Colonoscopy

[dawn]

Hi,

Looking for feedback on a colonoscopy. I am scheduled in mid June.

Need to go in the afternoon before for the prep and IV fluids. I am

debating about putting it off for awhile as my brother is 3rd on the

liver transplant list in Chicago and I will need to be there for a couple

weeks. I'm afraid of feeling bad afterward. Also, anxious about drinking

the golytely prep.

Thanks for your input.

Dawn

[cardiactec]

I have had a colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy. the sigmoidoscopy was BY FAR worse than the colonoscopy. the colonoscopy was a walk in the park for me -- because they sedated me so much that i dont remember a thing. i actually had an endoscopy AND colonoscopy AT THE SAME TIME. the effects of sedation afterwards was a little rough (made me nauseated) but other than that it wasnt bas. i had the colonoscopy when they were still handing out BY THE GALLON (not even joking) prep jugs of colite. i had to drink THE WHOLE GALLON. NO JOKE. it was horrible. i think now the prep only involves this little dinky bottle of something, like 8-10 ounces.......

hope your colonoscopy goes well. the prep is tough, but hey, if you arent stuck with drinking a gallon of essentially laxative, i'd say you're in ok shape.

wishing you the best.

cardiactec.

[dawn]

Cardiactec,

It is a gallon. They said the small prep would draw too much fluid out of my tissues.

Dawn

[cardiactec]

Dawn. ick. so sorry. It wasnt a pleasant experience for me -- I'm not going to sugar coat it.

it WAS doable, just not one of the more pleasurable experiences of life!

What I did was CHILL IT (it is easier to drink when cold cold cold), actually put ice cubes in it, I also had a cup of water next to the cup of colite (or whatever the prep is that they are giving you to drink. I held my nose and literally guzzled. after each glass, I would chug down the glass of water and then repeat the process after waiting 10 minutes...........I sat there, doing this process for about two hours.

You can do it. hopefully these little suggestions help you out.

(by the way, it doesnt matter the "flavor" they give you. IT ALL TASTES THE SAME! )

you'll be okay dawn. wish and pray the best for you. the prep is definitely the hardest part.

BTW, I will be praying/thinking for your brother. I am so happy that he has a donor and pray the surgery goes well for him.

cardiactec.

[MightyMouse]

I've had several, and the procedure isn't that bad, but as noted here, the preparation is "draining" (pun intended). As long as you have a few days to recover, you should be fine--but if it's just a matter of putting it off for a few weeks to get your brother through the transplant process, a delay in having it done probably wouldn't be that bad (unless, of course, they believe you have something seriously wrong with your gi system and need immediate attention).

Nina

[lthomas521]

Yes, I will have one again, by the same doctor, because he knows from experience what my problems with anesthetics are!

[pat57]

yes I would do it again, my 4th is scheduled for January. I take off the day of prep and 2 days after. Increased symptons from poor hydration.

I have NCS- not POTS. I do hate it tho!

[Maxine]

Any ideas on sedation? I am extremely sensitive to drugs-----------I react to things differently, even more adversely then some of you who have POTS just like I do. I just have more going on with my body that has not been figured out completely by the docs, but I do have doctors who are finally seeing the true seriousness of this.

The doctor who is also a surgeon that will be doing my colonoscopy was able to see my BP drops in action. I had already met her when she did my brothers bowel resection after colon cancer was discovered. She is one of the most down to earth doctors I ever met, and I instantly felt comfortable with her. She is concerned about the combination of my health problems, so she has decided to do my colonoscopy in a trauma hospital. It's the brain stem thing that's scary, and now I have a possible lesion in that area---(more investigation being done there).

My brother currently has colon cancer--(stage 4 is what he said, but it might be stage 3---), my mother just passed away from terminal cancer in Feb.---we do not know where hers began, as her whole abdomin was infiltrated, her brother just passed away a couple weeks ago from colon cancer, her sister died of brain cancer in 2003, and her other sister has a brain tumor. So you can see how important this is to have the colonoscopy done. I was scheduled for February 28th--------(my mother passed awy on the 25th). Obviously it was cancelled.

I called the surgeon who was so nice, and she will see me for another appointment to discuss rescheduling the colonoscopy.

I've haave IBS issues all my life, so I need to get a good look at my insides anyway .

I hear from a lot of people it's not nearly as bad as some of us think it might be like. One woman I know was able to do it with very little sedation.

It's important to get it done-- My brother said he had no symptoms-- He didn't know it until he had pancreatitis and went to the ER. They admitted him and did a CT scan where they found thickening in his colon. The colonoscopy revealed cancer that spread to the other side of his colon, and to 17 lymphnodes. They just did a PET scan to check his liver, and if it had spread anywhere else. He has been on chemo since the beginning of last year.

I have been putting this off for a while now----and it must get done. No choice in that I'm afraid. My two other brothers had theirs done. They were Ok except polyps that were removed.

Maxine :0)

[JenniferInOhio]

I am scheduling a colonoscopy/endoscopy sometime in June. I am NOT looking forward to the prep. I had to do the prep 2 years ago before a diagnostic laparoscopy. It was 3 liters and not pleasant at all. I was diagnosed with POTS afterward because my reaction to either the dehydration or sedation used (major adrenaline rushes with heart rate going from 70-130 in a matter of seconds). The reason I tell you is to let your doctor know that most POTSY need extra fluids and a knowledgeable anethsiologist (sp).

[Sue]

without making it any more drastic then it was, my colonoscopy was a nightmare!! It started out with the prep, the more I drank the more sick I got... Besides tasting nasty, I was nauseas from the get go and couldn't stop vomiting.

The next morning, they had a really hard time putting me under, once under they started the procedure, only to have me wake up in the middle of the procedure, in excrutiating pain. Finally got things under control, finished the procedure. After getting so much antisectic (spelt wrong, I am sure ), I slept for two days, waking up I didn't know if it was just a nasty nightmare or real. After getting several phone messages, from the attending nurses, doctor, with apologies, I figured it was real.

Another one???? Not on your life

((Hugs))

Sue

[morgan617]

I've had 5 of them. I have found if i moderate my diet a couple days before the test, I don't have to drink the entire jug. You only have to drink it til your poo comes out yellow or green. Once it does that, even if you have a bunch left, it's an indication that you are cleaned out.

They now have the half lytely preps. I don't even do the pills and still don't need the whole jug. I do full liquids or very digestable food for two days, then of course clear liquids on the day of the prep.

I have never had problems with the test itself. I just sleep it off. I'm having a scope this Thursday actually.....Actually the jug is preferable, as it doesn't deplete your lytes like the others do. Good luck! I have gastroparesis and can still get cleaned easily. morgan

[pat57]

well Maxine,

I had my 3 without any sedation. The first two not bad. That was dr. Hale, the 3rd, different dr.- Pretty bad. Plan to use versed next time.

I have no doubt Dr Hale is exceptional. He typically uses no sedation. If you ask me, he just knows how to use that thing likke a master.

I had a friend that was admited in the HOSP for the test. Maybe you should ask if that's possible. She (obviously) had other factors that make the

procedure tricky. As do you.

good luck!