Just sent in my paperwork to schedule my colonoscopy...

[mlktwins]

But...I don't wanna do it 😭!!!!  I had one back on 2008 so I'm not really nervous about the procedure because I know what to expect.  I am looking forward to that great little sleep :-).   I don't wanna do the prep though 😭!  My DH just had one in September (with the same practice) and they only use the prep with all the liquid.  I gagged a lot when I did the prep in 2008.  

Now that I've vented 😁, I'm going to go back through the recent threads I saved on this topic and see if there is anything I can do to make the prep better.

[Scarlett]

I just had one.  My first . Can’t say I am a fan of the prep.  They ordered Clean Piq which was $90. When I said, ‘um order me something else-not paying that’ they gave it to me for free!  

It was a small amount of gunk to drink...6 ounces I think.  One at night one in the morning (for a 12:30 schedule procedure). Lots of water. The gunk was disgusting but I held my breath and got through that.  The worst for me was the 36 hours of clear liquids.  I couldn’t even think straight I was so hungry.  

BUT so glad I went through with it.  I had a few issues that I really needed to be aware of.  

[May]

The prep is the worst😕My last two have been the virtual one but rethinking when the next time comes around. 

[Bambam]

Good for you for doing this! I know the prep isn't any fun (I've had 6-7 due to family history, so I know!), but it has gotten better through the years. 

If you really want to go on the wild side, you can do like my dh and forego the anesthesia. I think that is insane, but he said it wasn't bad at all, and he will do the next one that way too. I'll just enjoy my little nap! 

[Lanny]

Congratulations. The Colonoscopy is a life saving procedure. I saw many years ago (in a Fox News Extra when we had Fox News Channel) that the first Colonoscopy removes approximately 80 % (?) of the pre-cancerous polyps. The 2nd one will probably get any new ones.

NOTE: My wife told me, a week or so ago, that the DH of one of her Nieces is in the hospital dying of Colon Cancer. He is 32 years old. Also, the DW of a childhood friend passed away approximately 10 years ago, She refused to have a Colonoscopy and by the time her doctor forced her to have it, the Cancer was too advanced for them to help her.

IME, the aftermath is worse than the preparation for the Colonoscopy, but after about 7 days, I was back to "normal".

[Scarlett]

26 minutes ago, Lanny said:

Congratulations. The Colonoscopy is a life saving procedure. I saw many years ago (in a Fox News Extra when we had Fox News Channel) that the first Colonoscopy removes approximately 80 % (?) of the pre-cancerous polyps. The 2nd one will probably get any new ones.

NOTE: My wife told me, a week or so ago, that the DH of one of her Nieces is in the hospital dying of Colon Cancer. He is 32 years old. Also, the DW of a childhood friend passed away approximately 10 years ago, She refused to have a Colonoscopy and by the time her doctor forced her to have it, the Cancer was too advanced for them to help her.

IME, the aftermath is worse than the preparation for the Colonoscopy, but after about 7 days, I was back to "normal".

Really?  I had zero issues.  Maaaybe a little tender inside but apparently my silly colon is extra long and twisted. Took them 3 times as long as it should have.

[catz]

27 minutes ago, Lanny said:

 

IME, the aftermath is worse than the preparation for the Colonoscopy, but after about 7 days, I was back to "normal".

Really?  This might vary per person because my DH has had many due to family history and was always back to normal by the end of the day.  I had one and felt the same.  Prep was definitely the worst for both of us.

[Ellie]

My father died of colon cancer, a type that was genetic, when he was barely 60, so I am an old pro at colonoscopies. Yay me. Prep has always been the worst part, no problems afterwards.

[PrincessMommy]

I just had my first last week.  The prep is the worst.  It was hard to get that last bit of nasty drink down me at 3am on an empty stomach.  Blech.  

But, I must have gotten lucky because the dr. found zero polyps.  None.  Totally surprised me.  And my diverticulitis is moderate/severe, which the doctor was not concerned about.  I went in fully expecting bad news on that front.   She said I don't have to go in for another 10yrs!!  Whoot.    I hope by that time the will have improved the prep portion.

