Questions about my first Colon Screening

biplanebob said:
"off to bed" ….. you won't get any sleep. Remember the mantra that old guys live by: "Never trust a fart" :)… been there.
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I agree, never trust a fart. But my prep experience was pretty straightforward. I started with the gallon of cleanser about 8:00 one evening, and drank it a cup at a time over the next 2 (?) hours. It didn't kick in until the second hour, then I vistited the loo every 15 minutes or so. Nothing explosive, but things were definitely urgent when the need hit.

By midnight, everything had settled down (but I was still nervous about trusting a fart), and I slept through the night with no interruptions. Nothing the next morning either, and by 10:00 AM, I was done with the procedure and headed to Waffle House.
 
frfly172 said:
Woke up during my last procedure, was not happy
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It's a fine line between agony and apnea.

Waking up during endoscopy is not uncommon, after all it is considered MAC anesthesia or sedation, not general anesthesia.
 
My prep was a 2 stage process, 32 oz. of prep from 6PM to 8PM, I called that the "cleanout cycle".
The second stage was 32 oz, starting at 3AM and ending at 5AM, I called that the "rinse cycle".
Procedure was at 9AM. In the procedure room' propofal was used to sedate me, I started a countdown at 99 and maybe got to 94, woke up in the recovery room.
By 10:45AM, I was home and having breakfast.
 
biplanebob said:
My prep was a 2 stage process, 32 oz. of prep from 6PM to 8PM, I called that the "cleanout cycle".
The second stage was 32 oz, starting at 3AM and ending at 5AM, I called that the "rinse cycle".
Procedure was at 9AM.
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This is essentially my timeline. Prep was a 16 oz solution followed by a 32 oz water chaser.
 
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my prep started the morning of day 1. By the time day 1 ended, I had nothing left to give and slept well. Procedure was 8 am day 2.
 
Hmmmm interesting "as we go effect"....

The salts in the solution must really be doing the designed osmotic job. Even with the significant amount fluids I took in before and after the prep liquid, I still feel a bit thirsty and continue to take occasional pull on my water bottle.

Feeling okay, no nausea, light head, or any other bad effects the drug fact sheet said to watch out for.

@WannFly ... I think I was sorta expecting a worse experience based on the different stories. But so far, easy simple.
 
AggieMike88 said:
I'm torn between WH or a McAllisters King Club.
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Awful Waffle, no questions asked. You may not remember the meal, so it’ll be like college all over again. Except I don’t y’all had one down on Highway 6 back then.
 
Wait, you're going to take a dose of the cleanout juice in the morning and then get in a car?!?!?! Good luck. All my cleaning was done the night before.
 
Rinse cycle dose taken 30 minutes ago. Now watching a movie as I wait for its effect.
 
Lindberg said:
Wait, you're going to take a dose of the cleanout juice in the morning and then get in a car?!?!?! Good luck. All my cleaning was done the night before.
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Last night's dose came into effect 1hr after consuming and was pretty much done by hour 3.5

If this rinse cycle dose has similar timeline, I should be fine when my ride picks me up at 8:15a.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Last night's dose came into effect 1hr after consuming and was pretty much done by hour 3.5

If this rinse cycle dose has similar timeline, I should be fine when my ride picks me up at 8:15a.
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By now you're just squirting out water anyhow :D
 
AggieMike88 said:
Out of sheer curiosity, I stepped on my scale that can also measure bone/muscle mass and water weight.

Water weight is currently 49.8%. Going to re-weigh in the AM before leaving to surgery center to see what amount of change the prep causes.
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Just stepped on scale. Water mass now down a full percentage point.

And I’m down 4lbs of regular weight.
 
All done, dressed and about to leave. In procedure room for what felt like 10 minutes to me. No discomforts, never felt the camera going in nor exiting. Did feel the inflation and remember them asking me to relax and fart when they were done. Easy thing. Doc did remove a polyp or two for lab analysis.

Will share any follow up details once they are provided to me.
 
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AggieMike88 said:
Will share any follow up details once they are provided to me.
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Did you get tattooed? My last time in the fun house the Doc removed a few suspicious polyps and said he tattooed the intestinal wall so he could find the exact spot again for a detailed inspection the next time around. No pain on that one, either...
 
Skip Miller said:
Did you get tattooed? My last time in the fun house the Doc removed a few suspicious polyps and said he tattooed the intestinal wall so he could find the exact spot again for a detailed inspection the next time around. No pain on that one, either...
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No mention of tattooing. But for you, whenever you are asked about having tattoos, do you include these interior ones?
 
Glad to hear it worked out. My first one was similar, except afterwards I couldn't eat a damn thing for a week. I do credit the colonoscopy for a good ten pounds of weight loss, it came off that week and I have kept it off. I recently had a stomach virus that destroyed my appetite for a week, got me down to my grad school weight, which is where I first started tracking it.

I'm due for another in a few years. I just hope I've enough weight on me to safely loose another five or ten pounds.
 
AggieMike88 said:
All done, dressed and about to leave. In procedure room for what felt like 10 minutes to me. No discomforts, never felt the camera going in nor exiting. Did feel the inflation and remember them asking me to relax and fart when they were done. Easy thing. Doc did remove a polyp or two for lab analysis.

Will share any follow up details once they are provided to me.
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Thanks for posting your experience, can’t really say I am looking forward to mine, but this doesn’t sound as horrible as what I had thought in my mind
 
Skip Miller said:
Did you get tattooed? My last time in the fun house the Doc removed a few suspicious polyps and said he tattooed the intestinal wall so he could find the exact spot again for a detailed inspection the next time around. No pain on that one, either...
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Doc gave him a tramp stamp.
 
