Prep Questions

[mom2277]

My 8 year-old DD has a scope in a little over a week. We have to be at the hospital by 7 a.m. We live almost 4 hours away from the hospital, so I plan to check-in to a hotel near the hospital right before she starts the prep. The prep requires mag citrate at 4 p.m. the day before the scope, and then a Ducolex tablet the night before and the morning of the scope. A couple of questions. First, around when should I give the second Ducolex if we have to be at the hospital at 7 a.m? Second, given that she has to have a second Ducolex the morning of the procedure, how close does our hotel have to be to the hospital? I can pay significantly less if we travel 15 minutes to the hospital, as opposed to being right next to it. (Finances are an issue, but I don't want her to be emotionally scarred or embarrassed by loosing control of her bowels in the car en route to the hospital because I cannot find a bathroom fast enough.)

Also, I had planned to put her in Goodnite pull ups and offered her that we could put diaper ointment around her anus to lessen the irritation. (We'll have a long trip back home after the scope, and I want to maximize her comfort.) I also planned to get something like chucks to protect the sheets and mattress in the hotel.

Is there anything else that I can do to help her feel more comfortable with the prep?

Thank you!

I have to admit that I've been worried sick that we'll end up with a false negative. I think the real possible diagnosis at play is eosinophilic esophagitis, not IBD, unless her eye pain and joint pain are extraintestinal manifestations that are presenting before a lot of the Crohn's symptoms. I think that possibility is why a colonoscopy is being done. Her chief GI symptoms are unrelenting nausea (24/7 for 6 months) and constipation as well as some abdominal pain, though that is secondary to the nausea. I cannot imagine unrelenting nausea is functional, though the contigent plan if the scopes are normal is to label everything "functional" since she doesn't have blood in the stools, diarrhea, or fevers. I'm far from convinced.

 

[Lisa]

If in doubt with the prep, as your appointment is so early, I would start a little earlier in the day to ensure it has plenty of time to work. Is she on a clear liquid diet the day before the procedure? It also helps to eat lightly a day or two before that. Taking a dulcolax the morning of the prep doesn't sound quite right, as it should not have anything to work on at that point- you want her to be cleaned out before then. I would call and clarify that with the doctor's office.

As far as travel distance/time, I have an hour drive to my doctor's office and have never had a problem. Have her try to go just before leaving, hopefully she will be empty or close to it by then anyway.

Good luck with everything, hope you get some answers...

 

[Jmrogers4]

Yes definitely call. We've always been clean by the evening before and he is done going so 1/2 hour drive to hospital has never been an issue. When it starts coming out clear, really a yellow color she will be clean.

 

[Cupkatemom]

Your prep sounds similar to my DD's (we thought she had EE, too). As a warning, my daughter struggled with mag citrate. She is a bit strange, though, as she does not like anything bubbly or sweet to drink. It took us 4 hours to get the drink down. We ended up mixing it with a sonic slush and fed her spoonfuls (she just turned 10). Next time, I would open the drink a few hours before so it can lose some of it's fizz. If she likes Gatorade, that may help for the mixing. The Ducolax works right away, so I wouldn't worry about the drive to the hospital.

She did not have any irritation or leakage. Calmoseptine is the best cream (the pharmacist keeps it behind the counter) if needed (way better than diaper cream).

Best of luck!

 

[mom2277]

Hi everyone!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies and suggestions. I double-checked the instructions, and indeed, they ask that the child take a second Ducolex the morning of the procedure. These are standard, printed handouts for all patients receiving scopes, and simply don't make sense for a 7 a.m. arrival time. I'll call and double-check their applicability to my daughter.

Thank you for the suggestions about Sonic slushies! My daughter has sensory issues and is exquisitively sensitive to things like smells, texture, etc. I can easily see us having difficulties with her drinking the mag citrate, even more so, because she (1) knows that it will induce diarrhea and (2) feels "forced" to drink it. Sonic slushies could turn this dreaded things into something at least palletable, especially because we don't normally drink them.

Am I over-reacting in buying her Good nite pull ups? She feels humiliated at the thought of wearing "diapers." I tried to persuade her by telling her I feared she (and anybody taking the laxatives) might accidentally have an accident, which would leave her feeling really uncomfortable.

Thank you so much again!

 

[crohnsinct]

Sorry I have no advice just :ghug: My daughter did her clean out while inpatient and I think because she was so sick it was a lot worse than it really had to be. She has her first scopes since being in remission this summer and I have been wondering the same as you. I am encouraged by hearing from others that they were sufficiently cleaned out by the morning of. We have an hour and half drive.

Protection for the hotel bed is a great idea. My daughter had a few nighttime accidents.

 

[Mehita]

My only advice is to start a little earlier if you think she might have trouble getting the solution down. I started too late one time and poor DS was falling asleep on the toilet because it took him so long to drink and then a long time for it to kick in.

As for the Good-Nites, I used to have them on hand, but I didn't make him wear one. Our hospital is only 20 minutes away and one time he didn't make it. He was more than willing to wear it then... just had to be on his terms, KWIM?

Good luck!

 

[my little penguin]

WE have done 4 clean outs with DS so far- he was 7 at dx and they thought he had EoE as well. Never had to use pull ups or goodnights.
We were over an hour from the hospital not an issue either.
never did ducolax in the am of the procedure mostly the morning and afternoon before.
Mag citrate - tastes like pop - we have used that when he was FOS not for a colonscopy prep.
Normally we use mirlax plus ducolax.
good luck.

 

[Naturelover]

Mom227, Just a quick thought. If your daughter is having constipation issues, that can lead to GERD, nausea etc. She could have a motility issue or even a partial blockage. If your constipated, things back up and when there is no where else to go, the colon gets bigger and presses on the stomach. There are many things that can cause constipation as well as other GI symptoms. I'm sure you know this. Hang in there. Our prayers are with you and your daughter.

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

I remember my mother having to take mag citrate when I was a kid. She found it quite unpleasant. The day before my son's scopes he had to take 2 ducolax, which did next to nothing. I called the GI clinic and they said not to worry as they would be giving him an enima prior to the procedure. You might want to see if the same will be done at your hospital. An enima is not very pleasant, but it's quick and simple, and it sure does work! There was no irritation or ill side affects from the scopes. Good luck!

 

[LJS]

For preps here, clear liquids only day before. Mid-day start with miralax mixed with gatorade (not red), and then later a choc flavored ducolax..all cleaned out before bed so we never had any issues morning of the scopes.

 

[mom2277]

Thank you so, so much for all the helpful suggestions. I really appreciate letting us benefit from the experience here to ensure my daughter's prep is as seamless as possible.


Actually, I had no idea other things beside EoE could cause constant nausea. That's crucial and really helpful info. I'm actually going to start another post about it.

Thank you!

 

[izzi'smom]

DD was young enough to be able to get away with pull ups (4-6) for all of her scopes, but for us, bringing wipes/cream and a change of clothes was a better option. Our 1 hour ride to the hospital wasn't ever an issue, but I agree that something to protect the bed is a good idea. A large fleece blanket would be both liquid repellant and comfortable.

 

[Naturelover]

Thank you so, so much for all the helpful suggestions. I really appreciate letting us benefit from the experience here to ensure my daughter's prep is as seamless as possible.


Actually, I had no idea other things beside EoE could cause constant nausea. That's crucial and really helpful info. I'm actually going to start another post about it.

Thank you!

Gastritis can cause nausea. As you probably already know, when a medical term ends in "itis" it means inflammation. Many things can cause inflammation.