Colonoscopy

mrskitton

Has anyone had one of these done before?  I have to get one done this coming Monday and I am so nervous for it!!  My dr wanted one done before my IVF treatment to make sure there are no cancerous cells/polyps inside me.  Ugh....so not looking forward to it.....I mean weiners up there are one thing (LOL) but a camera probing around? 

Anyone have any advice or know of anyone who had it done?  Did it hurt?  Did you/they feel anything?

Allison546

I do know you need to "prep" appropriately so they can visualize everything they need to..  ie drinking the nasty liquid and clearing everything out. Good luck and fingers crossed for normal results!

Enchanted616

Have you started the prep already?  If you are having it Monday.. my mom recently had one and it involved five days of prep.

She was super scared going into it, but said it was not bad at all. At least for her, they give you drugs that make you pretty out of it anyways.  She says she hardly remembers hers. 

ShadyKull

I have never had one personally, but my mother was a GI nurse while I was growing up. I had the pleasure of sitting in on a colonoscopy on "bring your daughter to work day". Yikes. But anyways, they put the person under some kind of anesthesia so that they were somewhat conscious during the procedure and responded to commands, but did not remember anything after it wore off. Not sure what that kind of anesthesia is called, conscious sedation maybe? Anyways, hopefully that is what they will do for you. Don't be scared!

LoveActually55

I had one about 5 years ago, I don't remember it being overly painful.  Most pressure it was over pretty quick.  Good Luck!!

ProcurementGirl

Hello lovie!

I've had 2 colonoscopy's in my lifetime, since I have Crohn's.

The worst part is the prep.  You have to drink a gallon of this crap, and they suggest chasing it with Gatorade.  My suggestion is to not drink too much other stuff (like Gatorade), because you'll get full. Some people dilute the crap with Gatorade, but it still tastes rancid AND you're adding more liquid to your belly, making it harder to finish it.  And also, I found drinking it directly from the jug was best.  If you can't stomach it (I've thrown up trying to drink it), ask your Dr for an alternative maybe.  Otherwise, plug your nose, and you chug baby, chug!

For the procedure, you feel nothing.  You wake up in la-la land, and then you'll have gas.  Seriously, such an easy procedure. 

But the prep is THE worst.  You'll be a-ok, promise :-)

mypalbabs

mrskitton:

Has anyone had one of these done before?  I have to get one done this coming Monday and I am so nervous for it!!  My dr wanted one done before my IVF treatment to make sure there are no cancerous cells/polyps inside me.  Ugh....so not looking forward to it.....I mean weiners up there are one thing (LOL) but a camera probing around? 

Anyone have any advice or know of anyone who had it done?  Did it hurt?  Did you/they feel anything?

I've had  two of these.  The procedure itself is easy-peasy - you'll be anesthetized and will remember nothing.

The prep is rough, though.  The most common prep is that the day or evening before the procedure, you'll have to drink about a gallon of this concoction (I forget the name) that you'll pick up from the pharmacy.  Your doc will have written a scrip for this - make sure you fill it and do the prep, otherwise no procedure.

It tastes like sort of a salty lemonade.  You drink about 8 oz. at a time, every 30 minutes or so.  (You'll get specific instructions from the pharmacy.)  The purpose of the prep is to clean out your insides, so that means you'll be shitting a lot.  There's generally quite a bit of stomach cramping and general misery.

 

laurapacheco

Enchanted616:

Have you started the prep already?  If you are having it Monday.. my mom recently had one and it involved five days of prep.

She was super scared going into it, but said it was not bad at all. At least for her, they give you drugs that make you pretty out of it anyways.  She says she hardly remembers hers. 

My mom also had this done, and she said the worst part was the prep/clearing out... not only does she hardly remember the procedure itself, but events for a few hours afterwards... so they must give you some really good drugs. LOL

 GL!

kelly321

Just like everyone else said - the prep sucks. There are different variations of what you have to drink, but mine tasted like a really concentrated salt solution and made me gag. The end result is the same, though. Find a good book and plan to spend a good portion of the evening on the toilet. In the morning I was supposed to drink more and ended up throwing it up, but luckily the stuff I had taken at night had apparently done a good enough job. I woke up part way through the procedure and remember some extreme discomfort, but it wasn't the first time I've woken up under anesthesia, and it's rare, so don't worry about it.

Also, my mom had one done recently and said the woman in the prep room next to her hadn't been able to drink all of her solution because it had made her so sick, and it turned out that her colon wasn't clean enough to do the procedure on, so she had the option of fasting on clear liquids over the weekend to have it repeated on Monday (it was a Friday) or redoing the whole prep a week later. What a horrible situation. The moral of the story is: really, really, really try to finish all of the stuff they give you because you do NOT want to go through it again!

Good luck!

Twinsy12

I have Crohn's as well so I've had a few of them. Just make sure you don't drink the prep too fast and throw it up because then you'll have to start all over. Make sure you drink enough of it so that you are ready to go for the procedure though.

