PATIENT ALERT!!! YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE GENERAL ANESTHESIA/PROPOFOL even if the doctor/nurse tries to bully you into consenting.
I went to Old Town Endoscopy for a routine colonoscopy. I got a bill for a $200.00 co-pay to be prepaid. I contacted Blue Cross Blue Shield and was told there was NO co-pay. After I faxed copies of my BCBS patient handbook to OLT they corrected their mistake and told me there was NO copay. On 8/7/19 I went in for my colonoscopy after a day of fasting and a night of pooping. While I was laying down on the bed, after the prep IV had already been inserted, a nurse anesthetist came in and told me I was getting General Anesthesia. I immediately objected and told her I did not want GA, I wanted what I had before, twilight sleep/conscious sedation. She asked why and I told her I read bad things on the internet about GA and elderly patients (I am 62). She laughed at me and made snide comments about information on the internet and told me my fears and objections were immaterial. I told her two more times that I did not want GA and she and the other nurse in the room ganged up on me and told me I should have GA, that's what all patients got, and I could not object. I was all alone, after being up all night with the prep, and exhausted so I was not able to handle this as well as if I had been alert, well rested, and awake. I wish I had started screaming for the manager or had gotten up and walked out. I had the colonoscopy with GA. Instead of being up and alert for the rest of the day as with twilight sleep/conscious sedation, I was totally groggy and sleepy for TWO DAYS. I had to take another day off of work.
Two days later OTE called to see how I was doing. I told the lady on the phone about my horrible experience and she said she would have the OTE manager call me. The OTE manager called me and told me that every patient had the right to choose their sedation I should have been given conscious sedation if that's what I wanted and it was medically indicated. She told me that in the future if I encounter a nurse bully I should ask to speak to the doctor, the manager, or another nurse. I told her the other nurse in the room was no help as she joined in with the nurse bully ordering me to have GA. I learned that I had been given PROPOFOL (which killed Joan Rivers and Michael Jackson) for a minor procedure. In Canada, Europe, and Australia they don't even give sedation unless you really need it!
Sure enough, BCBS was billed for the procedure AND the anesthesia. The nurse anesthetist worked for Metroplex Anesthesia Consultants which is affiliated with OTE. Know that your Gastroenterologist Doctor can administer the conscious sedation/twilight sleep without any extra charge as it is billed as part of the procedure, BUT there is an extra bill for separate anesthesia which may not be covered by your insurance.
I am shocked and feel violated and scammed by what happened to me so I am going public to alert other innocent patients. I will not go to this facility again and will interrogate every doctor and medical provider in the future so that I can avoid Propofol AND Metroplex Anesthesia Consultants. I have written several complaints to BCBS. I urge you to bring a friend/family member with you to medical procedures so that you have an advocate and a witness on your behalf. read more