Tips for first colonoscopy?

[Anonymous]

Do I want the liquid or the pill? What day of the week is best? How long were you stuck at home? Did you feel fine after, etc? Anything else I should know? I’m almost 46 and have been putting it off.

[Anonymous]

it's no big deal. prep correctly following doc's instructions. what do you mean by "stuck" at home? i was up and back to normal the same day. just don't drive home from the facility right after the procedure.

[Anonymous]

I like the pills, day of week makes no difference, the prep is not as bad as you think it’s going to be. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's no big deal. prep correctly following doc's instructions. what do you mean by "stuck" at home? i was up and back to normal the same day. just don't drive home from the facility right after the procedure.

I meant during prep - wanting to be near toilet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's no big deal. prep correctly following doc's instructions. what do you mean by "stuck" at home? i was up and back to normal the same day. just don't drive home from the facility right after the procedure.

I meant during prep - wanting to be near toilet.

you HAVE TO be near toilet. on the prep day, you shouldn't go out. it happens with very little warning (multiple times).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's no big deal. prep correctly following doc's instructions. what do you mean by "stuck" at home? i was up and back to normal the same day. just don't drive home from the facility right after the procedure.

I meant during prep - wanting to be near toilet.

I just had one. It was scheduled in the morning. I didn't start my prep until 5pm. so you could in theory be living a normal day until then. After that not so much.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never had a pill option but I would take it. I hate the drink- it makes me super nauseous and sometimes I throw up.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you do the low residue diet leading up to prep-makes prep even easier. You don't want to get sore so get Desitin or whatever your doctor recommends and use toilet paper wet wipes for cleaning.

For the low residue diet, the first time I did it I stuck to processed foods and felt lousy. Most recently I chose mostly non-processed- eggs, white rice, boiled carrots, chicken without skin, potato, banana, melon, etc. I felt good. Then during prep I tried to keep things low chemical. Bone broth made me feel nourished and I made my own Jello with organic fruit juice that didn't have added sugar. The only high chemical stuff I had besides the prep itself was Gatorade and that kept me feeling hydrated and didn't make me feel gross the way things like jello and gingerale do.

[Anonymous]

I always go to work on the prep day. It means I can’t eat, but I get by because of black coffee and chicken broth. The bad part of the prep doesn’t start until early evening, which is when you need to be by the bathroom.

The prep isn’t as bad as it seems. It isn’t fun, but I always finish it thinking it isn’t as bad as its reputation.

I always feel 100% fine after the procedure. I take the day off, and the post-procedure nap is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Get some disposable underwear (i.e. adult diapers). If you lay down to try to get some rest the night before and your toilet is more than about 10 steps from your bed, accidents can happen. I also wore them the day of on the drive to the procedure -- I didn't end up needing them but I was so nervous about a leak in the car. Pack regular underwear in your purse. Throw out the disposables when they have you change into the gown.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that if your procedure is scheduled for the morning you will have to wake up pre-dawn to finish the prep. I choose late morning/early afternoon procedure appointments and get a regular night's sleep the night before.

In my experience the prep is not bad, aside from the sheer volume of liquid you have to drink. I opt for the miralax/gatorade prep because I can stomach the taste better than the prescription stuff.

[Anonymous]

I did the liquid prep (Clenpiq) and it wasn’t a big deal at all. My doctor said he prefers liquid over pills because it supposedly cleans you out better. Low residue diet 3 and 2 days before the procedure, then clear liquid diet the day before. You definitely want to be near the toilet once you start the prep (for me it was 5 pm). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Have had several due to GI issues. I do the liquid prep as pills have not always worked as they should and don't want to risk not being cleaned out enough. I've always been good to go afterwards, the anesthesia doesn't have much of a lasting impact on me.

Low residue diet is good, but I've had emergent ones where I've had to just start the prep right away and have had no issues.

Yeah you're home bound during the prep. Ill go a step further and say buy some depends. A couple times, by the end, liquid was just coming out of me.

I get dehydrated easily. I make my own electrolyte mix but I find it really helpful in making sure I stay feeling well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get some disposable underwear (i.e. adult diapers). If you lay down to try to get some rest the night before and your toilet is more than about 10 steps from your bed, accidents can happen. I also wore them the day of on the drive to the procedure -- I didn't end up needing them but I was so nervous about a leak in the car. Pack regular underwear in your purse. Throw out the disposables when they have you change into the gown.

I always wonder about this. I haven't had one yet but was told the last drink has to be taken 4 hours before. That seems like too little time. I'd want to be absolutely sure I'm done before I leave. In my normal life I'd never take a laxative a few hours before leaving for work in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Two things I learned:

If you do the liquid prep, it’s more tolerable if very cold and mixed with apple or white grape juice vs water.

I (female) was asked for a urine sample when I arrived at the procedure and was not prepared for that (stopped drinking hours before, had spent the morning on the toilet voiding, etc). They let me move forward anyway but there was some drama and if you are not menopausal, you will likely be asked for the same.