Colonoscopy adventure!

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KWalker

KWalker

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Well the time is here. It's the first day of my prep and my scope is on Thursday morning at 8:30am. I see there's a lot of people on here posting for help for what to expect, and a variety of other question so I figured I'd try to help by posting my experiences with this one.

Just a little backround to start. I've had crohns my whole life, but haven't had a scope in a long time. (more than a few years) I figured I'd give it a go so I can see how things are going. As seen in my sig. I am currently med free and feel great, I just want to make sure my colon feels the same way.

My prep consists of 4 Senokot pills today (2 in the morning, 2 at night) and then on the night before the scope (tomorrow) I'll be taking 300ml of Citromag. I am NOT excited for that! lol

Anyways, that's all for now. I'll update it as I go and hopefully by doing so I can help some people out with any questions/concerns.
 
Thanks for doing this KWalker! Good luck with the prep and with the actual colonoscopy. Haven't met anyone yet who actually enjoys the process (I am sure they are out there though! ;)) but I hope it goes smoothly for you!
 
I recommend two things: a product of your choice for sore bum and a book that you don't mind being distracted from -- one that doesn't have terribly high consequences for reading comprehension. Thanks for chronicling your experience here.
 
I went out and got some nice 3 ply toilet paper lol. I've also charged the battery on my tablet so I'll have something to do lol. I've taken the Senokot a few hours ago and don't notice any difference (which was expected) but this no eating thing is going to be a pain. The doctor told me I can have anything I drink through a straw, with the exception of things like jello/ice cream which would obviously require a spoon. No solid foods though. I bought a nice big tub of rainbow sorbet and also a jug of lemonade to mix with the citromag when the time comes so hopefully the lemonade will overpower the citro.

Oh, I didn't even think to add that the doctor is doing biopsies as well. I'm pretty excited for the fact that he is giving me a prescription for the diarrhea though!
 
When I was first diagnosed, the prep was 3 days of fasting....it was brutal. Having always been skinny, I never weighed more than 105 lbs in the first place, so 3 days of not eating would almost do me in, lol!
 
Holy cow! 3 days of fasting?? I've only had to do like the day before not eating and that was always hard.

Good luck KW! :) i hope everything goes smoothly for you!
 
i start my prep tomorrow for friday! boiled clear fruit sweets were always a fave of mine, it does fill you up somewhat! you can also knock back the jelly (british, the clear wobbley stuff)
 
Thanks guys! I actually bought some jello but now I'm just too lazy to make it and it takes too long to get to eating "state". Its ony 1:30 in the afternoon here and I'm already considering cheating and eating normal food. I think I can hear a big mac from the McDonalds right behind my house calling my name. That's torture!
 
i've just read that i am supposed to start diet today. should have stopped questran and codeine two days ago. omg, and i must somehow break the habit of pegging up for my liquid feed. mind, i should contact hospital about this i think. not sure if its permitted. oh well, thank god i have hideous D. perhaps it will all go through very hastily, it usually does.
 
K, I can't tell you how many times I have cheated that liquid diet. My metabolism was so fast for years that I could, but not so much anymore.
 
Oh really? How bad did you cheat and on did you cheat just on the 2nd day before or the actual day before?
 
I would eat up to lunch on the day before the test, lol! If you can get all the prep down, this isn't a bad practice. I just find it so hard to go that long without eating, but I know full well that I used to do the 3 day one, at least until I realized I could cheat it, haa haa
 
Wet wipes are a bit less harsh than TP, especially aloe infused ones or such like. Hope the procedure goes well and the results are good x
 
Grumbletum I thought about the wipes and will get some tomorrow before I drink the citromag and see how things go..


Also, I could eat a fricken walrus right now! Of course it seems like every single commercial on today is about food too!
 
I didn't even make the jello because it takes to long :(

I'm seriously considering cheating. I'm sure if I ate a few plain noodles or a hot dog it would be okay. We'll see.
 
KWalker said:
I didn't even make the jello because it takes to long :(

I'm seriously considering cheating. I'm sure if I ate a few plain noodles or a hot dog it would be okay. We'll see.
Click to expand...

