Colonoscopy - is it ok without sedation?

[Peonytimeguys]

I have to have one next week and I really don't want sedation. It's early morning, and I'm hoping I'll be back at my desk by 1pm. They've offered gas and air, or even sedation mid way through.

Wld love to hear if people have gone through it without, but perhaps its a person to person thing.

@Peonytimeguys keep the moviprep as cold as possible - I find that makes it more
tolerable to drink

@Peonytimeguys yes the prep is horrible. It's like any rehydration salts but just take as much as you can. If you've been on the light white diet you should be OK. There's no medals for going through things with pain or discomfort.

Put it in the fridge to cool it after you’ve made it and then drink the cup fast is what worked best for me

I drank it cold out of the fridge, used a straw and took huge sips. Alternate with water as they say. It's not that bad, if you had to drink one glass you'd screw your face up but wouldn't think twice about it. Can't say it made me feel nauseous, it's just a rotten taste, somehow it makes it worse that they've tried to disguise that behind the "mango" or whatever!

Don't get too hung up on it, you'll manage!

Try dilute it less then you can take gulps of squash to get rid of the taste in between. That’s what I did and it worked . Also wear Tena pants to your appointment until you get changed in case of accident on the journey

I had mine without sedation as I had nobody to come with me and besides, I wanted to get on with my day afterwards. I only felt very minor discomfort for about a minute during the procedure, but nothing to write home about. Once it was done, I went and had something to eat and carried on as normal. I did feel a little bit washed out though, but that was to do with the prep not the procedure.

I had it last week. I found the moviprep no problem at all. In the fridge take it with straw. I had a glass of lemonade next to it and took the smallest sip every time I had a drink. Even going to the toilet wasn't that bad. I have a close downstairs loo. I took the first dose 1litre at 6pm until 7am but says between 1- 2 hours went about 10 times in a about 2 - 3 hours. I slept downstairs just incase I needed it in the night but didn't need to go. Next dose 1 litre at 6am. Went a few times. Appointment was at 1.30

What is it about the Moviprep taste that is so awful? Surely I can hold my nose and gulp it down?

For me it tasted like wall paper paste, just unpleasant.

It’s the consistency - it’s cloying. Having said that, some preps are more ‘palatable’ than others. The last one I had was nowhere near as bad as the previous ones. Needless to say I can’t remember the names of either, so I’m useless - sorry.

If I was doing it again I’d probably start the low fibre diet about 5 days before, and start the fasting a few hours earlier than they say. That way there’s less to clear out and you might get away with not having your finish all of it. I’d maybe start the prep a bit earlier too so you can pace yourself but like I said the second dose took me five hours (with an hour break) rather than one and it was fine. Try your best to be ‘running clear’ before the procedure - eg if you think you coukd see a coin through your ‘output’ at the bottom of the toilet bowl. Mine was the colour of lucozade and had bits of what looked like skin flakes in it - I don’t know what it was but it wasn’t stool. I think what got me through the prep was the ‘if you’re going to go through hell, keep going’ approach. 24 hours and the whole thing is over. Better to go slow then throw it all up. For many people it’s fine though! I kept mine ice cold in the fridge and poured about 50-100ml at a time which I tried to drink over 15 mins - straw at the back of the tongue and then a sip of lemonade each time but ended up switching to water as was sick of sweet stuff.

Also, I kept chatting to ChatGPT who kept giving me words of encouragement 😄

If you've got piles then you need to get something like this

https://amzn.eu/d/03WZx28e

Don't use wipes.

I don't think that ordinary squash would have been enough for me, which is why I got elderflower cordial because that is really nice even when it is strong where is I find squash very sickly if it is too strong.

Yeah, it's unlikely I'm going to splash out for this. I'll grin and bear it

So moviprep requires you to drink 1L of the mixture, two times.

Instead, I make it as 500ml, and then drink it in a glass mixed with Sprite / 7Up. That way, it just tastes like flat lemonade, and is more drinkable.

Do you have to drink extra non-prep fluid to, eg 500ml of plain water if you’re doing that?
I made the plenvu up to the right proportions but the instructions were very clear that you also had to drink additional fluids - I assume so there is enough liquid for everything to be properly washed out.

But you could use it everyday after opening your bowels so and it would be a lot better for you if you have piles

True

Make sure you get a big one as they come in different sizes.

You’re meant to, but I never do, just because I physically can’t drink anything more.

So I essentially drink 500ml of moviprep and 500ml of sprite mixed together over the course of an hour to 90 minutes (twice), and that’s been enough to clear my bowels for a colonoscopy.

I’ve been having colonoscopies every 1-2 years for 20 years and been drinking it in that way for the past 15 years or so.

It's not really the taste. I was convinced I could neck it like nasty medicine but it made me gag. I didn't want to throw up and have wasted the days of special diet and have to rebook the appointment. So it was the challenge of overriding the gag.
In my case the first dose didn't do anything until after I'd had the second dose. I didn't make it to the bathroom and I was literally two meters away. It's not like the worst diarrhoea you've ever had, it's much, much worse. Also you can't go to bed because you have to wait until you're empty.

The scope itself was unpleasant and painful, I had sedation, pain relief and gas but it was nothing compared with the prep.

I had hoped never to need another but I do now. The waiting list to be seen initially is ten months. Then another wait for the colonoscopy.

Next time I will start the diet several days earlier, I'll take laxatives for a few days and will try to fast for the day before.

Well, how do they expect you to get home? We don’t have a car and don’t know anyone else with one. That’s quite a common scenario, I’d think.

There's just so much of it. If it was just half a glass you could hold your nose and gulp it down. The first few sips really don't seem that bad but the nasty taste coupled with the sheer volume creeps up on you.

I shouldn't have posted. 😂I'm almost tempted to put it off given how awful moviprep sounds