After The Colonoscopy - Some Thoughts

First of all, I am VERY thankful to have such a great friend and ministering sister who did the driving and made sure I was going to be okay today.

I am also thankful that everything turned out as great as it did with the procedure itself.

Even though this was my first ever colonoscopy, there were some things I actually did right.  Get ready for some TMI.

1.  I took the prep day off at work.  This allowed for me to get some rest before having to pull an all nighter with the two doses of the laxative solution.

2.  I used two separate bottles for the water.  One bottle was my normal drinking water, the other bottle was the chilled water for the solution.  The nurse who called from the hospital was correct, the chilled water made it more palatable.

3.  I used a plastic bucket to throw up in while sitting on the toilet.  This was because, knowing I was taking a laxative, I knew that if I threw up, I was also going to have fluids coming out of the other end.  I was correct in this assumption.

4.  I brought entertainment and cell phone provisions to distract me and provide a sense of safety while I was in the bathroom, clearing out my internal plumbing.  As it turned out, I did a fantastic job of getting everything cleared out and there were no issues with the procedure as a result of what I did.  I also got caught up on a few YouTube channels while I was letting the laxative work.

5.  I planned for soft foods to eat and drink after coming home.  I had purchased one of those scrambled egg, sausage and potato frozen breakfasts to eat after coming home, knowing I was going to be hungry, but wanting to start off slow.  It also helped to replenish the salts I lost from the prep day.  I also had a strawberry and banana smoothie to go with it, to give some nutritional value to the meal as well as to get some fruit based vitamins into my body.

6.  I took both the Zyrtec and the Flonase for my sinus issues.  Last year, I had issues coming out of the anesthesia due to sinus drainage during the surgery.  This time I made the extra step of taking Flonase and a subsequent dose of saline nasal spray the morning of the proecdure in order to keep the sinus drainage controlled.  It worked and I came out of the anesthesia without a hitch.

I did end up forgetting to take my morning meds, but the dosage on the Prozac is so low it will be okay.  The other good news is that with my scheduling this at the start of my Spring Break, I will be home and not working as my body finishes recovery.  I’ve been told no heavy lifting or moving for the next few days.

Because there were a few polyps found and removed, I do have to do this again in 5 years, but at least I know what worked with the prep period this time to know how to handle it the next time, as well as to know what to expect with the procedure itself.