Serious Question for everyone

[mitch5252]

..
I'm glad everything was fine, too.
And honestly, REALLY glad it wasn't a lampshade!
..

[judi]

I took the pills and drank lots and lots of water. The prep is the worst part but at least you are in your own home and your own bathroom. I put a pillow on the bathroom floor and read a magazine. The best part, just after the procedure (which you are asleep for) is the cozy heated blanket. It sounds like a really awful experience but it's an important thing to do. I have Celiac disease and consequently a greater than normal risk of colon cancer so have this procedure every three years. It's not my favorite way to spend the day but it's really not that bad! Colon cancer is much worse...

[Redwahine]

Ok. Ok. Ok. Thank you for nudging me to call and make the appt. I'm over due for this one. My last one wasn't as bad because I went on a soft/liquid diet 2 days before and clear liquids day before and doc said just use a small amount of stuff the night before. Worked great....not much in there to clean out But, yes, this is important. One of my girlfriends from my high school class never had one and just found out she has stage 4 colon cancer.

[dpf]

ATTA GIRL RED!

[grammynmaggie]

Have appt. with doc today ..to sch. my
test...had my first 3 years ago and polyp
removed....was the kind that could turn
bad...so she said get one every 3 yrs. I only
went cause I was 65 and my dad and brother
both had polyps...so figured I better...and see
what was found...boy everyone needs this test
done...donna

[Sandersmr]

Friend of the family died of colon cancer at the AGE OF 40!!!!!!!!!!!!! Between seeing what she went through and my own sister went through with breast cancer, I believe in preventive testing. Please get them done!

[Deeann]

Regarding the nasty flavors of the stuff you have to drink, the nurse at the doctors office said to throw away the flavor packets that came with the gallon jug and to use Crystal Light instead. The drink still has that heavy, metallic "under taste" to it but the Crystal Light is much better than the flavor packets that come with the jug. Also, the stuff is easier to swallow if it's really cold. You could probably use 2 packages of the Crystal Light if you wanted to do so.

[grammynmaggie]

I think it depends on your doctor what he/she wants to prescribe for the procedure pill or drink
first year I was told I could mix Crystal Light with it.... no mention of that this year so I just drink it plain..... I drank it as fast as I could ..... so it really wasn't that bad.... it was all gone in a couple minutes....

[IrishIroamed]

Laura - so glad everything was OK with your test.

I'm actually far more concerned about the effects of anesthesia on cognitive functions than I am about the possibility of cancer, given my family history. I won't have any optional procedure that involves anesthetics, including this one.

There is a pre-test that can be done yourself. I believe it's a matter of getting a "sample" on a slide and sending it in. Edwards (major hospital in this area) recommends this test as a pre-test, minus the 'look-see', but there must be some sign of polyps or something that shows ~~~then go for the big test.

[judi]

The "pre-test" can sometimes detect colon cancer, but not polyps. It is a test for the presence of blood in the stool. Polyps can develop into cancer so it's important to have colonoscopies. Stool sample tests are diagnostic; colonoscopies are preventive. I opt for prevention!

[dayspring39]

Know this is an old post but wanted to put my two cents in..

My son has had to have several colonoscopy the first was the nasty stuff… since then he has been given a GATOR aid prep… he said it is much easier to get down…

My last one was this spring… I drank as much of the ugly stuff as I could… they tried to do the test and there was some debris preventing the scope… I had to go home and take another whole bottle of UGLY… my daughter stayed with me and we played scrabble and set the timer for every 15 min… horrid experience…

However I had my first before they gave you anything like twilight sleep… just in the doctors office on a table face down butt up… no talk about painful… felt like a broom stick yiked…

lol horrid stories

Kathy Kathleen

[chalet05]

I did have a colonoscopy at last while I was in Kansas in July. What surprised me was that I didn't have to see the gastro doctor beforehand for a pre procedure visit. A phone call with his office and they told me which instructions to follow - I don't know why they have 3 or 4 different ones but they were all online.

A Ducolax tablet followed by Miralax in two bottles of Gatorade (not red). 8 oz every 15 minutes until it was gone and it was a piece of cake! I even got to sleep that night.

Everything was fine.

[avalen]

I need to do this, have never had one done yet. Hope my doctor uses the gatorade recipe.

[IrishIroamed]

The "pre-test" can sometimes detect colon cancer, but not polyps. It is a test for the presence of blood in the stool. Polyps can develop into cancer so it's important to have colonoscopies. Stool sample tests are diagnostic; colonoscopies and preventive. I opt for prevention!

Judi - thanks for clarifying for me. Guess I am clueless about more than just RVs

[Bethers]

I need to do this, have never had one done yet. Hope my doctor uses the gatorade recipe.

OMG, if it tastes like gatorade, I'll never ever do it - that makes me gag.