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The worst part of a colonoscopy? (Original Post) ohiosmith Dec 2012 OP
PREP!!! Betsy Ross Dec 2012 #1
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #2
the delicious beverage? Kali Dec 2012 #3
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #4
or when beginning to wake up "Where did that come from?" n/t sarge43 Dec 2012 #27
The BEST part is after it's over, you get to fart all you want. BlueJazz Dec 2012 #5
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #6
Yes, but you can't light them! MrMickeysMom Dec 2012 #13
You GET to fart? JustABozoOnThisBus Dec 2012 #86
I think they had to replace one of the walls when I got done. Something about... BlueJazz Dec 2012 #88
I had the best dream while I was under. Baitball Blogger Dec 2012 #7
"Instant comraderie" ----sounds like a wet dream to me. panader0 Dec 2012 #10
Naw. Baitball Blogger Dec 2012 #12
bringing the laptop into the john? NRaleighLiberal Dec 2012 #8
That was exactly what I did. Curmudgeoness Dec 2012 #81
My buddy had a video of his panader0 Dec 2012 #9
Man, that stuff tastes like Dippity Doo smells. nolabear Dec 2012 #11
The swill ya gotta drink!! Manifestor_of_Light Dec 2012 #14
Right before you go under, hearing the doctor say to his assistant "Double or nothing this time?" Orrex Dec 2012 #15
The feeling of vulnerability and loss of dignity clad in a hospital gown with tubes in me Populist_Prole Dec 2012 #16
Thanks for the encouragement! csziggy Dec 2012 #17
Amen to that...the prep is the worst part. nt raccoon Dec 2012 #18
Ugh......had mine done last month.... a kennedy Dec 2012 #19
Being partially awake for an upper and lower. Lars39 Dec 2012 #20
doing my prep right now... Locrian Dec 2012 #21
You should have done this before because the smell will drive you crazy. Baitball Blogger Dec 2012 #23
Or just wait 24 hours 7wo7rees Dec 2012 #45
Having an endoscopy and a colonoscopy geardaddy Dec 2012 #22
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #43
The worst part of a colonoscopy? MiddleFingerMom Dec 2012 #24
Is this the colonoscopy club? graywarrior Dec 2012 #25
Nothing duck tape won't repair LiberalEsto Dec 2012 #28
Owie! That would hurt. graywarrior Dec 2012 #32
A warning . . . fleur-de-lisa Dec 2012 #30
lol graywarrior Dec 2012 #33
Ask for the tablets.... reACTIONary Dec 2012 #61
Shoot, kinda late now. graywarrior Dec 2012 #62
That's the same prep I had for mine. It wasn't that bad. A Simple Game Dec 2012 #65
2 32 oz bottles graywarrior Dec 2012 #66
If you can, take the stuff in YELLOW gatorade. You don't lose all your electrolytes. Squinch Dec 2012 #70
Thanks! I did get the lemon/lime flavor and it went down easy graywarrior Dec 2012 #71
On the bright side, nothing ever tasted better than that first coffee when it is all over. Squinch Dec 2012 #73
Thanks! I read about the risks of getting it done, but I think I'll be fine. graywarrior Dec 2012 #76
I've had more than ten. (Too much info?) After the prep is done, it's a piece of cake. nt Squinch Dec 2012 #78
I can't believe how many people have had multiple colostomies. graywarrior Dec 2012 #79
"Scopies." I think "stomies" is the bag. Do let us know. Squinch Dec 2012 #82
What a trip! graywarrior Dec 2012 #90
I'm so glad. And as I said before: YAY FOR YOU!!! Squinch Dec 2012 #91
Thanks, Squinch! graywarrior Dec 2012 #92
known as barbtries Dec 2012 #26
Worst. Part. HonEur12 Dec 2012 #35
Not being asleep libodem Dec 2012 #29
I hope I'm not awake. graywarrior Dec 2012 #34
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #37
I hope I don't say anything stupid like I did the last time I went under graywarrior Dec 2012 #38
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #40
Good thing he didn't bite you. graywarrior Dec 2012 #41
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #42
6 feet? graywarrior Dec 2012 #47
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #51
I'm gonna ask for a tab of LSD graywarrior Dec 2012 #52
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #54
Anyone who becomes a colonoscopy doctor MUST be on acid. graywarrior Dec 2012 #56
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #57
You have a certificate? graywarrior Dec 2012 #58
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #59
Awesome! graywarrior Dec 2012 #60
I've had a hysterectomy libodem Dec 2012 #63
Geeze, I think I'll go to youtube and see if there's any colonoscopy vids graywarrior Dec 2012 #64
No, but they do get posted to Meta, and THAT is the worst part. Iterate Dec 2012 #69
A friend of mine just had one. GoneOffShore Dec 2012 #31
For me it was not keeping down the gatorade and then the post op hell. SleeplessinSoCal Dec 2012 #36
Post op constipation....I can't wait. graywarrior Dec 2012 #48
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #39
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! graywarrior Dec 2012 #49
The worst part is Mr.Bill Dec 2012 #44
The worst part my first time. mockmonkey Dec 2012 #46
Yipes! graywarrior Dec 2012 #50
just an FYI: You can request thinner needles. :-) WinkyDink Dec 2012 #80
Paying the bill jmowreader Dec 2012 #53
Having one done in the USA is the worst for me. MichaelSoE Dec 2012 #55
As described so succinctly here: kentauros Dec 2012 #67
Is Folger's in your cup! RedCloud Dec 2012 #68
This message was self-deleted by its author eugene jones Dec 2012 #72
Everyone knows.... sendero Dec 2012 #74
When they say ~ bottoms up In_The_Wind Dec 2012 #75
What is wrong with me? Why am I reading this thread? TexasTowelie Dec 2012 #77
Is when the doctor says, "Get out the blow torch!" Dash87 Dec 2012 #83
When you're the nurse, and the doctor says ... eppur_se_muova Dec 2012 #84
everything? njcamden_25884 Dec 2012 #85
Welcome to DU! hrmjustin Dec 2012 #89
It's an optimistic procedure. Things are looking up. nt JustABozoOnThisBus Dec 2012 #87

