For my first I was actually awake for the entire procedure and they had a tv screen positioned so I could watch the camera progression. I did have enough drugs that I don’t remember any pain though. During my second they did both colonoscopy and gastroscopy so I was out.
It probably will not happen to you, however I absolutely categorically refuse to do any sort of bowel prep ever again. I have had one encounter with go-lytely and one with some nasty bottle of satins piss soda that claimed to be lemon lime. Both occasions had me shitting my brains out for a week, leading in the first case to needing 2 units of neutral saline to rehydrate me enough to actually have surgery, the second ended up with me having the migraine of my life, with vomiting, dehydration and admission to a hospital not for my hysterectomy but with a BP of 210/190 and in immanent danger of my head going asplody.
[my surgeons now agree that a couple days of liquid diet and enemas is really the way to go … ]
And because every thread with a zillion people saying “it’s only the prep which is bad” needs a counter example–as a result of my mother’s latest colonoscopy, she has been diagnosed with a mild heart abnormality, and has firmly declared that she’s had her last colonoscopy.
She also was given a different sedative than many people have experienced, and had no grogginess post-procedure, but has bad memories of medical staff freaking out over her as she came awake, and debating whether the cardiologist would get there fast enough, or they should load her into a wheelchair and take her to the cardiologist.
The cardiologist did not panic, but did recommend following up with her doctor, who in turn sent her to a cardiologist, and all is now well, although if she ever goes to the ER with chest pains, she should admit to this previous diagnosis.
I just realized, GoLytely sounds like the name of Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
I guess there are people who really want to see “As The Colon Turns”, but I have zero interest in being awake enough to watch bowel video. They can easily photograph things of interest and I can get an 11 by 14 photo later, suitable for framing, not to mention photomicrographs of any lesions that turn up.
By the way, at least some (and hopefully all) colonoscopists aspirate residual air from the colon at the conclusion of the procedure, so there shouldn’t be a ton of gas left in there to frighten fellow passengers on the subway later on.
Final word on the bowel prep issue - Miralax, baby.
That’s not a feature; it’s a bug.
I really do understand your frustration, and I share it. But I also have to say that *most *people want to get out of there ASAP, whether it’s safe or not. If you told them they’d have to devote an entire day to a routine preventative exam which isn’t most people’s favorite activity anyhow, patient compliance would go way, way down. In other words, if a colonoscopy was a 6 hour procedure instead of a 2, most people wouldn’t do it. Most people think that getting to leave after 2 hours IS a feature.
What I wish is that we could offer a chair to wait in for 4 hours OR you get a ride home with a competent adult. While some facilities will offer you a chair if you show up without a ride, I’ve never known one to make it an option up front, when you schedule the procedure. And, as you’ve discovered, some really don’t have even a chair, and will reschedule you (which they lose money on, by the way…they really don’t want to do that) instead.
If enough people feel this way, maybe you could charge a couple of hundred of uninsured bucks to let them wait with moderate supervision. I sure as hell don’t want to pay extra for the people who want to stick around. Much as I like my clinic, it is not a place where I want to hang out.
Sorry for the hijack, but where are they stickied? I can’t find them.
Drinking a gallon or so bad kool aid mix for 12 hours before the procedure. LOTS of quick, sudden runs to the toilet when the sudden urge to shit hit (although that stopped a few hours into it.
The procedure went well. Stuck a needle in me, went out counting from 100 backwards (got to 91). Woke up 20 minutes later-no problems, see you in 10 years. I felt good enough to drive home but they had insisted I have somewhere else do that. Didn’t feel woozy at all, just a trace of jelly in my asshole where they stuck the camera up.
I’ve got my second one scheduled for later this month. Oh joy.
Weird that they’re having you do the prep that close to the procedure. My last time, I drank the kool-aid (Gatorade actually, plus some salty horse pills) and spend the next 3 hours excreting everything I’d eaten since the second grade… then the next morning, repeated it and actually managed to excrete some more, um, non-liquid. And this was after 2 full days of a liquids-only diet beforehand.
That said: the actual procedure was a non-event. My biggest fear was the IV, but I lucked out and got the nurse who’d learned to do IVs on preemies so she got my vein on the first try. Then the propofol hit (that burns a bit when it goes in!), and I remember trying to tell them something through the tube they’d put between my teeth (I was also having an upper GI endoscopy)… then I came to in the recovery area.
Yeah, you’ll fart afterward - loudly and shamelessly and, thankfully, odorlessly - since it’s just room air you’ve borrowed and are returning, after all.
