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Kenny, do some research on the stuff they give you drink to clean out the gut -- some are dangerous.

I went through both these procedures in May and because my oxygen level fell so low they had to wake me up so that I would breath deeper.
Needless to say my gastroenterologist set me up with an appointment with a sleep doctor. Alas, because of these procedures I was found to
have moderate to severe OSA. I became a hosehead in June but didn't find out about this forum till July. I wish I had known about this
wonderful group of people before I got all my equipment. Oh well, live and learn.
Good luck with your procedures.
Jan

I'm just adding one more name to the list of locals who have had both-enders with no ill effects. i'm surprised how many of us there are.

Pour the Half-litely into apple juice. You won't taste it at all. I think i mixed in a little ginger ale with the apple juice. Also my prescription was for Nu-litely which required a gallon of liquid to drink it all so I asked the pharmacist and she was able to give me Half-litely which was only a half gallon to drink. Much easier. As for the two procedures, I never felt a thing. I was nervous about the endoscope going down my throat, but I didn't even have a sore throat when I "woke up". I wasn't nervous about the colonoscopy because I've had them before. I also have anxiety and panic attacks and the Versed cocktail worked out fine for me. It's not a big deal procedure at all.

yes, ask for the most healthy stuff..

I asked the doc that.. "what is the most healthy prep?"

she said VERY GOOD QUESTION.. she said most people dont ask!


Im so sorry I forgot what I took, but its the one you can split in two days or do it one day..

some of the preps work faster, but maybe very hard on you..

good luck!

I've had three colonoscopies with no meds - - - none before, during, or after. It was easy and no pain.

Best prep: Liquid diet for one to two days, then Fleet's Phospho Soda one tablespoon twice a day on the day before the procedure.

I've had both, but not at the same time. After my endoscopy last year the doc said I fought them the whole time but I didn't remember anything.

Fleets Phospho Soda has been taken off the market. Patients didn't follow the directions to drink enough clear liquids and there were some kidney problems, etc. It was my favorite prep because it was the least amount of "sewer water" to drink.

My next favorite prep is Magnesium Citrate. More "sewer water" to drink than the Phospho Soda, but considerably less "sewer water" to drink than w/the Lytely products.

Which takes us to the gawd-awful Lytely products. *urgh* Half Lytely is the best of a bad lot. Half as much "sewer water" to drink (thank gawd!) and the best tasting (????) of the Lytely offerings.

MiraLax is gaining some followers. I haven't heard any complaints about taste - but still the HUGE amount of fluid to drink. Plus the additional clear liquids.

Also they've found that the cleanest colons are those that did the split dose method and underwent the scope 4-6 hours after the last prep dose. More than 6 hours and the colon starts collecting chyme from the small intestine intefering w/visibility.

I've had both procedures multiple times, some the same day, others not. I prefer no sedation, just a littlel demerol. I like watching the monitor (and bugging the gastro w/questions *wicked grin*). How comfortable or uncomfortable the colonoscopy is is directly related to how skilled the doctor performing the procedure is. And this is one time where the more procedures they've done doesn't necessarily mean the more skilled they are. Most don't like to do unsedated colonoscopies because they take longer - if they are done right. Its faster if they have you sedated, robbed you of your memory, they can just move that scope on thru, yuo aren't going to remember the pain. Even if you are screaming for them to stop they don't have to since you are sedated you aren't "competent" to make that decision. And that HAS happened, one more than one occasion in this country!!! I've never found it that painful. It does get uncomfortable for me about midway thru the transverse colon but then I have a redundant transverse colon and women tend to have longer colons than men. Before the mid transverse colon and once around the hepatic flexure its a piece of cake to the ICV. The ICV is a bit of a trick too. Most scopes on the Continent are done w/o sedation. US doctors want to squeeze in 2-4 more procedures a day so sedation is faster and easier for them.

The upper endoscopy is much the worse of the two procedures if done w/o sedation. I have a real strong gag reflex. But I still prefer no sedation even for the upper.

okay, maybe you guys have bigger colons than gals. but I would like to say, that first turn was a humdinger,
and I dont think I have felt any sort of pain like that in my entire life....

However, I was also told that NOBODY would end up with a perforated colon if they didnt take the meds, as they would jump off the table
and start choking the doctor before it got that far.. I think I was almost there!

be sure to get the concoction that doesnt damage your kidneys!

nice to hear the two parter was the best, I thought so.. I think I started it at dinner time, finished at bed time, only had to do two doses in the
morning, and I was DONE.. I think i would have died if I had to drink it all in one day..

sleeping through the night was a godsend of a break..

Physician wrote:I've had three colonoscopies with no meds - - - none before, during, or after. It was easy and no pain.

Best prep: Liquid diet for one to two days, then Fleet's Phospho Soda one tablespoon twice a day on the day before the procedure.

Fleet's Phospho soda has been linked with causing damage to kidneys. Neither my oncologist nor my gastroenterologist would recommend it.

tattooyu wrote:I'm more worried about the prep giving my palpitations and what-not, but at least the Trilyte has electrolytes in it to help replenish some that is lost. Still, I'll have some Pedialyte on hand.

