<p>It’s colonclub.com. Lots of great information.</p>
<p>I thought of all of you when my sister, a nurse in a large county hospital, told me a story today. She explained to one of her patients how (1 glass every 10 minutes) and why he needed to drink a full gallon of GoLYTELY bowel cleanser, then left the room for a moment. When she returned, it was gone. Bewildered, she asked where it was and he pointed to his roommate and said “He drank it.” Again, baffled, she asked “Why did you let him drink it?” The answer was “He said he was thirsty.”</p>
<p>I am literally looking at the “referral” from my insurance company sitting next to me on my desk for my first colonoscopy…came in the mail two days ago. I have been putting off the appointment call, and then I see this thread…</p>
<p>…I am “flushed” with excitement, for all I have learned here today and what I have to look forward to…</p>
<p>I’m about to be 49 and hubby be 51. I have a very poor diet and his is very good (high fiber). I think I need one now because I have a fear that my diet will have caused me problems. He had one many many years ago due to stomach pain and had a few polyps. He vowed never to have one again (I think they messed something up, maybe his anathesia started wearing off? I forget).</p>
<p>Anyhow, I thought that since we both should, and both don’t want to, have one that we should do it together…Would that be weird? We could prep together and have a friend, relative or our 22 yr old son take us. My only fear is that whoever goes first has a problem and the spouse isn’t available to hear what was found when they tell it.</p>
<p>After S2 had his wisdom teeth out and S1 saw how much pain and swelling, there was no way he’s getting his out until they bother him. Luckily he only has 2 and they are on the bottom, so they won’t mess up his straight top teeth. But there’s another thread somewhere on wisdom teeth!</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Don’t do it together. For one thing, you will want the bathroom to yourself. For another, you do want someone to be able to hear information from the doctor.</p>
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Then since he had polyps he definitely needs to follow the doc’s advice and do the followup tests.</p>
<p>Don’t put too much faith in the diets one way or the other. There’s some statistical association but not a direct guaranteed cause/effect. It’s better to be safe than sorry and go ahead and do this simple test.</p>
<p>I was talking to a doctor today who does colonoscopies. He is a die-hard Kansas Jayhawks fan. He said after KU lost to Missouri last week, he had a patient in the Monday following it who was a die-hard Mizzou fan. He commented about the overzealous Mizzou fan patient and the disgruntled KU fan doctor… ;)</p>
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<p>Once someone has been shown to develop polyps, they need regular follow ups. Depending on the type of polyp, he should be seen at least every 3 or 5 years. I cannot stress how important that is!</p>
<p>If he had conscious sedation last time, he could very well have woken up during the procedure. If your colonoscopy center uses propofol (the center where I work uses propofol, a general anesthetic given by CRNAs-certified nurse anesthestists), he would be very unlikely to wake up during the procedure.</p>
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<p>We occasionally have couples come in exactly as you have described, with an adult child or friend to drive them home. It goes fine (as long as you have more than one bathroom), but your concern about not being available to hear the spouse’s results is valid. Even if you went first and were by his side when the doctor speaks to him, you might not remember it all later.</p>
<p>My dentist and her husband recently had their colonoscopies together just like you describe. Her mom drove them and took them home afterward and tucked them into bed. I had been concerned about the plan but it went fine. Her H had a few small polyps that had to be removed and she got the all clear for 10 years. I don’t know exactly how her doctor handled it but my doctor always calls me later to tell me the results again as he knows I won’t remember after the procedure. Perhaps you and your H could specifically tell the doctor that you want him to do that. If doing it together makes you more likely to do it, I say go for it!</p>
<p>^^^^I had a couple with results similar to what you described above. The wife was a little miffed that she had polyps and DH did not. The husband joked “this is the first test I’ve ever taken that I beat her on!” They had gone to HS and college together and apparently she was really brainy. :D</p>
<p>So does any one know if the cleanout process remove intestinal worms?</p>
<p>Oh, please…</p>
<p>My two cents would be to choose your doctor carefully…do your research and find a good one, it seems to make a difference. My pain tolerance is higher than my husband’s, and I nearly hit the ceiling during my procedure. My husband had his soon thereafter, with a <em>different</em> doctor, and it seemed uneventful. Even my dear old mom, who hates doctors, sailed through hers. Suffice it to say I’ll choose a different doctor next time.</p>
<p>Really want to know about the intestinal parasites.
They gave me a couple of pics. DW got 6 pictures. I guess she is prettier. :)</p>
<p>There are videos on youtube that show worms spotted during a colonoscopy, so the answer at best is “not necessarily”.</p>
<p>If you are concerned that you are infested, you should get tested and get treatment if needed, instead of hoping that a couple hours of fluid swishing through your intestines will take care of any problem.</p>
<p>So would the doctor inform your of your condition or do you have to ask or have a special test?</p>
<p>The medical standard of practice for treatment of intestinal parasites is medication which is specifically targeted towards a certain organism, not the colon prep products which are prescribed for patients undergoing colonoscopies. What alternative therapies are used rather than standard medical practice I can’t speak to.</p>
<p>Diagnosis of intestinal parasites must be done by analysis of stool sample. Colonoscopy would be a highly ineffective tool for diagnosis of intestinal parasites which are not readily visible to the eye.</p>
<p>I would certainly hope that if a doctor spotted worms in your intestines that he would tell you.</p>
<p>Many parasites are microscopic, though, and would not be been during a colonoscopy.</p>
<p>The standard test for intestinal parasites is to collect a series of stool samples and have them analyzed by a lab.</p>
<p>…“Are there any diabetics on this thread who have done this? I am borderline diabetic and have problems with low blood sugar if I don’t eat every 3 or 4 hours. I am WAY overdue for a colonoscopy and I am planning to change doctors soon. My current doc does not seem to be concerned with preventive medicine while the new doc (I went to him before my insurance changed) was pushing for the test years ago. I know that I must have one and I get light-headed and shaky just thinking about no solid food.”</p>
<p>I am diabetic and just had my first colonoscopy two weeks ago. Talk to your doc. I wasn’t permitted to eat and my appt was scheduled for 2:30 in the afternoon 
The office was running behind schedule and I ended up with a massive headache due to the combination of not eating, drinking, or meds. I was not a happy camper and was finally taken back about 4:00. There was 1 polyp that he removed and because the prep wasn’t to the doc’s liking, I get to drink a gallon next time (he wants to do a repeat in one year)! I had the Moviprep which wasn’t bad, BUT I drank the first liter at 7:00pm the night before and didnt make my first trip to the bathroom until 7:00 AM the next morning. The best part of the whole thing was “sleeping” through it and getting grape juice after the procedure.</p>
<p>^^^I would strongly urge all diabetics to insist on being scheduled early in the morning, even if this means putting off the procedure for a week or two in order to get that early spot on the schedule.</p>