Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Colonoscopy Prep, UGH

Today I had my 4th Big C since about age 55. Endoscopy doc said it was time, since my last one showed a small, but noncancerous, polyp. He also recommended that I use a stronger prep solution, to get a better cleanout than I got before the last big C.

So- prep these past two days involved mixing up, and chugging, an industrial-strength colon-blow chemical call Golytely. Strange name, as there is nothing 'light' about it. It is a prescription order, comes in a 1 gal. plastic bottle with the powdered chemical already in it, all you do is add water and shake.

You have to drink half of the gallon starting at 5 pm the day before your procedure, and the second half starting 8 hours before. This, of course, involves a sleepless night, after no solid food the day before. Lovely. There are no words to adequately describe the taste of this mixture of chemicals, other than awful, disgusting, or gag-inducing. But, it does work- after a few hours, you are on the john, exploding your guts out.

Anyway, my appointment was at 11:30 this morning, and I got home at 2:30 this PM. Report was good, no polyps, and the doc told me that at age 74, no future colonoscopies were recommended! Sweet words to my ears, for sure.

Having lived thru a death in my family due to colon cancer, this procedure is nothing compared to the anguished, painful suffering of this killer. If you haven't done so already, just DO IT!!

Done that,no fun, it beats dying.

Glad you got a good report.
Before my next one, I'm installing a seatbelt on my toilet.

I didn't have to start anything until the day before, although I ate smart the day before that. Liquid diet during the day and the solution that evening and the next morning. The next morning was completely unnecessary and all it did was make me puke. I'm not drinking the morning dose next time. I think a lot of people must think they will starve and eat everything they can for days up until they have to go liquid, and that's why they give you that extra dose.

In the scope of life it's a small sacrifice..pfffft.

When the nurse ask if I had any questions, I asked if I could take Communion the Sunday before the Monday procedure

She said, no one ever asked that before..

I'd keep getting them, if I were you. My Mom had her last at 80 and started having "problems" when she was 95. She had one then and it was colon cancer. The doc who operated got almost all of it but had to take out 8 inches of her colon to do it. She got another 2 and a quarter good years of life out of it.
The doctor she had is the same one that I'm going to. He's retiring this year so I have to find another specialist. Did you ever notice that when you're young, you want an older doctor who's experienced and when you're old, you want a younger doctor so that you don't have to keep changing?

I need to go, can’t wait!

I did this in May. I got the report back that there were two polyps, both negative. They said see you in 5 years. I'm taking that as a win.

The bad part is the prep
Gotta schedule one, been 3 years

Have one every 2 yrs due to crohns disease. That prep tastes really bad. I compare it to boiling a dirty sock & then drinking the water, not that I've done that. No good way to describe the taste.

Ask your doctor about mail-in stool sample options. Sure beats a colonoscopy.

Night of a Thousand Waterfalls

Yep. No schitt! 😜

Reading this reminded me of my FIL. A few years before he passed away, his doc, a family friend, set him up for the 'Big C'. FIL went to the drug store and got the 'clean out stuff'. Now I dont know which 'clean out stuff' he got, but I do know he had to drink quite a lot of it. Day before the procedure, he drank the first glass of the stuff and said it tasted terrible, almost puked while trying to choke it down. He was suppose to wait an hr or so and drink some more. Well, that wasn't gonna happen.... if he didn't like something, he didn't eat or drink it. He said he wasn't drinking NO MORE of that nasty stuff.

Next day he goes in for the procedure and when asked did he drink the 'clean out stuff', he told them he drank most of it. Got him on the table, knocked him out, and when they started, he schit all over the place.

When he woke up, he said Doc came in there and gave him hell.

From what I understand, these stool sample tests are not near as beneficial as the colonoscopy. They will tell you if you have cancer or not. The colonoscopy finds polyps so they can be removed before they become cancerous.

I have had one ever 5 years since age 40. Just finished # 6 last time doc said could wait 10 years, nope back in 5 had small benign polyps pre-cancerous. oops see you in 5 again. Glad I didn't go 10 years.

I have had 3 now and getting close to a 4th. The prep absolutely sucks but it will hopefully catch something early and save our lives. I had a BIL that absolutely positively refused to let a Dr. give him a prostate exam.I know it is different from a colonoscopy but same entrance:) For some reason he had in his head that it would make him less of a man if a Dr put a finger in his butt. A few years after he should have had his first exam he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that was quite advanced. He left 4 grown Kids a wife and 5 grandkids. Just plain stubbornness and fear killed him...sad

Yep, next week. Not looking forward to the prep. The actual procedure not so bad as I get to sleep.

I've had 1 Lower GI (the worse thing about a colonoscopy is the clean out ...... the best thing about a Lower GI is the clean out) and 2 colonoscopies. So far no problems, come back in 10 yrs.