Colonoscopy Prep
- Thread starter goldmom
- Start date
The point of the prep is to clean you out so the gastroenterologist can see the tissue.
You can. It's called diverticulitis (diverticulosis is the term for the pockets).
Seeds are fine, that's largely a myth. We do recommend a high fiber diet.
Not really.
I didn’t really mind the prep. It was nowhere near as bad as I feared it would be. In fact, I’m thinking about doing the prep procedure once a year just to keep me cleaned out.
Is that a good or bad idea? Does it upset the balance of bacteria in the colon?
You don't really need a clean out every year, but you do you. No, it shouldn't upset the gut biome.
That is the way to do it. Knock both out at same time.
The first one I had was in my late 20s. The doctors couldn't figure out what was going on with my stomach pain so they ordered the colonoscopy. The prep instructions mentioned to fast the day before while doing the cleansing prep but specified that you could eat popsicles so my girlfriend bought me green popsicles to eat. The instructions just said to avoid anything with red or purple coloring.
The day of the procedure, I was laying on my side getting ready for insertion and the amnesiac was just starting to kick in so I was getting fuzzy headed but remember seeing my insides on the camera. I heard the techs/nurses/doctor exclaiming about how my insides were all green and heard them speculate that I had an infection based on that. I managed to say something like "no... I ate a box of lime popsicles; that's the green you see" and the last thing I remember was the entire room of techs/nurses busting out laughing.
The day of the procedure, I was laying on my side getting ready for insertion and the amnesiac was just starting to kick in so I was getting fuzzy headed but remember seeing my insides on the camera. I heard the techs/nurses/doctor exclaiming about how my insides were all green and heard them speculate that I had an infection based on that. I managed to say something like "no... I ate a box of lime popsicles; that's the green you see" and the last thing I remember was the entire room of techs/nurses busting out laughing.
A colonoscopy is more than a finger but honestly I prefer the extra discomfort to the intimacy
Had one last week. Piece of cake.
Seriously folks, don't be scared.
Seriously folks, don't be scared.
Exactly. I've been saying this for years.
The wife (no pic) was schedule for one a few weeks ago. Turns out she’s severely allergic to the primary ingredient in Miralax, which is also the ingredient in the prep. She drank about a cup of the awful drink and almost instantly went into a severe allergic reaction. Turned beet red. Looked like she feel asleep while tanning and burnt to a crisp. Then came the insane itching. When she started having tightness in her chest and difficulty breathing we raced to the ER. A shot of benedryl and a shot of steroid and she was fine.
She’s trying a different prep tomorrow night. Friday she gets scoped.
She’s trying a different prep tomorrow night. Friday she gets scoped.
Had my 2nd one about 5 years ago. The prep was easier than the prep I did 10 years before that for my 1st one. That one was god-awful.
The anesthesiologist woke me up about 5 seconds early and I got to enjoy the "removal". It hurt like hell!
The anesthesiologist woke me up about 5 seconds early and I got to enjoy the "removal". It hurt like hell!
It's only about 90% accurate in detecting cancers
It was originally intended/designed to be used annually or 3 yrs, but due to costs it's set up for only 10 yrs per what insurers will reimburse.
10% is going to be a lot of missed cancers; and it's even worse at detecting polyps, which will become cancerous over time.
It’s covered under my insurance every three years.
My doc recommends it as a viable option for low risk patients.
If they're doing 3 yrs that's better
It was being set up as the same as 10 yr colonoscopy. Which was not appropriate.
Did you figure out what she is allergic to? What IS the primary ingredient in MiraLAX?
I’ve had two colonoscopies. When people ask me what the prep was like I tell them it’s like drinking a freight train. It rumbles through your gut out of control. Then it sees the light at the end of the tunnel. There’s no stopping that train by that point.
My first the physician apparently thought my intestine was a tractor tire and put 50 psi in there. I should have timed the resulting fart. Had to be 30 seconds.
My first the physician apparently thought my intestine was a tractor tire and put 50 psi in there. I should have timed the resulting fart. Had to be 30 seconds.
WTF? You could eat? I was a sack of potatoes in the passenger seat on the way home, and couldn’t eat for hours.
As an FYI, I’ve had three, two of which were combos with an endoscopy. The last one was because some ass jockey didn’t like the view and ordered a double prep. Now that was miserable.
All in all they aren’t that big of a deal.
Yeah I've had several colonoscopies since then and I've never had another instance where I remembered anything beyond them dosing me up and maybe a minute or two after that.
Precision Digestive Care » A Gastroenterologist Cheats on the Colonoscopy Prep
precisiondigestivecare.com
Just had my 4th colonoscopy a week ago. The prep is simply awful, but the procedure is a cake walk. I've also struggled with diverticulitis, leading to this procedure. They're hoping to find scar tissue that can be surgically removed laparoscopically later and prevent future diverticulitis attacks. Follow all instructions before beginning the prep and you'll have less of a struggle. Make plans to eat copious amounts of food as soon as you are released. That was my favorite part of the whole experience.
FWIW, I asked my doctor about that. He said there are lots of false positives and negatives and folks end up with the colonoscopy anyway. He also said polyps that aren't cancerous can still be a problem.
My guy discussed the same thing but said if you get a positive then get a colonoscopy - hope it was a false positive. Non-cancerous polyps can show other signs in stool color, bleeding, long term constipation/diarrhea, cramps, anemia, etc. Keep in mind a colonoscopy can miss things also.
I'd ask them to do the endoscopy first, and then the colonoscopy last,... just in case they've only got one instrument.
And, as I'd already pointed out to him, Cologuard misses nearly half of those pre-cancerous polyps.
Funny,.. I ate like a horse after both of mine,.. was absolutely starving.
Other thing to understand:
Insurance will cover a colonoscopy 100% for "preventive" exams.
Once you have a Cologuard positive (real or false positive) the follow-up colonoscopy is NOT covered under preventive care 100%, and you will owe whatever your deductible is up to the procedure costs.
Any polyps they remove on a preventive colonoscopy are not charged additionally - 100% covered as well.
In network (negotiated rate) costs are $600+; out of network can be at least double that.
If you have insurance with a low or no deductible, then this is no big deal.
If you have a $1000 or more deductible, you will pay fully out of pocket for the follow-up/interventional colonoscopy.
