Simple pills revolutionize dreaded colonoscopy prep
Simple pills revolutionize dreaded colonoscopy prep
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THIS PROCESS EASIER. I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE RELUCTANT TO COME IN FOR A COLONOSCOPY. IMAGINE BEING DR. JENNIFER NAIR, A GASTRO ANTHROPOLOGIST AT EMERSON HEALTH. SHE KNOWS MOST PATIENTS WOULD RATHER BE ANYWHERE BUT HERE. COLONOSCOPIES GET A BAD RAP, BUT IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT. CANCER OF THE COLON AND RECTUM IS THE FOURTH LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER. DEATH FOR AMERICANS. THE MOST RECENT DATA SHOWS MORE THAN 142,000 NEW CASES DIAGNOSED IN ONE YEAR, INCLUDING NEARLY 2700 AND MASSACHUSETTS. NOW, NATIONALLY, THERE ARE MORE THAN 51,000 DEATHS. THE PURPOSE OF A COLONOSCOPY IS TO FIND GROWTHS OR POLYPS IN THE COLON THAT CAN BE REMOVED AND THEREFORE PREVENT PROGRESSION TO COLON CANCER. BUT THE CDC SAYS ABOUT 28% OF AMERICANS WHO NEED ONE DON’T GET ONE. THAT’S A BIG PROBLEM. SOME PATIENTS WON’T HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS WITH COLON CANCER. SOMETIMES THEY DO. BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE TOTALLY ASYMPTOMATIC AND THAT’S WHY WE DO SCREENING ON ASYMPTOMATIC AVERAGE RISK PEOPLE TO GET A GOOD LOOK. THE LARGE INTESTINE NEEDS TO BE CLEAN, REALLY CLEAN. THE PREP CAUSES DIARRHEA. THAT’S WHAT A PREP DOES. IT EMPTIES YOU OUT SO THAT WE’RE ABLE TO SEE INTERNALLY. TAMARA PARISI HAS BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS THREE TIMES. IT STARTS THE DAY BEFORE THE COLONOSCOPY WITH A FULL JUG OF LIQUID LAXATIVE. DO YOU HAVE TO DRINK IT WITHIN A TIME FRAME? AND IT’S NOT THE BEST TASTING STUFF. SO I DRANK IT THROUGH A STRAW TO HELP GET IT DOWN. THIS TIME, EMERSON HEALTH OFFERED A NEW OPTION CALLED SIOUX TAB. THE FDA RECENTLY APPROVED IT AS AN ALTERNATE TO THE LIQUID PREP. YOU CAN SEE TWO BOTTLES, 12 PILLS EACH PATIENT’S TAKE ONE SET TO MINUTE OR TWO APART THE DAY BEFORE THE COLONOSCOPY. THEN WITH ABOUT SIX HOURS TO GO, THEY TAKE THE SECOND SET. I JUST LOOKED AT IT AS I WAS TAKING ADVIL, JUST A LOT OF IT. AND THEY THEY GO DOWN PRETTY EASY AND THEN THEY START WORKING. I WAS LIKE, OKAY, NOW IT’S NOT SO BAD. THE FEEDBACK HAS BEEN SO POSITIVE. DR. NEAR SAYS. EMERSON NOW OFFERS TAB AS THE FIRST OPTION TO ALL PATIENTS. IT’S ACTUALLY MORE EFFECTIVE AT CLEANING THE COLON THAN THE OLDER LIQUID PREP. SO IT WORKS REALLY WELL SO THAT I CAN GET A GOOD LOOK WHEN I GO IN TO DO A COLONOSCOPY. THAT’S RIGHT. IN SIOUX TAB IS ONLY AVAILABLE BY PRESCRIPTION. AND SINCE SOME HOSPITALS AND CLINICS DON’T OFFER IT YET AS AN OPTION, DOCTRINAIRE THERE SAYS
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Simple pills revolutionize dreaded colonoscopy prep
Imagine being Dr. Jennifer Nayor. As a gastroenterologist at Emerson Endoscopy and Digestive Health Center in Concord, she knows most patients would rather be anywhere but her exam room.
Imagine being Dr. Jennifer Nayor. As a gastroenterologist at Emerson Endoscopy and Digestive Health Center in Concord, she knows most patients would rather be anywhere but her exam room.
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