Colonoscopy anyone ?

[thefootofourstairs]

I am booked in for this on Saturday . I have moviprep to take before it .
They have given me very limited info on what I can and cannot have in the lead up to it . I’m trying to eat low fibre this week but not sure I’m doing very well . I suffer from Constipation so not sure how it will help ?
I am quite nervous because I’m feeling ill to begin with and suffering from anxiety so not looking forward to going without food for such a long time and being sedated ( I won’t cope otherwise though )
Any tips ? Or anyone else in the Same boat ?

I lived off cheese on toast on the run up to my colonoscopy. I had croissants the morning before as had to starve for 24 hours beforehand.

The moviprep is horrible. I had a straw in a glass of it, and a straw in a glass of lemonade. Just pinch your nose and swallow if you can.

I've had a couple of colonoscopys. Very bland, white food & none for at least 24 hours before.

I found chilling the movi prep really helped & sipping some tonic water afterwards took the taste of it away better than anything.

Sudo cream for your bum - put some on before your start to go & re-apply every time you have been.

Good luck, honestly I don't think it's nearly as bad as having a tooth filled. (But I hate going to the dentist).

Make sure you are drinking lots of clear fluids - otherwise you'll make yourself ill and that will make this even less fun for you.

You need to eat low fibre all this week otherwise it will be harder for the moviprep to do its job. High fibre = bulk = more to clear out your system. And that will not be fun for you either. It may also mean they can't complete the procedure if your bowel hasn't been cleared out properly and you will have to go through it all again.

Whereas if you follow the diet properly your bowel might be cleared out by the end of the third litre and you won't have to drink the fourth litre! Which would be a very good outcome for you.

So low fibre plus lots of clear fluids (water, black tea...). Lean chicken, cheese, rich tea biscuits, white pasta, white bread... It's boring, but it's also less than a week.

No blackcurrant or red food colouring or similar in the final 24 hours. Otherwise it looks like you're bleeding.

When you read how long you'll be without food it sounds awful, but once you're taking the moviprep you won't really feel hungry anyway. Keep drinking and you'll feel full.

Tell them you're anxious so they can take care of you and provide any support you need while it's happening. You should have a nurse positioned by your head throughout so you can talk to them if something is worrying you etc.

What worries you about being sedated?

Moviprep: chill it, add orange juice or similar (anything that's not red or similar!), drink through a straw.

Work out your schedule, make the first litre in a jug, put it in the fridge for say an hour then make sure you're making up the next litre and putting it in the fridge to chill each time you start/finish the next. If you have a cup you know is 250ml then that's a manageable portion to attempt every 15 mins.

straw to the back of your throat.

Drink ready for afterwards to take the edge off the aftertaste (black tea is still ok).

You might be able to drink the first litre in one go, but by the fourth litre it may be harder and you may find you do need to take 15 min gaps between 250ml cups. Be careful at that point - it's tempting to try and neck it but if it makes you gag and you bring it back up that undoes all your hard work. So pace yourself.

It may help to actively count down as you get closer to finishing it so you can see the end is in sight. Make a chart if it helps!

Building yourself a nest near the bathroom with warm blankets and distractions for you to sip your nice drink in between doses may help. Remember you have to keep drinking approx 1 litre of clear fluids per hour while you're taking moviprep.

Have something nice to eat planned for when you get back home after it 's all over. Then you have your "after this is over..." thing ready to focus on to get you through it all.

There is a thread on what recovery is like on this board already, maybe check it out so you're prepared (basically don't panic if your tummy is sore for a few days - have some peppermint tea and heatpacks ready).

Autocorrect tried to change heatpacks to jetpack. Alas, no.

I just did the white bread ect 2 days before as directed and then northing after 2pm day before and said my prep was good.

The taste of moviprep is pretty vile. I tried to drink 3 big glups every 5 minutes, followed by some orange squash. Getting in to a routine seemed to help. Also I was on mums net to distract me!

Good luck and hopes its a good outcome

Chill the moviprep best bit of advice, make it up with tap water (not to cold is best as it dissolves better) then put it in the fridge a couple of hours before.
I drank it as fast as I could but go with how you feel because it can make some feel a little sick.
No high fibre foods starting from the 2nd day before and because I had a morning appointment I couldnt eat anything from 9am the day before.
Tbh the moviprep does fill you up so didnt feel to hungry.
You can have boiled sweets but no strawberrie,blackberries flavor and no soft centres.
It wasnt to bad for me and I felt lovely and (cleaned out) pain having to be at the toilet every 5 minutes I started the moviprep at 5pm and was finished using the toliet at 12:30am (had to take 1 litre at 5 and the other litre at 8).
Loads of cream on your bottom and toliet wipes!
Good luck I'm sure your be fine.

