Anyone had a colonoscopy, have one on Saturday and stressing like crazy.

[Makemeawinner]

I’ve had IBS for decades but it’s been so much worse the last year or so and in particularly this year.
I do suffer from bad anxiety and am under a lot of stress so I know that’s definitely not helping.
I spoke to my gastroenterologist and he still thinks it’s IBS (I’ve had 2 clear fit tests this year and a low calprotectin test) but said he could do a colonoscopy to check everything.
I did have a clear colonoscopy 4 years ago but my mind is going overboard and I’m making myself (and my gut) worse stressing over it all.
The colonoscopy appointment is for this coming Saturday and I have never felt so stressed and worked up as I do right now.
You would think having been through this procedure before that I would feel less anxious but it’s the exact opposite.
I am literally stressing about everything from how the prep is going to make me feel (that was the worst part for me last time), to whether I’m going to poop myself on the way there (got to take the second half of the prep just 4 hours before the appointment). Then there is the actual procedure, last time I had no sedation but I really don’t feel so brave this time but worry the sedation will make me feel poorly or I’ll have a reaction to it (never had sedation before as I don’t like feeling drugged) and then of course there is the stress and worry what the colonoscopy may find.
I am literally going crazy right now.
You would think at the ripe old age of 50 I could muster up some kind of inner strength but I just want to cry!

Obviously this procedure would never be a first choice for a Saturday activity, but try to focus on the positive thought that to be able to have a reassuring test is a real bonus. It won't take long, and perhaps try to think ahead to when it's over, and you can relax at home. Take care. x

I’ve not had one but my DH has and for him the prep was awful, literally spent the whole evening and night on the toilet. He said if he were to have another, he would do liquid diet for longer and only take half the prep. He was actually going to cancel at 8 am for a 11.30 appointment as he was still going to the toilet frequently. Fortunately phone lines to cancel didn’t open till 10 am and by then, he had stopped and he went for it. The consultant thanked him for doing the prep as it really makes a difference in what they can see. DH was diagnosed as having diverticulitis, so was worth it to get the right information. He had the sedation, but as he’s had heart surgery in the past they cannot give gas and air. If you have the sedation you cannot drive yourself home, DH wouldn’t have been able to as he fell asleep in car before we left the car park.

I had one this time last year and I hated the prep. The procedure it’s self was not too bad, I took the gas and air

Thank you Neverattherightplace, I do need to try and look at it from a more rational point of view.
Mindymomo I do remember the prep being just vile last time. I couldn’t actually force the last litre down but luckily had hardly eaten for days before as was so anxious. I’m doing the same tbh, not through choice but have zero appetite due to my anxiety. DH will collect me just in case I opt for the sedation.
MrsPositivity1 I am hoping to get by just on gas and air tbh.

I have anxiety especially around things like this. I had a medical appointment last week that stressed me out leading up to it but I had an appointment with my therapist which helped. One of the things your mind can do with anxiety is go over and over every little thing that you think may affect the outcome of the procedure or the success of it. In a way your mind is looking to avoid the feeling you get by planning away the possibility of anxiety. So I accept I will feel anxious, that it is unavoidable in life, and actually a sign my body is looking out for me. I write some notes, like what it is I am actually scared of. For me I was worried my procedure wouldn't go as normal and I wouldn't be able to complete it. So I could stop worrying about the pain or the needles, I just had to think to myself, so what if it didn't go as planned? There is always a solution, medical professionals have seem it all and are the ones in charge. I don;'t need to do anything but what they've told me, the rest is not for me to control, and I cannot control everything. Once you tell yourself enough times that anxiety is part of being alive and you can't avoid it, things get easier. Good luck! Take the sedation and erase that worry!

Thank you Iwantcakeeveryday, that’s really helpful. I am a bit of a control freak to some degree and that’s what I find hard, to give myself up to other people and let them ‘deal’ with everything. I kind of spend my life frightening against it all. I do need to let go of the reins a bit!

Ok. I won’t sugar coat this - the prep is horrendous. Chill it in the fridge and try drinking through a straw.

If offered sedation, take it. As much as you’re allowed.

I have diverticulitis and they’ve been unable to do the procedure a few times due to horrendous pain.

They’ve also managed to do it twice using a paediatric scope, 1mg of paracetamol IV and optimum sedation. I still felt the pain though.

I need it regularly as the wonderful NahS discovered my colon cancer and diagnosis of Lynch Syndrome which means my surveillance will continue until Im 75.

On the other hand, at 55 my DH was called for a routine colonoscopy and said it was a walk in the park.

Everyone is different. Good Luck x

Thank you Borntobeamum I did have a colonoscopy in 2019. I agree, the prep is absolutely awful, I literally couldn’t finish the last litre, I knew I would vomit if I did.
I have a different prep solution this time in which I only take two 150ml glasses of the stuff but I dare say it will be just as vile and probably more potent if it’s this small amount as opposed to the 4 litres I had to consume last time. None of this is helped by the fact I have a diarrhoea phobia so, for me, this is like the equivalent of an arachnophobe being forced to walk into a nest of tarantulas! But it’s a means to an end and nothing I can do about it.
I have read several times that subsequent colonoscopies can be more painful which is worrying me.

How did you get on on Saturday?