<p>Prep was more a nuisance than anything else. Like an earlier poster said, have a good book available and don’t wear a belt. It takes too long to get off. I don’t remember the procedure as I slept through the whole thing. I came home and felt really good. I had a friend drop me off and pick me up. She went shopping during the interval. My husband’s experience was a little different. He was awake and watched everything on the monitor, but he didn’t feel anything. He came home and slept the rest of the afternoon. </p>
<p>Don’t worry and just get it done. It’s important.</p>
<p>I don’t think they give the same recommendation of amount of prep to everyone and do think it’s different for one who’s half the weight of another but others may know more details on this point. It may also depend on the prep. Check with the doctor first and raise this point and see what they say.</p>
<p>My prep was 4 dulcolax tablets followed by a whole bottle of Miralax mixed with Gatorade. I used the lime flavor to avoid anything with red in it. The taste wasn’t an issue although it wasn’t what I call appealing (but I don’t really like gatorade in the first place). For me the issue was firstly the volume - that’s a lot to drink in a short timeframe, and secondly the eventual effects of that much laxative. By the time the lax takes effect I’m past ready for it to take its effect to eliminate the full feeling. It’s actually a relief once it starts working. I’m not sure but I thought based on body weight one might be instructed to take about half the amount of liquid as I had.</p>
<p>interesteddad - get the diet one next time, that’s what I did to avoid the ton of sugar. I think it still has sugar but nearly as much.</p>
<p>I work pre-op and recovery room at a colonoscopy center. There is no universal prep. Each doctor at our center has a preferred method/product. I have had patients tell me that their second prep went better than the first if they did start a day earlier with broths/soups and not wait until late the day before to start the prep after eating a bunch of solid food that day.</p>
<p>I had a major (and recurring) polyp first time around (age 52) so ended up with 6 more procedures over the following 18 months. I consider myself something of a prep expert. A few points: </p>
<ol>
<li>There is a newish product called Suprep that I think works much better than Moviprep; </li>
<li> If you drink it really cold and pinch your nose at the same time, it goes down pretty easy; </li>
<li> It’s a personal preference but I’ve tried eating super light and low fiber the day before the prep begins and eating normally. For me, trying to pre-prep was awful as I became weak and light-headed almost to the point of fainting;</li>
<li> Don’t be surprised if the whole thing makes you gain temporary weight - the prep is super salty;</li>
<li> My favorite tip is that lemon drops are a clear liquid once they hit your stomach. I practically live on lemon drops on the day of fasting;</li>
<li> Have someone keep a good watch over you when you get home. One time I was left alone and apparently I cooked lunch and did several other things that I had absolutely no memory of later one. Kind of scared me.</li>
</ol>
<p>Most importantly, just do it. If I hadn’t, I almost certainly would have developed colon cancer, and soon. Phew.</p>
<p>zmom: My sister is 5" tall and maybe 112 pounds. She did have trouble with the anesthesia – did not come ‘round the way normal-sized people do. That said, I’m 5’ and was ~108 lbs at my last colonoscopy, and I didn’t have any problem with the anesthesia. Obviously discuss it with your doc beforehand.</p>
<p>That’s amazing. Our patients are all weighed prior to their procedures as this is critical information for determining the proper doses of most sedation meds. There is no excuse for that, and if you go to a facility which uses good anesthesiologists or CRNAS, this should not happen.</p>
<p>Just tell your team that you’ve had problems in the past with this and this should not be an issue. They can start you out at a conservative dose, then increase in increments as needed to keep you comfortable/sedated.</p>
<p>Our center uses propofol-a great drug which has a very short duration. Patients wake up pretty quickly with no nausea or long term grogginess. They are often stunned to learn that their procedure is already over.</p>
<p>Okay ‘Nrdsb4’, here’s a silly question for you - </p>
<p>I know that with the drug given one loses short term memory much to the hilarity of people giving the ride home. When the procedure is being done is the patient truly ‘out’ or are they just groggy yet don’t remember the procedure? In other words, could they actually be having an unpleasant time during the procedure yet simply don’t remember it or are they basically unconscious during it? I guess if one forgets the misery right away it might be almost like not having the misery.</p>
