Colonoscopy - advice

[UTC01]

Well this is a thread i never thought I'd see on here.

[Burnleyareback2]

Couple of days to mine. Can’t say I’m great around anything hospital based but the preparation the day before- expect 13-15 bowel movements on the first batch, and the similar effect at 9pm with the 2nd batch- it’s going to be a long old night.

[willsclarets]

Couple of days to mine. Can’t say I’m great around anything hospital based but the preparation the day before- expect 13-15 bowel movements on the first batch, and the similar effect at 9pm with the 2nd batch- it’s going to be a long old night.

As soon as the second drink is done, you are through the worst! Emptying the bowel and the procedure itself are nowhere near as bad as getting that litre of evil down. Best of luck, it'll be over in no time.

[willsclarets]

willsclarets did you have the colonoscopy yet? if so how was it for you?

Hey! I had the first one canceled as it was too soon after surgery. But had it recently, and all fine. No polyps or anything. So that's the main thing!

As many people said the drinks are the worst thing about it. Absolutely vile. The hospital I had was superb have to say, all the staff brilliant too. Ended up having the sedation, which was delightful
Odd bits of pain when they went round bends but nothing too bad. I think if your bowel is inflamed it can be a horrible and very painful experience, Very grateful that wasn't mine.

Thanks for asking!

[Bullabill]

Couple of days to mine. Can’t say I’m great around anything hospital based but the preparation the day before- expect 13-15 bowel movements on the first batch, and the similar effect at 9pm with the 2nd batch- it’s going to be a long old night.

..... expect 13-15 bowel movements on the first batch ... ?
That's about as likely as the Clarets winning 13-15 matches this season.

[Burnleyareback2]

As soon as the second drink is done, you are through the worst! Emptying the bowel and the procedure itself are nowhere near as bad as getting that litre of evil down. Best of luck, it'll be over in no time.

Cheers pal (perhaps the wrong phrase) so not as much action on the 2nd then?

[Sgt. Pepper]

It's all very personal.
I've had colonoscopies, cystoscopies (camera up the urethra into the bladder) and various eye procedures.
I've found them uncomfortable but bearable.
I would say the colonoscopy was probably the least uncomfortable.
Good luck, hope everything goes OK.

[willsclarets]

Cheers pal (perhaps the wrong phrase) so not as much action on the 2nd then?

I wouldn't say that, unfortunately. Not to get too graphic, but it's not your average stool softener. It really does empty you out completely. Mostly it's just water. Don't go to bed too early...

[Taffys milkman]

Hey! I had the first one canceled as it was too soon after surgery. But had it recently, and all fine. No polyps or anything. So that's the main thing!

As many people said the drinks are the worst thing about it. Absolutely vile. The hospital I had was superb have to say, all the staff brilliant too. Ended up having the sedation, which was delightful
Odd bits of pain when they went round bends but nothing too bad. I think if your bowel is inflamed it can be a horrible and very painful experience, Very grateful that wasn't mine.

Thanks for asking!

Glad it wasnt too bad for you willsclaret obviously we all have them for various reasons following my colonoscopy some months later i had a sigmoidoscopy which just views the left hand side of the bowel and for this i had a hospital infused enema which just empties the sigmoid region it still hurt like buggery because of all my inflammation which unfortunately is still going on in my body despite being on a steroid called Budesonide have just added another drug in called cholestyramine which i hope helps calm down the inflammation! At least we have some football to look forward to in 2 weeks

[willsclarets]

Glad it wasnt too bad for you willsclaret obviously we all have them for various reasons following my colonoscopy some months later i had a sigmoidoscopy which just views the left hand side of the bowel and for this i had a hospital infused enema which just empties the sigmoid region it still hurt like buggery because of all my inflammation which unfortunately is still going on in my body despite being on a steroid called Budesonide have just added another drug in called cholestyramine which i hope helps calm down the inflammation! At least we have some football to look forward to in 2 weeks

Sorry to hear mate, here's hoping the new drug helps amd you can look forward to a calm bowel during the season. I'm not sure Burnley are going to help you in this regard.

[Commy]

I've had one most years for the last 35 years or so. I usually opt for sedation these days, not because I need it, but because it works very well and means I remember almost nothing of the procedure. I'm lucky in that my wife is usually available to bring me home.

The times I've gone without sedation have also been completely fine - only mild discomfort with a few sharp - but very short - pains when they've needed to take biopsies. Without the sedation, my blood pressure returns to normal much quicker, so they haven't needed to monitor me afterwards for very long before allowing me to leave.

The prep - as others have said - is pretty foul stuff... and it has also never worked very well for me, so they send me an extra sachet or two each time (lucky me!) - and I start taking it half a day before the scheduled time to give it more chance to work. That does mean I go without food for longer too - so I tend to sneak in a bar of Dairy Milk to enjoy as soon as the procedure has finished.

