Anyone Have A Double-decker?

[skbird]

I saw my GI today. He was nice and listened pretty well to my ongoing symptoms that have not cleared up from eliminating gluten and some other foods, basically a lot of IBS symptoms. He said yes, sounds like IBS (ha, really, can't they come up with anything else???) but basically that it is a motility issue. Did a little exam and found some blood in my stool, which reinforced what has been happening to me for him.

Anyway, said it could be that I'm just going to have this for the rest of my life but we should check to see if I have anything going on in there, so colonoscopy followed by an endoscopy in the same procedure. We joked about the fact the two scopes don't meet in the middle...

So next Thursday, the 6th is the day.

I'll let you know <she types, as she doubles over from another stomach cramp...>

Stephanie

[Lisa]

Stephanie:

I had one exam, then the other two weeks later.

I don't understand what the motility issue is?

I have had several friends (not celiac disease issues) have the double exam at the same time and they seem to feel OK with it.

If there is blood in your stools, it is very important to have the Colonoscopy, as I am sure you know. Hermoroids can be caused by Celiac, as many can attest to, due to acid and constant diagr. which may rupture causeing blood in the stool, or wiping. But rule out other causes.

Relax, stress can amplify your symptoms. I wish you well on your tests and I will be thinking of you on Thursday.

Lisa B.

[skbird]

His comment about motility is that in some people their intestinal motility is just that their colon misfires and doesn't transport the "goods" effectively. Sort of like just being uncoordinated. I told him how I've taken anti-spasmodics and they don't seem to do much of anything but make my head ache. Suggested going to an allergist after this if the scopes don't come up with anything and see if other foods are a problem.

I told him my main objective (which he actually asked me) is to determine if I'm just going to have to avoid all these foods forever or if there is any reason or rationale behind my having to keep avoiding more on a regular basis. He said we will be able to determine if there is anything specific causing this, or if it's just ideopathic. That 85% of IBS patients respond to treatment, 10% sort of do with diet modifications, etc, and 5% just plain don't and that he hopes I'm not in that 5%.

I don't have a very stressful life, honestly, so I really can't attribute my symptoms to that. Though I'm not getting my monthly massage these days, as I have been paying extra for medical tests lately...

Stephanie

PS thanks for the support. I hope it all passes like a dream (that I don't remember)...

[Lisa]

Trust me, you will not remember. Please be sure that you take an active family member with you. You will remember the pat on the arm and the "it will be ok" from the GI dr. and that's about it.

Who ever takes you, please tell them to take notes (husband, family member, or good friend). They will tell you about what they found during the proceedure, but....YOU WILL HAVE NOW RECALL, due to the demeral or whatever sedation they give you.

I asked my husband questions about it for about three weeks. You talk, you walk, you speak but the comprehension is not there. He jokes one me, knowing that I have had conversations with people that I just don't remember.

If you go under with demeral or something, please ask your significant other to take detailed notes as you will want to know them after you get out of your "fog".

Take care and best of luck. Lisa B.

Sorry that you are in pain, but working toward the reason, keep that in mind.

[VydorScope]

I have Enodscopey and Colonospy at the same time, then a year later a second endoscopy, and my 2 year old son has had an endoscopy.. I jguess that makes me an expert...

few commnets in random order..

I would DEFINTLY get them both at once... usally only have ONE copay instad of 2 if you do that (mine is $500 so thats a BIG deal), plus you only have too prep ONCE for it. So its just better, IMO, on you to do it once.

DO NOT GO ALONE. Reschedual if you have to. You will want some one htere you TRUST and that is firaly good at INTEROGATIONS. Talk to that person ahead of time about the things you want them to ask, make them take notes, and have them ask all those questions for you, PLUS write down the answers. As Lisa says you will rember NOTHING of what the doc tells you, and he knows that so he wont spend much time with you at all. So even if you think you will... he thinks you wont so he will gloss over as much has he can to get to the next client. A trusted 3rd person can grill him, and since the 3rd party WILL remeber (err hopefully) docs are more inclined to chat. Do not however drop that pore person in there cold, breif them as much as you can so they can ask inteligent questions in response to the doc's answers.

