Colonoscopy Thursday morning...

[anxious848]

I'm so nervous!

I have a little box of Bipeglyte siting on my kitchen counter. Who knew such an unassuming box could be so intimidating lol.

Prep starts tomorrow, take my first dose at 12:00pm. My colonoscopy is at 9:30 Thursday morning.

I would just like to fast forward. I'm so hopeful that everything will look good. :blush:

[unsure_about_this]

Good luck, I remember when I had my sigmoidoscopy a few years ago it was quite interesting the cocktail (the stuff I was given tasted foul)

[anxious848]

Thank you so much for your reply. This is my first "scope" of the bowels.

I haven't been diagnosed with anything yet...my GP suspects IBS and I tested positive for a parasite but there's a ton of literature arguing whether that particular parasite actually causes symptoms.

I'm trying to be positive. All I want to hear is that everything looks good. Things seem to be normal other than mucus mixed with my stool about once a week and I'm wiping more.

Anxiety is the worst!!

[andrea15]

I had one 3 years ago. You will be ok. Good luck x

[anxious848]

Thank you Andrea15. I hate when I get excited about seeing less mucus in my stool and of course as soon as I say it I jinx myself.

I'm just so nervous about things turning out badly (i.e. C word). The prep and procedure make me less nervous than the results themselves.

Just ate some green jello...not so exciting. At least I can have coffee albeit black coffee with nothing added to it.

[andrea15]

You're welcome. The night before my scope my partner of 4 years said he would leave me because of my anxiety, unless they found a tumour! So I had that hanging over me during the procedure. I was beyond terrified as I was so convinced there was something in my bowel. I cried during the procedure and at every movement on the screen I was waiting to see the 'C' blockage. I was 100% convinced. It was over quickly, all fine apart from some diverticular disease, and I sobbed and sobbed. I had had over 6 months of fear and panic for nothing and I was furious with myself. I had over-analyzed (literally) every stool I passed (sorry if too much info!) I totally understand where you are coming from but I am sure you will be ok. If you are struggling later feel free to message me. I don't mind at all. Is someone going with you for the scope? Don"t arrive earlier than you need to as waiting longer will make you more anxious. Thinking of you
Andrea

[anxious848]

Thank you so much for your message. I'm sorry you had to go through all the added stress of your partner saying they would leave...that's really difficult especially when all you probably wanted was some support.

My husband is taking me which is good because he's not the anxious type. I am going to try not to go too early. Hard to believe its almost here.

I took 2 pills for the prep at 12:00pm eastern time (I'm in Ontario, Canada) and nothing has really happened yet...it's now 3:22pm eastern. I think it takes several hour for the "magic" to happen. I don't start drinking the actual liquid until 6:00pm plus one final pill.

Then I have to get up in the middle of the night to drink the next round of liquid. Should be fun lol.

---------- Post added at 19:24 ---------- Previous post was at 19:23 ----------

Also, thank you so much for your offering to message you. Its really nice to talk to someone who understands...

[NoraB]

All the best for tomorrow anxious848.

[andrea15]

Glad you have good support from your husband. Makes a big difference, especially as he is not the anxious type. If only hey!? Would love to be able to say that about myself as I am sure you would. I had to administer my own enema as my prep which involved being something of a contortionist! The results were't that bad at all. At least you can stay off the green jello after tomorrow!

[anxious848]

Thank you NoraB, I really appreciate it.

Andrea15...having my husbands support definitely helps. I cannot complain about that. And, the fact that he's not anxious can be good and bad. :) And eek, administering your own enema...that does NOT sound like fun at all!!!

So I'm drinking the liquid now...WOW is this stuff disgusting. :weep:

[andrea15]

I had the liquid for a sigmoidoscopy several years ago and I remember it was vile. Gastroglafin or something. But it beats the enema! :wacko:

[susie]

good luck you will be fine:)i had one last year i had ti drink pickleaxe i think thats how you spell it:)

[Pepperpot]

good luck. You will be fine. It is quite a straightforward procedure - easy for me to say now lol x

[anxious848]

Hi everyone thank you so much for your support. They gave me a heavier sedative and I slept through the entire thing.

Everything was normal except they removed what they think was a polyp. They said it was small and they weren't even sure that's what it was so they're sending it to pathology. The surgeon said it was nothing to worry about and worse case scenario I just have to come back in 5 years for a follow-up colonoscopy. But he said I don't have to follow up with him, that I just follow up with my GP. So I take that as good news! They took some biopsies to check for bacteria...now will just need to wait for news from my GP. The surgeon told me pretty frankly that all was fine and I can move forward so I'm excited.....this has really felt like a long 6 months. Hard to say the level of relief I feel!!!

[dally]

Well done,

[andrea15]

Hi everyone thank you so much for your support. They gave me a heavier sedative and I slept through the entire thing.

Everything was normal except they removed what they think was a polyp. They said it was small and they weren't even sure that's what it was so they're sending it to pathology. The surgeon said it was nothing to worry about and worse case scenario I just have to come back in 5 years for a follow-up colonoscopy. But he said I don't have to follow up with him, that I just follow up with my GP. So I take that as good news! They took some biopsies to check for bacteria...now will just need to wait for news from my GP. The surgeon told me pretty frankly that all was fine and I can move forward so I'm excited.....this has really felt like a long 6 months. Hard to say the level of relief I feel!!!