I remember waking up during mine because my stomach was cramping, but again I have Crohn's so stuff like that is worse for me. My sister also has Crohn's and hers didn't hurt one bit and I've never heard anyone else complain of pain. Just remember not to talk when you wake up because you'll say really stupid things over and over because you won't remember haha. That gas takes a while to wear off.  

kaybuggy87

My grandfather has fought colon cancer twice now, and has been cancer free for 12 years!  (go grandpa!)  But that means he gets a colonoscopy twice a year to make sure he doesn't have any new cancerous polyps forming in there.  He has said he never remembers a thing.

You will do fine!  Good Luck, FX!

ProcurementGirl

Twinsy12:

I have Crohn's as well so I've had a few of them. Just make sure you don't drink the prep too fast and throw it up because then you'll have to start all over. Make sure you drink enough of it so that you are ready to go for the procedure though.

I remember waking up during mine because my stomach was cramping, but again I have Crohn's so stuff like that is worse for me. My sister also has Crohn's and hers didn't hurt one bit and I've never heard anyone else complain of pain. Just remember not to talk when you wake up because you'll say really stupid things over and over because you won't remember haha. That gas takes a while to wear off.  

 A fellow Crohnie! Hello!! :-)

Twinsy12

ProcurementGirl:

Twinsy12:

 A fellow Crohnie! Hello!! :-)

Hi!! I hope your Crohn's is doing well!  

AGlaze

I also had a few done since I have Colitis. As everyone said the prep is the worse part but the procedure is nothing. Be sure to follow the prep instructions to a T. My dad went in a few weeks ago, didn't read it right and ended up eating when he shouldn't have. Luckily they didn't have to reschedule. GL!

kat1221

It's not so bad.  You drink a gallon of stuff the night before to make sure you are all cleaned out.  They sedate you to a "twilight" state with some awesome drugs and get "all up in there" with the camera but it doesn't hurt b/c you are toally out of it and don't even know what's going on.  You won't remeber anything and it goes by super fast.

 Good Luck!

ProcurementGirl

Twinsy12:

ProcurementGirl:

Twinsy12:

 A fellow Crohnie! Hello!! :-)

Hi!! I hope your Crohn's is doing well!  

It is, thanks!  Hope so for you too :-) Now I know who to PM if I have a question (I was diagnosed 2 years ago).

mrskitton

Thanks ladies for all the great advice!!!  Didn't realize alot of people have had it done already! 

bjelle00

I've had two and I didn't think the prep was too bad.  The prep for one of my CTs was actually worse in terms of taste.  You do spend a lot of time in the bathroom though so find a good book! 

They were never able to complete my colonoscopies - they got about third of the way up both times.  I don't remember anything from either time but the doctors both said I was in too much pain for them to continue.  

bjelle00

I've had two and I didn't think the prep was too bad.  The prep for one of my CTs was actually worse in terms of taste.  You do spend a lot of time in the bathroom though so find a good book! 

They were never able to complete my colonoscopies - they got about third of the way up both times.  I don't remember anything from either time but the doctors both said I was in too much pain for them to continue.  

Good luck!

kristykay123

Ugh I had one of these. I literally sh!t my brains out the entire day before. Then I was worried that I was going to crap myself some more during the 45 min car ride to the scope place. Bring extra underwear just in case! Lol

 

Good luck! I'll be thinking of you. 

vpine

I had one done, I didn't feel a thing because I was knocked out. Afterward I was a little woozy and went home to take nap, the Dr told me I would feel gassy the following hours. There was no pain, felt nothing, no issue when i went to bathroom afterwards

rrdiva1

The PP already gave you great advice! Just wishing you luck on your test!!!!! FX everything turns out good and you can move along with the IVF!!!

CiderWench

Ugh! I have not had one, but I feel for you. Good luck!

daisy19782011

From what I hear, the prep is the worst part...the procedure is easy and quick

rinascita

I had my first one when I was 23 and they found a pre-cancerous polyp, which if I had waited until I was 50 like most people do, my GI said I would've had colon cancer by then... scary stuff.

Worst part is the prep.  Mine was the day before and I started with Dulcolax and then had to have an entire bottle of Miralax with non-red dye Gatorade.  Lets just say I took that Thursday off work...

The actual procedure was painless... they did knock me out and I had both an endoscopy for a Celiac's Disease sprue biopsy as well as a regular colonoscopy.  I made sure to joke with the GI to do the endoscopy first!

I wouldn't worry too much, it is a fairly routine procedure.

 GL!

Rvnsgrl81

ProcurementGirl:

Hello lovie!

I've had 2 colonoscopy's in my lifetime, since I have Crohn's.

The worst part is the prep.  You have to drink a gallon of this crap, and they suggest chasing it with Gatorade.  My suggestion is to not drink too much other stuff (like Gatorade), because you'll get full. Some people dilute the crap with Gatorade, but it still tastes rancid AND you're adding more liquid to your belly, making it harder to finish it.  And also, I found drinking it directly from the jug was best.  If you can't stomach it (I've thrown up trying to drink it), ask your Dr for an alternative maybe.  Otherwise, plug your nose, and you chug baby, chug!

For the procedure, you feel nothing.  You wake up in la-la land, and then you'll have gas.  Seriously, such an easy procedure. 

