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Well, I made it through my first colonscopy this morning and received an official diagnosis of IBS. I was pretty scared to go through the whole process, but I swear, none of it was as bad as I thought it would be.

My prep started yesterday morning by not eating anything but liquids, so basically a fast. At 2pm I had to start downing 1 eight ounce glass of Golytely every 10 minutes. I mixed the medicine with two tubs of lemonade crystal light. I am glad I decided to go for the crystal light because I think the Golytely would have been unbearable with out it. With the crystal light, it tasted like lemonade with a salty after taste. I just chased it with a sip of plain, cold water, and it was fine. I also drank it through a straw.

It took about an hour and 4 glasses of the medicine for my bowels to begin emptying. It wasn't explosive at all, in fact it wasn't unpleasant. I've felt much worse with just my normal IBS symptoms. No cramping. So once I started going I literally stayed on the toilet for the next three hours. I could've gotten up, but I didn't want to wipe too much, and since the urge would hit me really suddenly, it was helpful just to be on the toilet. My husband was kind enough to pour my glasses of medicine, and check on me regularly. The worst symptoms for me was the nausea when first downing a glass of the stuff, but it would pass with some slow deep breathing through the nose. I had plenty of reading material in the bathroom to keep my occupied throughout the process.

I stopped two glasses short of finishing the entire gallon of Golytely because my stool was clear (actually yellow from the food dye in crystal light), and because I was getting really full and nauseous. The bummer was, I kept having to hit the bathroom for the next 4-5 hours, even though I stopped the medicine. It was hard to rest comfortably. And my heartburn flared up bad - I think because my stomach wanted food.

I slept fitfully, with a lot of rumbling in my gut, heartburn, and the occasional need to hit the toilet. In the morning my husband and I headed to my doctor's office. Everything was super efficient - I immediately got undressed in a gown and layed down on the bed. I had three nurses and my GI doctor. The covered me with a heated blanket, which was nice.

After putting in the IV, they put on heart moniters, and oxygen on my nose. Then I had to roll over on my left side. The sedative started through the IV, but I didn't really feel it that much. I found it hard to talk, but I was still awake. The proceed was uncomfortable in some spots and painful in others, but nothing was excruciating, and the nurses were so nice. It was over in about 45-60 minutes, but it felt a lot shorter to me.

I was also suppose to get an endoscopy, but when they went to put the scope down my throat I kept gagging and resisting (yes, even with sedation), so they doctor decided not to push it. I am really disappointed in this because heartburn is one of my worst symptoms, so I really wanted my doctor to see what was going on.

All said and done, my doctor says I have a beautiful, healthy looking colon (gee thanks) and diagnosed me with IBS. She recommended a couple medications to manage my IBS symptoms, namely Ametriptyline and some anti-spasmadic med (don't remember the name). She didn't pressure me, but said I should think about it.

All in all, the colonscopy experience was not that bad, even the prep. No cramping with the colon cleansing, and only some nausea from gulping large amounts of liquid. And I didn't get the chills like I was told I would, so bonus. The hardest part for me was fasting - I fasted for 36 hours, which was hard on my system.

I love that coming home from the colonoscopy, I feel normal (for me). Even the gas after the procedure wasn't bad at all. The nurse kept asking me to roll around and use the toilet to release gas, but there honestly wasn't much. No pain afterwards at all. Just some dizziness and tiredness from sedation.

I hope this eases the minds of those who still have to get through a colonscopy. I do feel relief for knowing there is nothing seriously wrong. I just hope I can find a way to feel better someday.

Edited by frygurl (10/09/09 12:37 PM)

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