Tattoos generally are reserved for polyps or masses suspicious enough that they want to mark the location. The tattoo may be seen by a general surgeon later if or when they decide the mass must be removed by bowel resection. In other words, hearing you got tattooed during colonoscopy is generally bad news.
 
WannFly said:
Thanks for posting your experience, can’t really say I am looking forward to mine, but this doesn’t sound as horrible as what I had thought in my mind
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The procedure itself is nothing. As far as prep, I’ve had worse days after eating something that disagreed with me.
 
WannFly said:
Thanks for posting your experience, can’t really say I am looking forward to mine, but this doesn’t sound as horrible as what I had thought in my mind
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The prep using SurPrep wasn’t bad at all. Lasted about 3.5 hours after drinking and then no additional urges. By end of the rinse dose, it was just passing of water. Most difficult part was the no solid food.

All was pretty simple and no discomfort, especially the procedure itself.
 
Matthew said:
As far as prep, I’ve had worse days after eating something that disagreed with me.
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True this. Bad food created many other discomforts such as major nausea, cramping, and more.

The prep had none of this. Just the urge to visit the bathroom. And that was just maybe 10-15 times throughout the evening and early morning.


Once home, having eaten and a nap, I felt back to normal.
 
steingar said:
Glad to hear it worked out. My first one was similar, except afterwards I couldn't eat a damn thing for a week. I do credit the colonoscopy for a good ten pounds of weight loss, it came off that week and I have kept it off. I recently had a stomach virus that destroyed my appetite for a week, got me down to my grad school weight, which is where I first started tracking it.

I'm due for another in a few years. I just hope I've enough weight on me to safely loose another five or ten pounds.
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Yep, during my turn last November I lost 5 lbs and have kept it off. (not that I really needed to lose any more, just sayin', it's a pretty normal side effect)
 
azure said:
Yep, during my turn last November I lost 5 lbs and have kept it off. (not that I really needed to lose any more, just sayin', it's a pretty normal side effect)
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Was that from the prep, or from after effects? For me it was the latter. I don't eat enough on any normal day to loose 5 lbs from its absence. I do agree, last time I saw you morbid obesity seemed like the least of your concerns. that was a few years ago...
 
steingar said:
Was that from the prep, or from after effects? For me it was the latter. I don't eat enough on any normal day to loose 5 lbs from its absence. I do agree, last time I saw you morbid obesity seemed like the least of your concerns. that was a few years ago...
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Most likely from the prep in my case... followed by a return to my usual titration (food intake based on morning weight).
 
AggieMike88 said:
My first colon screening is scheduled for next week. No issues, but this is one of the "over 50" inspections that's recommended of everyone.

Some solace is that it won't be too long before our good friend Br-y-an will have to do it. And I fully expect the satirical video to document his experience.

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Some questions to gain some hive mind wisdom on the procedure and getting ready for it...

Prep: Was given Suprep as the "full strength" cleanser to consume before the procedure. Any suggestions/wisdom on making this stuff tolerable as I take it? Instructions say mix with water and follow up with 2x 16oz servings of water over the next hour.

Not clear in the instructions if I am supposed to quickly "chug" the prepared dose or if I can take reasonable swallows over a short span of time.


Prep: In additions to the dietary instructions provided by the Doctor and his staff, what other bits of wisdom is there? Lots and lots of hydration, check. But what else?

Anti-Nausea: I was provided a prescription for Zofran to combat any nausea. A search on the AOPA medications database says NOT ALLOWED. So, @bbchien and @lbfjrmd, should I not fill this scrip at all? Or is it permitted to take for this one time use? I know "not allowed" often can be interpreted "you cannot be operated an aircraft while consuming this medication", which I definitely won't be. But what I don't know is if you can take something like this; wait a sufficient period; return to flight; and not get attached to another object by an inclined plane, wrapped helically around an axis.​

I have no idea how I'll react to the prep meds from the nausea angle. The doctor assistant providing me information about the prep had a few suggestions, so I might not need to Zofran. But I'd like know the FAA angle on this if I do need to take it.​

Day Before and Day Of: I think I got a good handle on this.
  • Only consume the clear liquid diet they told me about,
  • Remain very hydrated with water, Gatorade (no red or purple), and fruit juices
  • take my existing medications as they said.
  • And don't stray very far from the toilet.
Post procedure: My procedure is scheduled at 9:00am, so I expect to be home shortly after Noon.
  • I know I'll be a bit out of it from the sedation, but should I ask the person brining me home to stick around for a few hours since I live alone?
  • What is suggested regarding food choices as recover?
    • What can I eat the day of the procedure?
    • What can I eat on the day after?
  • When can I return to normal routine, including exercise on stationary bike.

Reporting to the FAA:
  • Of course the visit to a medical professional will be listed.
  • The procedure will done at one of the "day surgery centers" that surround the local hospital. But do I need to report this as a hospital visit? (Question 18u, Admission to Hospital)
  • How do I report the procedure on MedXpress? (what boxes and such)
  • Should I bring a copy of the results/details to the AME if is (hopefully) "no problems found"
  • If I do choose to take the Zofran, I'll report it. But will doing so create a world of reporting hurt?
  • Any other reporting items to be aware of so to make this a total yawn?

Also pinging Dr. Bruce and Dr. Lou for their input/comments on how to report at the next medical. @bbchien @lbfjrmd
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AggieMike88 said:
True this. Bad food created many other discomforts such as major nausea, cramping, and more.

The prep had none of this. Just the urge to visit the bathroom. And that was just maybe 10-15 times throughout the evening and early morning.


Once home, having eaten and a nap, I felt back to normal.
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so...you enjoyed it? :D
 
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