OT-Colonscopy....any advice?

[njmomboys2]

I have to go for my first colonoscopy next Tuesday due to some GI symptoms I have been experiencing and family history.

Anyway I have the full day fast before and drinking of the solution twice. I read the instructions and have to stay away from red or purple drinks....any advice on how not to go crazy hungry or ease the constant running to the bathroom.

What about after the procedure...any tips? What can I expect..I will be sedated.

 

[clutter]

Two words of advice: soft toiletpaper

 

[wdwaholic]

had this done back in October-have to say the prep was worse than the actual procedure-had it done at 7:30 left the building at about 8:45 and went out for breakfast- had a light diet throughout the rest of the day. One of the tips someone gave me is to drink the Citrate of Mag. very cold with ice thru a straw and to not drink anything you like with it-use water to chase it down-to this day I still can remember the taste of it I wasn't really that hungry beforehand,i think the liquids filled me up.HTH
Good Luck
Trish

 

[hoosll]

If you are a regular caffeine drinker, check with the doctor as to what you can drink... withdrawal is no fun! I had the doctor give me a cup of coffee as soon as I woke up ....

For about a week afterwards, every time my stomach emptied, I felt like I was starving ... your brain really remembers fasting and doesn't like it, so be careful that you don't pig out, eat sensibly .....

 

[DVCLiz]

I have to go for my first colonoscopy next Tuesday due to some GI symptoms I have been experiencing and family history.

Anyway I have the full day fast before and drinking of the solution twice. I read the instructions and have to stay away from red or purple drinks....any advice on how not to go crazy hungry or ease the constant running to the bathroom.

What about after the procedure...any tips? What can I expect..I will be sedated.

I had a hard time with the solution but ended up being able to drink enough to do what needed to be done!!!

I had to eat soft foods only the day of my prep - no fasting until the day of the procedure itself (well, midnight the night before) so I strained the noodles out of a can of chicken noodle soup and drank the broth - it was better than the boullion they recommend, which I think is nasty. Otherwise, I ate several banana popsicles. Every time I was hungry I ate a popsicle. Once the prep started working I wasn't really that hungry anymore!!!

The procedure was a piece of cake, just like everyone else says. I don't remember any of the embarrassing parts so no shame to deal with!!!

I did have a small polyp of the type that turns into cancer, which was removed. I go back in 5 years instead of 10 (which I am pretty happy about, because I think 10 years is a LONG time to wait even for slow-growing things) so next time I will ask for a different prep than the solution I had to drink. Several people said they had to drink Miralax with Gator Ade and that would be much preferable to the stuff I had that was nasty and salty. Also, I had to drink a full 128 ounces and the Miralax people said they only had to drink 64 ounces.

Good luck - you are so smart to get this done!!!!

 

[travelbug]

I've had 2 colonoscopies. I thought the actual procedure was a cake walk, but the prep is not fun. The first time I had to drink the slimy stuff, and it was hard to choke it down. Then I found out that there are pills the dr. can prescribe instead of drinking the slime. So I did the pills for the 2nd colonoscopy and it made the prep MUCH easier.

 

[Christine]

It's a shame your doctor won't give you the pills for prep (OsmoPrep they are called)--SOOOOOOOO much better.

As for the hunger, after awhile I was okay with and I was getting nervous so that helped. One thing I did was buy some Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken Broth. It actually has a TAD bit of protein in it which helps. Heat it up, put it in a bowl and have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner with it. Psychologically, eating the soup broth from a bowl will trick you a little bit into thinking you had a meal. That broth kind of got me through. Jello helps too.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I had it done while I was an inpatient in the hosp. I think they gave me the miralax too, laced into orange gatorade. It was helpful that I drank it through a straw and the room was hot and the drink was cold so that helped, I also had to take 3 pills at the end. Of course the liquid diet for dinner the day before too I think.

I had the procedure done with an endoscopy too, I know they asked me to lay on my side, gave me some oxygen in a nasal canula, told me to bite on something they were putting in my mouth, I think it was something plastic and purple and then he said, the anesthesiologist, you are going to sleep now. I woke up in recovery and the nurse said you may have alot of gas etc. I was up and eating lunch in the room a few hours later. Everything was fine, they were checking for internal bleeding and found nothing.

 

[ragdoll]

The tip that helped me the most was to eat light for a few days before the procedure. Also, go on a liquid diet for two days instead of just one. I was so freaked out about the procedure that I had no appetite so that part was easy for me to do. Even the prep wasn't as bad as I imagined. Good luck!

 

[mjkacmom]

I have a pretty strong stomach, and drinking the stuff didn't bother me that much. Make sure you aren't more than 10 feet from a bathroom, and don't let anyone else have access to it! My biggest problem was I was so tired, but I couldn't go to bed, because of the bathroom runs.

