Posted on 02/09/2022 1:17:04 PM PST by George from New England
I agree, and I'm sorry that you lost your brother to cancer. My youngest son had surgery and chemo in 2019 for cancerous polyps. So far, so good.
I think the totally "free" colonoscopies offered every 10 years by insurance companies is an Obamacare rule. It is not much different than dental insurance failures. If I have a dental crown fail before 5 years, I eat the cost of the failure and have to pay for entire cost of the crown replacement.
Not familiar with Cologuard, but there are some over-the-counter occult blood stool tests that are available at major drug stores. I’d recommend those and stay under the insurance radar.
Just have the colonoscopy. Good for ten years and it will show if something else is a problem.
Prep is the biggest issue but they actually are starting to make that more bearable.
And they give you great drugs.
If you are like me you will discover your mouth is connected to your brain with absolutely no filter in between.
You can continue to milk that for a couple of hours after you come out.
I was offered a $100 “discount” for some reason. I declined the whole idea anyway. $500 was still alot,
I started having colonoscopies when I turned 50, because my father had polyps removed twice. They were benign both times. They diagnosed me with diverticulitis. I followed my doctor's orders, no popcorn, no corn, no raisins, or nuts. He never said anything about seeds, but I stopped eating anything with those too. Despite all my precautions, at the age of 63, I ended up with a perforated bowel due to diverticulitis. Onset was acute. I had no symptoms beforehand. I thought I was having a reaction to Cipro, which my urologist had just prescribed for a UTI. Had severe pains in the left side, chills, nausea, after I took the first two pills that day. Went to bed with stomach pains which eventually stopped. Woke up at midnight, vomited, felt better, and went back to sleep. Next morning, all I had was a slight tenderness in the lower abdomen above my pubic area. I called my urologist, and told them about the symptoms. They said it could indeed be a drug reaction, and told me not to take anymore. Two days later at 2 in the morning, I was laying in bed thinking "What if it isn't just a drug reaction?" I decided to get up, get dressed, and head to the emergency room. I figured if it was just a reaction, I'd be home in 2 hours. They did a CAT scan with dye and contrast, and I ended up on the operating table having a temporary colostomy, and spent 7 days in bed in the hospital. Three months later they reversed it. I still watch what I eat. Haven't had corn, or popcorn in over 30 years, and I love the stuff, but I don't ever want to have to go through that ever again.
I had the full colonoscopy the first time. Nothing was found. Ten years later my doctor recommended the Cologuard since I’m low risk. Insurance paid for both.
You can get a false negative with Cologuard... and think you're fine - that's a factor. Ask your doctor.
I got my Cologard and 23andMe test containers mixed up.
A couple of labs were not happy……
Doctor: Just put them over there with mine.
May I ask why you needed another colonoscopy so soon after the one you had only two months ago
I don’t take anything when i have one, i watch the monitor with the doctor.
My sister took me. I remember waking up and a lady was waiting for her ride, I pipped up and told the nurse “Oh we’ll give her a ride home. I do remember telling my sister in a rather loud voice, Shhhh, don’t tell anyone but I think I am high
Doc showed me the photos taken identifying the diverticula...rather scary thinking of something lodged there causing an infection with no symptoms until it becomes a major problem.
Glad to hear you’re doing alright now.
I can’t even count the number of Colonoscopies I have had... first one at 27 years old... Was on a 3 year list...I am now 64.
The prep is the worst part. Just stay close to the bathroom..lol
Got it. My GI guy said with the resolution now available it’s a good idea to get baseline imaging so that potential problem might be identified early.
My doc didn’t even bother with Cologuard, just went straight to colonoscopy. Paid for by insurance and it was worth it, as he found I have a redundant colon. Good luck with it!
My husband used the Colo-gard test. It was positive. The doctors wanted to to follow up with a colonoscopy. Our insurance (not Medicare) wouldn’t cover the colonoscopy as a preventative. We didn’t have over $4,000 to cover the deductible and uncovered costs of the colonoscopy. My husband decided to forego the colonoscopy even though the other test showed a positive of blood. He nearly bled to death. Cancer? Nope. It was an arterial-venous malformation. Three of them. He had emergency surgery and doing fine. BC/BS penalized him for having a Cologuard test rather than starting with a colonoscopy.
Just scheduled my colonoscopy this morning. I lost my mother to colon cancer. Sadly she stubbornly refused the procedure. The clean out prep isn’t fun but the procedure is painless and not uncomfortable. Get the procedure and unless you are high risk you might not need another for 7-10 years
I’ve had both in the last year. And YES ask your doctor about the coding because preventive IS different than diagnostic. I think if you notice a problem that is cause for concern, it becomes diagnostic and the insurance is different. That’s at least what I was told by my scheduler.
It’s up to your insurance. And I’ve seen doctors get semi creative with coding to help ensure things are best covered. I’d ask my doctor and then my insurance provider.
Then I’d go with the colonoscopy if I could afford a day off and a night spent in the bathroom.
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