Thank you . Can’t imagine how I’ll get all that fluid down , I hardly drink anything normally . I’ve had chicken and mashed potato tonight , don’t normally eat bread as it bloats me but I’ll try cheese on toast tomorrow .

I was advised to only eat white, low fibre food from day -3 before procedure.
no red meat, veg etc. then prep with picolax -24 hours before.

I prepared the moviprep, took one sip and thought that's not so bad after all. Its important to follow the instructions so it works and they can get a good look. I also sipped alternatively from a glass of plain water, all the drinking can get a bit challenging and had to persevere towards the end. Truly for me it didn't taste too awful. I did feel a little shivery as it started to work so had a blanket in the bathroom. Didn't feel hungry though and had wondered how I would manage.

The sedation took away my anxiety, felt sleepy afterwards but had a cup of tea, biscuit and friend collected me an hour later. The nursing staff will look after you OP once you get there. They supply some special pants to put on under your dressing gown and I kept my shirt on plus warm socks. Was handed their report after but didn't realise I had it. Need to be more careful for the following 24 hrs, I thought I was ok but looking back was a little high. Kept to light foods afterwards for a couple of days.

Soon be done and over with OP, wishing you all the best.

I found the prep worse than the actual procedure.

Just back to say that it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined . I wouldn’t want to do that prep again in a hurry but if I Had to I wouldn’t be worried again . Thanks for all the tips they were good and helped a lot 🙂

Just found this,went to see my GP today and will definatly be having a colonoscopy.
This has reassured me a bit.
Do you have to have sedation?

I had to take no vitamins from 7 days before, eat only lean white meat, white bread, white rice and dairy for 3 days before and fast for the last 24 hours whilst taking moviprep. 1.5L the day before and .5L the following morning. Sadly when I got to the hospital they informed me the machine was broken so I have to do it all again. Good luck

I was allowed to drink hot bovril and/or lucozade during the fasting time

I was given picolax and it wasn't unpleasant at all to drink.

I switched a fay earlybto the white diet and rather liked chicken bovril with soft white bread.

Had sedation and it was all over in a flash.

I would give the dept a call to get info as procedures change and vary from one hospital to another.
I had one years ago without sedation and it wasnt too bad.
Hope it goes ok.

It's probably worth saying that the moviprep is really strange, it's quite thick almost syrupy in consistency so you expect it to be really sweet but somehow it's really salty and really sweet! Like salty lemsip. I didn't know about chilling it or adding orange cordial to the mixture. I found I had to rinse my mouth out.

Also if you are still very uncomfortable even with sedation during the actual procedure they might offer you gas and air. That really helped me.

I'm quite stoical so would prefer no sedation.
I'm more worried about the results than the procedure,I have a solid lump on the left by my hip.

I'm wondering why hospitals give movicol when picolax is ok rather than vile.

The prep is worse than the procedure, which although not exactly dignified, is no worse than a smear, though takes a bit longer. You get lots of nice drugs during it! (Don't drive home after.)

I had it done recently and was very nervous. In the end, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I had the sedation and I didn't even know that the doctor had started. You are not asleep - just very relaxed and the feeling is nice. Had to take Moviprep the day before. At first I didn't think that it was too bad but the more you take the more difficult it becomes. Do take it all though - otherwise the doctor will not get a clear vision and may have to abandon the procedure and then you will have to start all over again. I tried different things to make the Moviprep taste better but nothing seemed to work, not for me anyway. I have other friends who have taken the same prep. and they didn't mind it at all. You just have to drink it all - there's no other way. For my drinks in between the prep. I found Applejuice to be the most refreshing. Make sure that you only drink clear fluids - nothing with pulp in them. The colonoscopy itself didn't hurt at all - even when they go around the corners its not too bad. There is usually a nurse at your shoulder to keep you calm and I found this helpful. All the staff were lovely and I would not be frightened in having another, and I'm a bit of a coward. Follow all the instructions to the letter in the package that they give you beforehand as when you arrive at the hospital they will make sure that you have done it all properly and at what time etc. I had a little checklist to tick off as I went along and found this helpful. I hope that it will all go ok for you.