How to manage a colonoscopy prep
Friday January 02nd 2009, 10:15 pm
Filed under: Crohn's flare

The first two paragraphs below are for the googling masses:

Do not ever schedule anything for the day before a colonoscopy.  Ever.  I didn’t yesterday, but I have a friend who once had a business meeting scheduled she didn’t get to.

Two: they give you this gallon of thickened saltwater and tell you to drink 8 oz of it every 10-15 minutes.  What they don’t say, but I’ll tell you, is this: fill two glasses, one with the prep stuff and one with a plain glass of water.  Drink the prep stuff with the other hovering near your face, finish swallowing and IMMEDIATELY swish and spit with the plain water to get that taste out of your mouth.  Trust me.  It makes a huge difference.

Tomorrow I’ll start a new lace shawl project. And hey, Kristine? I went all out. I wore your beaded socks today to represent all my friends standing by me.

Being a good little blogger, I brought my camera so I could take pictures of the operating room before they knocked me senseless, but when I told Richard on the drive there, he was shaking his head going, “Oh, no you don’t.”

“But I won’t take pictures of the people!”

“Oh no you don’t, I seriously don’t think they’ll let you.”

So I left my camera with him.

I’m suddenly picturing the doctors scrubbed up and me trying to hand them my camera to put away since I wouldn’t have been able to reach well with that IV in my hand and all, and… Yeah.  I can just picture my doctor thinking suddenly of one more reason to tell my husband thank you.  Although, Richard offered to scan in the Crohn’s-in-real-life! photos we got sent home with and to put them on my blog, and I exclaimed, “No way, no you don’t!”

But what’s a good husband for but to be a good tease when you need one.  Made me laugh.


16 Comments so far
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Em…sounds like a lovely day, indeed.

Comment by Ruth 01.03.09 @ 12:11 am

you get just saltwater – I get salt water lemonaide that burns all the way down like acid — ick ick ick

Comment by rho1640 01.03.09 @ 12:20 am

I think they gave me what Rho got. Didn’t burn all the way down, for me, but seriously gaggy. Will remember the water trick for next time. Bless you. And this time I got the half-gallon special. I also thought ahead and didn’t eat much dairy for a couple of days beforehand and upped the fruits and fruit juices. That seemed to help.

Comment by Lynn 01.03.09 @ 5:06 am

There is a new colonoscopy prep that is just taking pills. LOTS of pills, but better than the liquid stuff.

Miss you!

Comment by Amanda 01.03.09 @ 6:18 am

You also know your husband is a good one when he’s cleaning up your pre-colonoscopy prep puke for you. TMI? We’d been married about a year and a half at that point.

They gave me Versed, which as I’m sure you know leaves you conscious but out of it. I remember asking the doctor, “All that training, all that education, and you chose to do THIS? WHY?!?!”

Comment by amy 01.03.09 @ 7:20 am

They ordered a home prep for me pre-op, and it came with powdered solution, and my choice of two flavors, cherry and lemonaide. It tried the cherry, and made it up so that I could get it really chilled before I started. It wasn’t half as bad as I expected…still a lot to drink, though.

Comment by Barbara-Kay 01.03.09 @ 8:08 am

Glad you’re on the other end of the colonoscopy. Hmmm.

Comment by Michelle 01.03.09 @ 8:48 am

Mine is indefinitely postponed. Turned out what was causing my troubles was citric acid. Guess what’s in that stuff I drank the day before the first try? Yep. Burns ALLLLLLL the way down.

Comment by Diana Troldahl 01.03.09 @ 9:04 am

Mine came with three flavors I could choose from to sprinkle a little into each cup if I so chose. I tried it on the first one and those little powder sprinkles didn’t want to mix into that stuff, uh uh, no way! They sat huddled in a clump trying to run away from the whole idea. I figured after that it was easier to just take it straight and get it over with.

Comment by AlisonH 01.03.09 @ 10:35 am

Thank goodness for husbands who make you laugh, especially when you’re facing a couple of days like that!! I hope things have gone as well as possible, given the circumstances… 🙂

Comment by Jocelyn 01.03.09 @ 2:07 pm

The stuff makes you gag. You try drinking it in one big gulp while not breathing and then drink that water that hopefully won’t drown you. No matter what, nothing helps. Even the flavored stuff is pretty awful.

Comment by Joansie 01.03.09 @ 4:06 pm

That must have been truly horrible. I am glad it is all over with.

Comment by sonya 01.03.09 @ 7:43 pm

My stomach lurched in sympathy. Don’t tell it we’re doing it all again very soon…

Comment by Channon 01.04.09 @ 7:17 am

My son hates the prep. for the colonoscopy more than the colonoscopy itself. He doesn’t get salt water though….it’s some kind of bottled prep that he is supposed to drink TWO bottles of. I got mad when he wouldn’t touch the second so he gave me a sip. Um. Yeah. Poor kid!

Comment by Marlene 01.04.09 @ 10:19 am

Yucky. I’m glad your socks helped a bit.

How are they holding up, by the by?

Comment by Kristine 01.05.09 @ 8:20 am

Aww glad to hear your through all of that now!

Comment by Alicia 01.05.09 @ 1:33 pm



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