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bowel prep and colonoscopy experience

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itsokay
itsokay

Having scanned the internet to find out about other people's advice and experience, I want to let anyone facing a colonoscopy know what was like for me. It was absolutely okay. People say the prep is the worst part and it was a bit tiresome. I did a two and a half day special diet followed by clear fluids only and Picolax. It was nearly 48hrs without food but the Picolax wasn't as bad as I expected. In fact, I kept thinking it couldn't be working as I wasn't glued to the loo. I think the main thing is to prepare and plan for the prep and the procedure - making sure of having all the things needed for the prep diet and for during the clear fluids and then prep. Barrier cream (Sudocream) and moist loo paper were helpful, and having done 2.5 days of the low fibre, high carb diet must have helped as well. The only real problem I had was that I worried that the Picolax wasn't being effective enough so I went for my appt in dread that my bowel wasn't clear. But the nurse explained that as long as you go through the stage where you're passing just watery stuff, it's okay. And it was.

Re the procedure itself - I had a good consultant and the nurses on the Unit were very nice. Only problem was a mix up with the time of my appointment which left me waiting longer than anticipated. I felt sick with anxiety, little sleep and the after - effects of the prep on arrival. However, I asked to be given as much sedation and pain relief as possible and told them I was anxious. The sedation took the edge of things as did the analgesic but I could grab the Entonox when needed for the times when the doctor was steering the tube around the bends. It was over quickly and there was no point where it felt really awful at all. I watched progress on the screen and felt absolutely fine afterwards, although a little out of it from the sedation of course. So my advice to anyone facing this procedure is to carefully read all the info the hospital send you, contact the Unit if you're concerned about any aspect of the procedure or prep, and follow the instructions to the finest detail. And to plan ahead and get everything in house that you need and that will help you through the prep. And don't be afraid to let them know you're anxious - if you are. I hope this helps you if you are worried about having this procedure done - the whole thing really was okay and nothing like what I'd built up in my mind and from reading one or two horror stories on the web.

12 likes, 146 replies

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  • ben44081
    ben44081

    Posted

    Hello all,

    it's been really useful reading through this thread - so thanks to everyone who has posted so far!

    I have a sigmoidoscopy in two weeks (at 3:30pm), and I have my preparation sitting at the side of the bed staring at me. It's for litre of moviprep (or will be when I put the water in it) and 4 senna tablets. I'm supposed to take the senna the night before and start the moviprep at 6am on the day of the Sigmoidoscopy.

    I'm a little nervous about it - I take a lot of Movicol each day (otherwise my bowels are completely static) and I wonder when to stop taking this. I guess I should just stop taking it the day before I take this moviprep.

    I also have very painful haemerroids - anyone else any experience of a sigmoidoscopy with these? Is it going to be painful?

    They've said this is going to be unsedated - but will they still give me anything on the day if I want it?

    Thanks in advance,

    Ben

  • nisha
    nisha

    Posted

    Hi Ben,

    I had a sigmoidscopy 3 months back, and its quite simple and it took about 20 mints, i was given small sedation, but i think it was not needed, but i was a bit nervous, and i asked the dr. to give me..i was very fine, so please do not worry.

    All the best

    • joe10258
      joe10258 nisha

      Posted

      I had a flexible sigmoidoscopy 15 yrs ago without sedation. Given where that 18 foot long device goes, I have NO idea what really went up where the sun doesn't shine as I can't see back there withou a mirror. Given what it FELT like though, my imagination says a small rodent with sharp little claws was shoved there, and that creature then scurried around and around and around until it finally found its way out sometime time later that day. Totally BARBARIC!!!   Everything was fine, but NO WAY I would go for a colonoscopy. which is three times more invasive plus a prep which  was revealed to me as truly a process that is being considered as an alternative to waterboarding for torturing.

      NEVER AGAIN!!!!

    • derek76
      derek76 joe10258

      Posted

      A flexible sigmoidoscopy only goes up a relatively short distance. Our daughter had one and it was not far enough up to see her tumour and she was dead eight months later. If they had done a colonoscopy they would have found it before her tumour had spread to her liver.

      For most people a colonoscopy is a simple pain free procedure.

  • susie61
    susie61

    Posted

    Hi am new to these forums today and have a colonoscopy tomorrow and really really worried ..I have bad piles and have been bleeding blood and clots since end of november and sometimes mucus ..Have seen 3 doctors and all 3 suspect piles but im not convinced .

    Ended up at accident and emergency a few weeks ago as passed a big clot when broke wind and got a right fright ..They examined me and took loads of bloods and everything was normal including my inflammation markers were normal ..myself and my gp wanted a colonoscopy to be on the safe side.

    i had a colonoscopy about 11 years ago and they said i had proctitis and because i found out i was pregnant after it they could not treat me ..But they told me it would get really bad in pregnancy but it cleared completely and they never sent a follow up appointment so i never followed it up ..I have had no problems till now ..I never have problems apart from the blood ..No pain or anything so really worried about what there going to find tomorrow now ..Sorry about rambling on ..So scared sad

  • lucy50040
    lucy50040

    Posted

    I am having a colonoscopy on Monday morning. The prep should be all done the day before and I should be able to sleep fine. I do not need to take any more laxative in the morning. Just as well because I have to travel by train, bus and tube for about 2 hours! I hope I do not need the toilet too much! I think I will be wearing an incontinence pad just in case!!

    I have had a couple of colonoscopies before. They were o.k. I did not have any sedation. I might ask for it this time because I seem to be in more pain. I have annal fissures and loose stools do not help. I have been using a zinc and castor cream just like the ones use for nappy rash and it has worked really well.