<p>Yeah. The problem is that I detest the taste of artificial sweeteners, too. I think the answer, for me, in either case, is to dilute the gatoraid with water. So, maybe turn a 32 ounce bottle into the required 64 ounces or whatever. That stuff is just way too much of everything for someone who drinks no beverages like that at all.</p>
<p>The other option is that Crystal Lite artificial sweetener lemon-aid drink. But, that stuff makes me gag, too!</p>
<p>I have had an amnesiac drug for dental work and your question always haunts me. I always envision myself being absolutely tortured and in sheer agony, then the amnesiac kicks in and I don’t remember it. It’s a wild concept to get your mind around.</p>
<p>Yes, you can have an awful experience during the procedure and not remember it. I recently was in the ER with someone who had a chest tube inserted for a ruptured lung. Screamed the place down but remembers none of it. </p>
<p>I am an incest survivor so I get a hefty dose of anti-anxiety drugs along with the versed before colonoscopies. Not so much for my sake since I don’t remember it, but it also makes it a lot easier on the people working on me since it’s easier to get me to cooperate, and anyone who can overhear anything from the procedure room…</p>
<p>I second the suggestion to go out and buy wipes - maybe even preparation H wipes to soothe your poor aching butt from the cleaning out the day before process. But afterwards, you should feel fine, just tired. It’s a lot better than how I feel after a cystoscopy (some parts of the body just shouldn’t have cameras shoved into them…).</p>
<p>Lucky me…I get to have one every two years and I prefer to be awake during the procedure. They still give me some sort of relaxant and every so often I can feel a cramp similar to a menstrual cramp. (I still need a ride home) I hate, hate, hate trying to down the last part of the drink. </p>
<p>I take the Ducolax day 1 and then the drink on day 2 and then the morning morning of the procedure I have to drink a bottle of some liquid with the worst possible after taste. I think it is to suck all the moisture out of my body…yikes!</p>
<p>I’ve had two. One was terrible, one was easy. The terrible one used something for cleansing that has since been banned that I had a very bad reaction to. I also woke up screaming during it (because my blood pressure was so low from the bad reaction they didn’t want to drug me too much so I felt it and woke up confused). My recent one was much easier in terms of the cleansing and I had an anesthesiologist (after the doctor heard my story) who had me completely out. When you are cleansing, it’s best to wear clothes you don’t care about and double up on underwear just to be safe.</p>
<p>I’ve had many over the users - polyps seem to run in the family. My last one was a doozy. The prep didn’t really work (pills, horrible drink followed by a night of hurling) but the doc insisted on doing the colonoscopy anyway even tho I warned him I was not really fully prepped. So when I woke up he was quite annoyed and made me keep fasting and take a very serious prep that evening – Osmoprep, with an FDA black box warning. It worked. I got cleared out and the colonoscopy went okay but I was really ill for about ten days afterwards, had trouble digesting anything and even now several months out I’m not quite the same in terms digestion. Have had ultrasounds and a cat scan that suggest some sort of injury to my kidneys. Right now I’m in the “watching it” mode, will have another ultrasound in a few weeks.</p>
<p>So yup – the prep can be nasty. </p>
<p>Everyone is different. It’s super easy for my DH.</p>
<p>Also try sucking on a lemon or lime in between gulps of the prep. If you can drink from a cup with a cover (like a take out cup, for example. Minimizing the smell helps) and use the largest diameter straw you can find (like a hard plastic reusable straw), that also helps. Sucking on a lollipop in between gulps also helps.</p>
<p>The doc got into an argument with the anesthesiologist about how much juice to give me - the dosage the anesthesiologist wanted was for a 100 lb lady vs a 200 lb guy. At the end the doc won, and all I remember is a discussion about the very expensive HD Olympus endoscope, then I woke up at home, was told everything was OK, and slept for another few hours. Best sleep of my life (I only sleep 5-6 hours a day)</p>
<p>In terms of prep, the gatorade/powder stuff is bad, and you really should take 2 days off from work (prep and procedure). Some flavors of Gatorade are ‘better’ than others; the bathroom runs were manageable :-). The worst part is the ‘anxiety’…</p>