 

[Tree Frog]

40 minutes ago, Bambam said:

If you really want to go on the wild side, you can do like my dh and forego the anesthesia.

In general, I try not to have anesthesia when I can avoid it, so when I had my colonoscopy, I was awake. It was so cool to see what they were doing. The dr. did a great job of explaining what was happening, what he was looking for, and why he chose the samples he did. He had told me prior to the procedure the colon has no nerve endings, so I couldn't feel anything when he took samples. 

The prep, though, wasn't pleasant. DH slept upstairs so I would have use of the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom without disturbing him. Keep Aquaphor or Vaseline handy in case you get sore.

[PrincessMommy]

5 minutes ago, wilrunner said:

In general, I try not to have anesthesia when I can avoid it, so when I had my colonoscopy, I was awake. It was so cool to see what they were doing. The dr. did a great job of explaining what was happening, what he was looking for, and why he chose the samples he did. He had told me prior to the procedure the colon has no nerve endings, so I couldn't feel anything when he took samples. 

The prep, though, wasn't pleasant. DH slept upstairs so I would have use of the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom without disturbing him. Keep Aquaphor or Vaseline handy in case you get sore.

I agree.. and use wet wipes.  They're more soothing than reg tp.   

[Tree Frog]

1 minute ago, PrincessMommy said:

I agree.. and use wet wipes.  They're more soothing than reg tp.   

I forgot about wipes! Yes, very necessary. Just don't flush them.

[J-rap]

I had my first one about two years ago, and I was scared silly.  (And medical things don't usually make me nervous.)  The best decision I made was to forego the large quantity of gatorade they recommended to have as my laxative beverage, and had iced herbal chamomile tea instead.  It was a lot more tolerable.  I'm sure drinking so much gatorade itself would have made my stomach turn.  Honestly, drinking iced herbal tea wasn't that difficult at all!

I had a thread on it at the time, beforehand, looking for advice.  Someone recommended shutting myself up in a room next to the bathroom and binging on a good TV series throughout.  That's what I did.  It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  And the minute the colonoscopy was over, I felt great.  (Okay, a little hazy from the anesthesia, but after I was over that, I was fine.)

[ThisIsTheDay]

I've only had one, so I don't know how much what I did affected it.

Two days before my appt., I ate only liquid or very soft food (think soup,  mashed potatoes, etc.). The night before, as instructed, I used Miralax with Gatorade for prep. I hate Gatorade, so I thought it was be awful, but it wasn't. And I couldn't tell the Miralax was in it.

It was helpful that my appt was early in the morning.

When it was all done, I asked my husband to fix me pancakes and bacon for lunch. Hilarious because I NEVER eat pancakes, I don't really like them, but they seemed like a warm and safe way to get my body going again. The whole experience was a piece of cake for me; in fact, after I had mine, my husband scheduled his, which he'd put off for several years until that point.

[PrincessMommy]

1 hour ago, J-rap said:

I had my first one about two years ago, and I was scared silly.  (And medical things don't usually make me nervous.)  The best decision I made was to forego the large quantity of gatorade they recommended to have as my laxative beverage, and had iced herbal chamomile tea instead.  It was a lot more tolerable.  I'm sure drinking so much gatorade itself would have made my stomach turn.  Honestly, drinking iced herbal tea wasn't that difficult at all!

I had a thread on it at the time, beforehand, looking for advice.  Someone recommended shutting myself up in a room next to the bathroom and binging on a good TV series throughout.  That's what I did.  It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  And the minute the colonoscopy was over, I felt great.  (Okay, a little hazy from the anesthesia, but after I was over that, I was fine.)

A friend told me the same thing.  She felt great getting home and having something to eat.  It took me all day to recover from the anesthesia.  Had low energy and felt blah all day.   It wasn't awful, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  

[J-rap]

9 hours ago, PrincessMommy said:

A friend told me the same thing.  She felt great getting home and having something to eat.  It took me all day to recover from the anesthesia.  Had low energy and felt blah all day.   It wasn't awful, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  

I know everyone reacts to anesthesia differently...    I once picked up the husband of a good friend of mine after his colonoscopy (she was out of town dealing with sick parents), and we had a long conversation in the car on the drive home.  He showed me his colonoscopy photos - 🙂 , talked about the experience, blah blah blah.  Two days later I talked to my friend, and she told me her husband didn't even remember how he got home that day!  He had no recollection of me, or of anything that day after the surgery.  

