The Colonoscopy

I thought some of my readers would be interested to hear about my recent colonoscopy.

The Pico Salax laxative was mild, I took the 2 doses at required times and did a clear liquid diet all the day before.  The specialist performed the colonoscopy at an endoscopy clinic, instead of at the hospital.  If you are under 75 you can choose to have it done outside of the hospital.  It was a quick, it took under an hour  including processing time.  Daughter L took me and signed that she would be responsible for taking me home.  Waking from the knockout anaesthesia, it must have been laughing gas, I had a feeling of euphoria, that all was well with me and the world.  The best part was knowing it was all over.  Earlier on I remember that the doctor was worrying about the weather in Italy and spoke of Liguria, maybe he was going on vacation soon.  I asked him how soon I could eat afterwards, he said 'immediately, anything I want'.  Outside in the waiting room, the receptionist spoke of her fasting while prepping for her own colonoscopy.  Her hubby made a delicious meal that same night and finished it!  She shook her head in puzzlement, why would he do that?  It was a very efficient procedure, I was impressed with this clinic.  I didn't require a follow up appointment with the doctor, my next colonoscopy is recommended in 6 to 8 years.

Colonoscopy

I have an upcoming routine colonoscopy. In preparation I bought this package of Pico-Salax laxative. My brother told me that was TMI (too much information) for him. However, this preparation was very mild on my system when I used it for my last colonoscopy over 5 years ago. My husband used something different when he did his around the same time and it was brutal in comparison.

So if you are a certain age, I hope this information will be useful to you.

Colonoscopy

In some 'not so good' news, a cousin of mine texted one of my sisters to say he has colon cancer. He will have to have his entire colon removed. He is not even 50 years old. I felt I had to send him a note that I was thinking of him and praying for him. He thanked me. He is married with near adult children. It made another sister feel she should stop postponing her colonoscopy. If you are over fifty, have you done yours?

The Colonoscopy

Well I had my routine colonoscopy last week. The day before, I had to be on clear fluids, like blue jello (I had heard red is not allowed so thought I had best be safe), beef or chicken broth, apple juice, ginger ale, water, coffee, tea (no milk). I got hungry a few times, but it really wasn't too bad. I discovered that I don't mind the taste of black coffee. I always thought I needed to have it with cream.

The day of the colonoscopy, I had to take 2 packets of laxative at specific times of the day. My laxative was called Pico Salax and it really was one of the milder treatments on the market. I only had to mix each packet with 5 ounces of water and it tasted like lemonade.

M sat with me at the hospital, and I ended up having to wait almost 2 hours for my turn. It seemed there were two difficult cases before me. One older lady had two polyps. The anesthetist wheeled me into the treatment room while asking me some relevant questions. The nurse and doctor were waiting inside. Everyone was really friendly and I felt quite relaxed with my few questions answered to my satisfaction. I was given a sedative called Propofol which put me to sleep during the procedure and I had no difficulty waking up shortly after. I was just confused to find myself already back in the waiting room. I would say it's a better sedative than valium or demerol which are sometimes used. I was given the all clear and told that I was the quick, easy case that evening.

M discovered that the hospital had free wireless internet. This is not the case at all hospitals. The nurse told me that the Outpatient Ward has no night shift and as such, all the employees want to work there.

The other thing I would say is that it seems to depend where you go to have your colonoscopy. M did not have such an easy time when he did his earlier this year. He was given a most aggressive laxative and the valium really hit him out.

My 65 year old hairdresser told me he had a colonoscopy booked and he decided to cancel it. Now that I've had it done, I can say it was worthwhile and not that bad of an experience at all. It's recommended for people over 50. If you are all clear, they won't do another one for the next 10 years.

A Worthwhile Test

I have a routine colonoscopy coming up so I went to the drug store to purchase the necessary laxatives for the procedure. The cashier noticed my purchase and we got talking on the subject. She said it's a worthwhile procedure because her poor husband died from colon cancer at 59. He had flu-like symptoms for 2 years but never suspected what might be wrong with him. I told her I was sorry, but she said it was ok, that was 5 years ago. She reassured me by saying the procedure is less stressful than childbirth. Another lady joined the line and declared she had already had 5 colonoscopies and agreed with it being a worthwhile thing to have done. It seems the worst part is having to be on clear fluids only starting the day before the test.

To change the subject, I learned from the Paint Party Friday hosts that you can just use the Google translate button when browsing blogs written in another language. This is a useful piece of information and I started using this feature immediately. What a world Google has opened up for us!