# Tell me about your colonoscopy **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743 "2013-03-12T18:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/81 "2013-03-21T02:13:58Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Hopefully this is moot by now, but going on such an outing would guarantee the stuff would start working!! > > A colleague of mine foolishly thought she had time to pop over to Wal-mart before things started happening. She regretted the impulse. Not moot. I may get in the car. If I have to reschedule I think I will make it for October. Or later. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/82 "2013-03-21T12:49:56Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Not moot. I may get in the car. If I have to reschedule I think I will make it for October. Or later. By then, last night’s prep will **surely** have worked ;). Any luck? (egad, I’m asking a total stranger if s/he pooped). ---
**Author:** ![vodkalover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/cdc98d/32.png) [@vodkalover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vodkalover)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/83 "2013-03-21T14:53:44Z")
Seriously, would it be okay to drink vodka and water the night before? ---
**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:** [March 21, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/84 "2013-03-21T15:44:47Z")
> [@vodkalover](#): > > Seriously, would it be okay to drink vodka and water the night before? I wouldn’t personally recommend it, but there’s some discussion [here](http://www.livestrong.com/article/461354-is-alcohol-permitted-on-a-clear-liquid-diet-before-a-colonoscopy/). My takeaway message: If you do, make sure you drink a lot of other stuff to cover for the alcohol-induced dehydration, and make sure there’s plenty of time for your body to process the alcohol and have it out of your system before they start adding sedatives to the mix. And don’t drink _after_ the procedure until the sedatives have gotten completely out of your system. Besides: do you really want to be tipsy when you’re trying to make it to the toilet in time??? :eek:😛 ---
**Author:** ![vodkalover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/cdc98d/32.png) [@vodkalover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vodkalover)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/85 "2013-03-21T16:23:17Z")
Thank you for your input and the link 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/86 "2013-03-21T18:59:45Z")
I’ve had two and it’s a bit of a horror story, but I’m fine, I’m OK, don’t worry. I had the night before ritual like others have described and ditto all the advice they’ve given. Be prepared to sit on the toilet for some time the night before. On my first scope, the doctor removed a precancerous node from the intestine and then could not stop the bleeding. The ended up wheeling me out to recovery, then wheeling me back in to take another whack at cauterizing it. There was a monitor that the doctor watches that I could see as well and it was interesting watching that while I could. I do remember falling unconscious during the procedure and then waking up in recovery only to be taken back in. My wife was there to pick me up and they made her wait and wait and _wait_ for me without explaining what was going on because there was some sort of disconnect between the recovery area and the front desk. I was in there a long time and she was flipping out because of it until we were eventually reunited. Ever have one of those stressful moments where you bring up humor as a defensive mechanism? My wife had that and it was cranked up to 11. I think the doctor got sick of the jokes, but he was very gracious about it considering the circumstances. Because of the node (there were actually two, but fortunately only one was precancerous), I had another scope a year later. For some luck of scheduling, I had it the day after my cousin’s St. Patrick’s Day party. I do not recommend getting scoped the day after you have to go to a party because then you end up sitting around and you miss drinking the beer and eating the corned beef. The second scope turned out fine and I remained awake and watching the monitor for the whole thing. The doctor then told me to come back in two years, which I think is about 3 years ago by now. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/87 "2013-03-21T19:06:02Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > For some luck of scheduling, I had it the day after my cousin’s St. Patrick’s Day party. I do not recommend getting scoped the day after you have to go to a party because then you end up sitting around and you miss drinking the beer and eating the corned beef. Mine was March 18th too. Luck of the Irish indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743/88 "2013-03-21T21:54:55Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > By then, last night’s prep will **surely** have worked ;). > > Any luck? (egad, I’m asking a total stranger if s/he pooped). It’s all over and done with! The doctor told me that the Dulcolax and Miralax prep doesn’t have quite the force of other preps, but even he looked concerned when I told him how mild my reaction was. He wanted to try it, though, and mentioned the scope has an irrigator, so we went ahead. I’m just happy I was asleep because I have no desire to know how much, if any, irrigation was required. Five free years ahead of me!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-colonoscopy/652743.md?page=4)