# Upcoming Colonoscopy - Any advice?



## Showstopper75 (May 13, 2011)

I have been scheduled for a colonoscopy in a couple of weeks and am wondering if anyone has any advice. I know several people who have gone through it and they tell me they basically laid on their bathroom floor and waited to die because the cramping was so terrible during the prep. I'm not so concerned about the test itself as I know I will be heavily sedated to help with the discomfort but am very scared to do the prep. Some of my questions are: did the diarrhea and cramping come and go or was it steady? How many hours did the diarrhea continue before it subsided? Did anyone have trouble getting to the hospital for the test because of ongoing diarrhea? How did you feel afterward? Did the laxative start working immediately after drinking it or was there a bit of time between consumption and "reaction"? Any advice, thoughts, etc. would be greatly appreciated!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> did the diarrhea and cramping come and go or was it steady?


 I have had 2 colonoscopies and neither time did I have ANY cramping whatsoever. Diarrhea was pretty steady once it began until I was done the 2nd time. I started the prep about 4 hours before they said to, so I could get SOME sleep the night before the test.


> How many hours did the diarrhea continue before it subsided?


I don't know.. maybe a several hours the second time.... as soon as I was empty. Plan to be at home once you begin & during the prep.(BTW The first time I was in a severe D flare AT the time of the colonoscopy and that prep made the D continue right up to the procedure itself. When I say severe D flare.. I was having watery Diarrhea EVERYDAY... all day... before I even started the prep! So it was bad.)


> Did anyone have trouble getting to the hospital for the test because of ongoing diarrhea?


The first time .. yes. The second time... not at all.


> Did the laxative start working immediately after drinking it or was there a bit of time between consumption and "reaction"?


No not immediately... took an hour or more I think the second time. But like I said.... don't have any plans for that time... Just take it and stick around your home. Once it starts.. it's pretty steady every little while til you are done.(The first time?? I couldn't tell if it was prep or the flare!)Now the way to tell you are done is that what you are passing is almost clear aside from tiny flecks... looks like slightly off color water. Once you see that.. you are done prepping!Make sure you keep yourself well hydrated during the prep. Clear fluids are allowed.. so keep those fluids up.


> How did you feel afterward?


Dopey.. but I am a cheap date. lol I slept the rest of the day... but that's how I usually react to any sedation. Hub thinks it's funny.... lol And I remember a slightly achey sensation for that day and some of the next but it was ever so slight.Here is something that is *extrememly* important! PASS the gas that they inject into you during the procedure as soon as you awake. If not.. you will end up with a world class belly ache. So pass it _all_... it isn't stinky cuz you don't have anything IN there... so fart with pride!And I would eat something you know your gut has an easier time with afterwards. Please see our GI Related Diagnostic Tests Forum.. loads of info there about colonoscopies. Discuss ANY concern with your Dr. or his staff or the staff at the place you will be having the procedure, ahead of time.


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## DogRescuer (Sep 9, 2011)

The worst part is drinking the #### they give you to make you go. I didn't care about the actual going but until I started getting irritation from all the liquid poo and wiping. Buy tucks or some hemorrhoid cream beforehand. I felt fine after the procedure. I went home and slept, mostly because I hadn't slept the night before at all because I was in the bathroom. I was really bad at drinking that stuff though so my bathroom time may have been extended because it took me forever to drink most of that stuff. They ended up having to do a few rounds of enemas before the procedure because I wasn't completely cleaned out (I didn't drink all of the prep in the time that I should have though). If you have ANY doubts about being cleaned out, even if it's just a small amount of brown powdery stuff at the bottom of the toilet, have them do an enema!! Or you will be put under and as soon as they get in there they will come right back out and not do it and you'll have to go through the prep again on another day. For me, the cramping wasn't so awful, it was more of the irritation than anything else. And drinking that stuff... try to go into drinking it with a positive attitude. By the time I was a few glasses in and my stomach felt like it couldn't fit anymore of this stuff and it tasted so bad, I started crying and felt like I was having an emotional breakdown. They'll also tell you when you need to stop eating and stuff and I would eat light before that... it helped a lot. You don't want to load your stomach down with food just because you'll have to fast, it'll help you ensure that you're cleaned out. I also advice taking some cramp-free laxatives a day or two before prep starts. My dad helped me get through mine... he had his first after he turned 50 a couple years ago as a routine exam, and they found colon cancer in early stages. I'm 23 and my Dad gave me a lot of advice, mostly what i put here for you. Also, just a fair warning, seeing as a lot of people forget to mention this. During the procedure they shoot air through the scope to inflate your colon so they can see into it properly. When you wake up, you will have the worst gas of your life. You feel so bloated and uncomfortable. I refused to let it out in the pretty open recovery room and walked down to the bathroom. It was still so loud though. I had to go to the bathroom twice to get most of the air out of my system. It's not terrible or anything, but I thought you'd want to know what to expect since a lot of people forgot to tell me about that.