Its a NOTHING procedure from your point of view, at most you will MIGHT get a sore throat. You will however have alot of gas to pass. Just accpet it, its a fact of life.

[Lisa]

Stephanie:

As said before, you will have a sore throat for several days and some gas from the back side ( I didn't have that).

Let us know how you did. This is a small family, getting big, with losts of people in your shoes. We are all with you.

Lisa B.

[happygirl]

I had both done at the same time My doc jokingly referred to it as "We'll go in one end, then flip ya over and go in the other end." My husband found that rather amusing. I didn't remember anything. I had a list of questions that I wanted answered that I had my husband ask. This was all waaaaay before we thought about Celiac (although it would have been nice if the dr. had though about it!).....I didn't have any problems, just a bit tired. Hope yours goes well-I know it will!

[psawyer]

I had both at the same time because the doctor wanted to be sure everything was covered. That was just over five years ago (June 2000). The colonoscopy found nothing. The endoscopy (and biopsy) found severe villi damage: Celiac Disease--which is what we suspected.

I was sedated, and remember nothing of the actual procedure, which was done first thing in the morning. There was no pain or discomfort afterwards, although the doctor did warn me of possible sore throat and gas. I had neither. My wife drove me home. I felt a bit woozy for the rest of the day.

Don't worry, it should be fine.

[Glacier Guy]

I too had both done about 5 years ago and didn't have any problems. I was allowed to have it done without being sedated. It took some real concentration when the entered for the endoscopy, but I was able to watch the colonoscopy on the monitor and that was quite interesting as I was able to ask questions and listen to the doc as he did the scopes. I wouldn't recommend not being sedated to everyone, but for some reason I didn't mind a little discomfort as a trade off for being able to be alert.

Good luck to you. I would definitely do them both at the same time.

Tom

[pixiegirl]

Hi Stephanie,

I'm going to have both done in November (living in an area with a small community hospital they are backed up and that is the soonest I can get it). I've been so ill that I honestly can't wait to have them in hopes they will turn up something (easy to fix I hope).

I saw my GI doctor yesterday and she said when she does them she likes her patients "comfortable". I asked what that exactly meant and she said, as long as your BP and heart rate are fine I like you completely out. She said the prep day is WAAAAAY worse then the actually scoping, so be prepared for that. She did say I was only going to have a modified prep day because I have the runs right now about 7 times a day!

I've been gluten-free for a year (although with no formal diagnoses) so they won't be looking for signs of Celiac on me but just about everything else. I do have the option of starting to eat gluten again if I'm looking for a formal Celiac diagnoses but the Dr. said that was my call, she does believe I'm at the very least, gluten sensitive.

Anyhow good luck, but from what I hear, you'll be fine!

Susan

[BabySnooks]

I saw my GI today. He was nice and listened pretty well to my ongoing symptoms that have not cleared up from eliminating gluten and some other foods, basically a lot of IBS symptoms. He said yes, sounds like IBS (ha, really, can't they come up with anything else???) but basically that it is a motility issue. Did a little exam and found some blood in my stool, which reinforced what has been happening to me for him.

Anyway, said it could be that I'm just going to have this for the rest of my life but we should check to see if I have anything going on in there, so colonoscopy followed by an endoscopy in the same procedure. We joked about the fact the two scopes don't meet in the middle...

So next Thursday, the 6th is the day.

I'll let you know <she types, as she doubles over from another stomach cramp...>

Stephanie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had both tests done simultaneously in July and it was not a problem. As others have told you, your person who accompanies you needs to listen to doctor carefully when he gives his findings after the test.

Good luck with your tests!

Sharon

[skbird]

Thanks for all the info and experiences! The nearest appointment was Dec 13, but they looked on the books and saw a cancellation for next Thursday and I said, go for it! I have been having a lot of stomach problems lately, for the past three days I have been having waves of spasms or cramps in my stomach area. I don't know if it's small intesine or large intestine, and it prevents me from wanting to eat because that often makes it worse right away. The GI didn't seem to be bothered by the fact I have been gluten free for a year, without any testing, which was nice. He said he'd still take biopsies but I don't suspect he'll find anything there that is a problem. Who knows?

