad.
And that might have to do with the staff doing the procedures. I already left a 5-star glowing review on Google for them. They deserve all those accolades and seem to be doing their job in a way that is professional but still leaves the patients with safe comfort. Every single step was described and explained beforehand. During the procedures, they were constantly telling me what is going on, what I can expect in the next step, and how to adjust my body only slightly so as to lessen the discomfort. It was a great job for a scary examination. And as I was laying on the examining table, I got to thinking —
Medical professionals from all sides of health care do not get enough recognition and praise. For most of the time, they are there when we have a fever or some aliment to prescribe medication and advise on ways to relieve it. But as I get older, and start to have more detailed and in-depth preventative medical procedures, my admiration for them has raised tremendously. To dedicate their careers to helping other people, to actually deal with people all the time (and older and sick people can be very demanding and demeaning). To have the skills and knowledge to conduct difficult examinations and make an informed diagnosis on the basis of a scan or numbers on morphological tests is amazing and clearly beyond my understanding. I know I will rely on them even more as I age. I plan and hope to be in a good health for many years to come — of course I cannot predict what tricks my health can play on me. But what I can do is limit those negative options for my body to fail me, by listening to the doctors and nurses, taking their advice seriously and following the preventive plan of check-ups and tests to be able to catch any changes in time for action.
I lost much too early numerous close relatives and friends to various diseases (mostly cancer). If those diseases were caught in time, they would be easier to fight, with more chances for them for longer and painless life. I know that I will try from my side to do everything possible to give myself the best chance to prevent it. Even if that is an unpleasant and uncomfortable gastric procedure.
