Have you or a relative had a colonoscopy?
I am scheduled for a colonoscopy next week. I am dreading the whole thing. I actual event will be anticlimactic, but the prep is terrible. 24 hours without solid food and I will have to drink a gallon of liquid and shallow 32 pills in two hours. Then comes 12 hours of constant bowel movements.
Is it as bad as they say? Stories?
I have had four colonoscopies and never been sedated. The minor discomfort from the anaesthesia, especially Versed (aka the date rape drug) isn’t worth the risk associated with the drug. In spite of what most believe, conscious sedation means you are awake (albeit very mellow) and you may in fact feel some pain; but, then the Versed does it’s job (usually) and causes the amnesia and you forget what happened. But as you read, most of these folks like being doped. I like being able to drive myself to and from and actually see the inner workings of myself. Sedation versus no sedation is a choice.
Your doctor has chosen the pills as a prep. It beats the gallon of Polyethylene Glycol. The gallon of liquid should be just clear liquids. Gatorade or other sports drinks will prevent you from having an electrolyte imbalance from all the liquid you will pass. The idea that it will be 12 hours of sitting on the crapper sounds like a lot of crap. I take the Fleet Phospho Soda. It’s two doses 4 hours apart.
The prep is the worst part.
The stories are far worse the the actual thing. I went through it, it wasn’t that bad. Just do it. Colon cancer is worse.
My father has had one. It wasn’t as bad as they say and definitely as bad as it used to be.
No big deal. You won’t feel a thing. The prep is annoying, especially the stuff they give you to clean out your bowels, but the procedure is really nothing to worry about.
And it’s a smart thing to do.
I had to go through one when I was 16 because of inflamed intestinal tract problems. It probably was different for me then because I was young and hadn’t been through a whole of procedures (now I am 26 and have had surgeries, child birth etc.). The prep wasn’t bad at all, but it was very painful for me, the actual ordeal (again, probably caused by my condition). They had an army of nurses holding me down, even when I was sedated! I was screaming and all that, trying to escape. Most of it wasn’t that bad, but seeing your insides on the screen is strange.
Just an uncomfortable feeling. I overreacted big time (as teenagers are wont to do).
Yes the prep is the worst part. Although the pills and water I think are easier than the other stuff they could give you to drink. The procedure itself is painless as you are asleep and you won’t remember any of it. I have had several and no big deal.
Make sure nothing you drink is red in color, it messes up the pictures.
It is not as scary as it seems. I would eat a high protein meal as your final one before you fast. This is what happenned to me.
1. After I followed the guided plan of foods to eat and what time to eat them, my wife drove me to the clinic.
2. I signed in.
3. They had me go to a waiting area and then I proceeded to where they would be doing the procedure.
4. They took my vital signs.
5. I had no control over the process, so I gave up resisting. They gave me an IV and had me breath in some gas. I was out within a minute.
6. It seemed that they were probing my anus with something large because I woke from my sleep during the procedure. This was I feel at the start and only for a few seconds. I recall saying "Owe" the doctor said to the nurse…"Give him more something" then I was out. I woke up being rolled into the waiting area.
7. It was all done. The slight waking up was strange, I felt it for a few seconds and then never felt a thing. Overall it was painless.
8. There is a House of Pancakes close to the clinic I had it done at and I ordered six blueberry pancakes….and ate then all!
I would rate the experience with 10 being very painful a brief 2.
I have had 3 colonoscopies, and I agree that the anticipation is worse than the actual prep. I’ve had the salty liquid, and this last time i insisted on the pills for the prep, as the salty liquid makes me ill.
If you are taking any medicine every day, BE SURE to make clear with your doctor’s office about which pills you should still take the night before and the morning of the procedure.
Buy a good bit of clear liquids you enjoy, or at least can stomach. None can be red or purple, as these will show up red in your colon and could be mistaken for blood, and will stain the tissues, making abnormalities harder to see.
