My H had to do the two step prep. He can drink a lot in a short time but half a gallon in an hour was terrible. He threw up some of it.
His appointment was later than mine but things were clear the day before, so I don’t understand why he had to drink the same half gallon the next morning.
I don’t know if the Reglan helped me or not but I am glad that I only had to do the prep on the evening before.
@chsell2, you should talk to my friend who was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer last year at the age of 45. She would have gone through 100 colonoscopies if it meant she wouldn’t have gotten cancer. She’s still not out of the woods. 
I survived my first colonoscopy last month. I waited 6 years past the recommended age of 50 because I was terrified, not of the prep, but of the liquid diet. I am terrible at fasting and pretty much anything on a liquid diet is chemicals and sugar.
My doc said that while there are lots of preps, the gross, split prep is the only one that works for everyone, and since I didn’t want to have to repeat the liquid diet thing, I glugged the vile NuLytely. The first half, after a day of Gatorade, chicken broth, and jello (I can’t believe we ever thought that was food!) was fine. The, er, proceedings ceased at about 11 pm, but I had to get up at 3 to drink the rest of the loathsome chemical juice, and it was rough. I came close to hurling a few times, but managed not to.
Once I got to the hospital, it was bliss. They gave me Propofol, the same drug that killed Michael Jackson (it’s easy to see why he got hooked on the stuff) and when I woke up, I felt tired from the lack of sleep the previous night, but had no drug hangover.
The best part was the bacon and egg sandwich afterwards.
I’ll do this again at 66 and 76, but after that, if my colon decides to turn against me, so be it.
Oh, and I think it’s hilarious that I am participating in an old people bowel discussion, a thing I vowed never to do. Guess I am old!
I’ve had three colonoscopies so far, at ages 50, 53, and 56. I can wait five years this time. I would go every year if I had to.
I just can’t see why people hesitate. Hmm, a couple of rough days versus chemotherapy, surgery, and possible early death. What a hard choice!
Have had several over the years (since I was 20 due to high risk situation - I’m fine). Never had an incident other than disliking the prep like everybody else.
However, older brother just had his 10 yr checkup (60) and was curious to see if others had a similar experience. He was asymptomatic (digestive issues, abdominal pain, etc) going in, never had any issues. About one week later he ended up in the ER suffering from severe abdominal pain. They did all sorts of tests and never found anything. The actual colonoscopy showed excellent colon health (no disease, polyps, ulcers, etc). It sounded like a stone to me but they ruled that out. Kind of feel like he had a reaction to the colonoscopy (don’t know if that’s a thing) or they may have caused an issue. The timing of everything just doesn’t make sense for it not to be related to the . of course getting them to admit that is another issue entirely…he just wants to know what’s going on.
@MaineLonghorn people don’t think of it in terms like ‘benign but uncomfortable procedure vs dying.’ They think more like ‘I’m healthy, why should I do this?’ Even adults engage in magical thinking.
@Massmomm I absolutely dread the liquid fast the day before. I am one of those people who just have to eat or I am worthless. The doctor said that some doctors allow breakfast that day, but not her.
I wonder how much weight one loses during that 24 hours. (I am sure it comes back on afterwards)
Exactly. Add in there that we have zero family history (in a huge family) and the women often live into their 90’s with no issues and it seems more like a couple days of discomfort for something with a very low risk of happening.
Now, don’t get me wrong, of course I would do this over chemo and when I turn 60 I’m sure I’ll make the appointment (or more likely it will be like this time and I go in for something else and my doc just schedules me!), but I won’t be eager about it. Keep in mind it has only been 3 weeks and 2 days since that stupid prep made me sicker than I’ve been in years. Doc thinks maybe I had a reaction to the meds too, but I don’t know how that would explain the being sick before I even went in. I was screaming “Never again!” after the birth of my first child as well. 
@sdl0625 . I have had to have colonoscopies every three years and I have it down to a science. The day before the liquid diet I eat foods that are easily digestible and also that I really don’t eat much anymore (brioche bread, baked potatoes with butter excess calories balanced out next day. Lol) so that’s actually a treat! Then the day of the liquid diet I treated it as a day on which I would indeed be “useless”. I slept in, binge watched tv and read a “ trashy” book. I took a shower at my usual “ lunch time” and then went for a manicure. When I got home I got in my comfiest pjs before starting the prep. I “ ate” only some gator aid and then numbed my mouth with lemon ice each time before a each sip of the foul stuff. I saved favorite movie to watch that night. I actually really enjoyed the whole day by making it like this!
I also Planned by procedure time months in advance to get the “ good” 10 am time which meant that the three hours when I had to drink more ( numbed mouth with ice) before was a reasonable hour.
