“Can you use local anesthesia for a colonoscopy?”

You can actually have a colonoscopy done without any additional medications and I have several GI doctor colleagues that do just that. However, I would not recommend it because it is likely to be uncomfortable and unless you are will to tolerate some discomfort, you will need some type of medication. Most colonoscopies are truly done under Intravenous general anesthesia. The patient is unconscious, but breathes under their own power. The patient typically does not move and they have no knowledge of the procedure being performed. The hallmarks of general anesthesia is amnesia (no recall), analgesia (no pain), and akinesia (no movement). The patient also is unable to protect their own airway, though they are able to maintain it patent so they can breathe under their own power. Local anesthesia is not really an option for colonoscopy.

Theres no need for local anesthetic in colonoscopy since its a low stimulation procedure. Most of the time its done with IV sedation and monitoring

Normally, no.