- Mem,
So I had to have one today and I will go thru the process.
They tell you you need to have someone bring you and take you home. Since I am new to South Florida I had to have a service they recommend do it. It set me back $60 plus tip, but that was what I figured a taxi ride to the place would cost anyway. They don't allow you to take regular taxis. They actually put you out for the procedure which is great because you do not feel anything.
The prep was the hardest part. The prep kit was $65 so I called to see if there was anything cheaper I could use. The lady said yes, get Magnesium Citrate, not the red label one. You have to avoid anything that may have red #40 food dye in it (my guess is that it may look like blood in the colonoscopy). 4 laxative pills, an 8 ounce bottle of Miralax and 2 liters of yellow Gatorade.
In the morning you can eat something lite. I had toast with margarine. No butter/milk products allowed that day. No solid food that day. You mix the powder with the Gatorade at 11 AM and put it in the fridge. Drink the Magnesium Citrate at 12 noon. It tastes like salty lemonade. At 1, 1:15, 1:30 and 1:45 you take a laxative. At 3 PM you start drinking the 2 liters of Gatorade with the Miralax powder in it.
After 12 noon you will be in the bathroom every half hour. Once you take the laxatives you will be in the bathroom between every 10 to 15 minutes. There will come a point where you will be passing the liquids thru your ass for several hours. I went thru 2 pairs of underwear thru splatter problems. The urge hits you faster than you can get to the bathroom. Eventually most of the water you expell will be Gatorade colored.
You can drink clear juices with no pulp, soda, bouillon cubes in water, and Jello (lime, pineapple or lemon) just about everything else has red #40 in it. After 12 midnight you can not have anything to eat or drink. Not even a sip of water when you wake up. People who take meds can take a small sip. I was worried because I was not scheduled till 11:30, but luckily it was moved to 9 AM.
They bring you in a room with 5 stretcher beds. Then they tell you that you will be put out and start an IV. So I ask the lady how long it takes to be put out, she said right away. So I'm looking at the clock and I am not getting tired. Half an hour later I ask why the IV is not working. She tells me that the IV is a saline solution and that is not the anesthesia. She said the anesthesia was not deep kind like for an operation. It was a like a twilight sleep and I would come out of it quickly after the procedure.
They take me to another room, but the doctor is running late. Eventually they put an anesthesia injection in the IV. I think "how long is this going to take to wor" and before I can finish my thought I am awake in the recovery area. I hear them talking to the lady next to me. I can't see her because there is that curtain dividing us. The doctor says that she did not do her prep right. He said something about her system being still dirty.
The doctor then came in and said the I had some inflammation and he did a biopsy, but did not see anything else wrong, and then I came home with the transport service. I felt fine enough to drive home, but I guess for legal reasons they can't let you.
So the worst part is the prep, and not being able to drink anything from midnight the night before.
They tell you you need to have someone bring you and take you home. Since I am new to South Florida I had to have a service they recommend do it. It set me back $60 plus tip, but that was what I figured a taxi ride to the place would cost anyway. They don't allow you to take regular taxis. They actually put you out for the procedure which is great because you do not feel anything.
The prep was the hardest part. The prep kit was $65 so I called to see if there was anything cheaper I could use. The lady said yes, get Magnesium Citrate, not the red label one. You have to avoid anything that may have red #40 food dye in it (my guess is that it may look like blood in the colonoscopy). 4 laxative pills, an 8 ounce bottle of Miralax and 2 liters of yellow Gatorade.
In the morning you can eat something lite. I had toast with margarine. No butter/milk products allowed that day. No solid food that day. You mix the powder with the Gatorade at 11 AM and put it in the fridge. Drink the Magnesium Citrate at 12 noon. It tastes like salty lemonade. At 1, 1:15, 1:30 and 1:45 you take a laxative. At 3 PM you start drinking the 2 liters of Gatorade with the Miralax powder in it.
After 12 noon you will be in the bathroom every half hour. Once you take the laxatives you will be in the bathroom between every 10 to 15 minutes. There will come a point where you will be passing the liquids thru your ass for several hours. I went thru 2 pairs of underwear thru splatter problems. The urge hits you faster than you can get to the bathroom. Eventually most of the water you expell will be Gatorade colored.
You can drink clear juices with no pulp, soda, bouillon cubes in water, and Jello (lime, pineapple or lemon) just about everything else has red #40 in it. After 12 midnight you can not have anything to eat or drink. Not even a sip of water when you wake up. People who take meds can take a small sip. I was worried because I was not scheduled till 11:30, but luckily it was moved to 9 AM.
They bring you in a room with 5 stretcher beds. Then they tell you that you will be put out and start an IV. So I ask the lady how long it takes to be put out, she said right away. So I'm looking at the clock and I am not getting tired. Half an hour later I ask why the IV is not working. She tells me that the IV is a saline solution and that is not the anesthesia. She said the anesthesia was not deep kind like for an operation. It was a like a twilight sleep and I would come out of it quickly after the procedure.
They take me to another room, but the doctor is running late. Eventually they put an anesthesia injection in the IV. I think "how long is this going to take to wor" and before I can finish my thought I am awake in the recovery area. I hear them talking to the lady next to me. I can't see her because there is that curtain dividing us. The doctor says that she did not do her prep right. He said something about her system being still dirty.
The doctor then came in and said the I had some inflammation and he did a biopsy, but did not see anything else wrong, and then I came home with the transport service. I felt fine enough to drive home, but I guess for legal reasons they can't let you.
So the worst part is the prep, and not being able to drink anything from midnight the night before.
Last edited:
uch: Not fun