Processed meat is considered a strong dietary risk factor for colon cancer.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/red-and-processed-meats-raise-colorectal-cancer-risk
https://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/
Colonoscopy does have some medical risks (as well as increased cost). That is presumably why it is not recommended yearly for the general population. Other forms of primary screening (e.g. yearly FIT) with colonoscopy as the backup screening are worth considering (see https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/RecommendationStatementFinal/colorectal-cancer-screening2 ). For those with high risk, doing FIT in years between colonoscopies can get additional screening coverage with minimal increased cost.
I also had zero family history of ANY type of cancer but three weeks after my 50th birthday I had a colonoscopy and they found a large polyp they said would have turned cancerous eventually. Magical thinking can kill you.
@ucbalumnus , you often post about the risks of colonoscopy. My question is have these risks been calculated using only board certified gastroenterologists performing the procedure? Because I have known of people getting them done by docs who are not specialists and who do not do the volume of procedures as full time GI specialists who have done thousands and thousands of them. I worked 8 years in a colonoscopy center and we had very very few complications. The procedure was only done by board certified gastroenterologists and board certified colon/rectal surgeons.
@cshell2, what you need is a low volume prep. For my first colonscopy, I took Prepopik. It’s literally 5 ounces and four hours later, 5 more ounces. You have to drink several glasses of clear liquids of your choice in between doses, but it’s not hard AT ALL.
Don’t let fear of the prep keep you away next time. Just tell them you are not going to accept another huge volume. If you say you won’t do the procedure unless they give you a low volume prep, they’ll prescribe you the low volume prep.
Another one is Suprep, which is only 10 ounces twice. But it tastes so foul. I’d ask for Prepopik next time.
I actually gained weight on my prep day, much to my disappointment! All that sodium in the gross drink- I retained fluids despite all the, well, you know… I, too, was miserable on the prep day (I’ve had 2 now) without eating and next time I won’t go to work. I wasn’t prepared with the right liquids and I was not a fun person.
MaineLonghorn’s friend who had colon cancer at age 45 also completely ignored some serious symptoms (bleeding and other things) for 3 years even with a family history. I think people need to be smart about getting things checked out or the results can be catastrophic.
Yes, places with lower volume of business tend to be higher risk, according to https://gut.bmj.com/content/67/9/1626.long .
But if colonoscopy is risk free, why is it recommended only every 10 years, instead of every year, for those with normal risk?
Because it’s not needed every year for the general population, which I am not. Lynch positive with genetic tests and family history but for ovarian cancer with some polyps in the colon … I had several but all benign. They did both an upper and lower GI. Fun!
They recommend I go “yearly”. University of Chicago with one of the leading specialist in the field.
I didn’t do a split prep. Good friend is a GI dude but out of town. He gave me his prep. Just do it the night before… That’s it and it worked out fine.
Miralex with ducolex with gateraide. I mixed two flavors and it was good. 64 Oz is a lot (I posted what I actually did somewhere on this thread) . Lot of other major hospital programs use this method.
I am 58 and had lower GI since I was in my 20’s about every ten years or so. It is, what it is.
I mentioned this many pages ago, but I lost my sister at the age of 56 to colon cancer. She did not get a colonoscopy. We had no family history and no known risk factors. Another friend was recently diagnosed with colon cancer stage 4. He also waited too long before having his 1st colonoscopy because he had no symptoms and was in excellent shape. He is doing well so far… he definitely regrets that decision now.
My husband did not have a colonoscopy when he turned 50 because his PCP told him he “looked healthy” and had no symptoms, so it wouldn’t hurt to wait. ACK!!! The same PCP did suggest having one the following year and they removed 3 precancerous polyps. He’s now on the 5-year plan.
In the meantime, his cousin is battling stage 4 colon cancer with the presence of Lynch syndrome Sometimes you don’t know you have risk factors, … until you do.
I have convinced my husband to switch to a doctor who doesn’t judge your health based on how healthy you look.
For lynch talk to your relatives. There should be a genetic tree if someone was diagnosed with it. They would get a letter to pass on to the cousins etc. We found this out the hard way after most my female cousins had lynch and had preventive hysterectomy and never told our side. My sister found lynch after getting a routine hysterectomy on the fallopian tube and went through chemo. Then I was tested and my sisters and we all have lynch from my mother who’s two sisters had colon polyp cancer but no one mentioned lynch. After actually doing a family tree with a genetic counselor would could see how far back it actually goes.
Most hospitals /clinics use https://www.ambrygen.com/clinician/genetic-testing/43/oncology/lynch-syndrome
If your tested positive they will test just about anyone in your family for free three months from the last positive tests. They just need to test the positive subset. No reason to do the complete panel at that point.
Good thing all my sisters kids are negative. Mine are still earlier 20s and will be tested this summer.
If positive for girls(ovarian) then after their last child they have a hysterectomy within 10 years of the last positive finding or something like that.
So people in your family should be talking to your relatives to get tested. My cousin died of Lynch for throat cancer and they never told us ten years later it was Lynch… No one wants to discuss these things. If we knew my sister would of had a hysterectomy much earlier and most likely wouldn’t of needed chemo. It’s important. @SnLMom