Question I have. is are you at high risk or family history of colon cancer? how old are you? if younger and low risk is the option of doing the "poop test". Where they sample the poop and look for something in the lab to determine if cancer is found or something. The negative result is pretty reliable. They do tend to have a false positive rate which would only mean that you would have to undergo a colonoscopy.
I am just mentioning it so that if yo are low risk and really concerned about the colonoscopy, then you might want to discuss with your Dr the "colo-guard" or other maker of the stool/fecal test.
However if you are at higher risk or are having some sort of symptoms then by all means the best way with the most difinative answer will be to do the colonoscopy. No doubt about it.
Hi - Actually, I've had 4 colonoscopies, a few endoscopies (GERD, gastritis and H Pylori) and another surgery since I've had hypothyroidism. My resting HR runs between 53 and 57, as a rule, and BP is all over the scale - sometimes really low, other times high.
I wouldn't dream of having a colonoscopy without sedation. The anesthetist will make sure everything is okay during the procedure and if anything does go wrong, they will abort the procedure.
I'm not sure what prep instructions you were given and I'll apologize in advance if what I'm about to write is TMI. :-)
Be sure to talk to your doctor/nurse and follow the instructions they give you because what my doctor required may be different from what yours requires.
What/when you can eat will, most likely, depend of the time of day for the procedure. I was allowed to have broth, coffee, tea, white grape juice, etc the day before until 8:00 pm. My doctor's office gave me an instruction sheet that contained a list of foods/drinks I could have (nothing red, orange, blue, et) and when I had to start the special "diet", along with instructions for the rest of the prep. If you have an instruction sheet, it's important to follow it to a "T" in order to get the best results. My procedure was in the morning, so I actually had to start the clear liquid diet the afternoon prior to my prep day.
The last colonoscopy I had was in July 2020... prep consisted of a bottle of Magnesium citrate, followed by 2 Dulcolax, followed by 1/2 gallon of a Miralax solution to be guzzled according to a specific schedule. One tip I might offer is if you have to do the Miralax solution, be sure to mix in some lemon flavored Crystal Light (if allowed per your instructions). For previous colonoscopies I only mixed the Miralax with water and couldn't get down most of the last 3 glasses. Adding the Crystal Light allowed me to get down all but 1/2 of each of the last 2 glasses.
If you tend to have a problem with constipation, you might want to eat plenty of fiber and drink lots of water in the days prior - if you're constipated when you start the prep, it seems to be more difficult to get "clean". I have a history of flat polyps, which tend to be harder to find and are more likely to be cancer, so it's important to do a good prep. Also make sure you drink plenty of water during the prep to stay hydrated because the prep can dehydrate you pretty quickly.
Last tip: relax, trust your doctor and his team. It will be over before you know it. Good luck; I hope everything is good.