The bowel prep really is the worst part of a colonoscopy. If you are properly medicated, you probably won't remember any of the colonoscopy. The bowel prep involves drinking a special solution starting sometime the afternoon before you are scheduled for the colonoscopy. It doesn't really matter which type they give you. They may ask you to drink a gallon of solution, or let you drink small amounts of it, followed by clear liquid drinks. Of course you can't drink anything red. That may die your intestines, or if there is still some red liquid it may be hard to tell if there is any blood or not. The liquids taste kind of salty and aren't too hard to get down - at first.
As time goes by and the drink starts to work there is a huge amount of diarrhea. The diarrhea increases in frequency as time goes on. It becomes more liquid as well. The purpose of all this is to empty out the intestines so that the doctor can take a good look around. If the prep is not started early enough in the afternoon, rest assured it will take most of the night to finish. I highly recommend you do not drink any beverages that you actually prefer during this time. You will likely get taste aversion to them for a very long time. I once drank some pineapple soda which I liked during the prep and it hasn't tasted as good since. The next time you have to take a bowel prep it will be harder than the first, because your body knows what is coming with that first swallow.
After a long night of running to the bathroom I was ready for my colonoscopy. My wife and I went to the surgical center it was to be performed at. My mother and sister met us there. They were concerned at what the outcome might be and couldn't wait to find out. An IV was started and I was wheeled into the procedure room, laying on a gurney, dressed in a hospital gown. The doctor came in and asked if I had any questions about the procedure. I said no, so he told the nurse to give me some medication. The next thing I remember was being wheeled to the recovery room. Awhile later the doctor came in and gave me a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. I had never heard of that, but at least it wasn't cancer (in my aunt's opinion this was worse than cancer). The medications affected the way I acted for several hours. The nurse came in and explained my discharge instructions, which included a new medication we were to pick up on the way home. When she said the name of the medication was Asacol, I asked her if that was beer for my butt. I'm sure my family was embarrassed.
My wife took me to the supermarket to fill the prescription on the way home. I felt very uninhibited and was really hoping to see somebody I knew, but didn't like. I was going to smile and tell them exactly how I felt about them. Fortunately we didn't see anybody we knew at the supermarket. The prescription was filled and we went home. I took a nap. At first taking the medication seemed normal. I guess the first few days it was just like taking an antibiotic. But after a few days it hit me that I was going to take this several times a day for the rest of my life! It was a depressing thought. Was I really getting so old I needed medication to survive? A little over a month prior I seemed so healthy.
As time goes by and the drink starts to work there is a huge amount of diarrhea. The diarrhea increases in frequency as time goes on. It becomes more liquid as well. The purpose of all this is to empty out the intestines so that the doctor can take a good look around. If the prep is not started early enough in the afternoon, rest assured it will take most of the night to finish. I highly recommend you do not drink any beverages that you actually prefer during this time. You will likely get taste aversion to them for a very long time. I once drank some pineapple soda which I liked during the prep and it hasn't tasted as good since. The next time you have to take a bowel prep it will be harder than the first, because your body knows what is coming with that first swallow.
After a long night of running to the bathroom I was ready for my colonoscopy. My wife and I went to the surgical center it was to be performed at. My mother and sister met us there. They were concerned at what the outcome might be and couldn't wait to find out. An IV was started and I was wheeled into the procedure room, laying on a gurney, dressed in a hospital gown. The doctor came in and asked if I had any questions about the procedure. I said no, so he told the nurse to give me some medication. The next thing I remember was being wheeled to the recovery room. Awhile later the doctor came in and gave me a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. I had never heard of that, but at least it wasn't cancer (in my aunt's opinion this was worse than cancer). The medications affected the way I acted for several hours. The nurse came in and explained my discharge instructions, which included a new medication we were to pick up on the way home. When she said the name of the medication was Asacol, I asked her if that was beer for my butt. I'm sure my family was embarrassed.
My wife took me to the supermarket to fill the prescription on the way home. I felt very uninhibited and was really hoping to see somebody I knew, but didn't like. I was going to smile and tell them exactly how I felt about them. Fortunately we didn't see anybody we knew at the supermarket. The prescription was filled and we went home. I took a nap. At first taking the medication seemed normal. I guess the first few days it was just like taking an antibiotic. But after a few days it hit me that I was going to take this several times a day for the rest of my life! It was a depressing thought. Was I really getting so old I needed medication to survive? A little over a month prior I seemed so healthy.
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