Well, here's how I convince myself to stay the course: "What if I have to do all this again tomorrow because I cheated today?" I don't know if that works for you, but it has for me... many times. :)
 
Yea, don't give in and eat. You have to be really, really cleared out. Don't know what they will give you after over there, but the tea and toast is just heaven.
 
The paper I got with instructions says "BRING YOUR OWN SNACK FOR AFTER THE PROCEDURE" in big bold letters like that.

I'm definitely having some sort of huge lunch afterwards though
 
Well its currently 7:30pm and I now have all 4 Senokot pills in me. So far I'd say I'm actually going to the bathroom less but I'm guessing that's because I haven't ate. I had some chicken broth for dinner to try and tie me over. It was actually decent for only being chicken broth but I'm still equally as hungry as I was before lol.

The first day was actually really easy for the most part (except for being hungry). I have school tomorrow until about 2pm then by the time I get home around 4 I'll be getting ready to take the citromag. For those that have taken the citromag before, how long were you going to the bathroom afterwards? I tried looking online and didn't find much.
 
I've had 2 colonoscopies in the last 2 months...

Procedure for the second one:

The day before the procedure, I was allowed a low fiber breakfast and lunch and told to drink lots of liquids. After 12:30pm, I was only allowed clear liquids. At 3:45pm, I took an anti-nausea pill. At 4pm I took 3 dulcolax tablets and drank 10 ounces of magnesium citrate (refrigerated, through a straw). I was up until 2am using the bathroom... I took another anti-nausea pill at 7:45am and dulcolax/magnesium citrate (which I had a really hard time keeping down) at 8am and drank more liquids until 10:30 am. My procedure was at 1pm. My doctor thanked me for the hard work of prepping for the procedure, saying that it was "just right".
 
Ouch! I am not looking forward to be in the bathroom for that long. Luckily my scope is first thing in the morning so I only have to drink 300ml (one bottle) around dinner time tomorrow.
 
So it's 4:30pm right now and I'm getting ready to drink the Citromag. It says to drink it either plain or with some cold water but I bought some lemonade to hopefully over power the taste. My plan is just to drink it as fast as I can, over the bathtub in case I throw it back up lol.

Here goes nothing..
 
Holy cow that was a fast response! lol.

Thanks :) I'll post back and let everyone know how it was. How soon after should I expect to be running to the bathroom?
 
Hope it all goes ok.
Just a warning though - after I had my last colonoscopy I ate a big meal when I got home and promptly threw it back up. By all means go for the Big Mac but don't wolf it down.. Otherwise you'll taste it twice.

I'd also had 24 biopsies taken, that might have had something to do with it.

I remember always thinking "great, now I'm all cleared out I will start eating healthily. Fresh start and all" never happened.
 
LOL! So I just drank it. I mixed it half and half in a glass with lemonade. I had to drink two glasses because of the amount but I just chugged it. If I had to describe the taste I'd say cherry flavoured rubbing alcohol. I'm glad that's over.


I guess I was a little off with my original time. I finished drinking at 4:46 pm, I'm going to time it and see how long it takes until I have to go. Its been 6 minutes so far and were still good lol
 
Good advice Chris. That's good to know. From what people say I'm expecting to feel like crap afterwards so I say I'll go eat whatever I see but realistically once the time comes that might be a different story
 
good luck and good job on staying the course! you will thank yourself tomorrow as you are eating your nice lunch and knowing that you dont have to do it again.

hmm I have only had two scopes (albeit over the last 6 months), and from what i remember, you should start hitting the bathroom pretty soon. i had to drink a gallon jug of colyte, and i did it about 12 ounces at a time. after a few glasses full, i started going
 
Thanks trapstar, and welcome to the forum! I've had tons of scopes before my I'm going to say its been atleast 5 years since my last one so I forget the whole thing.

To be honest I don't even remember being "prepped" before. I've always thought I was in the doctors office with "mommy" and then afterwards he wanted to do a scope so we would walk over together. I don't remember it at all.
 
