Wellness

[chrystaltree]

I had my colonoscopy this morning.  I did Cologuard 3 times over the past years and it always came back negative.  So I was surprised when the colonoscopy detected 2 large polyps.  The doctor said they've been there since before I did the last Cologuard and probably the time before that too.   He was not surprised.  He said Cologuard misses more than 50% of polyps which is why he only likes Cologuard for very elderly people and those who can't have colonoscopies for medical reasons.  He said mine look benign to him and to his colleague who looked at the pictures.  The lab will confirm that in about two weeks.  He couldn't remove the polyps because they are large and I'm on a blood thinner so I'll have another colonoscopy to remove them in August.  I'll have to go off the blood thinner so he has to confer with my cardiologist first.  

[msgb]

I was on blood thinners for a time and always had to go off when I had medical issues or to the dentist. I am not on precription blood thinners at this time I do it by vitamins and supplements.

My father was on blood thinners for the last years of his life. He had procedures done that would have required him to go off them. A vascular surgeon suggested something called the "bridge" and I think it might have help him live longer. He had Afib and had had a stroke and heart attack so going all the way off blood thinners was not something the vascuilar doctors wanted him to do.

[lgfan]

@chrystaltree 

I thought that Cologuard detected cancerous polyps.  As your doctor stated your polyps are probably benign.  I don't see how benign polyps can be detected using the Cologuard test.

[Shelbelle]

As my gastro doc explained to me ,benign polyps often called Hyperplastic, are harmless and can remain in the colon without casuing issues, they are more like the common skin tags. but, during a colonoscopy the doc will remove them just to be sure of what they are.  Colonoscopy is the gold standard of screening, Cologuard is not by any means. Ademnomas are the polyps that if left in the body for too long will turn to cancer, hopefully Cologuard can detect these in time. 

[meallen616]

@chrystaltree,

So glad you did the colonoscopy this time, surprise, surprise, polyps. 

I have friends who refuse to do the colonoscopy and do the cologuard. They say it's good enough, and, try to convince me to do it also. No way, I have done 4 colonoscopies and will do my 5th in October, only because her schedule is full.

You did the right thing, now enjoy food again!

[qvcaddition]

@chrystaltree 

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I had my colonoscopy this morning.  I did Cologuard 3 times over the past years and it always came back negative.  So I was surprised when the colonoscopy detected 2 large polyps.  The doctor said they've been there since before I did the last Cologuard and probably the time before that too.   He was not surprised.  He said Cologuard misses more than 50% of polyps which is why he only likes Cologuard for very elderly people and those who can't have colonoscopies for medical reasons.  He said mine look benign to him and to his colleague who looked at the pictures.  The lab will confirm that in about two weeks.  He couldn't remove the polyps because they are large and I'm on a blood thinner so I'll have another colonoscopy to remove them in August.  I'll have to go off the blood thinner so he has to confer with my cardiologist first.  

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The opposite happen to me.  I am elderly, was 86 at the time, so for the first time, I did Cologuard.  It came back positive, so they did a Colonoscopy that week.  I have always had polyps, and did again, but Dr. said non are cancerous.  Dr. said they know by looking at what a cancerous one looks like, not to worry.  They were removed and it was all Ok. 

Yours will be OK also. 

I keep telling my son to get a colonoscopy, he is 63, but says no, I do Cologuard..  

Maybe when I tell him your story, he might think about it, but I don't have high hopes.

Best wishes.  I'm 99% you will be fine, or your Dr. would have done something right away.  

[chrystaltree]

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@lgfan wrote:

@chrystaltree 

I thought that Cologuard detected cancerous polyps.  As your doctor stated your polyps are probably benign.  I don't see how benign polyps can be detected using the Cologuard test.

No, Cologuard detects polyps, cancerous or benign,  it just misses more than half of them.  It states that in the booklet you get, it just doesn't say what the percentage is.  It state that it has an 8% of colon cancers but that percentage is stated in the booklet.  It also has a low percentage of false positives for colon cancers.  

[beckyb1012]

I am happy you did the colonoscopy.  I did get the Cologuard first but never used it and finally threw it away when it expired.  They found 3 polyps at my colonscopy in Nov. 21 but they were burned off during the procedure.  Not being able to take aspirin for my migraines and sinus headaches the next 7 days was almost as bad as the prep. 

I hope you have had a great meal since being home!!

[Kachina624]

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@lgfan wrote:

@chrystaltree 

I thought that Cologuard detected cancerous polyps.  As your doctor stated your polyps are probably benign.  I don't see how benign polyps can be detected using the Cologuard test.

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@lgfan    Cologuard detects blood in the stool.  Polyps bleed whether they're benign or not.  Cologuard just tells that there are polyps.  It can't detect a malignancy .

[Estellee]

My gastro recommends colonoscopy. Maybe cologuard could be good for someone with no history of polyps or other issues, etc. Depends on what the Dr thinks.