Wellness

[Bhvbum]

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@tends2dogs wrote:

@Ainhisg  and @Bhvbum My prep instructions include the Dulcolax along with Miralax.  They also added GasX.  

Did you have that as part of your prep?

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Yes, two tablets before the first dose of MiraLAX/ Gatorade.  No mention of Gas-X, I do have some if I need, but I would think that would be for after the procedure, they apparently use air to help inflate the colon. 

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[AuntG]

My prep required chugging a lot of that liquid laxitive. I supplemented it with jello, broth and Gatorade. It's worth the inconvenience to get things dealt with.

[Ainhisg]

@tends2dogs I am having the old-fashioned prep of 4 liters of electrolyte solution.  It already has the flavoring added (lemon) so there is no getting around that.  I hope I like it.  Last time, I had a choice and chose orange.  Anyway, on Wednesday, I will:

noon:  take 4 dulcolax tablets

6pm:  take reglan to settle the stomach (that's new from last time)
6:30pm:  Take 8 oz. of the solution every 10 minutes until half gone.

Day of colonoscopy:

6:30am:  drink remainder of electrolyte solution, 8 oz. every 10 minutes until gone

I'm to be at the imaging center at 12:30pm.

A few tips that were shared with me by a nurse and a few I learned on my own the last time I had this just in case it would help anyone.  Again, I had the "gallon" prep, so some of these tips are more applicable to it:

1)  Take some kind of timer to the bathroom with you.  I use my Google listening device.
2)  Apply some kind of protectant like Aquaphor, Theraseal, etc.  This will really help ease soreness that can develop.
3)  Put the solution container into a cooler filled with ice to keep it cool and palatable.  

4)  Mark a solo cup with an 8-oz. marking. 
5)  Mark the jug at the halfway mark.
6)  Make sure you have very soft toilet tissue and/or baby/personal wipes.
7)  Have a heater in the bathroom if you get chilled easily!
8)  Don't drink anything after the last bowel movement, because it will make you have to go again.

[Malcontent]

@meallen616 

Hey Minion ...this is us...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOWDb2TBYDg

[Spacrazy]

@chrystaltree   I'm sending good thoughts and hoping time will go by quickly for you. Good luck !!

[hckynutjohn]

Colonoscopy! Be nice if some would quit making the prep sound like torture. Wanta see torture? Talk with someone diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. Then talk with all their loved ones.

I've told my story so many times I lost count. Suffice it to say, I have had way more than my share. Some just have to make their experience sound horrible, then at the same time, "be sure to get yours"! Uh huh.

Cologuard/Cologard, take your pick of spellings. Not much different than flipping a coin. Too many False Positives and False Negatives. Then what? The smart ones schedule a Colonoscopy after their Colo results.

Be smart and get the Gold Standard, don't settle for less. Torture?? Dealing with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer.

hckynut 🇺🇸

[kitty60]

When I scheduled mine the prep depended upon isurance.  I wanted the suprep which is much less liquid although it cost me more. Good RX $44 but with Single care card only $21.  Worth it to me.  I also chose the first appointment of the day, 7:30.  I just started mine an hour early, and then had the choice to get up and finish in the morning or wait a couple of hours and finish.  I figured I wasn't getting much sleep anyway so I just finished it up the night before.  I coudn't believe how much quicker everything was.  I got there at 7:15, started on time and I was out of there by 8!  So glad and relieved it is over with for another 10 years.

[chrystaltree]

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@Bhvbum wrote:

I confess, I probably did too much research on colonoscopies, since mine is on Thursday.  I was worried about not being "all cleaned out" and facing having to do this all over again, so I started my liquid diet one day earlier, and low residue a day earlier than that.  Apparently, that's the number one reason for the failure to get it done is people don't follow the protocol. 

On my list, Jell-O is acceptable as long as it is not red or purple. And that is the same for anything else too, like Gatorade.   I am drinking Gatorade because it has some electrolytes which will keep you from feeling weak. 

I am staying away from sugar which makes me hungry and drinking diet Gatorade. For lunch I had bullion and apple juice.  They seem to be pretty satisfying. It's going to be a long two days.   

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         I thought about starting the liquid diet  a day early but that didn't happen.  I had chicken broth and diet Mountain Dew for lunch.  My sister said she wasn't "all cleaned out" despite following all the instructions.  They didn't reschedule.  They had a nurse give her an enema and proceeded with the colonoscopy.

[beckyb1012]

I did that gallon monstrosity two years ago for my first and I pray I can do something different next time.  I have to have another one in Nov. 2024 and I am already dreading it.  I was so full after drinking all that I had only one sugar free butterscotch hard disk candy and took one bite of the lime jello I made.  My SIL picked me up a bacon burger on the way home but I had such a migraine it was the following day before I felt up to eating it.  I hope all goes well @chrystaltree.  One thing I did learn was do the drinking at the time I wanted not what they recommended.  I was still feeling the "effects" of the prep 45 minutes before my SIL picked me up for my 7:00 a.m. procedure!  I knew I needed to start the prep early for my body.

[Effie54]

Yup, I've been there. I remember heating up chicken broth and dying for a piece of solid food. Tomorrow you'll be as good as new....and can enjoy a nice meal again. The prep is the worst part.