In the packet of papers containing instructions (when to take which dose of laxative, when to stop eating high fiber foods, when to drink only clear liquids with no red or purple dye, when to stop drinking all together) and information, it is mentioned that I can take along a "clearly marked" CD of music that they will play during my procedure.
And while I immediately decide that I will NOT be taking along any of my own music, it turns into an interesting question - kind of a twist on Desert Island Disks. What would YOU take along to listen to during an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy?
- Elgar's Cello Concerto with Jaqueline DuPr� and Sir John Barbirolli
- Chopin Nocturnes, with Krystian Zimerman
- Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, with Marshall and Terrani
- Ramirez's Misa Criolla, with Jos� Carreras
- Haydn's Theresienmesse...
::
What made me decide against taking music along was the thought of the average person's reaction to my taste in music. Dislike and agitation is something that I would strongly wish to avoid on the part of medical personnel performing complicated procedures on my helpless body.
So I decided to make do with whatever generic muzak would be on offer.
In the end it did not matter at all. Thinking back on the experience, I was mostly only aware of what happened during the colonoscopy, and then only when I was hurt, presumably when they made the turns.
I remember the prep for the endoscopy, but then the next clear memory is being back in the partition where my clothes were left, and wondering when the endoscopy will take place. To some extent I am still wondering, because my throat is not even sore in the least. Last time it had been such an ordeal - no IV sedation, with my hair-trigger gag reflex working overtime and the doctor getting more and more agitated, telling me to "Just relax, it is making it very difficult for us, the more you gag the longer it will take," and me helpless to stop the retching. I was raw and sore for a week, both inside my throat and the rib and abdominal muscles that ache after immoderate bouts of laughter or coughing.
::
The good news: No signs of the big C. I'm good to go for another five years. And here in the States it means no Barium Enema like in South Africa, but rather full-fledged colonoscopies each time.
The bad news: We still have no resolution on the origin of the pain which periodically lands me in the E.R. So more tests, more procedures, more waiting and hoping that THIS time the pain would be more manageable, could be controlled by medication, wouldn't last for a week.