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## DogRescuer (Sep 9, 2011)

I will also say about the enema thing... I thought that I was cleaned out. Mostly what was coming out was clear liquid or white specks... occasionally a tiny tiny tiny amount of brown powder. I thought I was good to go, I mentioned that after being clear all night and I saw that small amount of brown powder, they told me I may need an enema and it was up to me. I decided to go ahead and do it just to be safe, because I didn't want to have to drink that stuff again. After they put the enema solution in, everything started pouring out, and it was A LOT that was still in there. Sorry to be so graphic but I want to make sure you don't have to go through it again. The nurse who was asking me the prep questions was asking me leading questions and was really pushy and trying to convince me that I was cleaned out. I'm glad I didn't listen to her. I thought that I was clear, and I wasn't so just keep that in mind.


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## Annalisa (May 23, 2011)

I just had one last week. The worst part is the 3 litres of Glycoprep I had to drink. I started an hour earlier than the recommended time as I recall that the stuff is hard to drink. This time they have flavoured it with lemon and it tastes ok, but it just just hard to drink because it is so filling. I did not have cramps at all. I just felt nauseous from having so much filling liquid in my stomach. The diarrhea was not bad and you don't have diarrhea for hours it is just the liquid going through to clean you out and clean the walls of your colon. I think what you've heard is just scare tactics. Stay home when you take the prep and this time I read advice about putting vaseline or some soothing lotion on your but BEFORE the diarrhea starts and throughout. I did this this time and although at the end my butt was a little sore, it wasn't anything like the first time when I was in absolute agony. I also found that I woke about 3 or 4 times in the night to go to the bathroom and in the morning I went two or three times but stopped going by 9 am. Good luck!


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## Annalisa (May 23, 2011)

I just re-read your post and thought I'd answer about how soon it took to work. this time I was surprised that it took nearly 1.5 to 2 hours to do something. In that time I went only once. But in 2 hours, the stuff was working as always. Regular visits to the loo every 5 mins!


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## Burpee (Sep 4, 2011)

Yes buy some hemorrhoid cream beforehand, you'll end up with piles with all the toilet visits, The actual test is a little irritating but manageable The skin sample is ok too a little itch is what you feel, considering they give you some pain killers b4hand.


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## Jo.1981 (Oct 29, 2007)

HelloHmm yes the prep isn't fun, but I didn't find it any worse than a normal flare up. Don't make any plans for the day, stay in. I too was worried that I would still be having the affects of the prep while trying to get to the hospital and I was (just a little) I quietly told the nurse this when I got there and she barely even registered it as a concern which actually made me feel a lot better. When I was taken through to the room they were going to be doing the procedure in everyone was so nice and I felt I kept my dignity. They injected the sedative and they said that will take a couple of minutes to kick in, I remember thinking 2 minutes is a ages! They rolled me on my side and my next thought was mmmmm nice oxygen after that I hardly remember anything! After the procedure I was taken back to the ward and left to sleep I was woken with 2 digestive biscuits and a cup of tea! Check out was a nightmare, the doc went over the scan and gave you the results before you went home and he took ages to see me, I think it was about an hour and a half I waited with the most terrible wind pain, I could barely stand up straight to walk back to the car!


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## Feline_Divine (Apr 14, 2011)

Yes!! Stay close to bathroom after you do the prep. My prep was 4 Duclolax and Miralax mixed with Gatorade. Once the Duclolax took effect I started to go to the bathroom and I didn't have any warning; it happened really quick.The prep, for me, was the worst part of the whole experience. I had both a colonoscopy and an endoscopy done at the same time. Having to drink so much was a problem for me. I could not drink the entire mixture and once I got full, I started to vomit. They told me that they may not be able to do the colonoscopy part because I didn't finish the drink, but luckily they were still able to. There was no way I could go through that again at that point.


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## Trudyg (Aug 16, 2002)

You know yourself--can you chug a lot of fluids? My husband cannot. At all. He sips. Drinking the prep for him takes literally all day, so he needs the tablets (he can't take pills,either, so he has a problem). I, on the otherhand, can chug and swallow. So, I can drink a glass of prep w/o taking a breath. I absolutely hate the flavoring, would prefer straight up, not chilled (I get cold easily). I think it's because my mother was a horrible cook and made us eat what she fixed, so I learned to hold my nose and down the hatch! If you know that you have issues drinking loads of fluids, tell the dr and let him give you tablets. As for the gas, let it rip--you won't see those folks again and they have their own concerns so toot away (pull the curtain?).


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## Burpee (Sep 4, 2011)

I dont remember getting much gas, some yes but not like most people here are saying, noticing that they are mostly women who are getting gas!


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## Chase Corin (Aug 31, 2011)

My advice is to never have one when you are not drugged. It was the most painful experiance of my life.I took a rather good prep that diond't taste too bad and worked quickly. Make sure you know where the bathrooms are at all times when your prepping.Take somone with you to your apointment, you will need that person to drive you home. The biggest thing after the scope is the gas. A lot of the time the doctor will use compressed air to open the bowel and that air gets trapped in your bowels until you fart it out , not to sound crass. When I got home I laid down with my hot water bottle and veged for the rest of the day.


