To ask for your experiences of colonoscopy, super nervous

I was shit-scared (sorry...) before mine and yes, the movicol was awful and I'm really glad we had a bidet because my bum was so sore.
The actual procedure -- the hunky young surgeon 😊came and brought me from the waiting room and told me it wouldn't be nearly as bad as I feared. I didn't believe him but he was right.
The sedation was fantastic. And if O shifted even slightly on the table they asked me if i wanted a top-up. Meanwhile I was happily chatting about Spain to the lovely Spanish nurse and it was all over before I knew it.
Tea and biscuits afterwards were very welcome too.

I would suggest sedation. I didn't and apparently I have a 'very loopy bowel' (more 'loopy' than most people I guess) and because of this i did find it a bit painful. The prep is awful. I balanced the taste of mine by having a hot cup of bouillon next to me and having a few sips of that in between the awful prep taste it helped me get it down. Good luck with it. I think the prep is worse than the actual procedure and you'll just be glad to get it over with and have some normal food again. If you have sedation you won't care at all what they're doing down there.

Ditto

Had the procedure a few times over 35 years last time was about 4/5 years ago - worst part the drink, the rest in the scheme of things, lot easier with sedation ie whilst you awake

I've even had the gastroscopy awake but that is herendos ie 10/10 stuff. However, colonoscopy, 1/10, easy sailing, they help you to relax and most rewarding is, you hear the good news there and then, "all good."

I was given a self enema to do and I really would have preferred a disgusting drink. The actual procedure was fine and no sedation was offered.

Prep was the worst part for me

take sedation

after pains are also pretty awful

I went to a clinic the afternoon before and had a colonic irrigation - didn’t take the prep laxatives. I did tell the consultant before the colonoscopy he just rolled his eyes but no problem going ahead with it

I had the double whammy a colonoscopy and endoscopy at the same appointment and I was as nervous as hell.

I opted for sedation as I was worried that without it I wouldn’t be able to go through with it.

I was able to work from home on the day I started to take the prep around lunch time the day before my early morning appointment. I think I had to change my diet several days before taking the prep. The prep tastes absolutely awful (chill it beforehand) and I was knackered from all the running to the toilet (I was up and on the toilet until midnight the night before). The staff in the unit were all absolutely lovely and couldn’t have been nicer as I was embarrassed about it and with sedation the procedure was absolutely fine and I had a lovely long dreamy sleep in the afternoon following the procedure fortunately I took a days annual leave.

On the day I would advise wearing a slightly long top (but not too long a top) and skirt or trousers. As they get you to wear long paper blue shorts (they have these in all sizes which have a split up the back). But you do need someone to pick you up as you can’t drive home.

Get the sedation, close your eyes and go to sleep. I had a great sleep 🙃

I just went with the gas and air which totally surprised me as had a 3rd degree rectal tear when gave birth , followed by repair surgery so was pretty fixed on sedation .
It was OK the prep was so so much worse .
Definitely get some help arranged around both prep time and post procedure. Good luck .You've given birth so can manage this .

The prep is the worst bit, absolutely vile, the drink is disgusting and you obviously don’t feel great.
ive had one colonoscopy with gas and air and another with sedation. The gas and air was better, I recovered faster. I had a bad reaction to the sedative and couldn’t stop throwing up, unwell for a week after.
with gas and air, it was over and done pretty much immediately

When my doctor does colonoscopies, they knock you out. You go from feeling yourself getting pleasantly sleepy to waking up in recovery. Then they come and give you results.

It's not a fun process but it's not horrible either. The best part is getting results straight away from the doctor. No nervously waiting until the next appointment.

I wasn’t offered any sedation, which was a shame as it would have been better (had sedation for endoscopy and it was great) but actually it wasn’t too awful, though it was uncomfortable.

As others have said, get the sedation, if offered (or ask if not and you want it) but my experience was that it wasn’t as bad as I expected.

I did vomit up the second batch of laxative though, which was fairly grim. 100% I could not have cared for a child at the same time.

Brilliant tip re the Vaseline - it's a game changer. Set up the loo with books and/or your iPad and expect to be there for a couple of hours so make it comfy!

I had one last year and like you I was very nervous about it.

I had the sedation - it was great! I woke up not realising it was all over. (this was in the US though and they give propofol so you'e out for the count. Not sure what drugs they give on the NHS so may be different).

If you can get pills instead of the liquid - get those. There are a lot of them and they are fairly big pills but easy enough to swallow. Someone told me the pills are so much better than drinking all the liquid as it's difficult to finish and can make you throw up.

The prep is the hardest part and you need to be near a loo for a good few hours, I basically sat in the bathroom with my ipad / phone.

But try not to worry - it will be over before you know it.

