Going for a colonoscopy - what's it like?

In My Humble Opinion
61

Probably not but there is one piece advice I have. After you take whatever it is that’s doing the roto-rooter job, if you feel like you have to break wind don’t. Get on the toilet first and then try. (Ok, so I almost crapped myself because I felt like I had to fart and thought "I’d better get on the toilet, just in case.) Of course after the procedure feel free to break wind all the time.

Oh, definitely drink lots of fluid. I didn’t drink enough because I felt so bloated after the magnesium citrate I took for my cleansing which gave me a massive headache the morning of the procedure. (It made me so sick to my stomach I puked up the entire second dose of cleaner.) Don’t worry about the procedure though, they didn’t even knock me out for mine and it wasn’t anything to write home about. (They gave me some sedatives but I was totally aware. Definitely I should have watched on the screen to see what they were doing.)

62

Another tip: buy a box of baby wipes. By the time you get to the end of the bowel prep, your anus might be quite sore from the wiping and the harsh liquid poop. Baby wipes are much gentler and soothing. (Just don’t flush the wipes! This is NOT a time you want your plumbing clogged!)

63

Had my first colonoscopy at age 62. The “start-up” overnight process was very uncomfortable. What you have to drink is … NASTY. :eek:

But the sedative was effective and itt was good to wake up warm, after.

64

Or if the toilet is near the sink, you could fold a few squares and wet them for the cleaning. Yeah, your butt will be crying for mercy by the time it’s all done.

Re “adult diapers” - hopefully not necessary but as freckafree said “it Depends” :p. Basically, if you get even the slightest hint that maybe you might need to do anything, or feel the urge to fart, run-don’t-walk.

Leave the toilet lid up and the seat down. You do not want to risk any delay in getting where you need to go. Similarly, elastic waist pants or go commando (I caught Typo Knig wearing regular button/zip/belt pants right after he drank the glop, and made him change clothes. He was grateful, later).

If you share a bathroom with someone, tell them to use another one for the duration. Typo Knig wanted to shower/shave, the morning of my procedure. I told him “you have 30 seconds to grab your toiletries then get the hell out of my way”.

And… don’t think it’ll take an hour or two to kick in, and try to get a little shopping done in the meantime. One acquantance wound up completing her prep in the bathroom at Wal-Mart :eek::smack:.

Once you’ve drink the glop, it’ll take a little while for it to kick in, then a couple of hours roughly for it to wear off*. IIRC, I started drinking it at 6 PM or thereabouts, and by 10 PM, there was nothing else happening. The next morning I started drinking at 6 AM, and by 10:30 it had just barely stopped. I was actually worried, as we had to leave for the procedure… it stopped about 5 minutes before departure. I was all set to bring a change of clothes, and line my friend’s car seat with a couple of trash bags just in case. Phew.

Of course it doesn’t sound like the OP has this to worry about.

*for most people. The poster who had the runs for 2 weeks afterward might not agree.

65

Hmm. All my appointments have been more or less first thing in the morning, because of the fasting issue. (Or just drinking clear juice.) By the morning of the procedure, I was damn empty.

66

One of the many reasons I hate GoLytely, may the inventor rot in Hell, is that after I’d crapped myself inside out and it seemed my colon had nothing left to give, I stumbled off to bed for some desperately needed sleep.

I woke up to a wet bed. The GoLytely solution had continued its notorious journey through my digestive tract, and the liquid did not have the same “full” sensation in my bowel as the normal contents do. The GoLytely just leaked out of me while I was sleeping, and I was unaware of it until I woke up.

That’s beyond nasty.
~VOW

67

I’ve had two. Oh, god, the prep. I honestly think I would rather have major surgery than go through that again. I hate nausea more than pain.

The scopes themselves were relatively painless. I don’t believe, to answer your question, there is a risk of waking up paralyzed during the procedure - the anesthesia they used with me was some pretty light and fluffy stuff, I was barely conscious. The second time I was out completely and I woke up giggling like a maniac.

Are you having any biopsies? I will say the second time I went, I had a million biopsies and it did kinda hurt for a few days afterward.