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## Trudyg (Aug 16, 2002)

My dh is scheduled for one next week, so I thought I'd share something else: when the instructions tell you what you may/may not eat, follow that. My dh thought a hamburger was okay because ground meat would break up easily. Not so; you want low residue food that has no color to contaminate the walls of the bowel. I usually start the low resdue diet a day or so early, I like my prep easy. Protein is difficult to digest and hard to pass; cream of wheat is easy. See how it goes? You don't want a piece of cranberry stuck in there looking like a clot, do you? Most dyes turn to dark purple/black--is that the tint you want the dr to see? No, healthy pinkish is what he needs to see not something artificial that leads him down the wrong path.


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## maria_mercedesa (Aug 19, 2011)

Showstopper75 said:


> I have been scheduled for a colonoscopy in a couple of weeks and am wondering if anyone has any advice. I know several people who have gone through it and they tell me they basically laid on their bathroom floor and waited to die because the cramping was so terrible during the prep. I'm not so concerned about the test itself as I know I will be heavily sedated to help with the discomfort but am very scared to do the prep. Some of my questions are: did the diarrhea and cramping come and go or was it steady? How many hours did the diarrhea continue before it subsided? Did anyone have trouble getting to the hospital for the test because of ongoing diarrhea? How did you feel afterward? Did the laxative start working immediately after drinking it or was there a bit of time between consumption and "reaction"? Any advice, thoughts, etc. would be greatly appreciated!


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## maria_mercedesa (Aug 19, 2011)

Please don't worry. Just follow the instructions, get in the bathroom. Carry a nice book, your cell, whippes and your medicine. The liquid that you drink come in and gets out at full speed. I didn't get any cramps. I was done maybe in an hour or hour and a half. then I went to sleept. Following day, I was hungry but not terribly....just relax, you would be done with the preparation before you expect it. Try to make it fun or laugh about it....there are many worst things. Good luck


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## spackle (Jul 5, 2009)

My worst part was drinking that stuff. I have a very small stomach so putting large quantities of anything in there quickly just makes me puke. Which I did numerous times from the taste of it alone. My advice to you is mix it with water. If you mix it with anything you like to drink you will never drink it again. I mixed mine with Arizona iced tea. Now I cant even smell the stuff without wanting to wretch.


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## Showstopper75 (May 13, 2011)

I had the colonoscopy a few weeks ago and everything went very well and all biopsies were negative. Thank you to everyone who responded to my original post. I took many of your suggestions such as using a cream during the prep to help protect my skin and it went much better than I had expected. I did not have to drink the large quantity prep that many people get stuck with - I took a concoction called Pico-Salax that required mt to drink one regular glass of water mixed with the powder at 2PM and again at 6PM. Other than that, I only had to drink a glass of water every hour to ensure I was hydrated so I had no issues having to take in large volumes of fluid in a short time. I did have to drink a bottle of citromag at 2AM the day of the colonoscopy but it wasn't terribly large - 300ml (10 oz) and it didn't taste horrible. The worst part for me was spending so much time in the bathroom...even though I had my phone and a good book, my legs kept falling asleep! And it was torture having to smell the dinner my family was eating while I was stuck in the bathroom.I would recommend anyone having a colonoscopy ask if they can use the Pico-Salax prep instead of the high-volume liquid prep that so many people have to use. It definitely made my colonoscopy experience much better than many others that I have heard.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Glad everything went well and that your results were negative!


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## Angeleno (Nov 8, 2011)

maria_mercedesa said:


> Please don't worry. Just follow the instructions, get in the bathroom. Carry a nice book, your cell, whippes and your medicine. The liquid that you drink come in and gets out at full speed. I didn't get any cramps. I was done maybe in an hour or hour and a half. then I went to sleept. Following day, I was hungry but not terribly....just relax, you would be done with the preparation before you expect it. Try to make it fun or laugh about it....there are many worst things. Good luck


I have a colonoscopy in 3 days. I had one a few years ago but it seems my problems, D and cramping have taken a major turn for the worst. And I had a pollup the last time. My main worry is that recently I've had so much cramping and discomfort (pain you feel before D) that i'm worried the prep will only intensify this. Tomorrow i plan to eat very small meals and bland before my day of prep. And on the day of the prep i have to work and wont get home till 4:30/5 pm so i hope I'm not up all night in pain







any advice???


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## Christa Jones (Nov 9, 2011)

Hey don't worry. Colonoscopy is not at all a difficult thing to be done. this is just a test and not a surgery. So don't panic. It is just to check inside your colon. The doctor will explain you everything prior to the test. If its done properly you'll not feel even that a test has been done. Just check out this site http://www.health.harvard.edu/diagnostic-tests/colonoscopy.htm It has some important information about colonoscopy. It would prepare you beforehand for the test.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I didn't have ANY cramping with either of the preps I have used. And to be honest I haven't heard of anyone complaining about cramping during preps.. so I wouldn't worry. It isn't like you are having "IBS" D... you are having "prep" D instead. You know what I mean?? So don't expect the same exact sensations when you have IBS D.


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