The clearing out begins

[bacarver]

Bike4 -- My husband had a scope a few months ago. Things learned from that experience . . .
1. The prep is no fun, but the drugs they give you for the procedure make ya forget all 'bout it.
2. Wear clothes to the hospital that are easy on/easy off and easy wash.
3. Take a barf pan with you because you may "yarp" on the way home.
4. Have your post-procedure bed ready so all you have to do is fall into it once you get back home.
5. Have something yummy to eat once you recover. My husband devoured most of the coffee cake I made for him.
6. The abdominal pain will subside as the hours pass.

I'm assuming that someone is going with you.

Best wishes and be brave.

Barb

[salsabike]

Yeah, I thought you were maybe cleaning your garage.

God, after all this time (I get them every three years because of family colon cancer history), I never thought of aloe/baby wipes. Thanks, guys. Great idea. And yup, entertainment in the bathroom during prep is a must. I get LOTS of reading done.

bacarver has the rest exactly right, although I have never even had a momentary desire to yarp.

There are lots of reasons for abdominal discomfort, and many are quite treatable, so take heart..you will get through this...

[bike4ever]

salsabike - This is actually my second one. I had one about 6 years ago after my brother had polyps. My doc at the time just wanted a baseline done since my grandmother also died from colon cancer. This time is because of my own issues. The good/wierd thing is I have no other symptons (fever, nausea, joint aches/pains) - just bowel changes.

[salsabike]

Yeah, that is good if a little weird.

I have a truly amazing colon cancer history on my dad's side---like at least one of my grandparents, ALL THREE of their children, and now in my generation, my cousin. I don't like colonoscopies much but I was the one who suggested every three years and will willingly keep it up forever. Bleah. Could be worse, I guess. Anyway, better to test than not to test.

[mary9761]

Good luck with the colonoscopy. I've had them and no the prep is no fun, I'll try to remember the baby wipes/aloe next time I or my husband has to have one. The procedure itself, the drugs they give you usually knock you out or at least they did me. I don't remember wanting to yarp either, but everyone reacts to the meds and gas differently. I did wake for a very few seconds during my scope 9-11-01 but felt someone pat my hand say, "you'll be ok" and was out like a light again. At least it's better than they did nearly 20 years ago, I was fully awake for a similar scope. There are many benign things they can find and you may not find anything. I have IBS and diverticulitis, but not having the scope and missing something isn't worth NOT going through the prep etc. One suggestion, when you mix the drink tomorrow, if they haven't already suggested it, make it early and put it in the fridge, it's a lot easier to tolerate chilled. Hopefully you got a flavored mix.

[Zen]

I've had two of these fun procedures and I recall spending the entire day before one of them on the toilet. I had a little six inch TV in the bathroom with me and i even fell asleep on the pot But I couldn't go anywhere else.
The second one was not quite that extreme, I don't know why.

I hope everything comes out OK sorry, couldn't resist

[michelem]

Good luck to you! I recently had a colonoscopy and the prep was no big deal whatsoever. I was expecting that I would get sick from drinking it, but pretty much had no reaction. I fasted for 72 hours prior to drinking the prep (water with a little bit of lemon juice only). Bought the lemon-ginger flavored phospho soda and mixed it with lemon flavored gatorade and water. Drank it chilled and with a straw. The first dose did absolutely nothing. After the second dose (6 hours after the first) I finally went a little bit, but not much. I returned the unopened package of wipes for a refund - I barely even used any tp!

The procedure itself - had to have an enema first since the prep didn't produce the results they wanted. Yucky. Then they put me out. I don't even remember getting dressed or hubby driving me home afterward. I felt very foggy-headed and out of it for the next day or so.

The real fun began AFTER the test. I swelled up like a balloon - edema - from all of the retained phospho soda prep. I gained over 8 pounds of water weight and over the course of the next two weeks got to the point where I couldn't wear closed shoes and my eyes almost swelled shut. Then, my body started shedding water like crazy and I got back to "normal."

All of that to be told my symptoms were either an infection or ischemic colitis - no cancer - whew!

Anyway, long explanation, but just wanted to give you my experience. We're all different, so I'm not saying you'll be affected the same way.

Again - GOOD LUCK!

[Aggie_Ama]

One thing I forgot... My husband had one for his Crohn's diasnosis last year. Since you are having issues you may experience some pain/discomfort afterwards from the air. We had to find out what additional pain killers he could take because the pain continued after the meds from the procedure wore off. He had a lot of inflamation from the Crohn's, so this is probably not the norm.

Kudos to everyone for taking care of your health. My Pawpaw had colon cancer. My dad is in remission from colon cancer and it broke my heart to have my stepmother in law tell me she would "never have another colonoscopy because she can't think of anything worse". Well I can and have seen it.