I'm terrified for my flexible sigmoidoscopy! what do they do? do you lay down? do they give you a gown to wear? does it hurt? how far up does it go?

No need to be scared: The procedure just takes a few minutes and is performed lying on your left side comfortably.You usually have a gown on and it reaches the sigmoid colon. You may feel some gas discomfort but in general there is no pain.

Relax...: You wear a gown. You lie on your left side. A flexible, lit up tube is inserted into the rectum and advanced, under direct viewing, by the doctor. The scope goes up about a foot and a half or so, up to the turn of the colon under the lefy ribcage, near the spleen. Takes about 10 minutes or less. May be crampy, generally not painful.