<p>Not a silly question. Okay, I’ve seen colonoscopies done, but at my facility, CRNA’s are doing the anesthesia, vs. a RN giving sedation. I do not assist with the procedures; I’m there to take care of the patient beforehand or right afterwards. But based on my observations of the procedures I’ve observed, when RN’s give it, usually versed and fentanyl are used (fentanyl is a narcotic, versed is a benzodiazepene which relaxes and causes amnesia). I am NO expert on sedation, but it seems that patients will be “pretty much asleep” but will rouse at times, which will signal the nurse to give more sedation. They usually remember very little afterwards. With propofol, (given only by CRNA’s or MD’s), they seem to be quite asleep, though I have seen them start to get restless with discomfort. This is quickly remedied with more propofol, and they immediately go back to sleep. Both drug regimens result in amnesia; the main difference I have observed is that with propofol, there is almost never post procedure nausea, and they wake up quicker and with less residual grogginess. Propofol clears very quickly from the system. Even so, we counsel our patients against any driving, working, making important decisions, exercise, or any activity which requires coordination and judgment. Basically, we want you to take it easy and not do anything more strenuous than watching this week’s Jersey Shore episode. And NO alcohol the evening of the procedure, though I know many patients ignore all advice given above. Usually propofol is given with either a little versed or fentanyl, or sometimes a little of both, so one is wise to heed the advice given. </p>
<p>So the answer to your question is, depending on the agents used during the colonoscopy, you may be in a “twilight sleep,” where you are slightly awake and aware of discomfort, which you quickly forget, or you could definitely be down and out for the entire procedure. In any case, you are never completely under anesthesia, because you are able to maintain your airway and do not require intubation and mechanical ventilation. </p>
<p>Re remembering, with my first colonoscopy I awoke and thought I was being stabbed and they drugged me more. After the procedure, I did not remember what happened until I had a stab of gas pain in the exact location where I had felt pain upon awaking during the surgery. I then remembered the whole thing – waking up, yelling, thinking I was being stabbed, the reactions around me. I confirmed it with the staff. I found this fascinating because there is a theory that the body “remembers” trauma which is why people often react years later to a physical event that triggers a traumatic memory. The pain triggered my memory. Also, that day when I was sleeping it off a friend who happened to be a GI doctor called me on an unrelated matter. He asked what was wrong with me and I said I was sleeping off the procedure. He said, “I’ll call back and leave a message on your machine because you won’t remember this conversation.” He did, but I did remember the conversation. So I guess it varies from person to person.</p>
<p>^^^Yes, it does varies from person to person and is affected by the drugs used, their doses, the length of the procedure, and other factors. </p>
<p>I remember waking during the middle of a procedure using IV sedation once and saying “ouch!” I mentioned this later and the anesthesiologist was highly offended, saying I couldn’t “wake up” because I was never “asleep,” just “sedated.” He was a total jerk and I wish I could give him a piece of my mind now that I’ve got years of nursing experience behind me and know that doctors are not infallible Gods and can be called on the carpet for bad behavior.</p>
<p>Just had my third colonscopy 2 weeks ago and this time the prep drink was the worst. Had to mix one GALLON jug that had the “cleansing powder” in it already with my choice of flavor packets. I chose lemon-lime, with instructions to mix it with water. Do not, I repeat, do NOT mix it with water. It tastes disgusting! Instead, mix it with 7-up or Sierra Mist or, better yet, get the pills. My Gastroenterologist does not prescibe the pills because he said they are not effective on everyone. (Previously with another doctor, they prescribed the pills and they worked fine.) The worst thing for me was I felt nauseaus when I woke up from the procedure and that had not occured the two previous times. </p>
<p>And, one more thing: my primary care doctor assumed I was a PPO patient when he referred me to someone but they did not take HMO patients. The Gastro’s assistant didn’t discover this until I walked into their office to have the procedure done. As you can probably imagine, I was not a happy camper when they told me that I needed to re-schedule with another doctor after enduring the prep procedure for several days! Long story short-- I made a stink and they got my insurance company to finally approve it with this doctor that same day but I was waiting for almost an additional 3 hours for them to finally get approval from my insurance company and work me in. Call a week ahead of time and verify they take your insurance if you have an HMO-- just in case.</p>
I don’t remember the procedure as I slept through the whole thing. I came home and felt really good. I had a friend drop me off and pick me up. She went shopping during the interval. My husband’s experience was a little different. He was awake and watched everything on the monitor, but he didn’t feel anything. He came home and slept the rest of the afternoon. </p>