I learned this trick on the message boards for the weight loss surgery I had. For that kind of surgery, you need to be entirely cleaned out, too. Not only did I have to drink this crap, but I had to use a Fleet enema the night before, and the morning of the surgery! :eek:
They can’t tell you the straw trick on the package, because the package has to pretend that the vile stuff inside is “pleasant tasting”. :rolleyes: If they started listing ways to make it more bearable, people might not believe the hype.
Fortunately, minds cleverer than mine had figured out ways to make the drink more bearable, so I like to “pay it forward”, when I have the chance.
Nope, mine was bad too. I took the Fleet stuff and was completely grossed out. The next morning I was very sick and vomitting. I was supposed to drink 2 bottles, I managed one and it cleaned me out - totally. I tried to make it to work but had to stop on the way there and when at work was quite ill - it was very bad (and uncomfortable) diarrhea.
When I went for the procedure I was sedated…until halfway through.
I remember waking up screaming and sobbing while the nurse tried to keep me still until they could add more sedation. It was very painful and I was disoriented and terrified.
I saw the screen but didn’t really have time to relate to what I was looking at. It was like a strange alien abduction nightmare.
It was a few seconds before I went back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until it was over - but it was pretty bad.
No problem for me, aside from the oft-mentioned stuff you must drink, EXCEPT: the air they put you on (little oxygen tube under your nose) is either very dry or has some additive I’m allergic to. My nasal passages were dried out, and I coughed and sneezed, for days afterwards. Ask them if you HAVE to have that or if you can pass it up.
hypnotoad and poysyn, find yourselves new specialists. immediately.
the procedure shouldn’t hurt and they sure as hell shouldn’t have screwed up the sedation. that’s bullshit and it’s incompetant.
i suffer from somewhat severe IBS from time to time, so i’ve had a half dozen 'scopes in the last 20 years, plus the odd sigmoidoscopy now and again. they should not hurt and you shouldn’t remember a thing.
the prep is the worst of it, and today you don’t have to drink the gallon of the nasty stuff that you once did. you get the little bottle and take a couple of laxatives. no big deal. just don’t plan an evening out. you won’t be able to do much of anything except haunt your bathroom.
and i always, always take the day off of the procedure. you’ve been sedated, whether you were totally out or not, and you shouldn’t be working, let alone driving anywhere for the day.
whoever suggested getting the prep cold – great idea! i’ll add that to my routine in future. years ago, i learned to cut the stuff with equally cold fruit juice, preferably white grape. masks the flavor and the drink goes down like a charm.
i look at all this the same way i look at mammograms, which i have to have like clockwork every year. a little short-term discomfort is a small price to pay in lieu of possibly losing a breast - or six feet of colon - or even worse: my life.
Just wanted to agree with most everyone above: The preparation is nasty, the procedure is (literally) forgettable.
Hypno-Toad: Was yours a sigmoidoscopy (or as I like to call it, a semi-colonoscopy)? I had one of those, and there was no sedation. It got very uncomfortable, but at least I got to watch myself on TV.
I had to fast for 24 hours, with only clear liquids. And nothing at all for the last eight hours or so, although I got so dehydrated the morning of the exam, I took small sips of water and then spit most of it out. I’ve heard of the prep involving a quart or a gallon of foul liquid, but I was required to have a phospho-soda, and to have an enema. Just don’t plan on going far from the bathroom for a few hours.
You’ll be wheeled in for the exam, and then the next thing you know you’ll be waking up and a nice lady will offer you orange juice, and won’t let you leave until you fart.
Just a word of advice: Don’t plan on anything else for the day, and definitely do not attempt to drive. Arrange for transportation!. You’ll feel fine and alert, and then will find yourself drifting off and jerking back awake until the sedation finally wears off. I’ve had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy, both under sedation, and both times I’ve been driven home and slept for a few hours.
I have had a couple 'scopes and they were nothing, getting the IV was the worst part for me. Make sure to have some friends around about an hour or so after your done. You are going to let some very impressive farts. I hit 3rd gear with one after my last 'scope.
The fasting and shitting your brains out are more or less annoying, depending on how long.
The procedure itself is kinda fun in a very weird way- at least the watching my colon on TV was interesting to me. But it doesn’t hurt or anything. No big deal. My only sedation was a Valium. No pain, no discomfort, meh.
Oh and afterwards? Recharge your intestine’s Probiotics.
The first one was a sigmoidoscopy. That was when they just put the air into me and the doc inserted a camera to perform a visual recon. But the second time involved a lot of barium and they did a sort of live action fluoroscope kind of thing where I got to see the barium snaking it’s way up me as they inclined the table.
And there was no mention of any kind of drugs. Just, “Come in. Hop on the table and lay on your left side, please. This will be a little uncomfortable.” “a little uncomfortable” was like saying, “You know, that nuclear explosion was sort of loud.”
I’ll be getting my first one within the next few weeks. And at age 61, my new doctor and I are both amazed that I’ve never had one. I’m not having any symptoms of anything, I’m just way overdue for it.
One thing that hasn’t been discussed: I’m one of those millions of Americans who have no health insurance. How much will I be paying for this procedure (including the specialist)? Is the CT colonography cheaper? I hate the fact that I have to deal with that, in addition to the procedure itself.
My problem wasn’t the taste, it was drinking too damn much stuff in too little time. And I drink about four times as much water as anyone in the world. I don’t mind the toilet part - I’ve got lots of reading material there.
I’ve had two sigmoidoscopies also, and I think they’re cool. I have a book from 1930, called “Through the Alimentary Canal with Gun and Camera” and I never thought I could actually almost do that. It’s like Fantastic Voyage, if they made a wrong turn.
Don’t bet on it. As I said upthread, insurance companies don’t like to pay for CT colonography on the grounds that it’s “experimental treatment.” What they really mean is that the new way costs more than the old way. Believe you me, if the new version were cheaper, then insurance companies would be all over it like stink on shit.
The main advantages to the CT version is that it’s less invasive. This is good for patients who have a higher risk of complications.
If I had to guess I’d say a CT colonography (sometimes called a “virtual colonoscopy”) is in the neighborhood of $1,500 US. You should probably call beforehand and find out if you’re terribly curious about the price. You might even be able to shop around a bit.
I’ll have you know that the bout of laughter I just endured was enough to eject a snot from my nose and have it land DEAD CENTER on my monitor… which only caused MORE laughter to ensue.
I hadone just prior to having a hernia operation- two lots of knock out juice. No problems whatsoever. However, I would recommend not going to far from a toilet when you are prepping.
I visited my elderly father and had to rush into his toilet. To my chagrin there was no paper. I had to yell out for paper. Dad is as deaf as a post- so I had to yell in a voice that would have aerted half the subirb that there was a shortage in the toilet.
Check with your local health dept. and see if they have any special cancer screening programs to help with this. I know that for several years when I was uninsured, the local health dept. paid for my yearly mammogram and PAP smear. This was under some “Cancer Prevention” initiative. If your health dept. has such a program, I don’t know why a colonoscopy wouldn’t be covered.
I’m glad to hear that it’s not that bad. Perhaps the technology has advanced considerably since I had it done. It was pretty fucking horrible, and I’m loathe to get it done again even when saddled with mild Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
It was like getting butt fucked with a skinny 6 foot cock with a glans like a auger. Apparently, my HMO does not much believe in anesthesia. I hope this has changed since my last procedure 10 years ago.
