Posted 6/2/2018 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Here is my Colonoscopy prep day experience
*Try to get an early colonoscopy, so you don't have to drink the prep in the middle of the night or early morning.*
*You will want to put the two bottles of suprep in the refrigerator to get it chilled. You do not want to drink this warm.*
*Get plenty of rest the week and night before beginning prep. You will be up late if you do the 6pm/ 10pm schedule.*
*Begin drinking more water a few days before the prep. On the day of the prep, stay hydrated. I believe this helps so much.*
(People are different in how their bodies react to different things. Your experience could be different from mine.)
I had to begin fasting at 6 a.m. for my colonoscopy procedure the next day at 8:15. I checked with the doctor, and he said it would be okay to eat a very light breakfast before 6 a.m. but absolutely nothing after.
Around 10am, I had a bowl of lime Jell-O. Off and on throughout the morning I sipped on water.
At 12:30 I had a cup of chicken bouillon. I get the Wiley bouillon cubes from the grocery store. The boullion is not bad because it is salty and by that time you are wanting something in the form of a meal or the salt taste. I had about a half a cup of tea to go along with this.
Throughout the afternoon, I sipped on the lime Gatorade alternating it with water.
Around 3 p.m., I had another bowl of Jell-O.
At 4:30, I fixed another cup of chicken bouillon along with tea
along with some sips of water.
After this I stopped drinking liquids because I did not want to be so full from drinking liquids which would make drinking the prep not as easy.
At 6 I poured the 6 oz bottle into the pet provided and added the water to the fill line.
I had read reviews from others giving tips to help drinking suprep easier.
Here is what I had:.
Toothbrush and toothpaste to immediately use after drinking the prep.
A cup of water to rinse out the toothpaste and the rest of the suprep lingering in your mouth.
Saltine crackers to lick the salt off to help you get rid of the aftertaste of the drink.
Another very helpful tip was after mixing the solution in the cup provided, pour it into about four or five plastic cups in order to make it not seem like there's so much and also to make it easier to drink. I put just enough in each cup for about three swallows. (Have your 2 cups of water ready to drink after drinking the prep. Be SURE to drink both cups within the hour!!!!!)
My last suggestion is to have something to watch on TV or if you're at a window, you can look out at and focus on something while you are drinking it. That will also help.
To make the bathroom more comfortable this is what I did:
In case I got sick, I had plenty of plastic bags and my trash can lined with a garbage bag. I also had our small portable ceramic heater in the bathroom in case I got cold. Many people said because you're losing so much fluids, you could possibly get cold. I had my cell phone to keep me company to watch YouTube videos Etc...
Pros of suprep:
It did not make me cramp, get bloated, or get a headache.
Cons of:
When I started at 6pm taking the suprep, it began working in about 15 minutes. I am 5 foot 1 and weigh about a 129 pounds.
It started off slow but after about 45 minutes, things began to, I'll just say, get to moving! Literally, I sat on the toilet 30 minutes. I was in our small bathroom and had my cell phone to watch videos to keep me occupied. I would walk the floor in the bathroom and then have to hurry to get back to the toilet. This lasted about 2 hours before I felt it was safe enough for me to leave the bathroom.
At this point, I was very surprised I was not cramping, bloating, or getting a headache. I had used the gallon prep years ago and found it cause cramping and bloating along with a headache.
I have to say at this point, I was walking around the house feeling good and not having the urge to race back to the restroom. As it got closer to 9, I started getting really tired and dreading the next dose at 10 p.m. At 9:30, I told my husband I'm taking this at 9:40 I'm not waiting till 10 pm. I knew it was going to be a long night and wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
Again, I followed the same procedure as I did at 6 p.m. The difference with this time, was after the first drink, it hit and I had to race off to the bathroom. My husband had to bring the remaining cups of the prep to the bathroom for me. There I stayed again another 2 hours.
By this time it was around midnight, I was really tired and wanted to take a shower. I did and was okay doing that.
