What's It Like to Get a Colonoscopy?

They won't start the procedure until you are out, so enjoy the downtime. The reason one is so gassy afterwards is because they inflate the bowel with carbon dioxide to clearly see if there are polyps and lesions. Afterwards, when getting dressed, use the toilet to expel as much gas as possible.
 
My father always stays awake during the procedure. One of my neighbors says she wakes up. There's actually no compelling reason to put you down other than patient anxiety.
 
Wuggle said:
Were you completely knocked out babylock? Did they wait until you were unconscious before inserting the probe, or did they just go for it? That's the part I'm most afraid of.
I think that they just momentarily forgot - when I made them aware of it - a blink of the eye and I was out for the count. The other two times when I was in position on my side it was lights out.
 
Ask for Prepopik it is just 8 oz 3 or 4 times across 24 hours. I have no memory of the procedure. Best sleep I ever had, now I know why Michael Jackson liked it so much.
 
In the UK the NHS doesn’t offer general anaesthesia for colonoscopy, just sedation.
 
MailCat581 said:
You also cannot have anything black as well which eliminates coffee and sodas. Your best way to do clear liquids is stock up on purified bottled water and drink that.

They don't want red either. Apparently that confuses them. Yellow or clear jell-o and lighter clear soups was what I lived on.
 
willnotwill said:
They don't want red either. Apparently that confuses them. Yellow or clear jell-o and lighter clear soups was what I lived on.

The red dye will coat your colon and mask any sores or irritated areas. Blue too for that matter.
 
I have now had 2 of them. The test is the easy part. Once I start the prep I do n it t leave the restroom I just bring my tablet and do Netflix and chill tell dine. Last few doses always makes me feel sick.
 
The prep is the worst part and the procedure itself is fine. I'm with those that say don't use tabbed nappies during the prep- you probably won't be able to get them off in time, and will have a massive crap explosion. I'd definitely recommend pads/nappies for afterwards though - the first time I didn't take any with me as I thought there was nothing to come out - but there was a whole load of gas with mucus and liquid that came out over the next few hours. In the procedure I was fairly heavily sedated - just about aware of what was going on, but barely.
 
Wuggle said:
Yikesers, this is sounding worse and worse!

the prep is not pleasant. the procedure itself is a breeze, since you are out .
 
Make sure you have IV sedation. The procedure is a doddle. The worst thing is having a needle stuck in you.
The preparation is unpleasant. I had to drink a litre of not very nice liquid then be IC for a while and then do it all again. You can’t eat but you can drink water so have plenty of that. The day before that there is a special diet to eat.
I’v Had two and the second prep was much easier.
My tips are don’t rush drinking the prep liquid and drink plenty of water.
Good luck. It will be fine.
 
Mix up the prep liquid as cold as you can, it mitigates the bad taste.

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I had nausea trying to drink all of the prep and couldn't keep it all down, so the second time I asked my doctor for an anti-nausea to take beforehand - that helped (although drinking the second prep solution, I began to wonder if I confused drinking the two solutions in two separate 1 hour stages or if I tried to drink both 32oz bottles in a single ~1 hour window....)

1st time I was out - no problem at all. 2nd time I had work to do that evening so I did it w/o sedation. The camera is so small her finger at he beginning was the only thing I felt going in, but the gas they fill you with was unconfortable - think an occasional bad gas cramp - nothing you can't handle, and mostly I felt nothing at all, but I do remember thinking that if I don't have a good reason to have to skip the sedation, then next time I will take it!
 
Lol, I love David Barry XD
 
Scope is not bad, the prep is awful.
 
I have had a colonoscopy every year for the past fifteen years, and every other year for ten years before that. I'm a bit of an expert on them.

If you use the Miralax/Gatorade prep, it's pretty easy. Six Dulcolax tablets at noon, at 6 PM start drinking the mixed solution, you're done drinking it by 7:10 (8 oz glass every 10 minutes), spend the rest of the evening in the bathroom. My best advice is to get two different flavors of Gatorade, which makes me get less tired of it.

For the Golytely prep, it's a similar drill, but you have twice the liquid to get through, and it doesn't taste very good . It's slightly salty and has kind of an odd taste. I find it easiest to make it cool but not cold, and drinking it from the glass instead of a straw, because I can get it down quicker. Have a glass of plain water handy and rinse your mouth right after - that will get rid of the aftertaste. I sometimes feel a little nauseated toward the end, and I'll go to a glass every 20 minutes when that happens.

If you're doing a magnesium citrate prep, I feel for you. Consider changing doctors - that is the most vile stuff I've ever had to drink. The prep kit I got that time had Dulcolax suppositories to use after the liquid stool was done coming out, and that was pure, burning agony since I hadn't yet learned not to use college dorm toilet paper for preps.

Speaking of which, get several rolls of the softest toilet paper you can find and a big jar of Vaseline. After you wipe each time, coat your bottom liberally with Vaseline - the stool won't come in contact with your skin, and it'll lubricate the toilet paper to help keep it from rubbing you raw.

For me, the worst is the clear liquid diet the day before. Broth is wholly unsatisfying, and jello isn't much better. Coffee helps, and I've never been told that it's off limits - in fact it's specifically listed as ok on the diet sheet they give me before the prep. Caffeine is an appetite suppressant, so it helps me feel less hungry.

I'm very resistant to Versed, so I was awake and remember the whole procedure my first few times. It was cool for a while, seeing my bowels roll by on the screen, but after a while the novelty wore off. Now I ask the doctor for enough Versed to put me to sleep, and he's learned that it really does take enough to anesthetize a horse.

In any event, the procedure is a breeze. The prep is annoying, but no worse than that.
 
That's why I always schedule the colonoscopy for first thing in the morning. It cuts down on the restricted eating time to include most of the night before. The first thing I ask for coming out is Coffee and then we go to the nearest breakfast joint for real food.
 
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