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Colonoscopy next week and a little nervous

16 replies

feedthegoat · 07/07/2010 21:19

Just want abit of reassurance really I suppose that I'll cope!

I'm not exactly looking forward to the proceedure itself but I'm really worried about the erm preparation beforehand.

I'm really panicking about how I'm going to cope without eating for about 32 hours and drinking 4 litres of presumably revolting medicine!

The literature they sent says not to eat after 10 am but my addmission isn't until 14.40 the next day . It just seems such a long time to someone who eats every 3 or 4 hours generally!

I don't cope well with swallowing anything I don't like or missing meals. I've already avoided this for 2 years when I know I should have it because I'm scared of having it. I know it is silly as it is only a couple of days of my life but I can't help it.

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Earlybird · 07/07/2010 21:23

there is no sugar-coating it......it is not fun.

I think i posted a funny essay once about the experience.

Will see if i can find it.

feedthegoat · 07/07/2010 21:25

Thats what is worrying me! I just want it over so I don't have to think about it anymore.

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Earlybird · 07/07/2010 21:25

Found it!
--------

Prior to my colonoscopy, a friend sent me this essay (which hopefully will make you laugh as much as it did me). Some of the references don't work for us (It was written by an American), but, it is still very funny:

ABOUT THE WRITER

Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.

Colonoscopy Journal:

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.

A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis.

Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.

I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'

I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous..

Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.

Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'

This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but, have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.

The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked..

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.

At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.

When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point.

Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.

There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.

'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.

'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.

I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.

Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

On the subject of Colonoscopies...

Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:

  1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!'
  1. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
  1. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
  1. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
  1. 'You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married.'
  1. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
  1. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
  1. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
  1. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
  1. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'

  2. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'

  3. Hello yourself!

And the best one of all:

  1. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'

I hope that made you laugh out loud (I certainly have simply cutting/pasting it for you).

Good luck. It will be fine.

jaffacake2 · 07/07/2010 21:27

Worse bit is the bowel prep before when you take the medicine.

Make sure you stay by the toilet,its very fast!!

Dont eat after they tell you cos it would cause problems during procedure.

It is all worth it when you get the all clear at end. Good luck!

feedthegoat · 07/07/2010 21:32

Thankyou both and earlybird that did make me .

I'm more worried about the prep than the colonoscopy itself. Obviously with good reason!

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ChunkyBrewster · 07/07/2010 21:34

Feedthegoat - I feel really sorry for you, I've had four or five colonscopies and they suck. The prep drink tastes like crap and you do get hungry. Sorry not to sugar coat it for you! However at least once it's done, you hopefully won't have to do it again for long time! I get through it by promising myself 48 hours of eating WHATEVER the hell I want afterwards. Just think, people go to Switzerland and pay big money to get purged like this.

Oh and during the purging, if you have childen I would strongly advise getting someone else to watch them for you!!!!

feedthegoat · 07/07/2010 21:40

I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it by choice! And I hope it is a one off, sorry it wasn't for you.

Dh already had the day before booked off as ds has a hospital appointment. Dh is going to take him alone and he has a swimming lesson so I think he is just going to stay out all afternoon with him so I can suffer alone!

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skymoo · 07/07/2010 21:41

They normally sit you in a special area with a loo soley for the use of patients having this procedure. I went along with my boy not long back and he was fine, I think I was worse!

piprabbit · 07/07/2010 21:47

All good tips about the preparation being the worst bit. The procedure itself is fine as I can remember nothing about it.

Please be aware you will wake up farting like a trooper - along with everyone else on the ward. Just let it all out.....

feedthegoat · 08/07/2010 10:14

Sounds delightful, I can't wait.

As I was expecting the preperation to be the worst bit I've already said I don't expect to want sedation (although obviously this is not set in stone). Is this a reasonable expectation?

Sorry for silly questions but abit like childbirth the unknown worries me and obviously a few of you have been there before!

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piprabbit · 08/07/2010 12:33

I don't remember being offered the chance to refuse sedation. I'm sure I could have objected if I had wanted to, but the expectation of the hospital was that they do this procedure under sedation.

Are you planning to decline sedation? Are there specific reasons why? If you don't mind me asking.

exexpat · 08/07/2010 12:39

I think everyone thinks the prep is the worst bit because they are sedated for what would actually be the worst bit....

I can't imagine having tubes and cameras inserted into your bum and worked upwards would feel particularly good - I would imagine it would be more like the worst kind of stomach cramps from a stomach bug - but I can't remember as I was feeling very happily woozy at the time - though I do have vague recollections of seeing the inside of my bowel on the tv screen in the room...

The only problem I can think of with sedation (unless you are allergic to it) is that you need to get someone else to drive you home afterwards as it takes a while to fully clear your system.

ChunkyBrewster · 08/07/2010 14:21

I am exactly like you Feedthegoat - fear of the unknown gets me more than pain of whatever is happening. I've had it done with/without sedation. Doesn't really make much difference to be honest. Without sedation, they still give you something to relax you so it doesn't hurt. Sedation, well basically you just wake up and it's all over.

During the last one I wasn't sedated and was making chit chat with the very handsome consultant. I tend to witter on in awkward situations and having a stranger insert a pipe up your pooper is pretty much as awkward as you can get. We discussed our children, he was very kind.
And then he very gently asked me to remove my knickers as I had forgotten to do so.

All in all, it won't be the best two days of your life but at least you know how long it will all take! With childbirth, I was scared about how to cope because I didn't have a definite time frame to work towards!

ThingOne · 08/07/2010 17:25

It's a great experience, honestly. Everyone I know who has had one has really enjoyed the starving and the prep drink. Some of them are really tasty.

ThingOne · 08/07/2010 17:27

Did I pass my lie detector test? Will it help you get your act together if I tell you I did have bowel cancer? So you really, really have to go. You could try denial. I always find it helps!

feedthegoat · 09/07/2010 09:46

The consultant just said I could have sedation if I felt it would be necessary, as though it was a fall back position rather than the standard.

Would I be back on full form the next morning if I did have sedation as I will be on pre school drop off with ds?

If we're talking discomfort I can cope, if we're talking out and out pain maybe not.

Thingone, don't worry I know I have to go this time. My grandad (who we have sadly lost now) and brother both have crohns so I know I need to know whats going on for sure. I just convinced myself things had got better, but I just got used to it.

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