The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWell...I'm about to have my first laxative drink for my colonoscopy...
...in precisely twenty-three minutes. Gulp. I've heard stories as to how the next few hours are going to go... not much alternative, I guess, but to go with the flow...
braddy
(3,585 posts)mahatmakanejeeves
(57,655 posts)At least the way I went about it. I had to drink a gallon of stuff. First one or two -- okay. After that -- not okay.
Everyone gets through it.
Best wishes.
Sneederbunk
(14,308 posts)louis-t
(23,297 posts)And 23 min is just about right.
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)Ugh.......
One of those "dark necessities" of life.....
Plan a really nice dinner for tomorrow night as a reward.
orangecrush
(19,633 posts)People were very nice, and helped me through it.
Make sure you have reading material.
First Speaker
(4,858 posts)...that will keep me occupied, if anything will...
orangecrush
(19,633 posts)is worse than the procedure, which was nothing.
You'll be o.k., it's just a pain in the...
TheCowsCameHome
(40,169 posts)Relax, grab a crossword puzzle, and let nature take it's course.
GentryDixon
(2,963 posts)First Speaker
(4,858 posts)...see you all when I see you...
snowybirdie
(5,240 posts)Hope everything comes out ok
gibraltar72
(7,513 posts)applegrove
(118,832 posts)at the exit. It was pretty smooth. Nothing uncomfortable.
orangecrush
(19,633 posts)LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)Laffy Kat
(16,388 posts)Good advice.
Squinch
(51,025 posts)be fine.
I have to have them every three years since I was 32 due to family and personal history. It's really not that big a deal and here are two good things:
First: I'm not a drug user, but that minute of anesthesia-altered-consciousness before you go out is SO DAMN FUN!
Second: That cup of coffee after you are all done is the best thing ever!
Good luck. It's a life-saver.
dchill
(38,556 posts)how cold it was in the procedure room.
GP6971
(31,222 posts)froze my ass off. Even the heated blankets didn't help that much.
dchill
(38,556 posts)TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)FSogol
(45,532 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,460 posts)Plastic cup. Big gulps, slowly. Have each gulp hit the back of your throat and bypass your tongue. No big deal...a little salty tasting. I've been through 5 of them. Good luck!
jodymarie aimee
(3,975 posts)this is the bad part..the prep...the rest is a breeze....
ooky
(8,930 posts)Then hold your nose, gulp as much as you can through a straw placed into the back of your mouth and chase it with more straight crystal light. Repeat until done. Mostly all you will taste is the lemonade.
I did the same thing a month ago and it went down easy and worked great. Good luck.
safeinOhio
(32,729 posts)toss in the lower one every other time. Just before I pass out I always manage to ask them to do the throat first.
I have no problem with it. My brother hates it so much he spends $3K to have a full body scan instead. I always tell him if they find a polyp they will have go in anyway to nip it. One time they did find one on me and took care of it right then.
LuckyCharms
(17,460 posts)Got to watch them snip them because I didn't go completely out...it was actually fascinating. This last time though, I went right out.
Ohiogal
(32,105 posts)You're always close to a bathroom!
The prep is the worst part. The procedure is nothing.
I'm a veteran of two of these things. You'll be fine.
Jane Austin
(9,199 posts)without your smartphone or iPad and a power source!
I made that mistake years ago.
I couldn't leave the loo for hours.
Sedona
(3,769 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,460 posts)but after a few hours, I couldn't even feel it.
rzemanfl
(29,571 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,460 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,460 posts)They got hungry and went out and ate some donuts.
Doctor had a fit.
dameatball
(7,400 posts)Freddie
(9,275 posts)Helped a lot. Also remember it's 8-oz glasses (at least mine was) which isn't huge.
Motley13
(3,867 posts)you will lose a little weight, but don't worry, it will be back in a couple of days.
you will go through the worst part tonight, stay close to the bathroom. The actual procedure is not much.
Thunderbeast
(3,424 posts)You will be fine.
In two of my three procedures, small polyps were removed. They were pre-cancerous. In most cases, the diagnosis is also the cure.
Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)I have had two of them, and besides the fact that I now can't stand lime Jell-o, it was a breeze.
elfin
(6,262 posts)If it is multi drinks of a mystery liquid, I had a bad gagging response on the last few.
But I persisted. Have another one coming up... glad to have the suggestions by others.
And yes, the prep is far more uncomfortable than the procedure.
However.... make sure it is done as an outpatient in a real hospital in case something is nicked.
Leghorn21
(13,527 posts)THINK you have to go - you sure as hell DO!!! - Run dont walk to yer terlit because , YEP, you gotta GO!!
trixie2
(905 posts)Nope! Not doing it. Don't care what anyone says.
applegrove
(118,832 posts)trixie2
(905 posts)I am not going to do it. My brother and I are absolutely not going to do it. We have never had cancer on any side of our families. My sister went through hell and everything was fine. The cost is outrageous for someone on the marketplace.
My sister loves any kind of testing and she puked so much she had to go to the ER.
NOT.GOING.TO.DO.IT.EVER.
applegrove
(118,832 posts)the drink was awful and huge. A year later when I did it it was just a large drink and something (a pill or two) to give you the runs. I was mostly bored having to be near a bathroom. Nothing outragious. No running to the bathroom. It has much improved over the years. I would look up how the prep has changed online.
trixie2
(905 posts)Not doing it ever.
First Speaker
(4,858 posts)...thanks to everyone who answered, especially those with experience. Looking forward to--ahem--getting this all behind me...
Leith
(7,813 posts)It got me through prep day.
Unlike everyone else, I felt my worst after the colonoscopy. I was in bed most of the afternoon after I got home. All I could eat was a little chicken soup.
Generic Brad
(14,276 posts)First Speaker
(4,858 posts)...in and out in two hours...feel good. One small polyp, which is about what I expected. Thanks to everyone who responded...
ailsagirl
(22,899 posts)whathehell
(29,096 posts)As the other poster said, it's annoying but not terrible...The worst is the prep.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Personally, I found the experience entertaining.
It's like having Old Faithful right in your own bathroom.
Not that I'd want to do it every day, but given that it is for a good purpose, you might as well have fun with it.
I'd count down to blastoff, and fire the main booster!
SeattleVet
(5,480 posts)DFW
(54,447 posts)No fun, but survivable
Usually, anyway. Seven years ago, they told me to go off my blood thinners 10 days before the procedure. I did and an hour after waking up, I had my very first (and only) genuine U.S. certified heart attack. At the emergency room, the cardiologist went nuts, saying don't those idiots (at the colonoscopy clinic) know that the cells that clog up your arteries need exactly ten days without the thinners to completely block your arteries again?
They know now. The last time I went, in 2016, they said go off the blood thinners FIVE days before the procedure. Somebody had a few words with somebody. Happy ending though. I had no polyps and the heart attack was so mild, I suffered no discernible muscle damage at all. Mother Nature let me off with a warning that time.
First Speaker
(4,858 posts)...have never had any experiences with the marvels of modern medicine. And medical bureaucracy. I'm glad that you survived your experience as--relatively--well as you did. I've lost family members who were the victims of similar snafus...