But the prep is THE worst.  You'll be a-ok, promise :-)

This exactly. I had about 10 done in a 4 month period because I was losing weight and not keeping anything in me. Not vomiting the other way. Water was causing me to be sick for hours on end. The prep is the worst part. Everything else is a piece of cake.

Twinkie0612

I had to have one done a few years ago. 

The prep is the worst part.  I had a gallon of laxative that I had to drink over the course of a few hours (had drink 8oz every so many minutes, I can't remember now).  Be prepared to spend the evening in the bathroom (I recommend bringing a book ).  The worst part for me was that after drinking several glasses of the laxative, I was so full that I threw up.  Throwing up wouldn't have been so bad, but I couldn't leave the toilet.  Luckily there was a bucket in the bathroom. 

The procedure was the easy part.  They used a "twilight" anesthesia and I don't remember anything.  When I woke up, I was covered with warm blankets and felt like I had taken a really good nap.  I went home and pretty much slept the rest of the day (I don't know if everyone is like that, I had a really bad viral or bacterial infection so that could be why I slept so much).

Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

GrangerWifey

My mom has to have one every 3 years because one of her brothers died of colon cancer. She said the procedure itself is nothing (you're very heavily sedated) but the prep is the absolute worst. One of the nurse suggested to her to get some of those hard butterscotch candies to help with the taste (I guess it's like drinking ocean water).

I'm not going to lie, the prep sounds awful but if you don't drink it all and you're not cleaned out enough, you have to do it all over again, which would just suck even worse! GL and I hope all looks well in there  

heather_09_15_07

mrskitton:

Has anyone had one of these done before?  I have to get one done this coming Monday and I am so nervous for it!!  My dr wanted one done before my IVF treatment to make sure there are no cancerous cells/polyps inside me.  Ugh....so not looking forward to it.....I mean weiners up there are one thing (LOL) but a camera probing around? 

Anyone have any advice or know of anyone who had it done?  Did it hurt?  Did you/they feel anything?

So you like the weiners up the pooper? Thanks for sharing.

Southernpeach80

I've never had one but I have heard the prep is the worst part. I hope it all goes well!! Good Luck!!

mrskitton

heather_09_15_07:

mrskitton:

Has anyone had one of these done before?  I have to get one done this coming Monday and I am so nervous for it!!  My dr wanted one done before my IVF treatment to make sure there are no cancerous cells/polyps inside me.  Ugh....so not looking forward to it.....I mean weiners up there are one thing (LOL) but a camera probing around? 

Anyone have any advice or know of anyone who had it done?  Did it hurt?  Did you/they feel anything?

So you like the weiners up the pooper? Thanks for sharing.

It was a joke.....chill

LiteraryFoodie

ProcurementGirl:

Hello lovie!

I've had 2 colonoscopy's in my lifetime, since I have Crohn's.

The worst part is the prep.  You have to drink a gallon of this crap, and they suggest chasing it with Gatorade.  My suggestion is to not drink too much other stuff (like Gatorade), because you'll get full. Some people dilute the crap with Gatorade, but it still tastes rancid AND you're adding more liquid to your belly, making it harder to finish it.  And also, I found drinking it directly from the jug was best.  If you can't stomach it (I've thrown up trying to drink it), ask your Dr for an alternative maybe.  Otherwise, plug your nose, and you chug baby, chug!

For the procedure, you feel nothing.  You wake up in la-la land, and then you'll have gas.  Seriously, such an easy procedure. 

But the prep is THE worst.  You'll be a-ok, promise :-)

My Mom also had Chrone's and she described it this way. She had one every year from her late 20's until her colon was removed when she was about 50. She says that they've come along way since the 80's. They put you under for the procedure and they have modified the prep liquid so it's not as bad as it used to be. Good luck! I'm sure you'll be fine! :-)

LiteraryFoodie

Bump Burp!

amykins1283

I'm 28 and I've had four of them over the years (starting when I was 16)  because I have ulcerative colitis.  Anyway, it's a pretty simple procedure.  You go in and they get you all looped up with some nice drugs that basically put you into a "twilight" state so you are awake but completely on the verge of sleep.  The doc does his thing, and as they move the camera through your intestines they puff air in there to make room.  There are clipper things on the scope to take samples of your intestinal lining if they see anything they want to get a closer look at.  It doesn't hurt at all.

BUT, the prep for it is no picnic.  No food for 24 hours except clear liquids (I live off of banana popsicles and lemon/lime gatorade) and then you have to further clean out your system with the aid of drugs.  I used to have to drink a gallon of Colace but now they have a pill prep that is soooooo much better.  I did it for my last one in 2011 and it was a cinch compared to the Colace.  Hope you are reading something exciting because you are going to be spending some time on the toilet!

All in all, though, it's not terrible.  You can handle it.

atelyce

I had one a couple of years ago. The prep was totally the worst part! I don't remember any of the procedure because they knocked me out! Although they did tell me that I watched the whole thing and they taught me through the procedure. No pain afterward! And I had the procedure the day before Thanksgiving, and was able to eat a normal supper the next day