So pleased to hear this. Great news! xx

[anxious848]

Thank you so much!! Honestly, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted. I mean obviously I need to wait for the biopsy results but still...that 'tumor' I was expecting wasn't there. It also makes me mad that my brain automatically goes there.

I'm in the process of switching GPs to see if that helps me. My GP has always been 'right' but was never firm with her answers and always would say things like 'do you think you need to see a specialist?' or 'what do you think'. I think with health anxiety you need a GP who will listen but at the same time is confident in the treatment options they provide you. Not blaming it all on my GP, like I said she was always right and a lovely person but I don't think she helped when it came to my anxiety. She was switching clinics anyway so I figured I'd try another doctor. I remember a few years ago when I had another doctor - I'd just go in for my yearly physical and to request another prescription for birth control lol!

[NoraB]

Excellent news!:yesyes:

[FrankC]

Glad everything went well! I am in Ontario as well. Mine is on the 19th and I am so stressed over it. Mostly because I had one sample of the three from the fecal occult test come back positive. Can't help but think the worst even though my GP says it could be from a variety of things. Did you get the results when you woke up?

[anxious848]

Hi Frankc I'm sorry you have to go forward with a colonoscopy. I found the build up to the procedure far worse than prep day and the actual procedure. I think at that point you're just ready to get it done and move forward! But I totally get it, I was terrified of the possible results even though my surgeon and GP were adamant it wasn't anything serious. Can I ask what your symptoms are?

My GP refused to do a fecal occult sample on me...she said because I'm anxious by nature I'm better off to just get a colonoscopy if I'm experiencing symptoms. She said there was a definite possibility of a false positive or better yet a positive due to hemorrhoids...she felt I would just get worked up. A positive fecal occult sample definitely doesn't mean it's something serious - just means you need further work up to rule certain things out!

The surgeon gave me my results as soon as I woke up in the procedure room. Then the nurse went over things with me before I left. Still waiting on the biopsy results but I imagine that will take a week or 2.

What is your prep like?

Stay positive!

[FrankC]

Hi Frankc I'm sorry you have to go forward with a colonoscopy. I found the build up to the procedure far worse than prep day and the actual procedure. I think at that point you're just ready to get it done and move forward! But I totally get it, I was terrified of the possible results even though my surgeon and GP were adamant it wasn't anything serious. Can I ask what your symptoms are?

My GP refused to do a fecal occult sample on me...she said because I'm anxious by nature I'm better off to just get a colonoscopy if I'm experiencing symptoms. She said there was a definite possibility of a false positive or better yet a positive due to hemorrhoids...she felt I would just get worked up. A positive fecal occult sample definitely doesn't mean it's something serious - just means you need further work up to rule certain things out!

The surgeon gave me my results as soon as I woke up in the procedure room. Then the nurse went over things with me before I left. Still waiting on the biopsy results but I imagine that will take a week or 2.

What is your prep like?

Stay positive!

Thanks so much for your reply. It's amazing how much good can came from a post such as yours. And I like how your GP thinks...she seems to really understand the effect these things have on folks like us. Is she taking new patients? lol

As for symptoms, just the positive sample in this case. That said, for some time I have had a sensitive stomach and after noticing undigested food (sorry) on a couple of occasions my anxiety went through the roof. Since then I became obsessive about "checking". I get a bloated feeling in the upper left part of my stomach at times and that feeling intensifies when anxiety builds. My GP suggested possible IBS.

My prep I guess begins next Monday with some dietary restrictions, then the 2 laxative pills and finally the PegLyte liquid the day before. Ugh...

How did you find that anyway?

Well, sorry for the novel here and I hope you will update after you get your good news in a week or 2. I know it will be a relief for you to move on :)

[anxious848]

Thanks so much for your reply. It's amazing how much good can came from a post such as yours. And I like how your GP thinks...she seems to really understand the effect these things have on folks like us. Is she taking new patients? lol

As for symptoms, just the positive sample in this case. That said, for some time I have had a sensitive stomach and after noticing undigested food (sorry) on a couple of occasions my anxiety went through the roof. Since then I became obsessive about "checking". I get a bloated feeling in the upper left part of my stomach at times and that feeling intensifies when anxiety builds. My GP suggested possible IBS.

My prep I guess begins next Monday with some dietary restrictions, then the 2 laxative pills and finally the PegLyte liquid the day before. Ugh...

How did you find that anyway?

Well, sorry for the novel here and I hope you will update after you get your good news in a week or 2. I know it will be a relief for you to move on :)

I'm glad my post helped. And, I don't know that you'd want my GP! As lovely as she is, I find she tended to make my anxiety worse. She'd ask me questions like, "what do you think I should do?" or "do you want to see a specialist?" I think I need someone assertive telling me not to worry, stay away from google and relax :)

Has your stool been checked for parasites or bacteria at all? They found a 'parasite' in my stool and I'd been seeing undigested food quite often (and I'd never had that before). The parasite I have is called blastocystitis hominis and it was considered a yeast up until recently. Now they've labelled it a parasite but there is a lot of medical literature debating whether or not the parasite actually causes digestive issues. There are some arguments that it can cause symptoms of IBS. Anyway, I've gone through 2 strong rounds of antibiotics and its still in my system...will probably leave it as is as the antibiotics did more harm than good!