    Fingers crossed! My blood pressure seems to go down very easily and dehydration makes it worse. I will have to drink lots of liquid. I thik I will have a pinch of salt too. Any tips on how to reduce the cramps from the senna tablets? (I was given 10 tables of senna along with the citrus prep). Thanks!

  • susie61
    susie61

    Posted

    I had my colonoscopy yesterday which went fine ..All the worry ..They told me i have mild proctitis and now need to wait on an appointment from the GI clinic to discuss treatment ..I dont know if it cleared up before now and has came back or it just maybe lay dormant with no symptoms and now decided to flare up ...I hope i dont wait to long on my appointment now ..They did not seem concerned at all . I thought i was going in for a colonscopy but they only done a sigmoidoscopy ...I worry there was something they did not pick up further round but sure they had an idea what they were looking for ..Hope all goes well for you on monday but sure it will ..Oh i had really really bad trapped wind when i came home and took some peppermint capsules i had bought from holland an barrat a few weeks ago and they really helped ease/ pass the wind x

  • tomj
    tomj

    Posted

    I don't often post on forums but this one seems very friendly and supportive, so here goes!

    I'm having a colonoscopy tomorrow. My bowels have been in a state from time to time since my 20s (I'm now 65) and I was told ages ago that I probably had ibs. Recently I had a major life change - I split from my wife and moved to a different part of the country. I've only been here a few weeks and have been depressed from time to time and sometimes anxious. So when my bowel movements went watery for several weeks I put it down to stress and ibs. I did go to the doctor who ordered various blood tests. All were fine but he referred me for a colonoscopy.

    I'm anxious both about the procedure and the results. I'm squeamish and don't like the idea of the tube moving around inside me. Because I've only been here a short time, I don't know anyone well enough to ask to come along. The hospital said that unless someone can stay overnight with me, I can't have the combined sedative and painkiller. However I can have Entonox which some people say is good. Has anyone had this on its own? Was it adequate as a painkiller and anxiety-reliever?

    And I'm dreading the results, too. Terrified I might have cancer. I didn't realise until recently that bowel cancer develops very slowly over a period of 10 years or so. I'm regretting the fact I didn't get checked out sooner. I've had two stool tests (most recently about two and a half years ago) but they were just single tests and I think the practice now is to do 3 at different times.

    The last two days my watery movements have turned to constipation. Well, I guess that will get sorted out in a few hours when I start taking the moviprep!

    I'd be really grateful if anyone has any helpful insights.

  • derek76
    derek76

    Posted

    My attitude and only advice is never to worry until you actually have something definite to worry about.

    As they say there is nothing to fear apart from fear itself.

    Backache and stomach problems seem to affect half of the population. The other half have chest pain.

    A doctor who discharged my wife after an overnight stay in hospital told her that they never find anything wrong with half the people admitted with chest pain. In my wife's case that was because she had a duodenal ulcer that our GP the next week deduced as the source of the pain.

    Good luck for tomorrow and have your favourite dinner after to make up for your starvation and emptying day.

  • tomj
    tomj

    Posted

    Good advice, Derek. Worrying doesn't help, and I am doing my best to dispel the negative thoughts. Not always easy though!
  • tomj
    tomj

    Posted

    I had the colonoscopy this morning, and there is no sign of cancer! I am so relieved. The doctor said he could find nothing abnormal in my bowels, but as a precaution has taken some biopsies. He was adamant though that, as there were no polyps, there could be no cancer. The biopsies might show nothing wrong or I may have some issue like inflamed bowel, but anyway I'm going to try to forget about it. (Won't get the results back for 3-4 weeks).

    Yesterday’s preparation went fine. Am I the only person actually to like the taste of Moviprep?! It was no problem knocking back 2 litres! The resulting bowel movements were not too bad, and I even managed to fit in a bowl of clear soup between the two sessions of drinking Moviprep.

    I was actually fairly calm last night, and slept reasonably well. I got up bright and early to make my 8.15 appointment, and was far more relaxed than I expected to be. The worst I felt was when the nurse was getting me to sign the consent form. He had to point out the (very tiny) risks of the procedure and I felt a bit faint for a minute or two. I soon recovered. The (male) nurse specifically assigned to me was great, and very supportive during the procedure, saying things like: “You’re doing well, Tom”.

    I am glad I did not have the sedative as it takes 24 hours to recover and gives you amnesia. I was injected with a painkiller and given the Entonox to breathe in. If I took in too much, I got light-headed and had to stop for a few moments. Apparently it was difficult to get round some of the corners of my bowel so it took longer than usual (about one hour). It's one of the weirdest sensations I've ever had. Not just having what seems like a thin garden hose being shoved up my backside! That was weird but not too uncomfortable. But just feeling this thing inside is very odd. Even with the drugs was quite unpleasant when it was going round the corners. But these spasms didn't last long. Hope I don't have to have this done anytime soon, but I wouldn't fear it a second time.

    • cat16
      cat16 tomj

      Posted

      Glad everything was ok for you Tom. It's such a relief to know everything is ok. It's a horrible test to have done. The fasting is the worst ever. I hated it !!
  • derek76
    derek76

    Posted

    Great news that nothing desperate was found. Now you are back to square 1 with the original problems. Could be with that weight of your mind they may lessen. If and probably not I hope that they can do something to relieve them for you.

    • cat16
      cat16 derek76

      Posted

      Good advice given Derek. A positive attitude always helps.
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