KWalker said:
Thanks trapstar, and welcome to the forum! I've had tons of scopes before my I'm going to say its been atleast 5 years since my last one so I forget the whole thing.

To be honest I don't even remember being "prepped" before. I've always thought I was in the doctors office with "mommy" and then afterwards he wanted to do a scope so we would walk over together. I don't remember it at all.
Click to expand...

lmao I hear ya. keep us updated!
 
20 minutes in and still nothing. I don't know if its just me, but my stomach feels like I've just stuffed my face at a buffet. My mouth feels all oiley from the citromag too. That stuff is the worst!
 
KWalker said:
20 minutes in and still nothing. I don't know if its just me, but my stomach feels like I've just stuffed my face at a buffet. My mouth feels all oiley from the citromag too. That stuff is the worst!
Click to expand...

stuffed like at a buffet?

oh yeah... it's definitely coming. thisgonnabegud.jpg :ybatty:
 
hahaha I went and put on some old sweat pants for quicker access when the times comes.
 
I wanted to add KWalker,

'This programe has been temporarily paused, we're sorry for any inconvenience. Your regularly scheduled programe will return shortly'

Might be useful for the next couple of hours? :yfaint:
 
lol we'll see. 4 minutes until I reach the half an hour mark. It seems like my stomach comes in waves where I feel bloated and then it goes away. Imagine if it got messed up because I used lemonade instead of water and I had to do it all over again
 
See you afterwards KWalker...you are prime...for a blowout. It's actually amazing after not eating for a day or two, just how much **** can accumulate in a bowel. Shocking actually. But then, I expect you will be informed of this shortly. :eek2:
 
Ok, so an hour and a half later I just went for the first time. I was actually starting to worry if I didn't do it right because nothing was happening
 
Just an update. It's coming up to 3 hours after I drank the citromag and I've only gone once! When I did go, it was already a faint yellowish/clear as if it were pee. I'm starting to wonder if I did something wrong.
 
How much liquid is required with the citromag? I did the pico-salax for the first time at the beginning of this year and I suppose its a bit the same and well, there was no rush on my side either and I did it properly. The nurse was telling me that it is not as much to clean as to get things as soft as possible ortherwise they would rinse you colyte-golitely style!
 
I had to drink 300ml of citromag and it just says I can drink water with it to help it go down. I just went for a second time and its definitely pure liquid but that's no different then it usually is for me, just instead of the brown its now yellow like pee.


Also, I just weighed myself and I was SHOCKED to see I lost 6.4lbs since Monday when I weighed myself before starting.
 
Just a little update. Its now morning time and I have to leave soon to go to the hospital. I've only gone to the bathroom 3 times since after taking the citromag yesterday. That's LESS than I usually go.. I slept all through the night and then when I woke up to go to the bathroom this morning it was back to a brown colour with little pieces of something in it. Its still water and I haven't cheated, but its definitely not clear like everyone said to expect.

I'm going to be so upset if I went through the last two days of no eating and then drinking that crap only to find out they can't see anything.
 
Oh no! Do you have an update yet?
I've had 5 scopes in the last year with a variety of preps and it always went back to poop looking fairly shortly before the scope... I've always paniced but had no problem... Hope they got your photos done ;)
 
yeah im thinking you will be okay. on my last scope, my last bathroom run definitely had some brown in it, but everything went well. i have a theory that we have a bit more leeway than we think.

im not sure how you guys have had your scopes done, but the one where i was in the hospital was done with me knocked out. The lastest one that was done by my GI doc, i was awake for the whole time. so i got to watch the monitor. if youre mostly cleaned out, then im pretty sure he can work with whatever is left. i remember him shooting water around in there anyway, so if there is a patch of something brown, then he will probably just blast it away with water/solution or what not. the issue would be if you have a ton of crap everywhere, in which water blasting would be futile. just my theory after watching the whole process. ha
 
Here in Finland we have a bit different instructions I guess. Here are instructions for those people, who are using Moviprep for the draining:

One week before colonoscopy
-leave out all the seeds from your diet (including vegetables and fruits which include seeds like cucumber and tomatoes)
-leave out iron supplements

The day before colonoscopy
-You can eat a light lunch before 1 p.m.
-Drink only clear liquids, like tea and coffee without milk, juice which doesn't include fruit flesh

During the Moviprep draining you're drinking 2 litres of the Moviprep (yucky) stuff and with it you drink at least 2 more litres of other liquids.