Anyway, I have asked my husband if he's ok with taking notes, etc, and he said, sure, but didn't think it would be that important, IE the doc would tell me everything. Sigh. But he'll do it anyway.

What are some good questions to ask? Are they more reactionary questions, (like the doc sees something or whatever and the my husband can ask about it) or are they more pointed, like "my wife always complains of pain and spasms here..."

Just curious.

I do think the prep is going to be tough. I am hypoglycemic and don't do well without food, and juice will be really difficult for me because it will make me feel worse. I'm thinking chicken broth all day, and some water. What all have you guys had that was decent? Maybe if I make some gelatine with stevia or something, that will help.

I have done bowel flushes for alternative med cleanses (like liver flushes) with epsom salts but I always get hungry.

Oh, and the day after, I'm going out of town for the weekend. It will be a relaxing weekend, a four hour drive in the car, etc, will that be ok?

I'm still laughing at the doc calling this a "double-decker." Sounds raunchy...

Stephanie

[Wandering Hermit]

It's nice to hear that folks had decent endoscopies, because I had one 6 year ago and it was the worst experience of my life. Sedation my a$$. I was extremely aware of what was going on and I gagged and choked and flopped and the doc was yelling at the nurse to pump more drugs in my IV. I remember every detail like it was yesterday.

The rest of the day is a blur, though.

So I am very nervous about my upcoming endoscopy in 2 weeks. Hard not expect more torture. I hope that was a fluke experience last time. I'm already nervous.

[Carriefaith]

I had both done, but not at the same time. Please ask to be put OUT 100%.

I was not put 100% out for mine. At the hosptial I go to, people frequently get the endoscopy done with no sedation at all. When I went in, they weren't even going to give me any I'm like, can I please have some? So they gave me a little, however, I was fully awake for the whole thing and felt and remembered everything. For the colonoscopy, they give some sedation, but not enough to be completley knocked out. Unfortunately, I was awake for the whole thing and felt everything. To be honest they are not pleasent experiences and it would be best to be knocked out so you can't feel or remember it.

[pixiegirl]

Carrie are you in Canada?? I have heard that they go a lot lighter with the sedation there.

I think how far under you go under is Dr. dependant, my GI doctor told me that as long as my heart rate and blood pressure stay stable I will be totally out for the procedures, she said she prefers it this way, but she did say some doctors prefer the patient more awake. I've never heard of anyone around here having an endo without sedation, yuck.

Susan

[Jen H]

Hey Stephanie,

I was allowed to drink Gatorade to prepare for my colonscopy. It was before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, so I'm not even sure if it's gluten-free. I also drank chicken broth. My doctor gave me a list of clear liquids that I could drink until 4 hours before the procedure.

Susan, I think you mentioned you live on Cape Cod. Who's your GI doctor? I have Dr. Koehler.

Jen

[pixiegirl]

Hi Jen, Dr. Koehler is my Dr. too. I saw her for the first time last week and was really impressed with her. On top of that we personally got along quite well so I feel really comfortable with her.

Susan

[jenvan]

steph--

let us know how the ol' roto rooter goes

[Carriefaith]

Carrie are you in Canada?? I have heard that they go a lot lighter with the sedation there.

Yes, I'm in Canada and they do seem to give less sedation here than in the states, from what I hear anyway. When I was at the hospital, they said about 50% or so of patients do the endoscopy with no sedation at all. I might as well have had none myself when I had mine done, I felt and remembered everything.

[floridanative]

Stephanie,

Good luck to you tomorrow and thanks for your post! While reading your notes I decided to call my Outpatient Center where I'm having my colonscopy this Thurs. too. They said they could do the biopsy when I was out with the other test. That will save me $250 so I'm thrilled! Another anti-body level came in three times higher than normal so now that's two blood tests showing I could have celiac disease. My dermatologist said it was better to have parasites but after that it would be Celiac as the next best thing after parasites. I don't even know if parasites can cause the bloating, gas and cramps I have occasionally.

Anyway, for Wed. I'm having lots of chicken broth and also some jello (not red or purple you know!) because when I can't eat I like to feel like I'm chewing and the only thing we can have that we can sort of chew is the jello. Also, I'm having Gatorade hoping that will give me a little energy as I had to stop my iron pills last Wed.