68

There’s not much risk, since they don’t generally paralyze you for the procedure. To the contrary, you’ll often be asked to turn to one side or the other as they advance the scope - turning helps the scope make it around the bends. There’s a technician there to help you turn, but you’ve got to do some moving on your own.

Thanks to the Versed, you probably don’t remember turning at all!

69

My husband has had one, and I’m working on my second, and all 3 times it’s wound up being mid-morning. I’ve heard that when people get an early AM appointment, they can do round 1 earlier the previous day (e.g. midday vs 6 PM), and do round 2 later in the evening. The fasting issue has never been a consideration… I think a lot of medical people don’t consider that worth worrying about (bastards… e.g. when they scheduled my husband for elective sinus surgery to start at 2 PM… then didn’t take him back until 4 PM).

This go-round, they didn’t offer me the choice of doing the two rounds the night before, I was told “5 hours before the procedure no matter what”. The first time slot they offered was something like 7 AM - and yeah, they expected me to get up at 2 AM and torture myself.

Um no, no thanks. I got them to give me a 10 AM slot. Still gotta get up at 5 AM but that’s a LOT better than 2.

Of course, I could probably skip most of round 2. My teenage son will be driving me there and if THAT doesn’t scare the shit out of me, nothing will :D.

70

Huh - I had no idea they had us move around. My previous session, since I was getting it “north and south” I know they moved the gurney around (from what I understand, they probably had to push me halfway out into the hallway to make the switch because the procedure room was so small). When my husband had the same thing, they mentioned that, and also said there was a chance he’d wake up slightly during the switcharound.

I know they gave me Propofol and I think I got Versed as well. The first thing I remember afterward was that I was lying on my left side, with my right arm propped on a pillow - and someone TRIED TO TAKE IT AWAY. I held onto it with a surprisingly good grip for someone that stoned.

71

You should try a colonoscopy from the other side of the table. It’s way more fun. :wink:

(But it’s not a job I could do for long. So routine as to be mind numbingly boring for the nurse, although thank goodness there are some nurses who *like *the routine.)

72

Well, I survived it. Don’t know how they managed with a 3 hour purge, maybe my colon is naturally pretty empty. At least I didn’t have to worry about travelling there.

It went something like this:
Around 9 am, they mixed the solution and gave it to me. It looked exactly like water, and I thought, “this is it?” I took a sip and found out what people were talking about. I wouldn’t describe it as snot, more like seawater. Now I know why drinking seawater will dehydrate you. At least it has no aftertaste and isn’t viscous. I imagine barium suspension will be harder to drink.
I finished 2 cups before I felt the effects. It wasn’t so bad, I’ve had worse experiences drinking milk. Towards the 6th cup I was feeling like vomitting though. I don’t think I could have taken more than 6 cups without throwing up. I was also very thirsty, but couldn’t drink.
I was still going to the toilet right until they wheeled me into the operating room. I remember asking “Am I going to sleep now?”, then waking up in recovery. It felt exactly like falling asleep. I didn’t feel any different afterwards (did some biopsies) but had diarrhoea at night, so beware.

So my tips are:
-get flushable wet tissues, like WhyNot said. And use them right from the start, not when you start feeling sore. If you have a shower/bidet nearby, even better.
-wear disposable underwear during the purge
-if you feel the urge, go immediately to the toilet and do not relax until you get there
-I wore a diaper on the way back. I didn’t need it, but I don’t think it was a bad idea

73

Helpful hint: If they are scoping both ends have them do the upper first or at least ask them to wash the scope when they switch ends. :smiley:

When I was in recovery, a nurse came in and pressed on my abdomen expelling most of the air. Luckily that curtain blocked the sound to he next bed.

74

:smiley:
I asked them if they were going to hammer in a golden spike when they met in the middle.

They were not amused, somehow (phooey on 'em!). You’d think they’d have a better sense of humor, given that their business is always looking up!

/d&r

75

My favorite description of the colonoscopy came from Dennis Miller back when he was occasionally funny: “It’s like that long dolly shot in Goodfellas, except my pooper is the Copa.”