Have You Had Your Colonoscopy? Get It Scheduled. Not As Bad as Others Have Told You… Get It Done!

It’s s official. I am old! 

I had my first colonoscopy this past Thursday. I was not nervous to do the procedure, but nervous for the preparation for the procedure. It is nothing to be concerned about for the process or the procedure. 

The preparation started two days before on Tuesday evening when I took four laxatives at 4 pm. That night I did spend some time in the bathroom, but again, it was not bad. I did decide to work from home on Wednesday as I was not sure what to expect. Not a bad Wednesday either although good to be close to the bathroom. 

I started the process of trying to get the colonoscopy scheduled back in October or so. I am not sure if the doctor was backed up (no pun intended) or miscommunication with my doctor and referral, but it took a while. Finally, in December I was able to confirm an appointment for January 26. I was all set and ready to go through the process.

As the days led up to the date, I heard from family and friends about how awful the process was and what they went through. Good news is that my friend, Brenda, had shared with me who to go to here in Topeka that she had used and it was not bad at all. I got a doctors referral to use Dr. Challa here in Topeka. While it is a two day prep, I would be drinking Gatorade with the mixture. So, Brenda was right that it was not bad at all.

All that was needed for preparation was purchased over the counter. Again, I had heard others tell me that was the worst part drinking prescribed power with some people telling me they had to force it down. I had no issues with the following:

• Dulcolax laxative tablets 4mg
• MiraLAX 8.3oz 
• Gatorade or PowerAde 64oz

The Dulcolax I took four two night prior to my scheduled appointment. The day prior, I took Dulcolax again at 4 pm and then followed it by drinking MiraLAX and Gatorade combined for 64oz that I had to finish before midnight. As I mentioned, the process was not bad at all other than having to drink 64oz of Gatorade, the process was not bad at all. Usually, I would have no issue drinking a lot of Gatorade, but doing so when have to do it during a certain amount of time did make the last glass or two take a while to go down. 

I went with the Cherry Flavored Gatorade. I had to stay away from red or purple. I also had to stay away liquids in general. One day out and it was an all liquid diet through the day. I stuck to Sprite, Jello, and Chicken Broth. I was surprised that I stayed content through the day and had no issues with being hungry.

The morning of my appointment, I could not eat or dink anything. I was able to brush my teeth. My appointment was at 9 am. I checked in and it was over before I knew it. I was told they found some polyps and I would need to have another one in three years. Awaiting the results from the tests that will take two to three weeks to process.

The basis of this story is to share how easy the process is and that I should have started this five years ago. It was the recommendation to do this at 50, but the recommended age has dropped to 45. If your family has a history of colon cancer, get your appointment scheduled and get it done. It is not bad and can help to keep you healthy.