My first one is next Friday. Dreading the prep. But my dad has a history of polyps, and I'm 45, so time to make this a normal part of life every 5 years.
My first one is next Friday. Dreading the prep. But my dad has a history of polyps, and I'm 45, so time to make this a normal part of life every 5 years.
I've been after my doctor for one for a couple of years, but they haven't wanted to see patients in person. I never thought that I'd have to plead for someone to stick something up my behind.
TheRev said:My first one is next Friday. Dreading the prep. But my dad has a history of polyps, and I'm 45, so time to make this a normal part of life every 5 years.
Don't dread the prep. It's not FUN, but it's really not a problem if you can avoid making plans for that afternoon / evening.
After the procedure, treat yourself to a big old diner-style breakfast to make up for the previous 18 hours.
Duke said:TheRev said:My first one is next Friday. Dreading the prep. But my dad has a history of polyps, and I'm 45, so time to make this a normal part of life every 5 years.
Don't dread the prep. It's not FUN, but it's really not a problem if you can avoid making plans for that afternoon / evening.
After the procedure, treat yourself to a big old diner-style breakfast to make up for the previous 18 hours.
Due to problems obtaining an effective prep, they want me to do a five day fast with magnesium citrate flushes each day. I can't wait for that...
Or, as I tell my friends, I'm so full of E36M3, I'm defeating Big Pharma...
In reply to stroker :
Damn, all my prep was was 3 dulcolax tablet and two 10oz bottles of magnesium citrate spaced out the evening before with no food the day before. (Could have chicken broth and lemon lime Gatorade though, at least until midnight before procedure)
Datsun310Guy said:I had a two shot that day - scope from top and bottom. I was asleep - all was easy. Take care of yourself.
Haha, I hope they did down the top before using the (same?) scope up the bottom.
Serious, I've had 3 so far, runs in my family, no issues for me so far. The preparation the first time was drinking a gallon of something that was almost impossible to drink the last quart of with out vomiting. Last two where one glass of goop and then three more glasses of water, followed by more of the same in the middle of the night. You start at 12 hours before the 6:30 am procedure and get no sleep while running to the bathroom all night. Fun times.
I had my first one last week (I'm 46 with no family history). The fasting was annoying but not the end of the world ( I ate chicken broth and jello), and a couple hours on the jon after each serving of the "solution" (I had my laptop/phone/book pre-staged in the bathroom), but didn't tear me up much.
The procedure itself was....IDK....nothing. I was out before it started and woke up after feeling fine but hungry. Had a meal, felt normal afterwards with no after-effects at all.
All in all, not remotely as bad as I had heard peopel say it was.
I had a 10:30 procedure which meant the first quart of the solution at like 5pm and took about an hour to "evacuate" and then felt fine and got a full night's sleep, work up at 5am to take the second dose and was done with that by 7am or so. Toughest part was the last 3 hours since I coudlnt' have my morning coffee. Doing an early-morning procedure would be worse since you'd have to wake up at like 2am for solution dose 2, IMO.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:my doctor recommended a new-school way to do it. i pooped in a container and shipped it to a lab.
My doctor said that's good for "maintenance" , but only after you get the "real" one first to make sure you're good to start with. Then you do the one in the box every few years until your next "real" one every 10 years.
bluej (Forum Supporter) said:Datsun310Guy said:I had a two shot that day - scope from top and bottom. I was asleep - all was easy. Take care of yourself.
I had the same in Feb. of 2020 because of some ongoing, umm, digestive issues shall we say. A family history of gall bladder problems had us expecting that to be the issue, but the scopes showed cilia damage in my small intestines instead. That's when I found out at age 37 that I've got Celiac disease. As much as that sucks (I do really miss good beer), it happily made a lot of things click into place and could have been a lot worse (like the big C!). Really, the worst part is the prep diet, but totally worth it to know what's going on in there. So if you're at all worried about your digestive health, don't wait!
^^ I have it on good authority that now he eats yogurt that smells like antifreeze. ;)
irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:Doing an early-morning procedure would be worse since you'd have to wake up at like 2am for solution dose 2, IMO.
This is an important point to remember. For my first one, I was going to schedule the procedure first thing in the morning to get it over with, but the scheduler reminded me about having to do the second dose of solution beforehand. I was glad they did. I remembered for the second one, and scheduled it accordingly.
Due to having Crohn's, I have them more often than most. I schedule mine early in the morning and haven't had to do a 2am dose 2. I always just do it the evening before and have never had an issue. Check with your doctor. And yeah, the prep is nowhere near as bad as folklore would have you believe. It's no big deal at all. You're asleep for the procedure, so that's no big deal either...in fact, it's quite the nice nap.
