Colonoscopy prep

[Jennasis]

I'm having the procedure done tomorrow so I'm beginning the "prep" today. For starters, I am so hungry right now. Chicken broth just ain't cutting it. I have jello in the fridge but I really don't like jello to begin with, much LESS the flavors I'm allowed to have (anything but red flavors, so I made lemon...blech). Same thing for ice pops and italian ices. I generally only like the "red" flavors. So I'm choking down some broth right now and preparing to start the laxative prep which will only add to the awesomeness of this day. Again, couldn't pick the good red flavors of gatorade to go with my giant tub o' powdered draino, so I got orange. Blech. Then I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow to drink that swill Magnesium Citrate four hours before the procedure.

I've got my Nook all charged and some magazines at the ready (and wet wipes). Should be a fun day.

Who else has endured the PITA?

 

[robinb]

I'm having the procedure done tomorrow so I'm beginning the "prep" today. For starters, I am so hungry right now. Chicken broth just ain't cutting it. I have jello in the fridge but I really don't like jello to begin with, much LESS the flavors I'm allowed to have (anything but red flavors, so I made lemon...blech). Same thing for ice pops and italian ices. I generally only like the "red" flavors. So I'm choking down some broth right now and preparing to start the laxative prep which will only add to the awesomeness of this day. Again, couldn't pick the good red flavors of gatorade to go with my giant tub o' powdered draino, so I got orange. Blech. Then I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow to drink that swill Magnesium Citrate four hours before the procedure.

I've got my Nook all charged and some magazines at the ready (and wet wipes). Should be a fun day.

Who else has endured the PITA?

The good news is that once the prep starts to work you won't feel hungry . To tell you the truth, the hardest part for me was making sure that I drank the entire prep. I set an alarm (every 20-30 minutes, I think) and drank another cup of the stuff and I was all done in plenty of time to get some sleep. Good luck on your procedure tomorrow.

 

[piglet too]

My 10-yr old daughter just went through this last week. She did "ok" with the no real food, but the drink stuff, was a battle.

Good luck tomorrow! We are still waiting for the results from the biopsies they took.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Me twice. I have to get them every 3yrs at the moment.

I had a precancerous polyp removed the first time. The prep is worth the relief of knowing that your colon is free and clear.

I was never hungry but then again I did "eat" jello and broth.

 

[tvguy]

They said to chill the prep stuff to make it taste better. Well, it still didn't taste very good, and about 3/4 through the gallon I was shivering, and I am NEVER cold.
That stuff works quick, about 15 minutes for me, so I was drinking and........well......you know......for about an hour, then it was over.
The actualy procedure was a breeze.

 

[Jennasis]

The procedure should be fine. They're knocking me out like they did for my endoscopy earlier this summer. While this is a "preventative" thing, I'm still worried they'll find something. But going through the actual procedure isn't weighing on my mind. Even getting through yesterday where I had to drink 8 glasses of water during the day was a challenge. I don't drink much and I hardly ever drink water. So now on top of the gatorade/draino mix and the magnesium citrate, I also have to drink a ton of water today.

On the plus side, I'm totally going to weigh myself before the procedure tomorrow and loudly proclaim THAT to be my new current weight for the forseeable future.

 

[robinb]

My 10-yr old daughter just went through this last week. She did "ok" with the no real food, but the drink stuff, was a battle.

Good luck tomorrow! We are still waiting for the results from the biopsies they took.

Piglet, my thoughts are going out to you and your DD for good results .

 

[Sabeking]

Been there, done that. The prep made me sick on my stomach. The procedure itself was a piece of cake, it was the prep that was awful. Good luck!

 

[Pakey]

It's every 3 years for me. For all of the tests that I do for my condition, this is by far the worst one. With the advancement in medicine, you would think they could somehow make that stuff taste better.

 

[lucas]

Been there, too - yuck! On the advice of my gyn doc, I had to keep repeating to myself.. "just do it, don't think about it, just do it." That actually helped me in some way!

Good luck, I hope all goes well for you and everything is over before you know it!

 

[MIGrandma]

DH and I both had one done a year ago this past summer.

We used Fleet before the procedure and added the lemon flavor packet and as long as it was very cold it wasn't all that bad to drink. Didn't have to drink anything else before the procedure.

The worst was just spending so friggin' much time in the bathroom.

Then I always fear the IV, but got a GREAT nurse and she got it in the first try and I hardly even felt it. After that, it was a piece of cake. I came out of the anesthesia quicker and easier than DH did. He didn't even remember getting dressed and me driving him home.

I went with my Mom for hers, she was super hard to wake up afterward. The nurse shook her shoulder and YELLED her name and she continued snoring.

DD (she's only 34) has to have one the 19th and has opted to be awake for it as she hated coming out of the anesthesia for her gall bladder surgery a few years ago.

I didn't mind the chicken and beef broths, and I think I made peach and lime jello and those were fine too.

I feel sorry for DD, as her appointment isn't until afternoon.

Hope yours goes well tomorrow.

 

[piglet too]

Piglet, my thoughts are going out to you and your DD for good results .

Thank you! It has been a long road of test after test, so hopefully we get some sort of answer this time. Poor thing has been dealing with the abdominal pain for four years now.

