bowel preparation
"So I wanted to write this all out in hopes that it might help someone who was in the same boat as me facing the colonoscopy prep: filled with pure anxiety and fear! In the past, I tried only the GoLYTELY, enemas or dulcolax— all of which made me extremely sick. Based on my previous colonoscopy experiences I was so incredibly frightened that I would be in pain, writhing on the ground, nauseous and weak, feeling like I was going to throw up for hours on end. All those fun things. I think I most definitely had PTSD from my past. I scoured the internet recently looking for any tips from people and I gathered all of them into notes for me to follow the day of prep. I AM SO GLAD I DID. I can now say that I am no longer fearful of the prep and believe me that’s very hard to believe I’m saying that. Here’s my experience, I have no idea if it will work with every single person reading this, but I hope that it will provide some comfort. My doctor decided to give me SUPREP this time because there is less quantity that needs to be consumed. The few days leading up to the prep I ate a somewhat low fiber diet. On the day of the prep, I had a light breakfast-eggs and white toast and tea. Then throughout the day, I had chicken broth and Jello—just to keep my food intake up so I wouldn’t feel like I had such an empty stomach. Then an hour and a half before the first dose of the SUprep, I took prescribed medications Zofran to prevent nausea and Ativan to help with anxiety. Then at the scheduled time, I drank the first dose of the SUPREP. I made sure it was chilled in the fridge (which it has to be cold) and I had a straw to sip it, which helps. Now here’s where the important part came in. This stuff does not TASTE GOOD. I am not going to sugar coat the way it tastes. However, I equipped myself with lemon slices and gatorade and every time I took 3 sips of the prep, I quickly put a lemon slice in my mouth or took a sip of gatorade and swished it around my mouth. This helped with getting the taste out of the mouth. I have no idea what I would have done without those lemon slices. This actually was the most important tip of all. Then I drank my water and applied Desitin on my bum. This was the second important tip. This prevents the pain and soreness from all the wiping and BM’s. In the past using enemas or dulcolax, the BM’s hurt so bad and were so explosive, but these were not—they were warm and fairly gentle coming out most of the time. I had good BM’s for quite a few hours and then was even able to watch a few movies on my computer! Then I slept for a few hours and did the exact same routine again with the second dose, not forgetting to take the nausea and anxiety medication before drinking. This was a completely different experience than last time and I am so thankful I found these tips. I hope this helps someone out."