For my most recent one they didn't put me to sleep. Whatever it was they gave me was a relaxant so I just didn't care during the procedure, but I had been looking forward to having a nice nap. 
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:Due to having Crohn's, I have them more often than most. I schedule mine early in the morning and haven't had to do a 2am dose 2. I always just do it the evening before and have never had an issue. Check with your doctor. And yeah, the prep is nowhere near as bad as folklore would have you believe. It's no big deal at all. You're asleep for the procedure, so that's no big deal either...in fact, it's quite the nice nap.
I too get them every 5 years due to Crohn's. The prep is nothing compared to what I went through before I ever got diagnosed and put on a medicine that has been a Godsend.
Just got my biopsy results from a few very small polyps removed during mine. Happy to say nothing cancerous or worrysome in the report. The 36 hours of mild discomfort and hunger is well worth peace of mind for another 5-10 years.
stuart in mn said:For my most recent one they didn't put me to sleep. Whatever it was they gave me was a relaxant so I just didn't care during the procedure, but I had been looking forward to having a nice nap.
Most of the time you're actually not asleep during the procedure itself, they want you to be able to shift positions a bit to help maneuvering the scope. One of the drugs they give you suppresses the creation of long-term memories so you don't remember the procedure itself. This is also why when the doctor comes out to the recovery room to talk to you about whatever it was that they found you never remember that either. :)
spitfirebill said:SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:Due to having Crohn's, I have them more often than most. I schedule mine early in the morning and haven't had to do a 2am dose 2. I always just do it the evening before and have never had an issue. Check with your doctor. And yeah, the prep is nowhere near as bad as folklore would have you believe. It's no big deal at all. You're asleep for the procedure, so that's no big deal either...in fact, it's quite the nice nap.
I too get them every 5 years due to Crohn's. The prep is nothing compared to what I went through before I ever got diagnosed and put on a medicine that has been a Godsend.
Amen to that!!! Suffering from the disease is a 1000 times worse than the colonoscopy prep. What medicine do they have you using? I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago. I started with Remicade, but after a few years had severe reactions to it. Switched to Humira which worked fabulous for a very long time. Recently it seemed to stop working so well and now I'm using Stelara, which works very well so far.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
I have been on mesalamine since 1999. Dr added imuran a couple of years later. So far I've not had to use a biologic. I don't have the flares like most people have, which is probably why it wasn't diagnosed until I was much older than the usual patient. I'm still not 100% convinced my problem is Crohn's, but as the doctor said, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
stroker said:Duke said:TheRev said:My first one is next Friday. Dreading the prep. But my dad has a history of polyps, and I'm 45, so time to make this a normal part of life every 5 years.
Don't dread the prep. It's not FUN, but it's really not a problem if you can avoid making plans for that afternoon / evening.
After the procedure, treat yourself to a big old diner-style breakfast to make up for the previous 18 hours.
Due to problems obtaining an effective prep, they want me to do a five day fast with magnesium citrate flushes each day. I can't wait for that...
Or, as I tell my friends, I'm so full of E36M3, I'm defeating Big Pharma...
Well, this is pissing me off mightily. I did not have to do the five day fast but I did do a three day fast and consumed 18 20 oz bottles of clear Gatorade mixed with three bottles of Miralax. That's all I ate. I still wasn't clean enough for the procedure which was supposed to happen this morning. It sounds like my small intestine processes food slower than the Sarlacc from Star Wars... I'm waiting for the docs to contact me with modified prep procedures but I'm not holding my breath. Anyone have any suggestions?
stroker said:stroker said:Duke said:TheRev said:My first one is next Friday. Dreading the prep. But my dad has a history of polyps, and I'm 45, so time to make this a normal part of life every 5 years.
Don't dread the prep. It's not FUN, but it's really not a problem if you can avoid making plans for that afternoon / evening.
After the procedure, treat yourself to a big old diner-style breakfast to make up for the previous 18 hours.
Due to problems obtaining an effective prep, they want me to do a five day fast with magnesium citrate flushes each day. I can't wait for that...
Or, as I tell my friends, I'm so full of E36M3, I'm defeating Big Pharma...
Well, this is pissing me off mightily. I did not have to do the five day fast but I did do a three day fast and consumed 18 20 oz bottles of clear Gatorade mixed with three bottles of Miralax. That's all I ate. I still wasn't clean enough for the procedure which was supposed to happen this morning. It sounds like my small intestine processes food slower than the Sarlacc from Star Wars... I'm waiting for the docs to contact me with modified prep procedures but I'm not holding my breath. Anyone have any suggestions?