Perhaps TMI, but as soon as I got home I ate some food (first solid food in nearly 72 hours after all), then again at dinner… and the next morning I found that my digestive system works quite well at pushing things through quickly!
There are various preps. While there are salts in the stuff like GoLytely, the main thing is that it has polyethyline glycol (same as Miralax), plus, from what I gather, apparently they add stuff to deliberately make it taste horrible. The rest of the ingredients are to replace the electrolytes. Some folks just get Gatorade + Miralax without all the added electrolyte ingredients (figuring Gatorade has enough electrolytes). My doctor doesn’t like that approach, he wants more controlled electrolytes.
For the person who asked about blood pressure, you should definitely make sure the doctor knows, but I’d bet it won’t be an issue - you’ll be losing so much fluid that you have to drink extra fluid to avoid dehydration.
FWIW, the prep I use is Osmo-Prep, a pill-based alternative. There are black-box warnings on it because of possible kidney issues but as my doctor said, it’s a matter of making sure you do not risk getting dehydrated, and all the extra fluid takes care of that. He’s only ever had one patient have issues, and that patient was fine after being rehydrated.
From what the OP has said, I highly doubt it’s a full colonoscopy. While different doctors have different regiments, EVERY ONE that I’ve ever heard of requires at least 1 full day of liquids-only, followed by a prep the night before and also usually the morning of the procedure. In some rare cases, they might try to just get by with administering an enema, but I would think that would only be for someone who literally could not, for health reasons, follow any of the other routines.
Any chance they’re talking about a sigmoidoscopy instead? That’s less thorough than a full-on colonoscopy.
Yep - mine has that as well. Interestingly, the paperwork does mention a medical transportation service if you absolutely can’t find someone else, but that has to be arranged in advance. No regular taxi either, unless you have a companion.
Said companion also must be an 18 or older adult. For mine, it’s scheduled on a teacher workday. My son is just shy of 18, but I’m going to have him do the driving, and fib about his age (not like they’ll card him or anything). He’s responsible enough to call 911 for me if needed.
I have one more little tidbit of information:
The last two colonoscopies, I somehow experienced a DELAYED effect of the purgatives. I followed all the prep instructions, drank the vile stuff when I was supposed to. The instructions say that the stuff should work almost immediately.
I sat around for HOURS, feeling like my belly was gonna pop through my belly button, but no potty-making urges.
The first time, the volcano erupted in the middle of the night. Damn near shattered the toilet with the force.
The second time, the shitz didn’t hit until morning. By the time we were supposed to leave for the clinic, the eruptions were still in full blow. A mile away from home, I had to tell Hubster to turn back.
I actually ran out of pants to wear. I ended up digging in my closet to find an old pair of sweatpants. The doctor had to be called back to the clinic when I finally dragged my sore, tired, and now spanking clean butt through the door.
The nurse said there are a few of us freaks out there who have a delayed reaction to the purgative. Her advice is to drink it TWELVE HOURS earlier than indicated on the prep sheets.
That should be “prep shits.”
~VOW
How much valium do you get? I’ve taken 5mg and while it makes me relax, it isn’t enough to knock me out. Do they give you other drugs to knock you out?
I can’t imagine that little Valium alone knocking you out enough for a colonoscopy - for dental work I think they give 10 mg. Though maybe given via IV, it’ll set in faster and stronger, and wear off faster, than something taken orally?
I know I got Propofol, a.k.a. “milk of amnesia” a.k.a. the stuff that killed Michael Jackson (it’s quite safe, if used and monitored correctly!). The reasoning being, they want something that’ll wear off very fast once the procedure is over. There may have been other stuff in there as well. When I had oral surgery a few weeks ago I got a cocktail with Propofol, a benzo, and (I think) an opiate as well.
Oh yeah - even with “just” Propofol, where you wake up and feel reasonably alert, when you get home, you’ll do some sleeping.
Right at the top on the About This Message Boardforum.
Since we are already well into TMI territory… I am going on Monday for my first. Should I get some adult diapers for the night before (in case I don’t make it to the bathroom)?
I’ve never seen Valium. Most places I’ve been use Fentanyl and Versed. Versed’s awesome because it’s an amnesiac - even if you’re not totally “out” during the procedure, you won’t remember the pain you feel during it.
ETA: …but if they give you Versed, don’t make any passwords later that day. Its effects can sometimes linger…
Depends! 
No, really. I think it depends on how far your bathroom is from wherever you’ll be “relaxing” between trips. My guts gave me plenty of warning, so I never had an issue with not making it to the bathroom, but YMMV.