Oh, my. Those couldn’t get around the bends. I hope.
With the bendy tube, they’re able to go right up to the appendix.
Per Dave Barry – Install seat belts on your toilet. It’s like the space shuttle taking off…
That would be a good trick, seeing as I had mine out in the late 1970s.
They still do sigmoidoscopes. That doesn’t sound like much fun either.
After the prep, you’re home free.
I’ve had four or five and the prep on each has been different. The last time I got to have the sports drink (no red, purple, or blue, I think. You don’t want your colon dark or stained red when they are looking for blood and whatever). I suggest you pick a flavor that’s not your favorite because you won’t want to drink it again for a while.
Last time I didn’t feel as empty or cleaned out as I did the other times, but they did the procedure so I guess I was okay. The first couple of times I felt like I had been power-washed by an industrial strength machine. The last time was no different than eating a couple of plates of spicy Chinese food.
Meh. The only truly unpleasant part of the prep is drinking the prep liquid. This used to be really unpleasant, but they’ve gotten this down to just middling unpleasant. The rest of prep is being chained to a toilet for 3/4 of a day. Hell, you’re probably near a toilet all day, every day, you just need to make sure it’s ALL day/evening. Other than that, no big whoop. And fasting, but really, you can’t miss 1.5 meals?
I’ve done this twice in 5 years. It’s not that bad. Just weird and messes up your schedule and eating for 1.5 days.
The all-time favorite subject for Straight Dope Message Board threads!
Herewith, a compendium of links to past threads on this ever-popular topic, for the OP’s research convenience:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16322153&postcount=43
ETA: Includes a few notable off-site links as well, including the classic Dave Berry column, and the infamous Picolax thread from the Singletrack board.
in the clear in other words.
The doctor didn’t say anything about sports drinks. Looking at my written instructions for breakfast and (pre-noon) lunch, it says I can have a “soft diet” such as “clear soup, beef broth, chicken broth, bouillon, juice without seeds.”
You don’t want any food or drink with red dye, like strawberry Jello. Otherwise they might get in there and suddenly scream “OMG, he’s bleeding everywhere!”
Might be a good practical joke.
Colons, gallbladders & big pimples: the SDMB trifecta! 
The prep is the worst part. Keep real close to the toliet, you will be fine for hours but at sme point the need to purge will hit hard even if you have been hitting the bathroom at regular intervals. In order to keep yourself satisfied and not starving I recommend jello,and chicken or beef broth or both. Popsicles (again nothing red) are good as well.
I don’t think we have Popsicles over here. But I’m sure I can find a substitute. The same as pizza – probably a no-no in this case – there is no situation, good or bad, that cannot be made better by ice cream.
Usually. Almost always.
The most common reason we had (I’m retired) for performing barium enemas was for a “failed colonoscopy.” Some people’s large intestine is very bendy. In fact, some people have what they call a “redundant” or “tortuous” colon where there are too many bends and loops to get the 'scope around.
That’s not normally the case, though. Most people go through it just fine.
http://www.angelhealingcenter.com/ColonTwist.JPG <-----“Normal” colon vs variants
Missed edit window.
The three “variants” exhibit different types of pathology. I just posted them to show the different perambulations a colon can take–not as an indicator of any disease or condition.
I was told I could have all the liquid with red dye I wanted. I forget what they use an HD scope or something? It’s the latest thing they said and had fewer restrictions.
Oh and I had Prepopik as the prep stuff. No power washing. Very mild!
I just looked at my powder that I’ll be mixing into gunk. It’s called Niflec.
The day is inching closer. But I have a question about my diet. Starting this Friday, I’m supposed to avoid certain foods including “whole-grain bread.” I’m not 100% clear what constitutes whole grain. Wheat bread? I’m assuming those white Wonder Bread-style loaves are kosher, but I can’t really say. Any advice?
You really want to avoid seeds. I am guessing that they figure there may be some sort of seed like items in the bread. Plain white bread (no sesame seeds) should be okay.