Your prep sounds pretty similar to mine except I had 3 pills plus the peglyte. I found the peglyte really hard to stomach...what I found really helped was to gulp down a sip of powerade/gatorade then drink as much as you can of the liquid and then take another sip of the powerade. I found that I almost gagged otherwise with the peglyte. You may not mind it but I couldn't stand the aftertaste! Otherwise I didn't find the prep too bad...it was more of a nuisance particularly because I had to drink the second round of peglyte at 3:30am and was up using the washroom until about 5-5:30. But I slept well from 10:30 until I had to get up in the middle of the night. Procedure itself was a piece of cake. They put me out entirely which I think was better for me...apparently recommended for anxious patients :blush:

I loved my surgeon - he was fantastic and I met with him once before he suggested the colonoscopy. One wonderful thing he told me was about a study he read recently...he said the study talked about how patients self diagnose through 'google' and are wrong more often than not...and how they don't trust their doctors. Well, apparently the average doctor is right about 70% of the time according to that study which is actually not a bad statistic! Just something to keep in mind which helped me a little bit.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions about the prep, etc.!

[FrankC]

Thanks for another helpful reply. Good point about your GP! I think I'll stay put. lol And I totally agree about Google. I try to be selective and see only things I want to see but that never works out and it always ends up making matters worst. What your surgeon said is definitely comforting.

No tests for parasites or bacteria but I will definitely mention that. Thank you.

So, a fellow PegLyter huh? I am not looking forward to that at all. My pharmacist pretty much described it the same way except she used jello to get through it. My procedure is at noon so apparently I need to start drinking it from 2pm - 8pm the day before.

I may take you up on the offer and send some questions your way if that's OK. I am feeling pretty alone at this time. Quick one for you now.. what flavour gatorade did you use. I heard you cannot have anything that is red, purple or blue .. what does that leave? lol

[anxious848]

Thanks for another helpful reply. Good point about your GP! I think I'll stay put. lol And I totally agree about Google. I try to be selective and see only things I want to see but that never works out and it always ends up making matters worst. What your surgeon said is definitely comforting.

No tests for parasites or bacteria but I will definitely mention that. Thank you.

So, a fellow PegLyter huh? I am not looking forward to that at all. My pharmacist pretty much described it the same way except she used jello to get through it. My procedure is at noon so apparently I need to start drinking it from 2pm - 8pm the day before.

I may take you up on the offer and send some questions your way if that's OK. I am feeling pretty alone at this time. Quick one for you now.. what flavour gatorade did you use. I heard you cannot have anything that is red, purple or blue .. what does that leave? lol


Ugh, yep...fellow PegLyter! So, I bought the jello...I bought the green jellow as it was the only one I was confident in purchasing. I believe orange is okay but I was a little nervous about it. I'd seen mixed comments about it while googling about the prep. I had jello in the morning and before lunchtime - that was about all I could handle quite honestly. I'm not a big jello fan and if I was I'd want the red colour lol which obviously I couldn't have.

The Powerade I drank was also super sugary but I found that I liked the taste more. Again they had an orange flavor which I like but was a little unsure so I bought a "lemonade" flavor. I actually didn't mind it at all. Gatorade has a lemon-lime flavor but it didn't appeal to me.

Basically my diet for that day was jello in the morning and morning snack, chicken broth for lunch and also at dinner. I found I wasn't all that hungry quite honestly inbetween drinking the powerade and PegLyte. One thing I did have was my morning coffee (black only) and was very grateful and happy to have!

[Capercrohnj]

Oh btw I am a frequent colonoscopy person (every year) as I have severe crohn's. I can answer bowel and colonoscopy related questions ;)

[FrankC]

Ugh, yep...fellow PegLyter! So, I bought the jello...I bought the green jellow as it was the only one I was confident in purchasing. I believe orange is okay but I was a little nervous about it. I'd seen mixed comments about it while googling about the prep. I had jello in the morning and before lunchtime - that was about all I could handle quite honestly. I'm not a big jello fan and if I was I'd want the red colour lol which obviously I couldn't have.

The Powerade I drank was also super sugary but I found that I liked the taste more. Again they had an orange flavor which I like but was a little unsure so I bought a "lemonade" flavor. I actually didn't mind it at all. Gatorade has a lemon-lime flavor but it didn't appeal to me.

Basically my diet for that day was jello in the morning and morning snack, chicken broth for lunch and also at dinner. I found I wasn't all that hungry quite honestly inbetween drinking the powerade and PegLyte. One thing I did have was my morning coffee (black only) and was very grateful and happy to have!

Great info anxious! I will make my shopping list from this. :)

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Oh btw I am a frequent colonoscopy person (every year) as I have severe crohn's. I can answer bowel and colonoscopy related questions ;)

Noted. Thanks very much!