I think from sitting on the toilet for so long your muscles everywhere get fatigued such as your your hips, your rear, your legs and at this point, I started getting extremely cold and began aching in my lower extremities. After about 30 to 40 minutes going to bed, I added another blanket on top of me to help get me warm. When I did that, the aches started going away. So I would highly suggest having a couple of blankets if not a heating blanket to help whenever you start getting cold. More often than not, people are getting cold while taking this prep. I even did when I took the other gallon prep five years ago. It's from going to the bathroom so much that causes this. You will get cold and start shaking and I believe that is what causes your muscles to get tense and ache.
I put down a towel in bed just in case I had an accident. I did not have to go to the restroom anymore but had a very difficult time falling asleep for fear I would have an accident. In total, I probably got 2 hours sleep, if that. I had to be at the hospital by 7 pm.
Before going to the hospital, be sure to take extra underwear and pants... Just in case! Also, put something down on the car seat to be on the safe side. It took us about 25 minutes to get to the hospital, and my husband let me out at the door. I'm thankful he did that because I had to go to the bathroom. It wasn't a lot but enough if I had not made it to the restroom, well, I'll just say, it would not have been a pretty sight!!
Once I got changed and sitting on the bed with the IV hooked up, I began to feel better knowing it was just about over. I have fibromyalgia and it affects my upper back, shoulders, and neck. I had already spoken with my doctor about my situation and he instructed me to be sure to mention it to the nurse which I did. Before they let the front part of the bed down, they gave me the happy juice to relax me and I didn't even know they did that. Within 30 minutes, I was looking at a face saying my name to wake up. It was the best sleep I'd had in days!! All I wanted to do was just grab the sheets and go back to sleep! They gave me some water to drink and set me up to get dressed. I was home by 10:40.
Once I was home. I ate a piece of toast and one slice of turkey bacon along with some milk and yes, took a drink or two out of my diet coke!!
Then, I went and changed into my PJs and told my husband to put the phone on "do not disturb", keep the cat away from the door so she would not wake me up, and I'm going to bed!!
(A funny story about this is 5 years ago after I was home from my colonoscopy procedure, I slept for about 4 to 5 hours. My husband got worried about me and came in the room and woke me up. I asked him why did you do that!! He told me, I was getting worried about you! We have had many laughable times about me telling him to never wake me up again when I have another colonoscopy! I even found clip art of Sleeping Beauty and the prince about to kiss her to wake her up. In her mind she is saying, "if he truly loves me, he will not wake me up." I emailed that clipart to my husband while at work! So when it was time for me to have my colonoscopy, I reminded him, do not wake me up!!!)
Day 2: I've had no side effects from the suprep or the colonoscopy. I am gradually eating and watching what I eat for the next couple of days. The reason I am doing this is because I have indigestion issues and don't want to upset my stomach if at all possible.
So, you're probably wondering, is suprep good? It is good in that you do not get bloated, cramp, or get a headache (at least I didn't). I do not have any side effects from the prep such as stomach gurgles, etc... the next day or even the day off.
Now, for the bad part...
This drink has got to be the most horrid, vile, disgusting liquid I have ever put in my mouth. The taste is almost indescribable! It is bitter, acidic, strong, sour, you name it, it's that! I'll just say this, sewer water would taste better than this mess!!
At least with that gallon drink prep, you could chug it down and once you brushed your teeth and swished out your mouth, the taste was gone. Once you were through drinking, you were through. With this prep, it is divided into two doses which is exhausting because now you know what it tastes like and you know about 4 hours later, you're going to have to do it all over again. Thank God I did not have to drink this vile stuff in the morning. I don't think I could have done it. I actually think I 'd have thrown it up.
I will be honest and say the last part I drank, it almost came back up, and I just tried thinking of something else so it wouldn't. I left about a quarter of a cup of this disgusting liquid. I just could not drink that last cup. With great pride and happiness and satisfaction, I poured the liquid down the drain half-expecting to start seeing smoke come up due to the acidity of this vile, horrid liquid known as suprep.
Researchers have improved the prep to keep you from getting bloated, cramp, Etc...
I just pray and praying hard in the next five years they will have improved the taste. In this day and age, they should be able to do that.
What a person has to keep in mind is this is to help not to hurt you in order to find out if you have polyps that can be removed to keep you from getting cancer. That is what you have to keep your focus on while drinking this mess.
I hope my experience and tips help and... You will get through it!
Best of luck to all!