 

[goofyboyzmom]

Get the pills, forget the liquid!!!!!!!

 

[manning]

Two words of advice: soft toiletpaper

Baby wipes are much better. Get the ones you can flush down the toilet.

 

[manning]

Make sure you aren't more than 10 feet from a bathroom, and don't let anyone else have access to it!

Got a portable TV? Put it into the bathroom.

 

[KSchwagg86]

I mixed it with cold gatorade-still nasty...but I had a problem and kept throwing up the prep because it was SO MUCH--so start it earlier if you can if you think you could have that problem...it's not as bad as some people say!!

 

[Muushka]

Get the pills, forget the liquid!!!!!!!

I have had the procedure twice. First time was the liquids. Second time was the pills. I agree that the pills are easier, but someone like my husband could never do them. They are pretty big pills and if I remember correctly, I had to take 30 of them at once. Plus, my insurance copay was huge for them.

 

[Inigo]

I've probably had more colonoscopy and other preps (enterocolysis, surgery, etc) than anyone on this board. I've got Crohn's Disease, so the doctors like looking at what's left of my innards on a regular basis.

My best tip is to ask for the pills! It's so much better than drinking the Magnesium Citrate.

If you have to do the drink, the best way I've ever found to get it down is to chill the stuff first. Then, mix the lemon flavored with Simply Lemon lemonade. Then drink it down fast through a straw. I can actually get it down with vomiting when I do this.

Other tips are to eat lightly for a few days beforehand so there isn't as much to be cleared out, and buy baby wipes and the softest toilet paper you can find.

Oh, and make sure your smart aleck husband doesn't write any messages on your butt cheek to the doctor. Yeah, he did.

 

[Christine]

I have had the procedure twice. First time was the liquids. Second time was the pills. I agree that the pills are easier, but someone like my husband could never do them. They are pretty big pills and if I remember correctly, I had to take 30 of them at once. Plus, my insurance copay was huge for them.

There are a total of 32 pills. For the first phase, usually around 5PM the evening before the procedure, you take 4 pills every 15 minutes for an hour (4 at 5, 4 at 5:15, 4 at 5:30, 4 at 5:45, and 4 at 6:00). This takes care of 20 pills. You then take the remaining 12 sometime later--again on a 15 minute interval. They are large pills but they didn't get stuck or anything. I thought they went down well.

When I've talked to people who've done both pills versus the liquid, apparently there is much less cramping with the pills.

 

[Disney Doll]

Just drink lots of liquids other than red or purple. You might want to try Italian ice too. The secret is to keep your belly feeling full with liquids. Also try clear broths. Stay away from too much carbonation as you will start to feel really gassy and bloated.

As far as the bathroom thing...stay close to one. There's nothing you can do to change that...you just have to tough it out.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

It's a shame your doctor won't give you the pills for prep (OsmoPrep they are called)--SOOOOOOOO much better.

Not for me! I will never take those again. I guess it was too much for me and I passed out twice, and got nauseous and sick from them! I finished the tablets at 8pm the night before and was STILL going to the bathroom 12 hours later. The Dr. made a note to remember this in 5 years! The little bottle of fleets was much easier on my system 5 years ago. I think half the amount of pills would work. They really should vary how much one gets depending on body weight I would think!

This time I also was sick 3 times from the sedation meds. May have been related to the Osmoprep tablets, who knows. But it was a rough 24 hours. I never even wanted to think about food once I started with those tablets the afternoon before.

 

[Christine]

Not for me! I will never take those again. I guess it was too much for me and I passed out twice, and got nauseous and sick from them! I finished the tablets at 8pm the night before and was STILL going to the bathroom 12 hours later. The Dr. made a note to remember this in 5 years! The little bottle of fleets was much easier on my system 5 years ago. I think half the amount of pills would work. They really should vary how much one gets depending on body weight I would think!

This time I also was sick 3 times from the sedation meds. May have been related to the Osmoprep tablets, who knows. But it was a rough 24 hours. I never even wanted to think about food once I started with those tablets the afternoon before.

Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience. Your the first bad story I've heard from the.

I am usually the QUEEN of side effects and I got NOTHING from these. My husband did use them for the first time last month and he did say that he had about 45 minutes of queasiness (while he was taking them).

I had a rough time with anesthesia too. Mainly because they couldn't seem to get me fully asleep. So then ended up pumping me up with Demerol. The doctor said he'd never used so much on someone before. I was sick for 48 hours and had to have Phenergan phoned in. I don't know what that was about. I've had previous sedations and never had a problem.