COLONOSCOPY How hard is it on you?

Good luck HImom! :pray:t3:

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Hope everything comes out alright :wink:

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Itā€™s my turn tomorrow too. I really wanted to cancel, but I kept thinking of the stories of colon cancer on this thread.

Iā€™m finding it slightly easier than I thought it would be to fast today. The low-fiber diet, however, was very difficult. If I really had to follow that for a week, I would need time off to learn a whole new way to grocery shop, cook and eat. I did the best I could for three days, but I was traveling, with my parents, and juggling the usual responsibilities that can not be left to others. I thought I was doing fairly well, but then I read that dairy should be low-fat only, eggs should not be fried, no skins of apples or potatoes, and no cornbread.

Will report later on the prep prescribed, which is Clenpiq.

I only had low fiber diet 2 days prior (Tuesday), only clear liquids yesterday (just stuck with water), and 2 liters of prep last night 6-9pm (MoviPrep). Slept fairly well last night and had procedures at 8am.

Colonoscopy was fineā€”yay no polyps! found some polyps in endoscopy. Will see GI in a few weeks.

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Each sip of the Clenpiq is worse that the last! The bottle seems endless. I would rather run a marathon, or go through childbirth than drink any more of this. I already suspected that I was the biggest wimp on this thread, and now it is confirmedšŸ˜‰.

And everyone says the liquid you had to drink used to be worse! Wow. My hat is off to colonoscopy preppers of yore.

I am consoling myself with the fact that this is better than a severe migraine. But how is the bottle only six ounces?? It feels like Stega Nonaā€™s pasta pot and Iā€™m Big Anthony.

Iā€™m not sure if that is what H had to drink, but he swears by sipping through a straw with hard candy in the side of the mouth is the best way to go. I used the pills myself. Good luck!

Thank you. I will try the straw for the second bottle. Bottle one is empty. :crossed_fingers:t3:

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No sipping here. I chugged the slightly warm swill quickly to avoid prolonged agony. Lol. Good luck!

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Honest to goodness, you are so much tougher than I am! I thought I would just chug it, but :grimacing::lemon::crazy_face::nauseated_face::dizzy_face:.

Hang in there, 3SailAway! Youā€™ve got it.

Congrats on the good outcome HImom!!!

Iā€™m just glad itā€™s something one only has to do once a decade, if one is lucky. My last one will be 10 years hence, and hopefully theyā€™ll have something better by then.

This WAS better than drinking a gallon of the prep last decadeā€”see itā€™s already improving.

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The straw was absolutely key! With the straw, I could chug which was way better.

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My GI combined the colonoscopy with an endoscopy. Well, yesterday, after my endoscopy, I noticed my bottom left tooth is sharp and jagged. I think they may have knocked out a porcelain filling. My tongue snags on it so I called my dentist and sheā€™s fitting me in tomorrow morning to look at it and see what she can do. She was going to have me come Tuesday but I told her it keeps snagging my tongue and she managed to fit me in. I love this dentist!

Sorry about your tooth, @HImom ! So glad you got in to see the dentist so fast. They should be able to smooth that or cover it :+1: .

Well, I survived the colonoscopy! Iā€™m so glad it is over. Thank goodness I could take Imitrex for the 24 hour migraine. I donā€™t think I would have done it without this thread. People in real life (my parents, various friends) kept acting like it was no big deal, and people who donā€™t do it are careless and irresponsible. This was not helpful for me! Here at CC, there was a lot more honesty and encouragement.

Special shout out to my colonoscopy buddy who reached out after I asked for one. I really appreciate that she was straight forward about the barbaric nature of the prep, and concerns about catching Covid, but was also there to pat me on the back with every step. I highly recommend a buddy!

I do have to say that last night I felt worse than Iā€™ve ever felt except for two severe migraines which landed me in the ER with dehydration, and the worst nights I had with H1N1 flu and Covid. Itā€™s pretty hard to do that to yourself!

Warning, TMI:
I drank the second bottle of Clenpiq at 11:00 pm and was up until 4:00. Not just to pass bile water into the toilet, but also because I felt nauseated, shaky, and generally miserable. I probably would have been less stressed if I hadnā€™t gone on the internet and read that there should be no dark particle or flecks. There are photos of what basically looks just like clear urine. I never got there even though I drank an absolutely ton of Gatorade and water.

I slept from 4 to 5:30 and woke up feeling like there was no way I was going to make the 25 minute drive, but after passing more bile water (still quite a few particles), I bit the bullet and went. Once I got there, things were much easier, except that the whole office was freezing. I recommend dressing warmly and asking for extra blankets. Alas, they had no heated ones. Love those blanket ovens hospitals haveā€¦Anyway, I made a note of the name of my nurse who was so calm and reassuring, and will write the doctor to let him know.

Happy Ending:
I got a clean bill, thank goodness! No polyps. He did say that I could come back in five years if I wanted to (when pigs fly), but otherwise ten is fine.

I plan to stick around this thread to encourage people like me!

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So happy for the happy ending!

Good point about freezing: dehydration and hunger will make one feel colder than normal.

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Glad you got through it with a clean bill of health at the end, 3SailAway! Good for you!

Itā€™s hard but worth it for your health/life!

HImom - ugh about the damaged filling - great your dentist can fix soon!

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Iā€™m surprised you were allowed to drive. I was told no driving until 24 hrs post colonoscopy. H was my driver. We had to wake at 5 and check me in by 6.

This time, I started taking my prep at 6pm and finished all liquids by 9 so slept pretty well.

My hospital had an air blanket that had hot air flowing through it so I was comfortable. (I prefer warm cotton blankets but didnā€™t get to vote.)

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I was only allowed to drive to the procedure. They were very clear that I would not be allowed to drive home. The issue with driving before was that I didnā€™t know if I could make it without having to pull over and throw up (or find an open bathroom at 6:30 in the morning). I wasnā€™t worried about driving safely. Iā€™m very lucky in that I do not get auras, visual disturbances, or dizziness with migraines.

My son and daughter both came to pick me up so we could get two cars home. We gave them the choice of one of them just driving me both ways, but they would have had to leave the house at 6:30 am, so they chose to wait and come together at 9:00.

That sounds nice, but youā€™re right, the warm cotton ones are the best! I will suggest to my doc (heā€™s a friend and colleague of DH).

I feel you on the bathroom part. Our place is 50 miles away and there are NO bathrooms along the way. I warned H if I had to pull over and go on the side of the highway, so be it. He was not to fuss or say anything. Fortunately, all went well.

I recall before having a minor procedure, the nurse anesthetist looking over my mouth and teeth in case they needed to insert a breathing tube. He was basically trying to document the current state, not unlike how you look over a rental car before driving it off the lot, so you everyone agrees on the nicks and dings that were there ahead of time!

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