Colonoscopy and prep experience

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I'm supposed to have an upper GI and colonoscopy next week. I have never had a colonoscopy. Just trying to get some feedback :
Did you have to drink the entire gallon to know if your bowels were cleaned out enough ?

How long did it take after you finished the prep to get it out of your system ? In other words how long for the bowel movements (diarrhea) to stop ?

Any post procedure complications OR infection that required antibiotics ? etc...

Would anyone mind sharing their experience whether be it positive or negative ? And any tips would be greatly appreciated as well ? Thank you in advance.

 

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@HueyHuckabee I didn't have any complications or infection, it just took a few days for my bowels to get going again. My clean out was more or less finished the night before, the enema I had on the morning of the colonoscopy didn't achieve much. It does help to drink a lot as you don't want to become dehydrated. I can't say that I enjoyed it! But I have had worse procedures done. Good luck with it, cheers Phil

 

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Phil

Thanks for your reply. So no pain or infection, that's good to hear. Prior to the procedure, when did you have to stop eating ? And how much were you drinking to replace what you lost ? A gallon ?

 

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@HueyHuckabee by late evening the day before I was only having clear soup. I don't remember how much I drank, something like a pint per hour while the clear out took place, so it would have been heading for a gallon!

 

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Just as with ANY procedure there are risks.

I have had several colonoscopies over the years. I only had one problem; that was severe pain afterward and a severe Restless Legs Syndrome attack. The doctor I had used for many years was about to retire, so I think he was losing his skill. I guess it's possible to have too much experience.

CAUTION: There is significant risk with "sodium phosfate" preps. They take water and electrolytes from your blood plasma, which can lead to serious damage. Instead, ask about "GoLytely". The surgeon might complain, but better that than losing a kidney or dying. Here is a link to better explanation of this risk:

clickable text

This site explains how the 2 categories of preps work. Notice the story about how a smaller woman almost died from taking the normal dose of phosphate prep.

It is very important to drink lots of water with the safer preps, because they do not take water from your plasma. If you don't drink enough water you won't be clean enough. Just read the story for a better understanding.

May God bless you and protect you.

Chuck

 

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I had mine about 9 yrs.ago. Had to drink about a gallon of that stuff in about 1-2 hrs. Started to work in 1 hr.,lasted for several hrs. Procedure took about 45 min. You need to fart before they send you home. Ate normal next day.

 

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@artiejr

Thanks for your reply. So hypothetically if you take the prep say at 4 am, how long from that time would you think the diarrhea would stop ?

 

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My doctors gave me very specific, printed instructions as to how much to drink at a time, beginning at what time the evening/afternoon before the procedure, and how much had to be drunk in total. Be prepared to be "going" several times during the night before the procedure, and perhaps a bit in the morning, too, depending upon what time you began to drink the solution. I have had several colonoscopies over the years, and the preparations changed from one time to another. For my last one, I had to eat only soft foods, no red meat, and nothing else red or orange (for example, beets, orange soda) for 24 hrs. before the procedure. This should have been spelled out very clearly in the instructions your doctor gave you. If you did not get this information, I strongly recommend that you call the office and request all of these instructions. I was given an amnesiac along with general sedation, so I have no memory of the procedure itself. You may expect to have a lot of intestinal gas for a few hours afterwards. I had no residual pain or infection from the procedure.

 

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I agree with Diana. You need to have specific instructions on what to eat and not eat. If you don't follow these instructions, the procedure may need to be rescheduled for a later time and you would have to start all over again. No fun!

 

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I also agree with Diana. I had one done just 3 weeks ago or so and the day before the procedure I could only have clear liquids and at a certain time I had to stop. Then at 7pm I was to drink a glass of the prep every 15 minutes until it was gone. I threw up the last glass. My body could take no more. I don’t know why but my “clean out” was pretty mild compared to what others have experienced. The day before my most recent surgery one of my best friends had one and could eat yogurt, eggs and some other things. He said his prep was horrible and was going all night. Mine stopped a couple hours after I threw up that last glass.

Long story short ask your doctor all preps are different

 

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The diarrhea would probably last 4-6 hours, then tone down a bit, but would continue for several hours. It all depends on the individual. No fun, but usually once every 10 years. Procedure usually starts the night before for the test

 

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@Diana

So you did not have any post procedure complications like pain or infection. That's good.

You mentioned to anticipate a lot of post procedure gas. I'm guessing that is due to the introduction of gas into the GI tract ?

 

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@justej

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

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@artiejr

If the diarrhea continues for that long then would that not have an effect during the procedure ? What happens if you have diarrhea during the procedure ?

Let me give the scenario :

5 am : prep poison drink is finished.
9 am : Procedure begins

Do you think the diarrhea would be over in time ?

 

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@Diana

Thank you for sharing your experience. I wanted to mention that the hospital did not give me any instructions other than drink a prep the night before and morning of procedure however reading a few replies it appears some may not have read my post accurately and misunderstood

 

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I had it the 2nd time and was not as bad as the 1st.Good luck

 

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@justej I, too, threw up part of the prep liquid before my next-to-last colonoscopy. Before the next one, the MD told me to ignore the instructions and start drinking earlier, but drink less each time. Everything stayed down that time. By the way, I have been told that after one has turned 70 years old, if there are no anomalies, one has had one's last colonoscopy unless symptoms appear. I think the theory is that colon cancer grows so slowly, that something else will kill you first.

 

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@HueyHuckabee If you have diarrhea during the procedure, that is their problem, not yours, although I daresay the procedure will be aborted and will have to be repeated later. The fact that you were not given detailed instructions says to me that the hospital is seriously deficient in patient education, which does not reflect badly upon you. A patient, especially one who is having a procedure done for the first time, should not be expected to know all of this.

 

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@HueyHuckabee Re. gas, the answer to your question is "yes".

 

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@Diana

It's not too smart for them to introduce gas into your GI tract after having multiple diarrhea bowel movements.

They should allow for more time between clean out and the introduction of gas into the GI tract.

I hope it gets out of my system before the introduction of the gas.