scared of colonoscopy prep - how bad is it?
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Anonymous
| The pills may start working in an hour, but I've found it usually takes several hours. Definitely plan to be at home. |
Anonymous
| Not a big deal at all. Just stay close to the bathroom with a good book and you are okay. |
Anonymous
| I was scared too, and it was relatively painless. I thought I'd be gagging on the stuff you have to drink, but I mixed it with G2 (Gatorade) and drank it back. Pills took several hours. One you start drinking you are the toilet often. I tried a colonoscopy using only the pills that they can give you and it didn't work. So, I did it again with the pills and liquid and it worked just fine. |
Anonymous
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I agree with the PP who said to get soft t.p. and some wipes; I had terrible pain after the endless bathroom trips. One friend who is a nurse always has the dr. prescribe some hemorrhoid for her when she has had a colonoscopy. The prep is the worst part. Good luck!
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Anonymous
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Hi all. I'm (over)due for my first one (42 with family history) but have been avoiding due to fears of the prep, the procedure, and feeling horrible afterwards. So I'm interested to see this thread - does all this talk of liquid mean there is no enema? DH had one years ago and he had to have enemas, which just sounds horrible, horrible.
Also, how awful is it afterward? I've heard the cramps are miserable. Do you get medication for them? Or during the procedure? Thank you! |
Anonymous
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There is no enema to do. Its all a liquid to drink. You pretty much poo on and off for several hours and then it will turn clear.
The stretching by the air used to inflate their field of view causes some cramping afterwards, but as you "fart" it out, the cramps go down. During the procedure, many physicians use a drug to help sedate you, and another that essentially helps you forget most of the procedure. |
Anonymous
I had a colonoscopy last spring due to sudden rectal bleeding (large amounts). Turned out to be nothing at all, but I had to do the colonoscopy. The prep wasn't too bad. I was mostly concerned about drinking such large quantities of liquid, as I don't tend to drink much in general. The Miralax/gatorade prep went better than I expected--it did not taste bad at all. The magnesium citrate afterward was what I found practically unpalatable. It tasted awful and after drinking all the Miralax I felt like throwing it up. But I managed to do the entire prep, although I felt a bit nautious and weak in the morning. I think the key is to have your colonoscopy scheduled as early as possible. Mine was at 8 am and I felt yucky then after a night of prep/diahrea. If mine had been at 2 pm or something I would have been feeling miserable all morning. The diahhrea part wasn't bad at all. I thought I would be literally running to the bathroom but I was always in control of my bowels. Just watery. No cramps afterwards at all. Just some flatus but not as much as I had expected. I think my husband and I went out for lunch right after, I had no nausea and felt completely fine. And as an added bonus, the colonoscopy reset my bowels. Previous to the colonoscopy, I had really bad IBS (irritable bowel) flares (totally unrelated to the rectal bleeding that necessitated the colonoscopy). After the colonoscopy, no more IBS. |
Anonymous
| Thanks very much for letting me know what to expect! It sounds like technology has much improved and that the process isn't as bad as I had thought. Unbelievable that you went out to lunch right after! |
Anonymous
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Had the colonoscopy early in the morning and prepped the evening before with the liquid. Started taking it around 5:00 p.m. and was finished around 11:00 p.m. The liquid was pretty foul tasting but it helped to either drink with a straw or hold your nose.
Stayed close to the bathroom, lying on the bed watching tv and reading. As someone else said, I didn't lose control of the bowels -- you will know when to run to the bathroom. And you may have sandpaper butt afterwards, so soft wipes help. The procedure is quick barring any problems. Afterwards you may have some gas and will probably be hungry. But once you get a clean bill of health, you'll feel great and "pristine!" |
Anonymous
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I was worried about the prep too, but it wasn't too terrible in the end (no pun intended). I only drank about half of the mega-bottle of stuff because the instructions say you can stop at that point if you are only pooing clear liquid (yuck). The stuff gets a bit odious after a while, particularly because your stomach is empty. Jello, broth and gatorade help a little, but not much.
The procedure itself is no big deal, but you do have to go through all the humiliation of getting naked and wearing one of those stupid gowns and little socks. Then there's the team of people staring up your butt, but thankfully you're asleep for that and only have to contemplate the concept. Did they laugh at my asshole? Was it worse than others they've seen? I wonder if they take pictures and post them online? Surely they've seen all sorts and are immnune to it, right? Stuff like that. |
Anonymous
| Not bad. I initially threw up but then got used to it. It isn't that bad. I have done three in two years due to another disorder. Hang in there! |
Anonymous
| It's annoying and can be a bit unpleasant but it's nothing compared to colon cancer. First time I did it was worse than the last, which was not bad at all. |
Anonymous
| I had to do the Miralax/gatorade for an abdominal surgery 3 months ago, now I will have to do this again for a colonoscopy. I found that it was not so bad when I hold my bread and chug down the glass evey 15 minutes. Yes my butt was sore after the first hour and I used lightly moistened toilet paper but will probably buy the pre-moistened wipes this time around. My GI consult will be in a couple weeks so I will find out if I will need to do different type of prep for the colonoscopy. |
Anonymous
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I am due for a colonoscopy as well, so thank-you to the OP for starting this thread!
Just to clarify because I have a fear of enemas and suppositories--these are no longer necessary? I can deal with the scope up there because I'll be drugged up, but not the others. Thanks in advance. |
Anonymous
| Nope, no enemas no suppositories. |