@romanigypsyeyes: You know there are worse things. Put on your big girl panties and deal.
Sorry if I don’t sound sympathetic, but as we get older, stuff happens. You’ve got a lot going on, I know. I hope having another colonoscopy is the worst thing that ever happens to you.
Still – {{{{{hugs}}}}}. No one enjoys one of those.
Geeze. I am well aware that there are worse things. I have been in the hospital several times this year, I’m on medicine that kills my immune system and disfigures my body, I can’t even walk many days because I’m in such excruciating pain, the list goes on.
The colonoscopy is nothing compared to all the other !#$% I and my body have been through this year. It still doesn’t mean I want to do ANOTHER GoLytely round 6 months after the first.
I may have been too harsh. (It’s been a rough couple of weeks here.)
Romani, you’re a trooper to bear up under all you’ve been through. And I really do mean the {{{{{hugs}}}}}.
Someone needs to make you a cup of tea.
I wish I could be there to drive your groggy little self home afterwards! Hang in there!!
Thanks.
I did I have the option of not doing it but we’re doing it to definitively rule out Crohns and UC (which I was diagnosed with several years ago but my new GI thinks I’ve been misdiagnosed). And to make sure nothing else is going on.
I just wish there was something other than the liquid blech! lol (I did ask about an alternative but with some of my other issues, my GI thought this would be the best route. He did apologize profusely…)
A positive result means that a colonoscopy is to be done. Obviously, that is a good thing for a true positive, but not for a false positive.
Note that the fact that FIT is inexpensive, convenient, and non-risky by itself means that it can be done more frequently (yearly). Colonoscopy as a primary screening method has enough expense and risk that it is recommended only once every ten years, while the expense of FIT DNA means that it is recommended only once every three years. So, while an instance of colonoscopy is the most accurate primary screening method, the frequency of being able to do FIT means that FIT gives many more chances for warning over the course of a decade.
But the false positive rate for FIT is very low – 5% — so again, in the context of low-risk patients under age 50, that means that out of every case of a positive result followed by a colonoscopy, 19 out of 20 patients would be getting a colonoscopy that is needed and potentially life-saving. And of course the false-positive patient would be clear for 10 years, once having received the unnecessary colonoscopy.
Keep in mind that any routine colonoscopy of an person age 50+ that comes up clean is, in hindsight, equally unnecessary. So I just don’t see the 5% potential of a false positive as being a good reason to refrain from using FIT, as opposed to either no testing at all, or pushing the age for routine colonoscopy back.
@romanigypsyeyes , try to think of it for the end result of ruling out the diseases and not the preparation. You are such a trooper amidst all you are going through.
Once done, you won’t have to go back for a screening for the next 25 years!!!
Also, I recently heard that drinking coconut water between those bad tasting stuff helps.
I’m sorry you have to go through this, romani.
My method really made the Golytely tolerable. I did plenty of research, and tried mixing it with broth, different sweet liquids, but chose the one I liked the best. Mixed it with lemon Crystal lite (sweetened with stevia, if you are someone who doesn’t have an aversion to it, it’s pretty good). I would try whatever you’re mixing it with ahead of time, to make sure you like it. Had it already in the cups, chilled, in the frig. Stood over the sink to drink it. Suck on ice, suck on lemon, hold my nose, gulp it down, immediately drink something else. I actually kind of liked it that way by the end, and was more irritated by the volume of fluid required than the taste. And I’m really particular about taste.
Unless certain types of polyps are found, in which case the recommendation for colonoscopy changes to every 3-5 years (or even less).
^Yep, I’m on a three-year schedule. And I don’t mind at all, if it lessens my odds of dying of colon cancer.
Roma has shared her age before.
At her current age, if all goes well, which I am sending good vibes for. She may not need routine ones for a really long time to come.
Sending good Vibes @romanigypsyeyes
Yes, assuming this comes back clean, I won’t have to get any for a very long time. knock on wood
Reviving this thread. I just had my first colonoscopy at age 55 - I had put it off long enough. No real reason for the delay, just life got in the way. It was not as bad as I thought; as most said,the prep was the worst part, but even that wasn’t terrible. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too hungry the day before. I had a somewhat restricted diet the week before and two days before I ate very lightly. I used Suprep, which has an awful taste poorly disguised as cherry, but at least each dose was only a 16 oz tumbler of it followed by 32 oz of water. I am quite certain that i would not have been able to deal with that huge jug of Golytly. I found that holding my breath and then taking sips of ginger ale between swigs really helped. I also drank Hint water for the follow up 32 oz and it made it go down very easily (I don’t like sweet drinks, so even a Gatorade or Propel seemed too sweet to me).
Procedure was a snap (I also had an endoscopy at the same time, since I’ve had some stomach issues as well). But they did find and remove one polyp. Does anyone know if this means I have to be rechecked in less than the 10 years that I was expecting? I have my follow up appointment on Monday and I’ll ask the doctor, but I was just wondering if anyone knew.
And if you are putting it off - just do it. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me.
^Good for you! I think there are several factors that determine when you will need to come back, such as what type of polyp it was and how good a view the doctor had when he/she removed it. Even though I follow all the rules, I don’t seem to get cleaned out very well, so the doctor said he needed to see me sooner than he would otherwise, to make sure he got everything.
I think you will get the verdict when you go to the follow up visit. The polyp will be tested to see if it is cancerus and it takes time.
@my2sunz, it really depends on what the pathologist finds. You could be asked to return anytime between 3-5-10 years. Occasionally sooner if it was a really large adenoma.
Have to schedule my first, but having trouble figuring out a date when someone would be available to drive me home. Has anyone used uber or a taxi? Do they allow you to do that or must a person be there when you are let out from recovery?
@pittsbrughscribe, at my facility, most docs are okay with taxi or uber, but you have to recover in the facility for twice as long so that they can be sure you are able to get into your home okay. But this is very doctor/facility specific. Just call your doctor’s office and ask what her policy is.
No Uber or taxi is allowed at our facility. And they also have a requirement that for all procedures scheduled after 3 pm, the driver is not allowed to leave the waiting room. So it is best to call and ask about their specific policy.