[mlktwins]

On 2/18/2020 at 12:18 PM, Scarlett said:

I just had one.  My first . Can’t say I am a fan of the prep.  They ordered Clean Piq which was $90. When I said, ‘um order me something else-not paying that’ they gave it to me for free!  

It was a small amount of gunk to drink...6 ounces I think.  One at night one in the morning (for a 12:30 schedule procedure). Lots of water. The gunk was disgusting but I held my breath and got through that.  The worst for me was the 36 hours of clear liquids.  I couldn’t even think straight I was so hungry.  

BUT so glad I went through with it.  I had a few issues that I really needed to be aware of.  

I'm so glad you got this done!!!

[mlktwins]

22 hours ago, Bambam said:

Good for you for doing this! I know the prep isn't any fun (I've had 6-7 due to family history, so I know!), but it has gotten better through the years. 

If you really want to go on the wild side, you can do like my dh and forego the anesthesia. I think that is insane, but he said it wasn't bad at all, and he will do the next one that way too. I'll just enjoy my little nap! 

 NO THANK YOU -- LOL!  The nap (and peace of mind hopefully) is the best thing out of this whole thing!!!

[mlktwins]

56 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:

I recently had one--the first in many, many years. No problems whatsoever, and I'll be 74 for the next one. And frankly, I'll probably skip it at that point!

My dad is 84 and he was insisting he needed to get one (just a routine one -- not because of problems).  He was shocked when the doctor said they don't recommend them over a certain age anymore.  His routine ones have all been fine.  I'm glad, because I would have to be with him for the prep and everything!  I would, but I'm glad I don't have to!!!

[mlktwins]

Thank you all!  I had no problems with the anesthesia after my first one.  I felt really good and so happy to eat.  Had Chick-Fil-A on the way home.  I could tell you a gross story about that ride home (my DH laughs every time he remembers is), but it would definitely be TMI -- LOL.

All this information is great!  Thanks @wilrunner and @PrincessMommy for the tips for Vaseline and wet wipes!  And @J-rap for the tip on the unsweetened ice tea.  That was one of the things I remembered and was going to go back through old threads to find.

My DH has had polyps removed at his last 2 so he goes every 5.  Praying my next one is not for another 10 (I'll be 62).

 

[J-rap]

3 hours ago, mlktwins said:

Thank you all!  I had no problems with the anesthesia after my first one.  I felt really good and so happy to eat.  Had Chick-Fil-A on the way home.  I could tell you a gross story about that ride home (my DH laughs every time he remembers is), but it would definitely be TMI -- LOL.

All this information is great!  Thanks @wilrunner and @PrincessMommy for the tips for Vaseline and wet wipes!  And @J-rap for the tip on the unsweetened ice tea.  That was one of the things I remembered and was going to go back through old threads to find.

My DH has had polyps removed at his last 2 so he goes every 5.  Praying my next one is not for another 10 (I'll be 62).

 

Yep, definitely unsweetened!  Have you scheduled a day yet?

[mlktwins]

14 minutes ago, J-rap said:

Yep, definitely unsweetened!  Have you scheduled a day yet?

No....waiting for them to contact me.  I emailed the application to them yesterday and I know they received it because I'm not getting text notifications.  I'm hoping for a certain Thursday or Friday in March where I don't have to go anywhere or be responsible for much -- LOL.  I want it first thing in the morning if at all possible.

[DawnM]

On 2/18/2020 at 3:04 PM, wilrunner said:

The prep, though, wasn't pleasant. DH slept upstairs so I would have use of the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom without disturbing him. Keep Aquaphor or Vaseline handy in case you get sore.

 

Or this:

 

[mlktwins]

10 hours ago, DawnM said:

 

Or this:

 

Boy, it has been 12 or 13  years since I’ve bought butt paste 😂!  That was good stuff!!