u/sorcha1977

This was a nice surprise this morning. :) I just hit 115 a couple weeks ago.

Hi everyone! I had my first colonoscopy today, and I wanted to share my experience for those who are curious.

1. I'm 49 years old.
2. I had a good friend with me.
3. I didn't follow any special diet in the days preceding. Some doctors won't let you eat nuts or seeds, or they have you eat low-fiber foods, so read your instructions carefully. My doctor didn't tell me to avoid anything specific. I had trail mix on Saturday and Sunday, so I was a little worried, but it ended up okay.
4. Monday was prep. I woke up and had some white grape juice and a couple lemon-lime Jello cups. I was supposed to take four Dulcolax pills at 3:00 and then start the Miralax and Gatorade combo at 5:00. I got impatient just waiting around, so I started at 2:00 instead.
5. I didn't feel anything after the Dulcolax tablets. I was watching a documentary on Netflix, just chilling on my couch with more white grape juice.
6. I drank the first 28-oz Gatorade with half the bottle of Miralax. I ended up drinking it in thirty minutes instead of doing it over the course of an hour. Again with the impatience lol.
7. I still didn't really feel anything, other than a few small gas rumbles moving through. I was kind of worried, but then the second I finished the first bottle of Gatorade, I felt like I could possibly have a bowel movement. It wasn't emergent or crampy. Just a feeling like I had to use the bathroom.
8. I had a couple of solid BMs, followed by some diarrhea. Nothing crampy. Nothing painful. The clear liquid diet REALLY helps with this. I've had much worse experiences after eating really greasy food (no gall bladder).
9. I drank the second bottle of Gatorade, which was difficult since my stomach was still so full from the first. Since it was already working, I went slower with the second bottle and just kind of sipped at it.
10. The bathroom visits were only occasional after the first few. I was shocked at how quickly I cleared out. It was honestly impressive to the point of hilarious. The liquid was clearish-yellow on the fourth or fifth visit. It was FAST. After that, I only had to go maybe once per hour, and only if I ate more Jello, so I stopped eating. I didn't want to be up all night.
11. To keep actual hunger at bay, I did strain some chicken soup and only drank the broth. That helped a LOT. I was pretty full after slamming all that Gatorade, plus I was drinking Sprite because I knew the bubbles would keep me "full".
12. I was completely finished around 11 PM and able to fall asleep at midnight.
13. I woke up at 8 and stopped all fluids at 10. My appointment was at 2. I didn't have any gas or diarrhea this morning and only drank water up until 10.
14. Check-in was a breeze. They had me do a urine pregnancy test and then set up an IV. I had a private room, which was nice. As soon as the IV was in place, they had my friend come into the room so they could tell him what was going to happen. He was allowed to wait in there for me. Then they wheeled me on the gurney to the procedure room (super fun, like floating).
15. The nurse in the procedure room took my vitals again, attached a couple of leads, and had me lay on my left side. She tucked a blanket behind my legs to help me stay comfy in that position and told me I would start to feel sleepy soon. I was wide awake, and then all of a sudden I felt this weird floating sensation behind my eyes, and I was out. No countdown or anything. Just out lol. I do remember thinking, "Oh, this is it," because that was NOT the normal sensation when falling asleep. I knew the drugs were worrrrrkkkkkkiiiiinnngggg.
16. Apparently, I woke up before I actually woke up. Meaning, my friend said I was looking around and even answered a nurse's question, but I didn't have actual consciousness of what was going on until I looked over and saw a Coke, crackers, and cookies next to me. I said, "Oh wow. Snacks!" and he said, "They gave you a list of pop, and you said Coke sounded amazing." I have absolutely zero memory of that, which makes sense since they gave me propofol. My voice was a little woozy, and I do remember telling him that I sounded drugged but felt completely fine. I shook myself a little as I sat up, and then I was lucid. Just like that. My voice was back to normal in a few minutes.
17. I got to have Coke, graham crackers, saltines, and Lorna Doone shortbread. Yum. I'm glad I didn't have to wait much longer to eat. I wasn't hungry yet, but man... it was great being able to eat real food again.
18. As soon as I finished eating, they took out the IV port, checked my BP again, and had me sit up on the edge of the bed for a couple minutes. I was able to get dressed once they confirmed I wasn't dizzy, and we were off. Again, I was completely alert, not even woozy. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could drive, but I was definitely myself. It wears off FAST. My friend and I were walking and joking like nothing had happened.
19. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant. I haven't eaten that much in ages. I spoiled myself and didn't even care. I was worried it might make me sick or cause more diarrhea, but that was three hours ago, and I'm completely fine.
20. I'm still not groggy or anything like that, but I do feel like I'll fall asleep quickly tonight. It's more like full-body relaxation. I feel like I went swimming and had a nice nap. :)