Posted by Ivy
on 6/22/2007, 12:57 pm
76.212.148.240
I haven't read anyone's testimony about having an afternoon colonoscopy, so I thought I'd suggest it if you have the choice. My colonoscopy was scheduled for 1:45 pm. Instead of having to fast the entire day before my test, I could eat a light, but filling diet (eggs, oatmeal, salad, toast) until 6 pm. From 6pm to midnight the night before my test, I could consume the clear fluids like juices, broth and jello. I didn't need much of those because I had eaten breakfast and lunch earlier in the day. I slept well that night because I didn't have to go through the prep until morning and my test wasn't until afternoon. (I had already mixed the Golytely stuff with one gallon of bottled water and put it in a very cold refrigerator.) My instructions told me to drink the gallon of Golytely between 7 and 10 am, but I started drinking at 6 am, just to be sure I'd complete the prep with plenty of time. My flavor was pineapple and the initial flavor was OK, but it had a kind of slimy aftertaste. To make the experience go as smooth as possible, I held my breath and drank the very chilled Golytely through a straw. That way I didn't get a lot of air in my stomache from taking gulps. I also brushed my teeth after every dose and used mints to take the taste away between doses. It took me 4 hours insteadof 3 to finish the gallon, but sometimes I felt like I might be ill, so I slowed down. I also put a lounge cushion and blanket right near my bathroom so I could lay down if I felt queasy from the Golytely. That proved to be helpful because there were times when my body was not eliminating the Golytely for 20 minutes or so and I could just relax from the pressure of the prep and my nervousness about having my first colonoscopy. Finally, after 4 hours I drank all the Golytely. It took about another hour for my system to be completely flushed and I didn't have to worry about having an accident on the way to the doctor's office for the test. As many others have written here, my actual colonoscopy was not a bad experience. I had a combination of Fenalon (?) and Versed. There were a couple of times were I felt cramping pain and I told them, but, for the most part, I did not have much consciousness. Afterward in the recovery room, I actually didn't want to get up and get dressed to go home because I felt so sleepy and high. Truth be told, I'd rather have 5 colonoscopies than go through one Golytely prep. But still, while I was doing the prep, I kept reminding myself that if I had colon cancer, I would have to endure a lot more pain, labor, fear and embarrassment than this one colonoscopy event. My test results showed everything is fine and they said come back in 10 years. I will definitely schedule an afternoon colonoscopy next time because I think that fasting the entire day before would make me more shaky and nervous. Even though I wasn't able to eat or drink anything until after 4:00 on the day of my colonoscopy, the Golytely took away my appetite and I didn't care if I ate or not. When I do it again, I'll also do the light food diet the day before and then get a colonic irrigation around 5 pm the night before. I believe that will enable me to consume less of the Golytely during the prep.
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