Colonoscopy

[Califa75]

I am new to your site, and I am very glad to have found you all. We are an extraordinary tribe.

I'm writing for the first time though I have suffered from IBS (or something like it given a different diagnosis) all my life. I was on a FB page, but I gave up on social media before the last election. Anyway . . .I'm writing to ask if anyone else has had similar experiences with colonoscopies. I had one about 4 years ago and it changed (worsened) my body ever since. Nevertheless, my doctor insisted I have another one since 2 little early polyps had been removed. There is no history of colon cancer in my family. So I just survived a very unsuccessful second attempt and could't go through the whole thing. My body's reaction to the first mixture of the prep was such that 36 hours later I was still "chained" to the toilet. I couldn't sleep at all the first night and slept on the bathroom floor last night. Am I the only IBS patient who has had this kind of traumatic experience? The first one was traumatic too, but I was able to go through the whole thing.

Thank you very much.

[Liinda]

No, I've not had your experience but I will tell you, you are the leader of your health care team.  You don't have to do what the doctor says.  It's your choice.  

[Jeffrey Roberts]

On 2/8/2022 at 4:38 PM, Califa75 said:

'm writing for the first time though I have suffered from IBS (or something like it given a different diagnosis) all my life. I was on a FB page, but I gave up on social media before the last election. Anyway . . .I'm writing to ask if anyone else has had similar experiences with colonoscopies. I had one about 4 years ago and it changed (worsened) my body ever since. Nevertheless, my doctor insisted I have another one since 2 little early polyps had been removed. There is no history of colon cancer in my family. So I just survived a very unsuccessful second attempt and could't go through the whole thing. My body's reaction to the first mixture of the prep was such that 36 hours later I was still "chained" to the toilet. I couldn't sleep at all the first night and slept on the bathroom floor last night. Am I the only IBS patient who has had this kind of traumatic experience? The first one was traumatic too, but I was able to go through the whole thing.

I'm sorry that you have had such traumatic experiences with the prep. It really is the most challenging part for those that have never been scoped. I have had experiences where I'm still passing prep after the scope, but it usually tapers down after 24 hours Still, it takes me 1-2 weeks after a colonoscopy to get back to "normal".

There are definite ways to clean yourself out without having to use those mixtures. Some preps just have you take some tablets and you can drink whatever you want to get everything moving. You might ask about Sutab if there is a next time.