Apple juice, 7-Up, Sprite, chicken broth, green tea, etc are all acceptable. Light colored jellos are ok, too, such as peach, and even lime (since it’s green, not red.) You cannot drink milk, yogurt drinks, or any other liquid you cannot see thru.
Once you start the pills, stay close to home. You will be in the bathroom a good bit. Some people have bowel cramps, but others do not. You will become quite cleared out. Have a good supply of soft toilet paper on hand! This is the time to splurge!
the actual procedure takes time, but is a piece of cake. You’ll be admitted a few hrs. before it is scheduled, in order to get all the preparation and paperwork done. The nurse will have you answer all sorts of questions, and they will start an IV in your hand or inside your elbow to give you fluids and any medicine that is needed. The nurse uses a tiny needle to start the IV, and then the needle is taken out, leaving only a teeny tube in your vein (like a little straw.)
If you are female, i’d suggest bringing warm socks and an extra blanket to use while you are waiting to be taken into the procedure room — hospital rooms tend to be COLD, and you probably will be feeling a little worn out by then.
Be sure to get them to let you go to the bathroom JUST BEFORE you are taken to the procedure room. By that time, you have had more fluids, and you will want to have your bladder as empty as possible for the duration of the procedure.
In the procedure room, they will have you scoot over to the table, and then they will give you medicine (usually Versed plus a pain medicine) in your IV to make you sleepy. SOMETIMES during the procedure, you will feel some discomfort, and groan a little. If you do this, they will give you more medicine, and it is VERY likely that you won’t even remember this.
My motto is "Do anything you want — just give me Versed!" It is a great medicine that makes you forget what is being done! Yet you are still "awake" enough to follow their directions to turn to the other side!
The next thing you know, you will be waking up in the recovery room. While you recover and wake up, you will often say, "Is it over yet?" and the nurse and the person who came with you will tell you it IS over and you did great. Then you will fall back asleep again, and wake up a little later and ask it all over again. This is normal. The doctor typically comes in to report what he/she saw during the test, but you will probably not remember that the doctor came in.
Once you are awake for good, they’ll give you some crackers to munch and liquid to drink, and you’ll go to the bathroom. Then you can get dressed and go home. They will give you written instructions for your at-home care. Be sure to follow these carefully.
Try not to eat a heavy meal initially –it won’t sit well on your stomach. Soft foods like soup are a good way to start. Once you feel normal, and your insides feel ok, you can eat regular food.
You MUST have someone with you to drive you home. You CANNOT drive home yourself, due to the medicines. It would be like driving DUI. If someone cannot be with you, you’ll have to take a taxi home.
Good luck! i think you will find it’s not as bad as you fear.
i hope this helps!
kathy, RN, MSN
Hi, Yes I had a colonoscopy last June, the preparation is by far the worst part of it all,the night before I had to drink 2L of colyte, this gives you diarrhoea, and cleans out your bowel, so its best to stay near a toilet, no food after lunch that day, but you can drink as much water or clear fluids as you wish. The morning of your test, no food, at 6:00am I had to mix a bottle of phospho-soda to water and drink it together with as much clear liquid as you want, but stop drinking 3 hours before the procedure.Obviously it seems different hospitals have different procedures. The actual colonoscopy was fine, no problems whatsoever.Once the prep is over, nothing else to worry about. Good Luck
"12 hours of constant bowel movements"?
Someone’s just trying to alarm you. Drink the liquid all at once instead of spreading it out, & that part lasts maybe an hour, is very noisy & wet, and "aromatic". Take a book in there with you!
The prep is far worse than the exam, but both are 1000 times more fun than cancer, trust me!
(If you wake up during the procedure, and any of the "doctors" have antennae or are wearing space helmets, don’t worry about it…)
Ive had 4 over the last few years, its no big deal… dont sweat it ..just do it and get it done.. Like some one above said..colon cancer would be worse.. so get er done…!!!!