Propofol for Colonoscopy Procedure

[Clarissa]

I'm scheduled next week for a colonoscopy and the anesthesiologist said they would only just administer Propofol via IV.  I have an irrational fear of surgery and anesthetics.

Does anyone have experience with Propofol?  My doctor said it's okay to take my normal meds (I'm prescribed Addies 2x a day), and I'm on the Vivitrol injection (Naltrexone) that blocks all opiates (he says that's OK too).  I also take cl0nz/v@lz at night for insomnia (self-prescribed following Sub withdrawals), but I haven't disclosed that yet to my doctor.  I probably should right?  I'm nervous that any build up of benz will have an adverse effect on the Propofol.

It would be helpful if anyone has undergone surgery with Propofol as a current or recovering addict.  I have a fear of having a high tolerance or not being able to wake up from the Propofol.  Everyone says this is such an easy procedure, but I'm still nervous as hell.

 

[alixjones2018]

@Clarissahey, how did this go for you? I hope your experience was like 99% of most people which is the prep is really the worst part! 

I do have a friend in methodone treatment and we have often talked about "what if I need _________ done, how do I handle the pain?" 

So this caught my attention, although a little bit late! 

 

[Clarissa]

It's a little late, but I appreciate your response anyway.  So thank you for taking the time to ask.

I ended up crying the whole time (I have an irrational deathly fear of anesthesia), so they put me out SUPER quick.  Then I woke up 18 mins later fine, but still crying because after all that they didn't find anything.

I'm not familiar with the chemical makeup of methadone, but does it have any nalaxone or opiate receptor blockers?  I've been on Suboxone and I know you can break the ceiling with a high enough dose of pain meds.  But with Vivitrol (Naltrexone) it completely GLUES your opiate receptors so nothing can break through and there's nothing you can do about it unless you can "un-glue" the blocker.  You may need a brain surgeon or something for that level of blockage.  The ingredient in Suboxone, nalaxone, is only a partial blocker which means you can still have pain meds in a surgery (don't quote me on that, but that's just my opinion for being on them for nearly a decade).  The only reason why nalaxone is in Suboxone is to prevent IV usage.

I don't know much about methadone except that they gave it to me in the hospital for detox twice and I was high as a kite.  I saw absolutely no treatment or recovery value in it.  One time I was so high I vomited.  That level of high is comparable to an H injection.  (Then again, hospitals don't really know how to detox patients and private insurance doesn't cover real rehab).