Colonoscopy/ Endoscopy tomorrow - - what to expect?

[Anonymous]

I have not started my prep yet, other than eating only clear liquids the entire day today. I have to drink some kind of laxative at 6pm and take dulcolax starting at 3, plus drink a ton of water today.

How much pain will I be in (if any) after I wake up? They are doing general anesthesia and I go in at 8:45 tomorrow. Will I be out and discharged by say, noon? Walking and feeling normal by the same afternoon? I ask because I have some appointments I need to schedule for work the following day and want to be sure I'll be feeling fine to work. Also if I'll be back to normal by say 5pm, I'd like to get my hair done but have no idea if I'm being naive or overly optimistic.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Veteran here, unfortunately.

You shouldn't feel any pain at all when you wake up.

Unless your procedure starts late, you should be discharged before noon.

You will not be able to drive yourself home, and because of the sedative's lingering effects, will not be allowed to drive for the rest of the day. (Depending on the type of anesthesia, you may be told not to drive for a full 24 hours, and you should definitely follow whatever the doctor says).

That afternoon, you'll feel a little groggy, very hungry, and probably tired, and should plan to stay home and watch some trashy movies and take a nap.

You'll be absolutely fine the next morning, and able to get back to work and all other normal activities.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Other than the prep, which involves drinking a bunch of nasty liquid and then running to the bathroom for the rest of the evening, the whole experience is painless. And the drugs are GREAT! You'll have the best nap ever.

[Anonymous]

At first the prep seems like no big deal. You'll probably wonder "is it even working?". By the end of the prep, it's working! The prep is really the bad part, though.

If you are getting put under with propofol, it's very easy. You wake up feeling pretty refreshed, although not qualified to drive. I told my wife it felt like waking up after sleeping in on a Saturday.

You shouldn't feel anything unusual from the upper endoscopy. You will probably have some air to get out from the colonoscopy, but it's no big deal. By dinner time everything should be back to normal.

[Anonymous]

The prep is BY FAR the worst part. And it wasn't even the "bathroom" aspect, which was not as bad as I expected. It was having to guzzle down all of the laxative liquid within a certain time frame. It was disgusting and made me really nauseous, but I had to keep drinking it and finish the whole thing.

The procedure itself is a breeze b/c you're so sleepy and/or completely knocked out. I was awake for the beginning (but no discomfort), then I drifted off, and I think I might have woken up a little bit toward the end. The recovery was fine, no problems there. Just ease back into a normal diet over the next day or so, starting out with things that are gentle on your stomach.

[Anonymous]

I'm so HUNGRY!!!! I want to eat something so badly! I can have jell-o so I think I must make a mad dash to Bloom before the laxatives kick in...

[Anonymous]

Also, don't plan on any big dinners after the procedure. You should probably start lightly since the laxative will still be in your system.

[Anonymous]

I saw the jello in the pictures! Gross!

[Anonymous]

OP again... I just started drinking the Miralax. OMG, I am definitely not feeling hungry. I did cheat and chew/spit out a whole snickerdoodle. Nothing but saliva went down the hatch though.. I know I was bad.

[Anonymous]

Good luck tomorrow with the results.