With the advancement in medicine, you would think they could somehow make that stuff taste better.

You would think! Why does it have to taste so bad?


The procedure themselves are easy. My daughter had a double balloon enteroscopy done this last time, and while the risks are high, our doctor has never had an issue. Waking up from the anesthesia, is another story. DD did ok this time, but when she had to have the capsule endoscopy done in August, she was a bear waking up.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Rule #1 Stay near a toilet.

 

[Bilberry]

I remember reading of people placing alcohol into the colon prep. I couldn't imagine! The last think I would want is something impeding my way to the bathroom after drinking the atomic laxative.

Good luck! Hope the procedure goes well. The odder thing to happen to me after one of those exams was, waking up and having the nurse explain that the doctor believed me to be a celiac and that I should avoid all wheat. A few minutes later she handed me a wheat blueberry muffin from the kitchen. Must have been habit.

 

[hops&dreams]

I got to do this glorious "deed" last month! My Dr teased me because the procedure is much more common in older pts (I'm in my early 30's).

Anyway... I had never before in my life taken a laxative, so the whole thing was a new experience for me.

Even though you're hating the broth and whatever today, you're going ot be loving it later - less to get rid of once you start the prep. I had been on a liquid diet for 2 weeks when I did my prep, so it wasn't too bad. I was on the toilet from about 6 to 10ish. I watched a movie (yay laptop!) and read. It wasn't horrible.

I had a handful of oyster crackers. When the gatorade-prep was making me nauseous, I ate a couple of crackers and it made me feel better. (suggested by the scheduler, when I made the appt for the procedure).

Wipes are a great idea.

Also, after the procedure, the hospital sent me home with a chucks pad (or towel) for the car ride home, and to put inder me as I slept off the anesthesia/meds, in case I had an "unfortunate leakage". I didn't end up needing it, but felt better because it was there, just in case.

on the bright side... I lost weight because of the whole ordeal, and have kept it off for over a month now. And I looked ROCKIN' at my BFF's wedding. An ex-boyfriend was there to see me look so good, too. DH found his reaction rather amusing.

 

[disfan07]

The prep is definitely the worst part. And since a huge part of my problem is constipation and motility problems, The prep usually doesn't start working until like 3 or 4 in the morning the day of the procedure. I usually end up vommiting a lot during prep.

I had to do it back in like 2003 when I was 14. I also just had one this past May. I also had to do the prep for a capsule endoscopy this past August. The other unfortunate things is that we think we discovered that bowel preps exacerbate whatever is wrong with my GI system because within 2 days after my procedures requiring bowel prep, I was in the hospital for 5-7 days because of pain, vomitting and nausea.

I have to have an endoscopic ultrasound with gallbladder and pancreas biopsies done in about 10 days and i am so glad there is no prep.

But I'm terrible with anesthesia. I have severe asthma, a heart condition and severe allergies. I go under pretty fast, but they have problems keeping me under and I always have problems waking up. I also always cry when I wake up from anesthesia....Its a running joke with my doctors and nurses

 

[Jennasis]

The powder I had to mix with the mega sized thing of gatorade doesn't taste so bad. It's just that I'm fairly certain I'll be so "over" the taste of orange gatorade by the time this is all done. I'm only halfway through chugging. 8oz every 20 minutes. I imagine the really yucky stuff is that bottle of Magnesium Citrate they gave me to drink tomorrow.

 

[Micca]

Well, I'm a known wuss and I didn't think any of it was a big deal. Prep, no big deal, procedure, no big deal. I'm like you Jennasis--the worst part was not eating for 24 hours. I ate broth, I ate jello, but like you I think the red flavors are best. I was so hungry when DW drove me home afterwards. Next time I'm packing a lunch to keep in the car so I can chow down the minute I walk outta there. Good luck

 

[disneyfam]

Definitely feel your pain, I've had 2 so far and I'm only 42. The gallon is a killer!

But what I want to say is as much as it sucks thank you for taking care of yourself and getting it done!

My father died of rectal cancer at the age of 62, if he'd have had a colonoscopy who knows, things might have been different.

 

[bedogged]

I'm having the procedure done tomorrow so I'm beginning the "prep" today. For starters, I am so hungry right now. Chicken broth just ain't cutting it. I have jello in the fridge but I really don't like jello to begin with, much LESS the flavors I'm allowed to have (anything but red flavors, so I made lemon...blech). Same thing for ice pops and italian ices. I generally only like the "red" flavors. So I'm choking down some broth right now and preparing to start the laxative prep which will only add to the awesomeness of this day. Again, couldn't pick the good red flavors of gatorade to go with my giant tub o' powdered draino, so I got orange. Blech. Then I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow to drink that swill Magnesium Citrate four hours before the procedure.

I've got my Nook all charged and some magazines at the ready (and wet wipes). Should be a fun day.

Who else has endured the PITA?

I am what they call a "frequent flyer." My last experience was last week. The prep is usually worse than the procedure unless you are, as I am, resistant to the Verset. I am usually completely awake during it and it is not something I recommend. This time, I was fortunate to have a nurse that knew what to do for my problem. She gave me a dose of Benadryl first and that made all the difference. I snored through the whole thing! Great news for me! I don't have to have another one for 5 years. I wish you the same results.