# My first colonoscopy! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 7, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758 "2018-05-07T14:56:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/61 "2018-05-14T04:03:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I don’t remember ever hearing about this happening with a colonoscopy in the 7 years I worked at the big hospital, but I definitely remember it happening during a flex-sig procedure. :eek: > > I knew one woman who willingly paid an extra $200 out of pocket to have it done at the hospital instead of the outpatient surgicenter when she found out that the chances of a colon perforation is 1 in 1,000. The doctor explained that it’s much more likely to happen when there’s some kind of serious disease process going on; in her case, it was a routine screening and everything turned out to be OK. Well, it may be rare but as one Doper found out the hard way, [it does happen](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=843266&highlight=rehab) ☹ (I believe there was a disease at play in that situation). I’ve not had an issue so far, fortunately, even with the carving I get done each time. Back to my most recent experience: Things “started” about 2.5 hours after the first dose, then seemed to stop after an hour. Then 2 hours later, the gut started up again, unprovoked, which I considered quite unsportsmanlike. That was another 90 minutes of running to the toilet and (usually) making it. By the time the next morning dose kicked in, it felt like I was excreting pure battery acid. It was the most miserable a prep has ever made me. Even after the procedure, when I should have been able to enjoy the post-propofol bliss for a few minutes, the fire in the hole woke me. :mad: Next time, I’m going for the Vaseline during the prep. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/62 "2018-05-14T04:11:06Z")
Glad it all came out okay in the end. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/63 "2018-05-14T04:29:55Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > Someone recently informed me about [Cologuard](https://www.cologuardtest.com/) & my doctor said that it is a reasonable alternative for someone like me (no family history or other risk factors). An option to consider for everyone who’s been dreading the pre-colonoscopy hell. I did this last year. Just one piece of advice: Don’t send them a specimen that’s bigger than the enclosed bottle of preservative, because if it is, they can’t use it. Ask me how I found out about that. :o ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/64 "2018-05-14T19:33:13Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > When I was prepping for mine, I added beef buillon as a liquid. It gave a nice savory alternative to the sweet liquids. In my survival guide, I mention the option of getting some nice pho broth - much tastier than canned. The people at the nearby pho shop now know when I’ve got a procedure scheduled, because I show up there, eat a big bowlful of noodles, and get 2 quarts of broth to take home for the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/65 "2018-05-14T19:50:40Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > In my survival guide, I mention the option of getting some nice pho broth - much tastier than canned. > > The people at the nearby pho shop now know when I’ve got a procedure scheduled, because I show up there, eat a big bowlful of noodles, and get 2 quarts of broth to take home for the next day. “She’s turning our pho broth into poo broth, bro!” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/66 "2018-05-14T20:11:01Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > TI use PrepoPik, which is a 5 ounce cup of something that tastes almost entirely, but not not quite, unlike bad lemonade. I alternated it with sips of sparkling apple cider; ginger ale would do as well. > > When you mix the powder with the water, it undergoes an exothermic reaction (gives off heat), … That sounds like exactly what I used, though the brand name was different. The notable characteristic is that it comes in a small box with a couple of little packets about the size of sugar packets, each one making a cupful of bad lemonade that froths and bubbles like a witch’s brew. It’s not really awful, and a tremendous improvement over having to drink gallons of putrid swill. It eliminates (heh!) one of the big issues with colonoscopies. One that remains is becoming a frequent visitor and really good friends with your toilet, and not being able to eat real food or drink real drinks. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/67 "2018-05-15T16:05:44Z")
And the ruling is that the polyps were precancerous. I understand that to mean “not cancerous, but eventually could be if not removed.” Next screening in five years. He also took out a couple of Legos and a Hot Wheels car, and those were benign. The damn kids leave their stuff everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/68 "2018-05-16T03:28:02Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > And the ruling is that the polyps were precancerous. I understand that to mean “not cancerous, but eventually could be if not removed.” Next screening in five years. > > He also took out a couple of Legos and a Hot Wheels car, and those were benign. The damn kids leave their stuff everywhere. So were they glat to get their toys back? 😃 Huh, I’m surprised that “precancerous” merits waiting 5 years. It may depend on the type you had (mine were sessile - i.e. flat). My doc told me it would have been bad news if I’d gone another 5 years before the screening colonoscopy. Given my results, I was told to repeat it in 1-2 years. I had my second procedure about 18 months later… then that turned up more polyps including 1 that had spread enough that he couldn’t get it all the first time :eek:, so I had to repeat it 4 months later. Then 6 months after that. Then a year, then 2 years, and now I’m on a 3 year schedule. This latest one just turned up 1 polyp, so I’m still on a 3 year schedule before the next one. Obviously, I’m not a candidate for Cologuard etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758/69 "2018-05-16T04:02:03Z")
Thankfully no polyps and a clean bill of health for me this morning. Didn’t get to drink the Magnesium Citrate\* this morning because I started vomiting about 10 minutes before I was going to drink it. They were fine with that because nothing had been coming out for hours before I went. - Hate that stuff and it makes me violently ill, so that was a minor blessing. Straight over for some (Godfathers) [taco pizza](http://godfathersbecker.com/files/2015/01/10_MO_Taco_076.jpg) afterwards. Then of course, I come home and sleep about 7 hours, wake up hungry and go to the grocery store. While I’m there, my mother calls me and expresses surprise that I’m eating again after lunch. I’m like “Mom, that was 8 hours ago”. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-colonoscopy/813758.md?page=3)