Painless colonoscopy for an anxious lady

I have been experiencing loose motions since just after Christmas, and had blood tests, examinations, and the hospital recommended a colonoscopy to see what was wrong.

My appointment was scheduled for 15th April, yesterday, and I put it out of my mind as much as I could, but came onto this forum to read all the information I could get on people's experiences.   I knew the procedure wasn't going to be pleasant, and there are many posts in this forum to support that.    

I took the MoviPrep in the evening before, and it didn't taste that bad, just a little bit too sweet for me - I like lemon drinks, so it's just as well that was the flavour of it.   I chugged a glass down every 10-20 minutes, and had finished it within an hour and a half, and some water, too.  I'd read to stay by the loo - what I hadn't expected was being chained to it for an hour or so, lol.  I had followed someone's advice and had Vaseline, Andrews moist toilet tissue, my iPad and phone in the bathroom with me - and chatting online kept me company while the MoviPrep did its stuff.  I started the MoviPrep at 6pm, an hour earlier than the leaflet suggested, and was "all done" by 11pm, so I went to bed early.  I had to get up twice in the night.

Woke up at 6:30am for the second round of MoviPrep -  this time, it wasn't so easy to get it down, but I managed it by 8am.  Had to finish it on the loo, because it started to work within 20 minutes, which surprised me.  I was a bit sore by this time, in spite of the Vaseline and moist wipes.  I had a couple of cups of green tea, stopped drinking at 11:00 am, as I realised that anything going in meant something coming out, lol, and I'd had enough of that, thank you very much.

In spite of being somewhat anxious about the whole procedure, I had remained curiously calm during all the preparation for it - but I did start to worry as we left for the hospital.  Checked myself in, made sure I was down for as much medication as I could get, sedation, pain relief, the whole lot! - and once my name was called and I was in the endoscopy suite, I felt a lot better.  

Problem:  my blood pressure was through the roof.  First reading was 174/120 - not good.  It's usually 130/90, I take medication for it.  So they made me get into bed to relax for an hour -  I was last anyway, so wasn't going to be done for at least 2 hours.   I read my book and took deep breaths.  Nursie came round again to do the BP.  This time 191/106, so going down a bit.   Then he told me, they would have to cancel the procedure if it didn't stabilise.  I asked to speak to the lady who was doing the procedure (Kalene).  Kalene came in, and I told her I suffer from white coat syndrome, which I do.  Every time I go to the doctor or nurse for a BP check, it soars, lol, but they know this and could confirm it at the surgery.  She patted me on the arm, and said, "It's OK, we'll do it.  What are you most afraid of?"  I said, "Pain!" and she said, "Don't worry, I'll give you what you need."   

So I got changed into the gown, had a pee, and then went into the theatre.  I lay on my left side, as instructed, and they put a cannula into a vein at my elbow, and the nurse at my head started chatting away, asking me what I did for a living, blah, blah.  They asked me if I could feel the medication coming in, and I said, "Oh, yes!" as I got a hit of it.  I was giggling at the sight of my rather large backside seen by the camera before it was put in (that felt strange) and a little pump of air and she was off.  My next view was of the inside of my rectum and beyond.  It all seemed to be moving very quickly, twists and turns, a few tiny yellowish clumps on the walls.    I could feel where the camera was as it progressed through my colon, but no pain whatsoever - and I cannot stress how positive this made me feel - absolutely PAINLESS.

After a couple of minutes, Kalene said, "Right, Julie, that's the caecum, I'm as far as I need to be, I'll have a good look on the way out."   Then I realised there was a little black diagram in the corner of the monitor shaped like a question mark, which was actually the position of the camera in my colon - and I saw it decrease in size until there was nothing left of the question mark shape - and then the camera came out. All finished, without a twinge.  I couldn't believe it.  

But the funniest thing was, I had it done without sedation, just pethidine.  Apparently, if I'd started feeling pain, or squirming on the table, they would have put the sedation in, but because I was so relaxed and chatty, it wasn't needed.

So - I can say, I had a really positive experience, not the best day of my life by a long shot, but, wow, the sense of relief when it was all over.  The staff were the best anybody could have had, everyone was so kind and considerate.

All clear, too - I have a "lovely, pristine colon", in the words of the wonderful Kalene.

I hope my account helps somebody who, like me, was dreading the experience and is feeling scared and anxious (like I was).  Please have it done, don't cancel it (like I was going to do).  It could save your life.

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