What you were told is the standard information anyone gets before a colonoscopy: if things go really wrong and they have to do surgery, you would be intubated; that's why they want your pulmo to know. The standard procedure is to use the sedation Sandra mentioned, and you're half aware of what they're doing. I would say the chances of something going bad wrong in such a routine procedure is slim to none.

A tear in the bowel would negatively affect everyone. Jeffrey is right, they have to tell you the possible negative outcomes, but if you focus on that you’ll never have any procedure done.
Be sure you take your breathing meds before the procedure and a maybe ask your pulmonologist if there is anything else you can do.
Best wishes

I have had 2 Colonoscopies and Endoscopies since 2019 and they say the Same Thing to me. There is always that Percentage so they have to tell you the Risks and Sign the Forms. The PREP is the Worst part of the Procedure, Get some Lemon Lime Gatorade as a Chaser with the Witches Brew lol. Better to have it done and Get something early than to wait. The COPD means the People in the room have to monitor you Closer as far as the Oxygen, But they have it under control. Just do it. Like RollandO said, Get that Big Burger on the way home!

Same here. My info is worth 2¢ so I give it away for FREE! 🤑 Often we worry about stuff that never comes to pass.

Your gastro doc is doing CYA. Probably to prevent a medical malpractice claim. At least he's not Gaslighting you.
Did he mention these things could happen to people who don't have COPD? Of course not. There will be more than two people in the room that day. You are hooked up to all the machines. The Oxygen and CO2 readings are most important to every surgical procedure. They know that.

Feel free to get another referral if you don't think this guy has enough experience with chronic condition patients. Remember, you will be very hungry after the procedure too. Did he recommended a good Burger joint for when you recover? Plan for the stuff you can control. You should do fine.

The stool sample does not let them know if there are current polyps, (which I usually have a few every time I was done), and if there are polyps, they need to be sliced off and biopsied. That’s why I can’t do a virtual colonoscopy or a stool sample. And I think the stool sample only shows positive if you’ve already got colon cancer, the purpose of the colonoscopy, is to search and destroy any pre-cancerous suspicions. then the procedure of taking out the polyps if there is any, and they must keep track of where each polyp was removed, so that if one of them does prove cancerous, they have to know exactly where to go back in. I only know all of this because my sister died of colorectal cancer after 30 years of ulcerative colitis.