New and wondering what to expect with diagnostic procedure

[Ligeia]

First of all, hello and I am so glad I found this forum.

Long story short, I recently underwent a Laparscopy to treat what was thought to be a recurrence of Endometriosis. Nothing in the way of visible Endometriosis was found, but the surgeon did note my bowel was very inflammed and distended. So I've been referred to a Gastroenterologist for further investigation, including a colonscopy. My Doctor has indicated they will be looking at Chrohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, or possible Endometriosis in the bowel wall.

Any information, or advice, or personal experiences with the different tests the GI Doc might run, would be very much appreciated right now. Also any questions I might need to ask, or anything of importance that I should mention as well?

Thanks in advance.

 

[danman]

Have a browse around the forum, you'll find a wealth of information here.

Try the search option, you can search for colonoscopy information. There have been a lot of threads dedicated to this perticular test.

Good luck with your diagnosis.

 

[Ligeia]

Thanks for the reply Dan, I'll check out some of the other threads and have a look around.

 

[kromom1]

Welcome to the forum, Ligeia! My colonoscopy was an easy procedure. It was the prep that sucked!! I can't remember the name of the stuff I had to drink but it was awful and I couldn't add anything to it to make it taste better. I know there are better ones out there and there are even preps that involve taking pills, too, and not having to drink so much nasty fluid! Hopefully you will get one of those - ask your doctor about the options. If it's like my colonoscopy, though, they will given you medicine through and IV, and you probably won't remember anything about the procedure itself. Hope it goes well for you, and let us know what you find out.

 

[prettykitty]

Ditto what kromom1 said! The procedure itself was fine -- I was totally zonked by the sedation.

But the prep sucks. I had the "home-brew" version: 4 dulcolax tablets and a whole bottle of miralax mixed into 64 oz of a gatorade flavor of my choosing. It didn't taste bad, like most of the other preps. But the effects are the same, and they are pretty miserable.

But strangely enough... afterwards, I had no symptoms for like a week! I guess the cleansing process helped calm my intestines down -- at least for a little while. I mentioned it to my GI and he said that's not unusual.

 

[JillianB82]

Welcome to the forum! My drink of choice was called MoviPrep. I had to drink a gallon of liquid in an hour time. I could mix it in other things, like applejuice, but that meant I had to drink so much more. LOL The colonoscopy itself was fine, I did not fall asleep, I watched it on the tv above, but I did not feel anything either. After the colonoscopy, my GI ordered an upper gi, which I had 2 weeks later, now that one I slept for, they made sure of it.

Best of luck to you!

 

[bruscar]

Hi Ligea,
Big welcome to you....i don't get on here as much as i would like to.......but anyway as for your scope business !

First of all, stop worrying ok. you are getting treatment and that in itself is great because the problem should there be one.... is being addressed.

Secondly have faith in your GI because he is going to be invesigating you and your body, i know it sounds a bit "deep" but then and only then ask the questions that you feel you need to. remember if there is something there he will find it, but most importantly rest, rest, and more rest.

I wish you well

X

 

[Four4ns]

I to have Endometriosis along with Lymphocyctic Colitis. I often wondered if the too are related or if I was misdiagnosed. I really think the inflammation is Endo in the bowel wall. Curious to know what they end up finding.

 

[terps02]

Sorry to hear about your problems. The earlier they find the problem, the sooner they can try to get it in remission (if it's Crohn's).

I've only had one colonoscopy and I used GoLYTELY as prep. It certainly didn't taste good, but the biggest problem I had was the volume that I had to drink. It was a gallon of "stuff".

I think I could drink a cup of just about anything, but drinking a gallon of a nasty tasting liquid was really hard for me. Next time I have a colonoscopy, I am going to ask for something different that requires less drinking.