I thought as I review many other things here on my blog I may as well review and share my thoughts on having a colonoscopy. Hopefully anyone having to go through this procedure may find what I have to say informative and also it may, if you are like me a slight stress head, set your mind somewhat at ease.
I had been contacted with dietary instructions to prepare me for the procedure, so after reading them I pretty much starved myself for 2 days, only having 2 x small portions of scrambled eggs, oh and some Jelly Babies, however not the blackcurrant ones, as laid out in the instructions.
On Friday I had to go for a pre-op assessment and give a history, get told about the procedure and then I was given instructions about how to take the pre-procedure preparation. Basically these sachets marked A and B you have to mix in a litre of water and then drink approximately 250 ml every 15 to 30 mins. You then have to mix another batch a few hours later and follow the same instructions and drink that too. I managed to drink approximately 1800 ml, however I just couldn't finish the last glass, the stuff is fucking horrible and made me feel so nauseous.
At first I thought " man this stuff isn't even working", however as my stomach started to cramp, the stuff began to work. I thought I was going to turn inside out. Following taking the stuff at approximately 15:30 PM I was up until past 4 AM and felt decidedly dodgy. I awoke at around 7 AM and as soon as I had a drink, the stuff started working again with a vengeance, no poo just like having a wee out of my bottom.
I had an appointment through at Bishop Auckland for 10:45 AM so I couldn't have anything to eat of drink 2 hours before the procedure. I was feeling pretty worn out at this point and embarrassingly worried I might shit myself on the way to the hospital, well when I say shit myself I mean wet myself as OMG! there couldn't be any more crap up there.
Arriving at Bishop Auckland hospital I have to say that all the staff upon the ward were very friendly and professional. They immediately took care of me, a nurse getting details out the way and taking my blood pressure and weight, and explaining the whole procedure. I kind of tuned out when she had to explain the potential risks, as it was freaking me out. It's bad enough someone sticking something up your butt, without there being the potential for risks. The nurse then inserted a needle into my Right arm as I had opted for sedation.
I was offered sedation and you can bet your life I was going to take it. I am a pussy when it comes to these sort of procedures, so I wanted to be out of it as much as possible. The nurse explained that I would be awake throughout the procedure, however relaxed. My heart sank at this point, I thought I would be knocked out. "Man up I told myself"
I was then led to the changing room to get changed out of my clothes and directed to put on these huge blue shorts with a flap at the back to gain entry to my ass, and 2 gowns, one to be worn forward the other to the back. Once this was done I was then taken to the waiting room.
This bit was awful and I could feel myself getting "panicky", with all the this stuff going around in my head. My internal voice firstly coming up with negative scenarios and then to be countered by positives. The negatives were winning at this point and I even had thoughts of just saying "Nope I don't want to do this", standing up grabbing my gear and just going home.
Finally it was my turn, another friendly nurse came along introduced herself and took me along to the room where the procedure was to be carried out. Upon entering the room there were two endoscopists, both of whom introduced themselves and then went over my personal information. One of the Endoscopists asked was I having sedation ?, and whether I had ever had one of these procedures before. I stated Yes I was and No I hadn't, she then asked me how I was feeling. I was honest and told her "Stressed". The endoscopist was very supportive and showed great empathy and reassured me which helped a lot.
I had been invited to sit on the edge of the bed and take off my shoes, well shoe from my Left foot and I then popped off my prosthetic leg. I was prompted to lay on my Left side in a sort of fetal position and I was provided with oxygen via a nasal cannula. One of the endoscopists then connected the cannula in my arm and I was given a sedative.
Whilst the sedative didn't knock me out it did really relax me. I was also given the opportunity to use some gas\air and encouraged to use this. The Endoscopist then began the procedure, which whilst uncomfortable particularly when she had to inflate my bowel with some air and then use what felt like a mini jet wash to try and flush the area. It felt no worse than having what I would describe as a slight swelling, or bloated feeling, a bit like having a stitch. It didn't last long and truth be known the procedure was not half as bad as my imagination had conjured up.
In the past I have had a couple of Endoscopy's, the first I opted for no sedation and it was horrendous, like someone shoving a garden hose down my throat, something I would never do again. The second endoscopy I had I opted for sedation and I didn't know anything about it until and nurse woke me up with tea and biscuits.
Following the colonoscopy I was taken on the trolley I had been lying on to the recovery area. I was invited to have a cup of tea and a snack, however I just wanted a drink of water. I was there probably 20 to 30 minutes, then invited to get dressed.
Following getting dressed a nurse came over to discuss the colonoscopy results. Apparently the pre-prep horrible drink stuff had not cleared everything in my bowel so it was difficult to see all the way in. The results with what could be seen were that I have some areas of inflammation and the endoscopists said this could be colitis.
I now have to await a further appointment for another colonoscopy, this time having to complete an extended preparation, something I am dreading more than the camera up my ass. I just hope it doesn't taste or make me feel like that other stuff. I mean I know it's going to make me explode on the toilet, it was just that other stuff was so hard to get down. At least now I know what to expect and fingers crossed the news from the biopsies taken this time around, which take around 5 to 6 weeks to come back will be all good
A huge thank you to my dear old dad for running me around to appointments and being there. I know whenever I am poorly it takes its toll on him too.
So in ending, anyone going through this procedure I would say, it isn't as bad as you may think. The drink preparation is the worst part and obviously the waiting to find out results.