I wish us both a totally non-memorable event regarding the actual tests and I hope we both get badly needed answers to what's going on with our bodies.

Take care and let me know how it goes.

Tiffany M.

[skbird]

Tiffany - so we'll be going under the same day. OK, I'll definitely let you know!

I'm pretty excited about it, I love this kind of stuff. I wish I could be coherent for it so I could see my insides, but know better...

Up to four hours before the procedure you can still have something to drink??? Sheesh, I was told nothing after midnight, not even water. Bummer. I'm going to be fried.

I was talking to my mom about it - she and my dad have both had colonoscopies (mom's mom died of colon cancer, and my dad has had two because he had a polyp) and she said the room isn't big enough for a note-taker. She also said her prep started at 3pm the day before, not 7am. I wonder if that's because I have an endoscopy also?

I bought some gelatine yesterday that I will sweeten with stevia, not sugar, and some orange flavoring. I am thinking that if I avoid all sweets, I will not be as hungry. I also am trying to figure out what to do with broth - it says clear, which I take to mean non-cloudy, not colorless, and I have several kinds on hand. I wonder if it should be fat free? Sorry for the pun, but the directions seem pretty anal in comparison with what other people have listed here.

I am curious why red jello is out but cranberry juice or grape juice is ok? I mean, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Anyway, I am already trying to cut down on my food these days as I know that when I am eating less in general, I am less likely to be hungry overall. Plus I am still having spasms in my stomach/belly button area. I don't know what that means, and I have been having them for nearly a week, plus lost about 5 pounds. Sure glad I'm getting this done now and not Dec 13...

Stephanie

[floridanative]

[

Up to four hours before the procedure you can still have something to drink??? Sheesh, I was told nothing after midnight, not even water. Bummer. I'm going to be fried.

I didn't post that about 4 hours before the test. I can not have anything including water either after mindnight Wed. I also can NOT have anything red or purple including juice or jello on Wed. My prep stuff I don't even drink until 5:10, 5:20 and 5:30 pm and then same drill at 8 pm Wed. which I think is very late. But my Mother said she and Daddy always had those same instructions. I am to show up at 7:30 am Thurs. I was told I could have the bullion cube chk broth (Wed.) which is what I prefer so that's what I got.

Best of luck to you! Here's to not remembering anything painful!

Tiffany M.

[skbird]

Wow, I'm getting "reamed" - you don't start drinking the stuff until 5:10 pm???? I need to call and doublecheck on this, I'm going to be starving. And I don't go in until 8:45 the next morning.

I was told grape, apple and cranberry juice were ok, because they don't have sediment. But that doesn't make sense if red and purple jello are out.

Oh well, I'll see if I can get a better answer from them. Here's to an uneventful "cleansing" and non-memorable scope!

Stephanie

[floridanative]

Yes - my instruction sheet says no green salad OR veggies for three days before the test (started that today) and no red or purple juices or jello. Drinks listed are Gatorade (nor red), apple juice, sprite, gingerale, black tea and coffee. Food is jello and chicken or beef broth. I'm not to have anything else all day Wed. Then my test is at 7 am the next morning. The only thing your instructions say that is odd is that you can have cranberry and grape juice. Wonder why I was told not to have that?....

Anyway, I just got my prep kit tonight and I had to buy 100 Dulcolax tablets to take just one! What a rip-off. Basically that's $23 for one pill because this is hopefully my first and last laxative. I do know that the worst part of this will be drinking the mix and it must be pretty bad since I'm only to have 1/2 an ounce with 4 ounces of sprite or gingerale....how bad can one ounce of something taste? Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Good luck!

Tiffany M.

[Jen H]

Hey guys,

That was me who posted about drinking liquids up until 4 hours before my procedure. I had my endoscopy at 2:30 in the afternoon, so I was allowed to drink clear liquids until 10:30 a.m. It's because it was a late appointment in the afternoon and the doctor didn't want me too dehydrated. Just out of curiosity, do you guys know if Gatorade is gluten-free? I don't remember the details of my colonoscopy. I just wanted it over with. We'll leave it at that. I hope all goes well with your procedure.

Jen