Response to ohiosmith (Original post)

Response to ohiosmith (Original post)

Response to BlueJazz (Reply #5)

MrMickeysMom

(20,453 posts)
13. Yes, but you can't light them!
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 01:06 AM
Dec 2012

Well... I heard that somewhere, I think... someone said... ass hair burner, I think his name was...

Baitball Blogger

(46,715 posts)
7. I had the best dream while I was under.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 12:28 AM
Dec 2012

My anesthesiologist was a prince. This is the good stuff, he said. This is the stuff that killed Michael Jackson.

But it was a great dream. I was swimming in an Olympic size pool which had the racing lanes set up. I remember I was struggling and a woman swam up in the next lane. It was an actress I recognized. She just gave me a smile in mid-stroke and I suddenly got this feeling of instant camaraderie. Suddenly it was easier to swim as our free-style strokes were synchronized.

panader0

(25,816 posts)
10. "Instant comraderie" ----sounds like a wet dream to me.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 12:43 AM
Dec 2012

I still have wet dreams at age 62. I'm just not really asleep.

nolabear

(41,975 posts)
11. Man, that stuff tastes like Dippity Doo smells.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 12:44 AM
Dec 2012

I've just had one so far and though it wasn't a nightmare, it was yukky. I promised myself all kinds of things if I didn't yurk.

But it'll do you good. And hey, you'll know your true weight! LOL!

 

Manifestor_of_Light

(21,046 posts)
14. The swill ya gotta drink!!
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 01:17 AM
Dec 2012

The
swill ya gotta drink!
Must put up this lovely "Awkward Moments" picture that my awesome husbo made:








(A take off on "Precious Moments". Next:
"My First Fart on a Crowded Elevator&quot

Populist_Prole

(5,364 posts)
16. The feeling of vulnerability and loss of dignity clad in a hospital gown with tubes in me
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 02:15 AM
Dec 2012

I've never ever been "down" before. It was all so new to me: Laying there in a wheeled cart waiting for them to administer the anesthesia and with all this shit hanging off of me and looking up at the ceiling lights feeling helpless and musing to myself "So this is what it's like to be down in a hospital". I did not like the feeling and it steeled my resolve never to be busted up bad enough to be in this situation, even if in some outpatient surgery.

Really though, all in all the whole thing, including the prep, was not bad. My apprehensions were vanquished.

The prep wasn't that bad. I drank salty bullion broth all day and the cleanser stuff, while being cloyingly sweet, didn't make me hurl. I did the "two step" method, and each time I was "done" in an hour, though that hour was spent totally on the pot. I thought I'd be climbing the walls with food cravings, but I wasn't at all. Strange.

I was utterly shocked at how fast the anesthesia took hold. I remember seeing them push the syringe into the IV tube and any effort I made to note my first ever passing into never-never land was thwarted as I was out like a light less than a second after seeing it. I did not dream.

