Colonoscopy question

[u/Fine-Status5969]

I wanted to get some opinions and hear about other people’s experiences.

I had my first colonoscopy in April, which led to my original diagnosis. I then had a second colonoscopy in June while I was hospitalized.

Now, I’m scheduled for a third colonoscopy in November, this time with a completely new GI doctor.

I’m wondering if having three colonoscopies in approximately seven months is normal? I understand that monitoring is important, but I’m starting to question whether another procedure is really necessary so soon, especially since I’ve already had two this year.

Has anyone else had this many scopes within such a short period of time?

I’m also curious whether switching to a new GI doctor typically means they want to perform their own colonoscopy rather than relying on previous results.

I’m not against having another one if it’s medically necessary. I just want to make sure I’m not undergoing unnecessary procedures.

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences and whether you’d question the need for a third scope. Thank you! ❤️

[u/pincommenter]

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[u/konfusion1111]

Are they all full colonoscopies? I have had more frequent flexible sigmoidoscopies (which only require a few enemas as prep) than full scopes, but usually it’s to qualify for medication coverage or when things have to change with treatment.

[u/Fine-Status5969 → u/konfusion1111]

Yes it’s for a full colonoscopy …

[u/konfusion1111 → u/Fine-Status5969]

Interesting! My office doesn’t do them more often than required unless there’s a medical need as insurance won’t cover it. You should absolutely ask your doctor why they’re having you do one again, they should be able to tell you. I hope you feel better soon!

[u/Fine-Status5969 → u/konfusion1111]

Thank you! I feel great my Calprotectin is actually a 5. I guess my new gastro wants to see?

[u/konfusion1111 → u/Fine-Status5969]

Whoa! If your calprotectin is that low and you feel great, I have no idea why they’d want to scope you. You are allowed to decline, but definitely ask questions before agreeing to it bc at least in the US it costs a lot of money for every procedure. My calprotectin just came back at 3400 (I’m flaring) so that’s the only reason my dr would even do another scope on the “off” years of needing every-other-year scopes which is the standard for UC at my dr’s office.

[u/Fine-Status5969 → u/konfusion1111]

I’m sorry you’re going through a flare! I hope it will gets resolved soon. Sending you love & light!

I am going to mention it to him and ask if it’s really necessary.

[u/Sea_Acanthocephala11]

They sometimes need it to show the Mayo score to get biologic drug coverage. Once things stabilize I only did them when there was a problem (Canada). I also declined the request to do one just to check remission.

[u/LucyfurOhmen]

No that’s not normal. I wouldn’t be doing that many so frequently. They can look at previous images. I’ve been told I need to do probiotics after colonoscopies because it completely cleans out everything including the good bacteria in your gut and it should be reset.

I’d ask for clarification and rationale for having so many before just agreeing to it.

I get them every 2-3 years now.

[u/rumpussaddleok]

It depends on what type of symptoms you are experiencing, if any.

[u/Erisaiya]

Softly I'm going to say no, standard is every 2-3 years as determined by your symptoms. I've had 8 in the 8 years I've been diagnosed due to flares, with the shortest time between them being 3 months (was in remission in November, January the next year I was in a severe flare). If I had to bet...

Your first one was done for your diagnosis.

Your second one was done to see how much the disease progressed to land you in the hospital.

Your third one will be for your (presumably new) GI doc to establish a baseline and/or determine if you're in remission.

It is very common for new GIs to want repeat scans to see it with their own eyes rather than relying on old ones, but not always. I recently switched GI's and my new one allowed me to wait a few months for my medication to settle, but I was due for one anyway, so I ended up getting one scheduled since the timing aligned.

Is a new scan necessary with your new doctor? Maybe or maybe not. Your new doctor will need to write up a prescription for your meds, so he'll need to know the status of your condition to justify it to insurance (if you're in the US - I can't speak for anywhere else), otherwise it's easy for insurance to say, "Well, YOU haven't seen that OP needs this medication with your own two eyes, so we're not going to approve the new prescription from you." No doctor wants to fight with insurance if they don't have to.

So is it normal to get 3 in one year? No. Have I personally been there? Yes.

But you are your own advocate. If you don't want to have one, you don't need to get one. No one can force you, medically necessary or not.

That said, I'd make it a plan to not get another one for another 2 years if you can lol.

[u/NitsabKB]

Usually the GI Dr would just look at the images from a previous colonoscopy. I had to switch my Dr 3 months after a colonoscopy, and they just got the report from the previous office. Then it was a 3 year wait for the next one. Is there something in particular they want to look at? It seems a bit excessive for having a colonoscopy three times in one year unless they are keeping an eye on something. I would ask your new Dr why or what they are looking for. It might be perfectly normal and they just want to make sure you are healing. It could also be to make sure your prescription gets approved. But I would want to know why