Dizzyblonde - Colonoscopy?

[gertie]

How did the colonoscopy go today? Are you ok?

[kmichaelson]

Hi Alicia, Thanks for checking on me--you're so sweet! Everything went fine today thankfully! I had to have an endoscopy (tube down my throat) and a colonoscopy because I've been having a lot of digestive issues, but the doctor said everything looked fine. I guess they took a biopsy too, but I think that's just to confirm if I have IBS or not, which it seems like I do.

The "colon prep" certainly isn't fun and anesthesia is always rough for me to come out of, but I'm not doing too bad considering it all! Thanks again for checking on me! I hope you're having a good day & doing well.

[Jan]

I have a colonoscopy scheduled for late December and am really nervous about the prep day making me feel horrible.

Can I ask what you used for prep and also what they used during the procedure and were you aware of what was going on during the procedure?

[kmichaelson]

Hi Jan, I was really dreading it as well, but it's not as bad as I thought it might be. Definitely the prep is the worst part. The night before I had to drink 2 liters of what's called MoviPrep, which tastes like really salty gatorade. It's hard to get it all down because it's pretty gross, but I drank most of it before I felt too nauseous to finish. Just don't plan on being anywhere far from a toilet at all once you start drinking this! Basically you'll just be spending a lot of time in the bathroom, and it's gross, but it wasn't painful or anything. I didn't get cramps from it.

Compared to the prep, the actual procedure is absolutely nothing. I was given general anesthesia, so I was totally unaware of everything and I didn't have any pain afterwards. I have a bad time with anesthesia though, so I made sure they pre-loaded me with extra fluids before the procedure. My cardiologist said I should ask them to do this and that he would talk to them if necessary, but they didn't question it. I had this done at 9:30 or so this morning and I'm still really tired and dizzy, but that's actually how I feel most days, so I'm not sure how much is anesthesia and how much is me, but I've been sleeping a lot and don't feel bad in general--just like I don't want to do anything or move around. Also, I originally had this scheduled for a Wednesday, but I changed it to a Friday just to give myself a little extra time to recover since I know it takes me awhile to feel better after anesthesia.

Also, I'm sure you know that we can't eat anything the day before the procedure, but you can have chicken broth, jello, and about any liquid that isn't milky or cloudy, so going the whole day without food wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I just had lots of small "meals" throughout the day, and then by the evening when it's time to drink the prep fluids, you'll be so full you won't feel hungry.

I hope this all makes sense! I'm still feeling a little woozy so I could be typing nonsense. But I just wanted to let you know that I was worried as well, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared it might be, and it's good to have it over with to set your mind at ease! PM me if you think of any other questions & good luck!

[Frugalmama]

Glad to hear that it went as well as a colonoscopy can . When you said they did a biopsy, did you mean that they'll use that to rule out everything else and thus diagnose you with IBS based on exclusion, or that they actually biopsy to test for IBS? Thanks:)

[gertie]

I'm glad you're ok. I tried to do the prep 3 different times but after about 6 hours into drinking the prep

& not being able to eat solid food I started passing out. Dr told me not to come back until I got my hypoglycemia

& POTS under control. I didn't find the drink bad at all. You can mix it with lemonade, ginger ale, sprite or any

clear liquid which helps it taste better. I was allowed to drink 2 cans of Boost in an attempt to keep me conscious

while fasting but it didn't help.

[Jan]

Dizzy, thank you for the info. I know I feel really horrible if I have a virus that causes me to use the bathroom a lot, but then I am also dealing with a virus so the prep has been scaring me.

This is just a routine test for me that everyone is supposed to get at age 50 and I have put it off 5 years so far.