Anyways, there are different draining systems too, but I've always done the draining with Moviprep. It sucks, so badly! I'll have to do it next in August and I sure ain't waiting for it!

Good luck KWalker!
 
So an update, it's all done now and I'm back at home. I told the nurses that I wasn't entirely "cleaned out" and she said that's okay pretty much as long as I wasn't having solid BM's, which I never have.

They knocked me out and the nurse said the doctor took several biopsies. I'm not sure how many because after the procedure they don't tell you anything. I have to make an appointment now for a follow up where he will tell me how it went. After I finished we went out for a nice big breakfast and it was delicious!

I had a little bit of bloating afterwards but it went away after going to the bathroom and I feel back to normal now. My bum feels a little sore right now and it could be because of the biopsies they took and there's quite a bit of blood in the toilet right now but from what I hear that's normal with biopsies.

All and all, It wasn't bad at all. The not eating part sucks and that cipromag tastes awful but as far as the BM's it was actually LESS than I usually go, most likely because I haven't been eating. I'm glad it's over and I can eat again now, and I'm excited/nervous to hear the results. I will post the results when I hear from the doctor.
 
good job!! good to hear it all went down ok.
the best part about procedures like that is definitely the post precedure meal. i dont even know what you ate and im salivating just thinking about it (time for lunch)

looking forward to what the pathologist has to say. My results were mailed to me, and didnt take too long really. maybe a week and a half to two weeks.

also interested in your follow up with the GI. it's funny how colonoscopies are "drive by" procedures, you get it done, and then he gives you quick and instructions and you pretty much have to GTFO. lol which is fine by me because i dont want to be there any longer anyway
 
second lot of citrofleet downed and only takes a little while to dash through. now worried about getting petrol to get to hospital as the govt have panicked everyone into buying loads

hope all went okay for you k
 
lol yeah I was in and out pretty quick. They booked like 10 people for an 8:30 appointment but luckily I was third. I went in, did my IV then they wheeled me in. My doctor didn't say two words to me and the nurse just put the oxygen in my nose and then put the stuff in my IV to knock me out.

I woke up not long after and then I had to wait there for about 30 mins, then I went and made some music in the bathroom (LOL) then I was allowed to leave.

Trapstar, we went for bacon, eggs, and homefries! Mmmm... Surprisingly even as hungry as I have been from not eating I couldn't even finish the whole thing because I haven't been eating for a few days.

Thanks for the comments and good luck everyone! :)
 
Glad it went ok. My last one they took 24 biopsies. My doctor said "If there's a little bit of bleeding don't worry, it was the biopsies" A LITTLE bit?!! It was like the scene from Psycho in my toilet. Man was I sore.

Bacon. What a wonderful way to fill an empty stomach!
 
Thanks Chris. The bleeding has stopped already and everything is back to normal. Its a little sore to go to the bathroom right now but it will get. better.

I was thinking about it... On my papers it says "Dr. took several biopsies. Do you think this would be just for more info or would that mean he found something bad?
 
KWalker said:
I was thinking about it... On my papers it says "Dr. took several biopsies. Do you think this would be just for more info or would that mean he found something bad?
Click to expand...

I would take that to mean that the "Dr took several biopsies," and that it's a series of words copied/pasted from the previous one that the nurse didn't change the wording because it fit your procedure. Really, I just think they were in a hurry, not that they necessarily found anything bad. If they found something bad, I'd expect it to be written on the report in "Dr took several biopsies" stead. Just a guess, but if there was something bad they knew, I'd bet you'd already know. Don't worry, eat another snack. You deserve it! :)
 
Oh dang, somehow I missed your post sawdust! It was just a little discharge paper with instructions, but yes I was thinking the other day that if it was something bad they would have probably called me instead of waiting until my appointment.

Thanks!
 

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