Colonoscopy - Milwaukee,WI

Updated on March 14, 2013
M.J. asks from McLoud, OK
16 answers

I have to have one done soon. They gave me a bucket sized container that I have to drink before the procedure. I am pretty sure that part will suck. They will put me out.

Anyone have one done before? What should I expect before, during and after? Will I end up in pain?

tia

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So What Happened?

Thanks for the info and thanks for that link - that writer is hilarious!

Quote from the article "You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet."

LOL

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L.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I have had two done. The hard part with the first was I vomited after because of the anesthesia. Second time I asked for meds to prevent that and got them. I was awake for the second one and had no other problems. Do chill the prep so that it is icy cold and drink with a straw!

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R.M.

answers from Cumberland on

yes-you will be fine

1 mom found this helpful
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B.F.

answers from Dallas on

Drinking the stuff is the worst part. It's salty and not good. Make sure you make it up before (not more than 24 hours) and put it in the fridge. Eat lightly before the day of it. Popsickles, broth, jello, some kinds of juice are ok, consult your papers.I can nurse a 16 oz drink all day. This you have to drink it pretty quick. It makes you very full and bloated till it passes through you. Oh what fun.

Make sure you have soft toilet paper and wet wipes with witch hazel if you have hemoroids. Stock you bathroom with a magazine.

You want to have an early appt or you could be hungry. Take your med list.
This is the easy part. Turn on your side, they put you out. You wake up, they check you out, you go home and sleep. Oh yeah, make sure you ware clothes that are easy off and easy on.
Eat lightly the rest of the day and you're done. You have decreased your chances of colon cancer. Good enough for me.

1 mom found this helpful
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H.M.

answers from Dallas on

The prep is definently the hardest part. I didn't drik the jug of yuck I took pills and then drank a small bottle of something. I did have some abdominal pain after but not too bad. My mom didn't have the same pain as me but she doesn't have a uturous. That might make a difference. If you are sensitive to meds let them know. Me I don't sedate well so I have to let them know head of time. It honestly is not as bad as you expect it to be!!!

X.O.

answers from Chicago on

Heed the "no driving" restriction. My husband has a c-scope done last year and insisted that he was fine to drive. Later that evening he went to the gas station and forgot to take the pump out of his gas tank before pulling away. $2400 repair.

No pain later, but plenty of gas from the air that gets in there during the procedure. So, lots of odorless farts ;-)

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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

nah.. doesnt hurt a bit. seriously..

drinking the stuff isnt so good. then you spend a good amount of time reading in the bathroom. (get a good book0

the test is 15 minutes... no pain..

L.W.

answers from Chicago on

Use a straw when drinking that stuff. That was the worst part. A straw definitely helped out. Hold your nose if you have to. It didn't taste that bad, but it was a little thick and greasy.

The test itself was not big deal and no pain.

Good luck.

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D..

answers from Miami on

Have a towel with you that you are sitting on. I found that out when running to the toilet during the drinking phase. My couch wasn't close enough to the bathroom!!

You can put some jello (NOT RED) into the drink to give it some taste. Read the directions. Do it all just like the directions say. If you don't, the doctor may not be able to finish the test. First of all, he or she needs to be able to see in there. Second, if it's not cleared out, he could hurt you and not mean to. I'd hate to be told that I had to pay for the second test because I fudged taking the medicine...

You go in, change clothes and they give you an IV in your hand or arm. Then they put you on the table and give you the meds to put you out. You wake up 20 minutes later and you don't know you had the procedure. You get dressed and someone takes you home. Your husband or helper gives you soup and puts you straight to bed.

You aren't supposed to make any decisions that day or sign any legal papers because the medicine makes it so that you don't quite think straight.

The only real pain you should experience is the bloated feeling in your belly. You get rid of that by walking around your house the next day - not exercise, per say, but regular getting around. You have a lot of "air" in there that has to work it's way out.

The good thing is that you will know before you leave the hospital what the doctor found. And he will remove anything that could potentially be a problem.

Just to let you know, I was on a plane 2 days later for vacation.

Good luck!

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

Plan to have someone drive you there/drop you off/pick up up.

I had to do this last year. Yes, it sucked. I let them know ahead of time that the prescription laxative was a no-go for me; they felt the phosphorus citrate and the miralax were enough. I thought so too! But no, no pain.
You might also consider taking a probiotic or eating some yogurt for a few days afterward to reintroduce the 'good bacteria' into the colon.

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☆.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I accompanied my mom to hers.
Drinking the stuff was the worst part, according to her.
Well, that and the recovery room where all you hear is gas from every bay down the line! Poor nurses. I guess the dont hear it after awhile.
My mom said it was overall "easy peasy"!
Good luck.

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S.W.

answers from Amarillo on

Follow the directions as written and drink lots of water. If you don't your veins won't be easy to find to put the IV in.

The test is a piece of cake it is the the before stuff that you have to do. Make sure you have someone to drive you home. If you don't some doctors won't do the procedure.

the other S.

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A.S.

answers from Boca Raton on

My husband says the worst part is the prep. The procedure itself was not any problem for him. I did drive him home.

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A.C.

answers from Madison on

Love the quote! What a wonderful laugh to get the day started!

Yep, had to do one as well when they were checking to see if I had Celiac disease (nope, just gluten intolerance). I wasn't really put "out"--in fact, I'm not sure you can be totally knocked out for this procedure. I was semi-there. Enough that I could hear them tell me when they were going to do a procedure, or that the tube was going in and they talked me through the near drowing feeling you get (it's instinctive to try to not let it pass the "gate" in your throat). At the very end, I passed out for a few minutes, which I guess is normal.

Other than having a tube shoved down your throat, nothing about the procedure is bothersome. You don't even know they're in there, snaking around inside your guts. (I know, the whole picture that connotes is, like, creepy isn't it?)

I did, however, have to go back and have another test done. Apparently, I'm one of the few people who have an abnormally long intestine. I had to go in and have an elimination test done, so they could check the very end of the intestine. I had to drink something for that one too, although it was only a small glass. But it still tasted ucky (I think it was Barium that time).

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P.K.

answers from New York on

Drink the stuff. Spend night in bathroom. Go for procedure. IV put in and that will be it. You won't remember anything. Go home and will function normally. Only thing is you cannot drive for the remainder of the day. Enjoy the nap.

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

M.:

I do not read ahead, so forgive me if my information is duplicate.

The prep stuff can suck. But it cleans out your system. Follow the directions to the letter. It starts 48 hours out from procedure. Be prepared to have direct access to a toilet while you are doing the prep.

They put you in "twilight" sleep - not fully out but out enough.

You will be in the office - as an outpatient - there was ABSOLUTELY NO PAIN for me. They did not find polyps. From the time I checked in to the time I left (YOU WILL HAVE TO HAVE A RIDE), it was 3 hours. If they find polyps and remove them, it could be longer. They do watch you for a good 30 to 45 minutes after the procedure.

Good luck! Hope they don't find anything!!

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