As many of you know, I have Ulcerative Colitis. It’s a chronic illness that attacks the good old colon. Because I have this lovely illness, I get to have a Colonoscopy every 2-5 years. My number is up, people. I have to have a full Colonoscopy this week. For those of you young enough to never experience the joys of this yet, this blog is for you.
Some of you revel in my misery, so this should be enjoyable for you.(See Chillin’ With The Weasel and Where oh Where did My Weasel Go? for proof).
Two days before the procedure the rules are easy. No nuts, raw fruit or veggies or popcorn. Chinese it is.
The day before is when it gets interesting. No solid food of any kind. Cool. Ice cream and pudding? No. CLEAR fluids only. But, but… Okay, fine. I can live on Jello (even though I hate it) and Chicken broth. I’ll be okay. The hunger pangs can be pushed aside because the beauty of this process is looming at high noon. That’s when shit get’s real. Literally. You see, in order to have a proper colonoscopy (one that you don’t want to have to repeat) you have to clean out all six FEET of your colon so they can snake a camera up there and have a good look see.
With what shall I cleanse it? Dear, Doctor, Dear Doctor? They gave me these bad boys.
That there is an 8.03 oz container of Mirliax that needs to be mixed with 64 oz of see through fluid (no red or purple) and 4, yes 4 Dolcolax. My colon actually cried when I picked that up.
The real ‘fun’ starts with two of the pills at noon with water…then two hours later the Toxic Gatorade. One glass every 10-15 minutes! It will take about 2 hours to finish the drink they say. AFTER that is done, then I take the other two pills with more water. Drinking that much, that fast, makes you sick. Like wanting to vomit sick. Add the ‘movement’ issues that the are the end result of the Toxic Gatorade and you can be assured a very miserable day.
How do I plan on getting through this hell? With a good book and a lot of ultra soft Charmin.
The day of the procedure you can have nothing. Nada. Zip. No soup for you! On the plus side, they MAKE you have someone drive you to the hospital, because A. Your weak with hunger and loss of body mass but more importantly, B. you will be going under and you can’t drive home after cause you don’t remember who you are or what planet you are from. True Story.
Thank GOD I have a great friend who will help me in this most humiliating time. She alone will get to witness the joy of Danielle waking up from anesthesia. (I’ve told her I’d kill her if she posted any pics or videos. Only I am allowed to make fun of myself). She’s going to be my brain when mine won’t be working.
Then, after it’s done and you finally get to crawl carefully into your bed, you get to deal with a day of tremendous gas and cramps. You see, they fill your colon with air in order to get that camera up and around the 6 FEET of your colon, and all that air needs to come out. Oh, she is such a good friend to volunteer for this miserable job. Thank you Kari!
I’m hoping to have no complications and that the procedure will give me a positive outlook on my illness, but In the meantime, wish me luck. It’s going down…and then out.
Danielle Bannister, Author 
Sounds awful, good luck! I am by no means “regular” in that arena, but nothing ever indicates a real illness, so I’m pretty lucky I guess.
But my brother has suffered from the disease for several years and he is only 25. I know he has a lot of good and really bad days, and eats a fairly plain diet (lots of bland food; my mom actually made up meals for him while he was in college, to eat at the dorm). To top it off, he’s also gay. So I can only imagine–or I’d actually rather not imagine–the role the disease plays in that part of his life.
I have bad anxiety and panic disorders, so I guess we’re all dealing with something. Again, good luck! 🙂
I had several ‘bad’ years. Then I got a new GI doc, new meds, and life has been much easier to live with. And yes, we all have our demons, don’t we?
I’ve gone through this several times because of my history of Diverticulitis, so I feel your pain. Be brave and remember…Life is like a sewer…what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.
Hahaha
Looking to schedule my next colonoscopy for July. Every five years for me. My family has a history of colon cancer — my mum is a survivor — so the powers that be keep a close watch on my sibs and myself. First colonoscopy was pure misery, not looking forward to this one.
It is not fun, that’s for sure.