Colonoscopy Tomorrow

[anerissara]

Ugh, I have a colonoscopy tomorrow and I'm really nervous about it! I don't know what I'm more worried about...the nasty prep I'm in for starting at 6 tonight or the procedure itself or the possibility of finding something really scary going on in my digestive tract. I'm sort of a mess!

The good news is that I really like my new gi doctor. I had to wait *months* to get in to see her, but she's really good. She listened to all my issues and she was very knowlegable about celiac's. She said that judging from my symptoms it was probable that I do have Celiac's and she's not recommending (at least at this point) that I go back on wheat to dx for sure. She said that she thinks the gluten-free diet is a really good one for anybody with gi issues, so if I'm doing OK on that she thinks I shouldn't change it. I'm hoping she can help get rid of the D that I still have even on the diet....but at this point as long as I don't have anything serious going on in there I really am at a point where I'm ready to accept the fact that I'll just always have digestive issues and leave it at that. I'm so sick of the whole thing!

Anyway, if it turns out OK tomorrow I will be so relieved. I just wish I could fast forward time and have it over with...I am so nervous!!!!

[dlp252]

Yeah, I had my colonoscopy (and an endoscopy at the same time) last year. I had D and blood, but my colon was very healthy. They thought maybe I had C.Diff, or diverticulitus or polyps or something, but it was clean. The blood cleared up, but the D continued up until just a week or so ago. I did have a stomach polyp though and some esophagial damage.

And, yeah, the prep isn't much fun, lol! The thing I was most nervous about was the car ride over to the surgicenter LOL. The actual procedure itself wasn't too bad. Even the IV wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was sedated enough throughout the procedure that I remember nothing from the time they wheeled me into the room until I woke up in the recovery area. Apparently I was well sedated cuz it took me at least 30 minutes once I was "awake" to really wake up, lol.

[Cruiser Bob]

Well, I get to start my prep. at noon and go in for a scope on both end tomorrow also. I however am not too comfortable with the GI doc, as they screwed up my initial interview and now medical record. They had no idea they were doing a colonoscopy until I called them this morning to verify and I've got a strange feeling the diagnosis will by Chron's no matter what my insides look like, because that appears to be their big marketing push at this time.

We'll see, I still need to get my insides looked at to see what's going on. It's been 7 years gluten-free, 6+ diary & egg free (98%), 4+ years with almost no nightshades. Something is going on between the two ends that affects my whole being.

So tonight there will be at least two of us not having much fun, then tomorrow, then the wait for results, then getting a proper interpretation, then doing my own verfication, etc., etc.

Bob

[anerissara]

I'm nervous about the ride there, too...it's only a few blocks luckily but they have me taking the stuff starting again at 6 a.m., so hopefully I'll make it. dlp252, I'm glad everything turned out OK for you! I've had bleeding, too...it's been traced to an internal hemrroid, but I'm nervous that they'll find something else, too. I'm wondering if they'll say Chron's, for the same reason Cruiser Bob mentioned...it seems to be a popular dx right now. It's comforting that I won't be the only one sleeping in the bathroom tonight...what time is yours scheduled for? Mine's at 10:00. I'm praying that at this time tomorrow we'll both have a clean bill of health...at least as far as they can tell at the time. I am not looking forward to waiting for results, either.

[dlp252]

Well, I'll certainly be thinking of both of you! I think I had to get up at 3:00 a.m. the day I did mine because my appointment was early, lol. That's why I was so nervous about the ride. I think I took a towel with me to sit on just in case.

I thought I would get Chron's too, but nope, they couldn't even do that for me. I DID get the dreaded IBS tag though.

[anerissara]

I'll be sooooooooooo happy if I get the IBS tag, at least that means it's nothing serious and then I can go about trying to find ways to make it better.

But I share your frustration that there isn't a quick or easy fix! I wonder how many other people have IBS *and* Celiac's?

Ugh, here we go....I'm on the first cup of white grape juice and what appears to be liquid dish soap. Same basic ingredients, anyway, according to the label. It doesn't taste as bad as I expected, but then again I'm only 1/2 way through the first cup and I haven't experienced the nasty results as of yet. Wish me luck!

[dlp252]

Good luck! As I recall, I started getting worried because mine didn't kick in right away, but they had me start the morning OF my procedure! Keep some reading material in the bathroom and don't do anything that you can't drop in a hurry.

[anerissara]

Ugh, I can't wait. So far I don't feel anything except slightly sick from the salty taste and the fruit juice, which I never drink because it makes me sick. Sigh. I guess that I won't miss white grape juice after I get through tonight and tomorrow and never want to see it again, since I don't really like it anyway!

[Teacher1958]

I have a colonoscopy in less than three weeks and am really nervous already. My friends say they're a piece of cake, but I don't care for needles or anything invasive. I want to have things checked, though, because I've had symptoms since 1965- nope, that wasn't a typo- 1965. If everything in there is clear, I will be so happy, but once I get a gastroenterologist, he will probably recommend an endoscopy, too.

I had a bone scan today. I asked the technician when I'd receive the results, and she let me see the line graphs resulting from the scan. She emphasized that there's more to it than just the graphs, but at least they were well within the normal (green) range. Maybe my bones have not been affected.

Good luck tomorrow. Let us know how things went. Just think, 24 hours from now you'll be relaxing and it will be behind you.

[anerissara]

WhoooooHoooo! It's over!

And so far everything looks OK. There was an area of inflammation that the dr. thinks could be either just due to the procedure itself or maybe a bacterial thing (microscopic colitis maybe?) but other than that things looked OK. Whew!

And I have to say, the whole process was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be! The prep wasn't fun, but it wasn't that bad either. I was *totally* out for the whole thing and don't remember anything at all. The gas afterwards hasn't been bad either...I guess maybe because of my IBS that I've had for so long having D and gas is just no biggie.

Anyway thanks for all of your support and help, it was good to have some BTDT advice yesterday!

Cruiser Bob, how did it go for you?

[dlp252]

Glad it went okay for you and that things look good!!! Yay!

Teacher, good luck to you as well!