Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group my colonoscopy

karen,

reading what i just linked in the post just above. sounds like you should have been told to drink more liquids the day before? or maybe you just had a bad time of it. i know i drank a lot of liquids that day in addition to the PEG solution because i didn't want to get hungry that day and mess up either my stomach or blood sugar. the am was a little difficult because no food or liquid not even water. i had wanted to sleep in so my stomach wouldn't be without food for too long; it doesn't handle that very well. but i had to get up earlier cause i had to go due to the dulcolax. that was one reason i couldn't do this in the fall. very hard for me to fast when my stomach gastritis is flaring.

craig,

that's a good pointer!

i did use vaseline on preparation H aloe witch hazel wipes, better than TP. though we also use charmin plus (with lotion). so using that coated with vaseline wasn't too bad at first.

but do like the idea of the baby wipes even better than the prepH wipes.

i'll let you know the results.

thanks jeffery,

still not going every day, but not too bad when i do.
but am a bit concerned about the mucus still.
i remember my stepfathers first crohn's symptoms was mucus in his stools.
i've read, doctors have said, it can be normal to have mucus in stools, but lately a pretty common occurrence.

pictures! fraid not! i do remember when my husband and i had our procedures done in a private hospital in maryland in the early 90s. but this hospital doesn't take pictures, i don't think. maybe i'll ask the doc, maybe he did take pictures. i'd like to see them if they exist.

ok, in the process of answering everyone, realized the biggest good tip of all, in my procedures:

said i could suck on hard candy in between drinks to deal with beat up taste buds. i used ludens pectin cough drops in 4 berry flavors, the ginger people's gin gin hard ginger candies, dumdum lollipops, and werthers originals. in addition to my liquid meals of broths, jellos, and fruit juices.

the hard candies really helped

Quote: "molly, i want to comment here on your experience. i can not imagine prepping in a hospital vs my own home. i'm so sorry you had to go through what you had to go through. i could empathize before, but not in the way that i can now!"

Sue, I could not imagine what the mess would have been like had I been at home... Will just say, new carpets!!! Much rather the hospital hard floors that 'can' be cleaned, and, I did have a dble room with attached bathroom (the other person was somewhat non compos mentis, alzheimers and drugged 'out of it', so I was to all intents and purposes 'on my own'.

I had some sort of sedation, they said GA, but don't believe em, too expensive, so prob propofol, or summat like to? Woke up v. easy, quick as a flash, and 100% A-OK. So, unlikely that I did have a GA. As soon as I got back to my room, I showered and dressed and got me down to the wee cafe asap for a 'much' needed coffee! (Though nursey told me 'no, not after a GA'...but I was good to go, so I had my coffee. No probs - that's why I don't believe it 'was' a full GA. Unlikely. No side effects, nothing, not even 'sleepy'. So? Unlikely.)

My first colonoscopy was basically NO sedation at all, as the Midazalam did not work... I was in agony as the consultant got caught up in a tight intestinal wriggle, and ***Insisted on 'going on'... Could have perforated me! Sheesh. Will never forget that one. Nxt one was *With a full GA... But consultant said that 'he' prefers slight sedation as opposed to GA as the patient can then 'co-operate - in turning this way and that way - as was bourn out by his asking me to 'turn this way and that way' at my first colonoscopy.

Must say, that after this third time, and 'not knowing' what the guy was upto, I refuse a GA ever again. Prefer the pain, or possible pain and 'knowing' what the hell is going on. Still unable to get a full report from the hospital here - have written and written until blue in the face, they flat out refuse to give me ALL the details, telling me that I 'have sufficient information for ANY patient to have!' (Expletives, delete thoughts and mutterings on matter!)

My last prep was appalling and the whole scene a blot on medecine. They should NEVER have proceeded with the procedure - it was a disgrace. AND, 'they' give food up and until the night before, no one day 'no food' afore the procedure, and, and, they were giving me masses of prep liquid right up until a couple of hours before going down to theatre - had 7 litres in all and they were intent on giving me an 8th litre!!

Dear Lord, 'tis a wonder that I survived. Anyway, NEVER again in France, thanks. They don't know what they are doing, and that is a fact. (As many say of medecine here, France is 20yrs behind the times. Yes, true enough, go right along with the comments various.) And when I read that link you gave, woo-hoo. It's not a walk in the park. It does have inherent dangers, so am assuredly lucky 'not' to have seccumbed to their machinations misnamed 'medical care'!

Yes, can easily take a week to 10 days for the gut to settle right back to normal, and yes, mucus is normal as well as. But, IF it goes on for more than 10 days, then I'd be asking questions. OK?

Yes, IF they have removed polyps, then bleeding afterwards is also normal. I bled the first time (two adenomatous FAP polyps) but not the second time, as nowt was removed the second time. But the third time, the guy only removed scraps of polyps though he reported (Ha!) that he 'found many colon and stomach polyps!) Wonder he 'removed' anything, as he couldn't 'see' what he was doing due to a ***Failed prep.

Yes, I suppose I really need it all done again, but I don't trust em here, at all. Bunch of blithering idiots. So I will not put myself 'in their hands' again.

they let me see it "online" on some LCD they had there lool.

I never thought that i could see me insideout...

Anyway there is the risk, as Molly describe it, for intestinal wriggle if you're not sedated. Happend to me too.

molly,

once again, so sorry for your ordeal.

had remembered how they didn't give you enough time to prep, that is really so important. i was worried when i woke the next morning and the bile kept coming out of me every 30 minutes, was wondering how i might get to the hospital ok, but then it stopped after an hour and a half, just in time to go to the hospital, and then no more, so all ok. being clean so important.

thanks for the info about the mucus and the blood, seems all normal. and the bleeding stopped very quickly anyway, always was a fast healer. my husband had a polyp removed and no blood, so that is what we had based it on. but really no different than what we women go through every month anyway, so not such a big deal.

will be asking doc about the mucus some more. fairly often before procedure. thought it might have been due to the polyps, but still now, 2 weeks later as well, just like before, so will keep pressing docs on the issue, anytime just a little hard there's mucus.

OK, TMI.......didn't start out that way, hard to avoid on this subject i suppose, if only i could be as humorous as dave barry about the whole thing but he did leave us with a good message as to the colonoscopy's importance. in a way, consider myself fortunate that with my moderate gastro issues am checked more often (for IBD stuff) so get the cancer screening more often than others, that's a good thing, a very good thing. of course gastro issues not a good thing, but looking for the positive in it.

can you go back to england for your next colonoscopy? hope so.
i must admit, all of my procedures (both upper endoscopies, both colonoscopies) went very well really. have had very good gastroenterologists, and for that i'm thankful as well.