Good luck with yours!

I can't take the prep so they send me something else. It is only about half a pint and tastes much better. I can't remember what it is called but you should push for that rather than have to take more of the awful stuff.

[Taffys milkman]

Sorry to hear mate, here's hoping the new drug helps amd you can look forward to a calm bowel during the season. I'm not sure Burnley are going to help you in this regard.

[Darnhill Claret]

Well done to all you guys, and great for sharing.
I'm sure you will have calmed a lot of people who still have this experience to come.

[Tackler49]

I had a colonoscopy 3yrs ago and was full of trepidation but wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be. You can normally watch the camera on a monito I know it’s strange having something inserted where the sun doesn’t shine but just relax even your sphincter muscle and it’s over before you know. In my case they found that i had diverticulitis which was a relief they found something that explained my issues. DON’T WORRY
As Billy Connolly said having something inserted is strange but the removal can be quite pleasing

[Burnleyareback2]

I wouldn't say that, unfortunately. Not to get too graphic, but it's not your average stool softener. It really does empty you out completely. Mostly it's just water. Don't go to bed too early...

Considering sleeping on the en-suite floor…!

[Burnleyareback2]

Well done to all you guys, and great for sharing.
I'm sure you will have calmed a lot of people who still have this experience to come.

This post has certainly helped me- and perfect timing.

[willsclarets]

Considering sleeping on the en-suite floor…!

Don't go that far! But an en suite is definitely a bonus. Tbh though sitting on the loo gets boring it wasn't a traumatic experience compared to the drink itself. Just drags on a bit that's all.

Best of luck, try not to worry you'll be in good hands and it'll all be over very quickly. Before you know it you'll be excited that you have the green light to stuff your face.

[Corway]

I chose gas and air as you can drive afterwards and you can breath it in only if you need it.
The colon is shaped like three sides of a square so the corner bits can be a bit sore. I had a couple of puffs at the start and one for each corner. There was discomfort but no real pain.
They give you a report and photos of any polyps they hind. I had one removed that was biopsied 3 months on - no problems.
The bowel prep is pretty thorough in emptying the bowel
- the bottom doesnt fall out your world but the world feels to fall out …
Good luck

[Burnleyareback2]

Don't go that far! But an en suite is definitely a bonus. Tbh though sitting on the loo gets boring it wasn't a traumatic experience compared to the drink itself. Just drags on a bit that's all.

Best of luck, try not to worry you'll be in good hands and it'll all be over very quickly. Before you know it you'll be excited that you have the green light to stuff your face.

Finally had mine - just wanted to thank you for opening this thread, it was really helpful for me hearing everyone’s experiences at a time where I was quite anxious.

As you and everyone said, the pre-meds were the worst part of the whole thing- the 2nd litre was a really mind over matter experience.

Staff at the hospital were great, I had the sedation and actually watched the camera during the op which if you know how bad I am at these types of things was a huge achievement.

Home now and trying to catch up on the sleep- couldn’t fully treat myself to doze off last night- but I still have my dignity today!!

[Taffys milkman]

Hi Burnleyareback2 glad you had your procedure without it being too bad! Did they give you your results before you left ? They did give me my results apart from biopsy results obviously, but knowing what i know now sedation will be my choice every time i need a colonoscopy going forward!!

[Burnleyareback2]

Hi Burnleyareback2 glad you had your procedure without it being too bad! Did they give you your results before you left ? They did give me my results apart from biopsy results obviously, but knowing what i know now sedation will be my choice every time i need a colonoscopy going forward!!

Hi! Yes the Dr came out after the operation and explained that everything was fine and couldn’t find any problems. Just said that there was some wear and tear to the colon but that just comes as you get older.

I was put in for the check as they had found traces of blood in my sample- so they wanted to check things out.

Sedation worked well- not sure I would want to try it again without!

[Taffys milkman]

Glad to hear all ok very reassuring for you and other people reading this.

[willsclarets]

Finally had mine - just wanted to thank you for opening this thread, it was really helpful for me hearing everyone’s experiences at a time where I was quite anxious.

As you and everyone said, the pre-meds were the worst part of the whole thing- the 2nd litre was a really mind over matter experience.

Staff at the hospital were great, I had the sedation and actually watched the camera during the op which if you know how bad I am at these types of things was a huge achievement.

Home now and trying to catch up on the sleep- couldn’t fully treat myself to doze off last night- but I still have my dignity today!!

Brilliant news, well done on getting through it like a champ! I'm so glad I started the thread, it was really helpful for me too. Lot's of bickering on here, but as soon as someone actually needs a bit of help there's lots of lovely folk about.

Enjoy your well earned snoozing and my favourite bit- filling that stomach back up