Next thing I know I was in another room and feeling more coherent than I figured I had any right to be. The nurse kept stressing for me to take it easy but I was determined to show I was OK and perhaps overdid being cerebral in showing I was alright to get up. I couldn't pass wind in front of an attractive woman nurse, so she left and let me do my thing. I felt SO good to shed that stupid gown and put my jeans, boots and shirt on. I felt normal again. I pleasantly but firmly refused to be wheeled out in a wheelchair: I wanted to walk out and feel like my old self again, especially after hearing of good results.

You know what? I thought that after 38 hours of no solid food, I'd be mad with hunger: I wasn't. I just ate because I figured I should. Once I got my appetite back though, I majorly chowed down.

I was apprehensive, even frightened at first, but now I'll do it again without any qualms whatsoever.

csziggy

(34,136 posts)
17. Thanks for the encouragement!
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 02:35 AM
Dec 2012

Mine is scheduled on the 21st.. I need to check to see if the WiFi reaches into the bathroom....

Baitball Blogger

(46,715 posts)
23. You should have done this before because the smell will drive you crazy.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 01:24 PM
Dec 2012

But, cut up a whole chicken and boil it to near nothingness.

You can eat the clear broth all you want and it's very satisfying.

geardaddy

(24,931 posts)
22. Having an endoscopy and a colonoscopy
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 01:21 PM
Dec 2012

in the same "sitting"

And having the doctor say, "I'll start with the colonoscopy, but don't worry, I'll wipe of the scope before I stick it down your throat."

Response to geardaddy (Reply #22)

graywarrior

(59,440 posts)
25. Is this the colonoscopy club?
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 03:16 PM
Dec 2012

I get mine on Thursday of this week. Soooooooo excited. I can't wait to drink 64 oz of gator aid, 4 ducalax and a cpntainer of Miralax!

Might I add that my apt building has plumbing issues? Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

fleur-de-lisa

(14,624 posts)
30. A warning . . .
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 04:34 PM
Dec 2012

Don't be tempted to believe that you can make it to the bathroom in time after that stuff starts to work . . . be prepared to just hang out on the throne. If you're just a couple seconds too slow, or if your aim is off, you'll have to burn your house down.

reACTIONary

(5,770 posts)
61. Ask for the tablets....
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 11:50 PM
Dec 2012

...they now have tablets you can take rather than drinking the swill. They cost more but they are less unpleasant.

A Simple Game

(9,214 posts)
65. That's the same prep I had for mine. It wasn't that bad.
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 01:09 AM
Dec 2012

Just don't wander too far from the John.

Do you have to do three bottles? I did, but they may have been 32oz. Been a while, can't remember for sure.

Squinch

(50,950 posts)
70. If you can, take the stuff in YELLOW gatorade. You don't lose all your electrolytes.
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 07:37 PM
Dec 2012

Don't use any red flavors or you'll give the doctor a heart attack.

graywarrior

(59,440 posts)
71. Thanks! I did get the lemon/lime flavor and it went down easy
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 08:18 PM
Dec 2012

Now just waiting for the end of this trip.

Squinch

(50,950 posts)
73. On the bright side, nothing ever tasted better than that first coffee when it is all over.
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 09:33 PM
Dec 2012

And here's the thing: YAY FOR YOU!!!

So many people don't do this because the prep is so unpleasant. But we can absolutely be certain that we will never get colon cancer if we stay on top of these.

(I come from a family in which myself and every one of my 5 siblings gets polyps, and has gotten them since we were in our 30's. Which means that most of us would not have survived to our current ages in our 50's and 60's.) Yes, it's unpleasant, but it's kind of a medical miracle, too.

Best of luck.

graywarrior

(59,440 posts)
76. Thanks! I read about the risks of getting it done, but I think I'll be fine.
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 10:15 PM
Dec 2012

I'm craving pizza right now. I never have pizza.

graywarrior

(59,440 posts)
79. I can't believe how many people have had multiple colostomies.
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 10:46 PM
Dec 2012

I'll let you know how things work out.

graywarrior

(59,440 posts)
90. What a trip!
Thu Dec 6, 2012, 07:59 PM
Dec 2012

I tried holding onto the high for as long as I could, but BAM, I was out in less than a minute! Everything turned out great.

libodem

(19,288 posts)
29. Not being asleep
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 04:24 PM
Dec 2012

But I didn't care. I watched the monitor. I'm on a pain regime that must have made me tolerant to the Versed and Fentenyl. I remember most of it.

graywarrior

(59,440 posts)
34. I hope I'm not awake.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 06:12 PM
Dec 2012

Doc told me I'd be lightly sedated. Wish I could not be there while it's going on.