I had one with sedation. The procedure was fine but the prep was horrible. I did enjoy the white food 70s diet pre prep though! After the procedure I honestly felt that I would have no problem doing it again.

I’ve only NOT been offered sedation when I’ve had a sigmoidoscopy rather than a colonoscopy, I’ve found that some people get mixed up with which procedure they’ve had. A colonoscopy goes all the way up to the terminal ileum, therefore that’s why sedation is offered, a sigmoid scope only goes part way up, sigmoid can still be uncomfortable though, especially when going round a ‘bend’, therefore G&A is generally offered, although one experience I had they didn’t offer me anything until I asked for G&A!! Sigmoidoscopy prep beforehand is also easier than colonoscopy prep in my experience!

OP asked about colonoscopies though and I’ve always been offered sedation, every single time!

It's more like pooing water tbh than like when you're ill.

I haven't read any of the replies yet as in a rush but just wanted to tell you that I've had two, about ten years apart. I'm a retired nurse and used to work in Endoscopy unit so wasn't at all nervous before first one. I had sedation first time, didn't find it that comfortable and was zonked for ages afterwards. I had recent one a few weeks ago, prep was awful of course but gas and air was fantastic. I was able to watch the screen, get a running commentary from the doctor and wide awake to have tea and toast served to me as soon as it was over. I'm a full time carer for my husband so don't get out much. I'd honestly say it was most enjoyable morning I'd had for ages!

Undignified but v reassuring procedure. Take all sedation offered, and ask for more on standby. Prep is housebound status and satisfyingly cleansing. Vaseline is top tip. Hope all goes well for you

My mum had one last week, she had the sedation and said it was absolutely fine. She's a big wuss and struggles to have a smear test or anything so the sedation must of worked well. She was ringing me less than an hour after the procedure, asking me to come and pick her up. She did sleep all day though. The explosive shits the night before was the worst part of it all she says.

I had one a few years ago. I don’t think I was offered sedation, it was bloody awful. I’m due another next month and will be asking for ALL the drugs

I had a camera put up my bum and into my colon about 10 years ago. I hated it.
All I can remember is having to take something that caused bowel emptying (diarrhoea). The person doing it was male, which made me feel uncomfortable. He was rough and made a comment that I was being precious when I said he was being a bit heavy handed. Then he had a conversation with the nurse about holidays. I wanted to punch him in the face. I'm sure yours will be better than mine. Good luck with it. I could see the screen as they were doing it. People are talking about sedation, I wasn't aware that was something offered.

The laxative prep wasn't as bad as I feared. Yes it technically brings on diarrhea but it wasn't as bad as the most awful gastroenteritis diarrhea that I had previously had and was expecting the prep to mimic. You certainly can't look after a baby during it though but you won't feel too poorly with it. Sticking to a low-residue diet for 5 days before reduces how much there is to come out significantly.

Personally I recommend going for sedation right from the start. I started with G&A and I really couldn't cope and they had to sedate me anyway and it would have been a lot less traumatic to just start off with sedation immediately.

Good luck and don't worry too much - even if they find something worrying there have been so many advances in medical science that treatments will in many cases be really effective and all will be well sooner or later.

The prep is grim and definitely have your DH around to look after the LO - when you need to go you need to go. The advice on food/timing/fluids varies from surgeon to surgeon and hospital to hospital so just go with whatever they tell you. It’s worth doing it properly (I always feel unreasonably proud of myself when they tell me I’ve done a really good job of the clear out!). Also don’t expect the effect to be instant, mine took a good few hours first time round.

Take the sedative. You can’t legally do anything, including sign a contract or drive a car, for 24 hours after. That’s because you are still off your head. With small children around (mine were 2 and 5 the first time I had one) I quite enjoyed having an actual legal reason not to be in charge of anything.

They give you weird paper pants with a flap in the back.

If the surgeon finds any polyps they may try and remove them there and then. It feels no worse than a lot of tugging. Again, take the sedative!

I was really paranoid that I would continue to “leak” during and after the procedure but everything goes back to normal really quickly.

The first solid food after is amazing.

A veteran of many many colonoscopies.

Make sure you slather your bum in vaseline or sudocrem as soon as you take the laxatives. If you don't you may get nappy rash.

And yes, go for sedation.

I always pack a marmite sandwich (or whatever you fancy) for after the procedure as they often offer biscuits but you need more !

Also take a charger and kindle /phone to keep yourself entertained whilst you wait.

At my hospital they give you modesty pants to wear- which are essentially large paper pants with a back flap for access 😬. So flattering !

Just be prepared. It's not fu ln but it is necessary.

You usually get verbal feedback on the day for results. It's common for them to find polyps and take biopsies so don't be surprised on that front.

Good luck and hope it goes well for you.