Colonoscopy report — all good, no polyps. Different components of procedure (warning, some gross bits) follow:
1) 2-3 days beforehand switching to low-fiber diet was fine, though a little weird, since it’s sort of the opposite of how I normally eat. Lots of white bread and pasta, chicken and fish okay, only vegetables thoroughly cooked to mush, etc.
2) Day before procedure clear liquids only — we stocked up on white grape juice and apple juice, jello (no red, blue or purple), hard candy, clear chicken broth (it’s okay to take regular chicken soup and strain it; it doesn’t have to be perfectly clear, or at least that’s what various internet searches told me) — this was fine too. I HATE being hungry so I basically didn’t let myself be hungry — any time I started feeling hunger pangs I ate or drank something. It helped to have sweet and savory options to switch between. Could’ve also done popsicles or lemon ices, though again, no red, blue, or purple. (Can be mistaken for blood on scope).
3) Prep liquid — gah. It’s weirdly awful and hard to drink, though I’m not sure why — kind of salty, just barely. I don’t know. I kept it chilled, drank through a straw so it could go in the back of my mouth and I could mostly gulp it down without tasting it too much, drank 8 oz. at a time, with 10-15 minutes in between, so over the course of an hour drank half of it, then six hours later, did the other half. (Started around 4 p.m., then again around 10 p.m., which had me going to bed around midnight, for a 7 a.m. procedure the next day.) Ended up keeping a hard candy in my mouth (Jolly Rancher Green Apple) so I could get a break from the flavor between gulps. It helped.
I couldn’t get it all down — by the tail end, it was late, I was exhausted and on the verge of throwing up every time I tried, and the internet had told me that if I’d drank at least 75% and my stool was liquid and yellow, I could stop, so I did.
Next time, I’m going to ask for the pills instead. I did ask about them, but my family practice doc isn’t comfortable prescribing them, so she had to refer me to the gastro folks, and I have HMO insurance, so it was going to be two months before I could get in to see one who took my insurance, and it just all seemed more trouble than it was worth, so fine, I did the liquid prep. But hopefully never again, yuck.
4) Morning of, no water (you can have a sip with meds if needed). The only rough bit here was that I didn’t realize I’d need an IV, which meant a needle in my hand, and I have some trauma around those from too many needle sticks (some of them bad) during cancer treatment, and I hadn’t braced for it, and I was probably somewhat underresourced from a day without real food, so I ended up getting weepy. The nice nurse got me a warm blanket and Kevin came and held my other hand, and it was all okay, but still, icky.
5) Then I fell asleep from the anesthesia, and I woke up and felt fine, if a little groggy, and Kev brought me home, and I ate leftover Thai food and leftover birthday cake, and fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon. Next one scheduled in ten years.
I’m taking it pretty easy this evening — mostly lying around reading The Fourth Wing, because apparently YA is all I can cope with right now. In the last few days, I’ve watched:
• all of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (8 episode season, good)
• Geek Girl (10 episode season, also enjoyable and rather sweet)
• City of Bones (movie, not great, wouldn’t necessarily recommend, but fine to watch when half-asleep; I haven’t read the book it’s based on)
I did manage to attach a jump ring and necklace to the silver hagstone pendant I made, and I have to say, I think it looks kind of badass, especially with the dragon tattoo.
Good symbol for a colonoscopy day, I guess. I did a hard thing. Go me.