Response to graywarrior (Reply #34)

Response to graywarrior (Reply #38)

Response to graywarrior (Reply #41)

Response to graywarrior (Reply #47)

Response to graywarrior (Reply #52)

Response to graywarrior (Reply #56)

Response to graywarrior (Reply #58)

libodem

(19,288 posts)
63. I've had a hysterectomy
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 12:40 AM
Dec 2012

And I was aware of some discomfort, as they went around a flexure, the uterus acts as a guide they told me, later.

Iterate

(3,020 posts)
69. No, but they do get posted to Meta, and THAT is the worst part.
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 04:41 PM
Dec 2012

Just when you've almost forgotten, uhg, kicked to the top again.

GoneOffShore

(17,339 posts)
31. A friend of mine just had one.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 04:47 PM
Dec 2012

He's an artist and the results were negative. His wife said that because of the test she found out that he wasn't,
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Jackson Polyp.

SleeplessinSoCal

(9,123 posts)
36. For me it was not keeping down the gatorade and then the post op hell.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 08:14 PM
Dec 2012

I actually wound up waking my doctor at 4 am because I couldn't do the prep. He wasn't happy. I was miserable. And then post op constipation was two days of agony.

Otherwise, it was delightful.

Response to ohiosmith (Original post)

Mr.Bill

(24,296 posts)
44. The worst part is
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 09:01 PM
Dec 2012

that you hit on the nurse while you were sedated and don't remember it. It just remains her little secret.

mockmonkey

(2,816 posts)
46. The worst part my first time.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 09:13 PM
Dec 2012

I did everything I was told to do and read what was written on the Prep paperwork to do about 500 times.

I ate very lightly the day before I had to drink the stuff. I moved a small tv into the bathroom and stayed there.

The day of the colonoscopy when I was checked in the nurse asked me something I wasn't expecting. What color was your last BM? I don't know. I didn't really think I wanted to look at it. The nurse says well this was in the paperwork and you have to know or they can't do the procedure. She implied that I didn't drink the stuff.

This caused a big issue and I did something I never do, I got ANGRY! There was NOTHING written in the paperwork I received or in the phone call from the nurse the day before that said to check the color of my last BM.

The nurse could tell that I was PISSED. Soon I was visited by other nurses all trying to calm me down. I was ready to LEAVE.

At one point one of the nurses admitted that the old versions of the Prep paperwork were missing this information but that supposedly they were all destroyed.

They conferred with the doctor and he said to go ahead and get me ready. The rest went fine, I guess. I don't remember that much afterward.

My partner told me later that they mentioned to him about my being upset...lol.

When I got home I checked the Prep paperwork and there was NOTHING about checking the color of your last BM.

I am not a terrible patient. I have bad veins and anytime I get a needle put in, it can be painful as some try to move the needle around. I'm used to it. I understand.

But don't tell me something was told to or written for me and I didn't do it.



jmowreader

(50,557 posts)
53. Paying the bill
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 09:54 PM
Dec 2012

And knowing that in a civilized country, these would be on the national health insurance plan.

MichaelSoE

(1,576 posts)
55. Having one done in the USA is the worst for me.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 09:59 PM
Dec 2012

What an appropriate thread/topic. I am in Aruba right now and I had my colonoscopy this morning.

Just as a side note ... Lived in Aruba 2005 to 2010 ... been back in the US for 2 years

I have no insurance and i paid a total of $508.22 for the procedure. When my doc in the US said that I was overdue and since the US cost was going to be almost 4 grand it made sense to buy a ticket, park myself at a friends house for a week and have my Aruban doctor scope me out. It's been my third here in Aruba and I even get color photos to take home to show my US doctor.

And yes ... 4 liters of sludge makes for an awful experience.

Response to ohiosmith (Original post)

sendero

(28,552 posts)
74. Everyone knows....
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 09:51 PM
Dec 2012

.. (if they've done it before) that the preparation is the ordeal, the procedure is a picnic.

That said, there is a new prep "medication" (Pikoprep) that is way, way more palatable and way less harsh than the old magnesium citrate ordeal. I highly recommend it.

TexasTowelie

(112,210 posts)
77. What is wrong with me? Why am I reading this thread?
Wed Dec 5, 2012, 10:18 PM
Dec 2012

Certainly there has to be something better to do.



On edit: Oh yeah, I took a bong hit!

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