Anyone fancy helping me through bowel prep!

[thatmustbenigelwiththebrie]

Having a colonoscopy tomorrow and about to drink my first sachet of laxative.

I'm on my own and quite tearful and scared about what the next few hours are going to bring.

If anyone's got any advice or jokes please share them here.

Hey. All out and just devoured a massive sandwich. It was ok! Well, the bum camera. The throat camera bit apparently three people had to hold me down but I have no memory of that.
I’m just so elated it’s over and I can eat and go home.
Thank you all for your messages.

Thanks for coming back and well done

I had both - I agree, I think the throat camera was worse than the bum camera. Thank God we live in an age of anaesthetics

Well done, you can stop shitting yourself now

Well done!

Well done Nigel, I'm sure you were ready for that sandwich!

It's my turn now! This moviprep is vile.

Are you allowed to mix it with something?

I've mixed it with squash. It's not the taste so much as the volume.

Good luck! Wishing you all the best and I hope you manage to get it down.

Great job. You should proud of yourself!
All the best.

I'm not doing very well at all. I started taking it at 6pm - nothing has happened yet apart from severe abdo pain and nausea. I'm onto the 2nd litre now but don't know if I should continue.

I wonder if the second dose will start it? I have no experience (yet, I'm on a waiting list). Could you call 111 and speak to a duty GP in case the second dose doesn't have the desired effect?

Second dose had some effect until I vomited over a litre back up 6 hours after I took it. Just leaving for hospital now but I don't think the prep will be good enough. How are you meant to stop yourself being sick though?

I have felt nauseous but not vomited yet during prep. Try lying on your left side with the bottom leg straight and the top one bent and sort of lying a bit forward. I was placed in that position by the nurse when I felt really nauseous after a barium swallow. I am no expert but I think it might help your stomach empty in the direction it is supposed to and reduce the nausea.

I don’t know what your instruction sheet says, but I wonder if anyone has taken an anti nauseant during prep? Something like what we have in Canada called Gravol, which you can buy without a prescription.

I am so sorry you are struggling with the prep. Sending calm thoughts. This too will pass.

Well done Nigel!!!

tryingtobebetterallthetime

Thank you. Have had both tests done now. Got to have them again in 2 weeks so have asked for different prep next time.

The picolax was so much better than the moviprep. It still tastes like shit but you only drink 2 x 150 ml really far apart.

You should ask for that one.

I asked them yesterday if I can have picolax for the next one in 2 weeks time and they said they don't use it anymore because it doesn't work as well. Well, it would work better than the moviprep if I can't keep it down surely?

I don't know what else I can do. I've had about 5 colonoscopies now. 1st one I had Fleet (similar to moviprep in that it was large quantities) and was really sick after 2nd dose so it didn't work very well. Had picolax for the rest because of experience with fleet and they were all fine and now this.

I'm seeing consultant next week so will talk to her about it. It's not like being sick is under my control is it? I would accept it if I had decided not to take it but I took all of it despite feeling really rough.

Aaargh, I hate this.

The inly good thing was the gastroscopy was nowhere near as bad as I had remembered.

When I had my bowel prep, I ate a "low residue diet" for the recommended 2 or 3 days before, and the actual prep itself seemed to work with no trouble or discomfort (beyond being on the loo for a few hours!)

Yep me too. Though actually I've been on the low residue diet for 8 weeks now.

It just seems to be this type of bowel prep that I can't tolerate - it just makes me violently sick. I had to drink 1.5 litres over the first hour, then rest for 2 hours and then 1.5 litres over the next hour.

By the time I got to drinking the 2nd lot I was feeling really sick so slowly sipped 500mls. I then projectile vomited 2 litres into a bucket so it seems that hardly any of the first lit had actually left my stomach - no wonder it didn't work.

I finished the remaining prep but it clearly wasn't enough to work.

I need to have the smaller volume picolax which I've had many times before but they won't give it to me.

Sorry to hear you went through that! It sounds brutal and frustrating. May I ask if they monitor your pulse when sedated? I have developed an arrhythmia so it would put my mind at ease if they kept an eye.

BloomedAgain

They do monitor you really closely all the way through. And you are awake throughout just a bit woozy. Good luck.

Thank you. That's reassuring. I may well be back on this thread when it's my turn!