What you'll need most likely is a lot of reading material for the bathroom.

A colonoscopy tech once told me that they usually did the procedure even on people who had not prepped and she hated it because it was seriously messy when they did that. She told me that a lot more people forget to prep than you would imagine and that they can't afford to cancel them when they get them in the room to do the procedure. Now you really need to be dedicated for a job like that!

Endoscopy 2002 Jun;34(6):435-40

Patient pain during colonoscopy: an analysis using real-time magnetic endoscope imaging.


Shah SG, Brooker JC, Thapar C, Williams CB, Saunders BP. Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy, St. Mark's Hospital, Harrow, London, United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Colonoscopy is generally perceived as being a painful procedure. Contributory factors are: stretching of the colonic wall and mesenteric attachments from looping of the instrument shaft, overinsufflation, the degree of torque or force applied to the colonoscope shaft, and patient pain threshold. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of pain episodes experienced during diagnostic colonoscopy and the corresponding colonoscope configuration, utilizing real-time magnetic endoscope imaging (MEI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive outpatients undergoing colonoscopy were studied. Patients with previous colonic resections were excluded. Procedures were commenced with antispasmodics only, and patient sedation was self-administered whenever significant discomfort was experienced, using a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) syringe pump. All "demands" were correlated with the MEI record, which was subsequently analysed.

RESULTS: A total of 650 demands were recorded in 102 patients. Seventy-seven percent of all demands occurred with the colonoscope tip in the sigmoid colon, 7 % in the descending colon, 6 % at the splenic flexure, 5 % in the transverse colon, and 4 % in the proximal colon. Ninety percent of all pain episodes coincided with either looping (79 %) or straightening of the colonoscope shaft (11 %); presumed overinsufflation being an infrequent cause of pain (9 %). Of the loops encountered during colonoscopy, the N-sigmoid spiral loop was associated with the majority of pain episodes (56 %). Looping was both more frequent ( P = 0.0002) and less well tolerated in women than in men ( P = 0.0140).

CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to document pain at colonoscopy accurately. Looping, particularly in the variable anatomy of the sigmoid colon, is the major cause of pain, especially in women. Use of MEI may improve pain control by facilitating the straightening of loops within the sigmoid colon, and by enabling the endoscopist to target patient analgesia.

PMID: 12048623 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

jonquiljo wrote:What you'll need most likely is a lot of reading material for the bathroom. ...

AND some Tucks or other medicated wipes (nothing w/alcohol, baby wipes are good)

jonquiljo wrote:... A colonoscopy tech once told me that they usually did the procedure even on people who had not prepped and she hated it because it was seriously messy when they did that. She told me that a lot more people forget to prep than you would imagine and that they can't afford to cancel them when they get them in the room to do the procedure. Now you really need to be dedicated for a job like that!

That is absolutely unethical, not to say it isn't done far too often. Endoscopy units USED TO then submit the patient to enemas prior to the procedure. Most now DO send the patient home and reschedule. The scope is wasted if the colon isn't clear, the patient is put at risk, visibility is seriously restricted and things that NEED to be seen don't get seen. If no polyps are seen the patient is told they don't need another scope for 5 to 10 years. If there are polyps present but not seen .... another case of colorectal cancer laying in wait undetected.

Gastrointest Endosc 1996 Feb;43(2 Pt 1):124-6

Why is colonoscopy more difficult in women?

Saunders BP, Fukumoto M, Halligan S, Jobling C, Moussa ME, Bartram CI, Williams CB. Department of Endoscopy, St. Mark's Hospital, London, England.

BACKGROUND: In our experience colonoscopy in women is more difficult than in men. A retrospective review of 2194 colonoscopies performed by a single experienced endoscopist (CBW) showed that 31% of examinations in women were considered technically difficult compared with 16% in men.

METHODS: To investigate a possible anatomic basis for this finding, normal barium enema series from 183 female and 162 male patients were identified. From these barium enemas, measurements of colonic length and mobility were independently taken by two physicians who were unaware of each patient's gender.

RESULTS: Total colonic length was greater in women (median, 155 cm) compared to men (median, 145 cm), p = 0.005, despite women's smaller stature (p < 0.0001). Although there were no significant differences in rectum plus sigmoid, descending, or ascending plus cecum segmental lengths, women had longer transverse colons (female median length, 48 cm; male median length, 40 cm), p < 0.0001. There were no differences in mobility of the descending colon and transverse colon between the sexes, but the transverse colon reached the true pelvis more often in women (62%) than in men (26%), p < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONS: Colonoscopy appears to be a technically more difficult procedure in women. The reason for this may be due in part to an inherently longer colon.

PMID: 8635705 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Slinky wrote:Fleets Phospho Soda has been taken off the market. Patients didn't follow the directions to drink enough clear liquids and there were some kidney problems, etc. It was my favorite prep because it was the least amount of "sewer water" to drink.

.

It's available, as is the tablet oral form. Fleet's removed the bottles because of the concern of dehydration and stones. The prep is so easy.