Well, I’ve had 2 colonoscopies and am scheduled for my 3rd one in June. H was told by theGI since he’s now 80 and as fine at his last colonscopy, no need for any more! H will be my driver.
My colonoscopies were both done at the hospital outpatient clinic with an anesthesiologist, since I’m high risk due to very low lung function. I always request and get conscious sedation and often anti-nausea medicine in there because sedation tends to make me nauseous.
The prep was OK but glad when it’s all over, of course. I’ve read about some folks getting smaller preps with just a few pills but that’s not what I got for my upcoming prep. My GI has definite opinions about proper prep.
Between my insurer and Medicare, I believe I will have no copay. H is happy to be driver, NOT patient!
My son-in-law’s sister who is in her mid 50’s is having surgery on Friday. She had her first colonoscopy in December. The found cancer. We are all praying that it hasn’t spread.
One of my cousins had colon cancer found when he was 54. He had put off the colonoscopy for a couple of years and I am sure he regrets it. They thought that they had it all, but 6 years later they found it again. During the surgery they found that the cancer had been outside of the colon and had to remove everything down there that he didn’t absolutely need for life. He has been in and out of the hospital almost every month since. We are praying that he lives long enough for his daughter’s wedding this summer.
My husband’s nephew died of colon cancer at 29. It was diagnosed at age 21. He had wanted to be a Marine and was in wonderful physical condition. He ate well too.
Several years ago 2 of my daughters had colonoscopies in their early 40’s. Substantial polyps were found in both of them. They now are on the 3 year plan.
The prep is not as bad as cancer, and I don’t even complain about it anymore.
I can do most things for a few days and agree that doing my bit to minimize cancer risks sounds like a good plan to me (including whatever diet the prep entails). People with cancer or in treatment did it seem very miserable.
I’m so sorry for the people you lost (and those who are still suffering) from colon cancer, silverlady. It’s not always a death sentence but it’s one of those where early detection can save your life - or at least give you a fighting chance. Those of us who have health coverage/can pay for colonoscopies are really, really fortunate.
I haven’t read this thread in full but I will tonight… as I prep for my first colonoscopy. Admittedly I am almost two years late due to covid and procrastination so hopefully all will be well.
I have a basket in the WC with magazines, a tablet for streaming, mending and electrolytes. Hopefully that will get me through the “fun prep”.
I did have plenty of time while sitting around doing… ahem… nothing.
In all seriousness, the whole experience, including prep, was not as bad as I’d built up in my mind. I followed suggestions in an article someone linked in this thread and changed my diet 2-3 days before prep, which seemed to make it less an ordeal compared to what people told me. And apparently I did well as I was their last procedure of the day and won the gold star for best prep. LOL Is it sad that I was a bit proud of myself?
I also give myself a gold star for getting the date right… my brother did full prep and showed up at 6am a week early! Just to have to do it all again a week later. Heehee. [evil big sister laugh]
Congratulations on everything – including getting it done in the first place!! I assume the results were negative. Enjoy the next ten years without a worry.
As a follow-up to my humorous post, I am grateful to have screening available. My thoughts go out to anyone who has experienced cancer or any complications. My best friend’s husband is a colon cancer survivor thanks to screening at age 50 and is a huge proponent of them moving the screening age back to 45 as he may have avoided chemo had it been discovered earlier.
@VeryHappy all went well, however, I’m now on a 5 year plan due to one polyp found. It was negative thankfully. So I’ll be back on this thread in only five years to share my prep journey again.
I pushed my DH to do the screen and he was very very reluctant. However, they did find one polyp and it’s negative thankfully. Now he thanks me for saving his life. -
Ok, I am finally getting brave enough to book my first colonoscopy (50 years old.) I have read a bunch of this thread but still trying to find out - what do you think is the easiest prep out there? I read there are some pill options out there which sounds much better than the liquid prep - has anybody tried those? I can pick any doctor so I figured if there is one prep that is easier than the others I could call around to find a doctor who uses it. Thanks!
Husband did the pills. He felt it was easy enough. I did the drink, which tastes horrible (and appears to be never-ending), but you also have to drink a lot of water with the pills.
Honestly, the prep wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The more difficult part is cutting certain foods out of the diet for a few days. (Also, the next morning, they wanted me to drink Magnesium Citrate, which is gross. I didn’t end up doing that part and it really wasn’t necessary–the key is the cutting the foods out for a few days as recommended–the drink and/or pills are then sufficient.)
Just book it; it’s really not as bad as everyone hypes it up to be. Good luck!
You really need to follow the prep that your doctor wants you to follow. I just did my pre-op visit and they are using pills (but you still need to drink lots of water). She said people come in thinking there is a magic one pill solution, there isn’t, we give you the one that works the best and is easiest to do.
I’ve only had one colonoscopy so only can share my one experience… I did not find the drink so bad. Mine came with a flavor packet so it tasted a bit like lemon-lime gatorade. I added a splash of lime gatorade to it (based on a suggestion I read online) to make it even more palatable.
I followed the suggestions for a low-fiber diet for a couple days so I did not find the prep itself to be that bad. But I was absolutely craving a big salad with steak after the procedure.