Celery and popcorn for 3 days followed by 3 days of the miralax.
Had my 4th one yesterday, family history has upped the schedule.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:I've been after my doctor for one for a couple of years, but they haven't wanted to see patients in person. I never thought that I'd have to plead for someone to stick something up my behind.
You need to find another berkeleying doctor.
This thread keeps popping back up and one thing that surprises me is the wide variation of preps doctors use.
Long story. I'll try to be brief.
Went in for my colonoscopy Wednesday. Two polyps (one large) removed. A friend drove me home. We stopped for lunch and I ate a burger. Woke up around midnight feeling like onset diarrhea coming and overwhelming thirst. Got to the bedroom door and sagged to the floor with lightheadedness and nausea. Crawled on my hands and knees to the toilet and promptly blew a huge amount of both liquid and clotted blood. Sat there for some time, shaking like a leaf. Realized I might have complications from the procedure and thought I'd best get hands on my phone (downstairs). Got down the stairs, grabbed phone and made it to the fridge for a drink of water before collapsing again. Thought I'd try to get back to bed. Got to the stairs and collapsed again, blood oozing out my ass. Hands and knees to the kitchen where I grabbed paper towels. Got back to the stairs and collapsed again. Debated with myself about whether to call 911. Did that for about 10 minutes and then figured I was in genuine trouble. Called 911. Ambulance came. They carted me out naked and bloody. Had the presence of mind to ask them to lock the door and get my keys from my jeans pocket and my phone. Before we started driving to the hospital I puked most of what I'd eaten that day (the volume of which impressed even the EMTs).
Got to the hospital and went through half a dozen interviews with various med techs about what happened. By the time I was done I was so confused I couldn't keep things straight. Couldn't talk because my mouth was so dry and they wouldn't let me drink anything. My teeth are chattering so hard I was seriously afraid I was going to break teeth. It's now about 2am. After various IV meds I was semi-coherent. My blood pressure upon arrival was 90-something over 90-something. It improved slightly with the meds to something like 110 over 80. My blood sugar was 320+. They start me on colonoscopy prep fluid in anticipation of having to get me cleaned out enough for another colonoscopy to cauterize a bleeder left from the previous procedure. Spent Thursday trying to sleep between hourly tests of blood and blood sugar levels. Continued through Thursday texting work and others (my GP, with whom I had an appointment Thursday afternoon). The second batch of prep that I was supposed to start at 5pm arrived at 11pm. Had a liquid dinner (tepid beef broth and Italian Ice) and went through another night of bi-hourly wake ups to draw blood and test blood sugar levels. Spent the night chugging prep and trying to sleep. They did various other tests (X-ray, CAT scan) and found a "small solid lump" in my lower left lung (I'm going to have that checked in three months). By Friday morning I was no longer E36M3'ing food (as there wasn't much left after I'd puked in the ambulance) but was still bleeding internally. We spent Friday trying to get me ready to do another colonoscopy. The prep I was supposed to drink was, again, delivered six hours late by the pharmacy causing problems with getting it through me fast enough to do the procedure. We finally did at 3pm. I was out of the room when my ex dropped off my glasses, wallet and some clothes. Good news--she flushed the toilet at my house. Bad news, the linkage hung up and the toilet ran constantly for two days. Can't wait to get my utility bill next month... Got to the room afterward and was informed my hemoglobin levels were dropping at an alarming rate. They wanted me to stay overnight for observation. Wasn't much I could do about it. Hemoglobin still dropping until about 7am Saturday when it stabilized at 7.1. The threshold for needing a transfusion was 7.0. Ate solid food for Friday night dinner (literally, TWO of them) and Saturday breakfast and it jumped to 7.7. Ended up staying until about 3pm today when they were satisfied my hemoglobin level wasn't going to drop below 7.0. They finally released me. I was lightheaded but ambulatory when the ex (bless her heart) picked me up and brought me home. The good news is that the preliminary examination of the two polyps indicates they were benign, but we have to wait for the final results. I'm supposed to go in for labs on Monday and I've got a work excuse through Tuesday.
So, class, what have we learned from this experience?
In reply to stroker :
Holy crap! Wait, sorry maybe that wasn't the best phrase... I'm sorry you went through so much, but very very glad you're here to tell the tale.
In reply to stroker :
"So, class, what have we learned from this experience?"
Sounds like you need a better gastroenterologist performing the procedure. I have been through so many colonoscopies I can't even count and never had this issue.
FYI: I typically eat light after having this procedure just get my system slowly ramped up. Not that this would have caused your issues but I tend to treat my gut with respect after all I've been through.
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