C is for...

Here is where "the preparation" started.
3/13/2019 4:30 pm dwm photo

C is for... Colonscopy!

We, well no, I shouldn't include you in my odd thoughts...

So, I've always wondered how much weight you lose each day going to the bathroom.

My preparation for a colonoscopy requires cleaning out, so I hopped on the scale as a personal science experiment.  (Why I didn't think of this for the grade school science fair? It would have been better than trying to get an egg into a soda bottle.)

Just be sure  - here is a tip - to mix in Crystal Light drop-in to the glass of "go juice."  The preparation calls for 8 cups between 6 and 8 pm followed by 8 cups between 6 and 8 am in advance of the scope at 12:15.  To create a better mix, I used a 16 ounce glass with the plan of drinking one each half-hour.

I had chewing gum and Gatorade at the ready for an alternate taste in my mouth, but the Crystal Light helps.  A lot.  No, I won't opt for this concoction on a hot summer's day, but it is a long way from dreadful which is all I can ask at this stage of the game.

Later I realized a key for me is keeping the beverage cold.  I didn't on the first night and it got increasing difficult to get it down.  The morning of the exam I decided to keep it in the fridge until I poured the next glass.  It is a long road... with many, many pit stops!

After Prep!       3/14/2019 (dwm)

You finish part 1 of the prep.  You try to sleep.  I slept at least five hours, which was nice.  However, it was bugging me that it took nearly four hours to finish four 16 ounce glasses Wednesday night.  I started drinking "go juice" again at 5 am Thursday.

It was seven hours before the appointment; three to the deadline to finish drinking.  "On your mark, get set, GO!"

Cold was the way to go (helpful hint).  I finished the fourth with 10 minutes to spare.  There is no way around it, it was more difficult to swallow the longer you drink.  Another key for me was a straw.  It helped get the stuff down my throat with a minimum of flavor.

After sufficient time passed, around 10:45, I felt ready.  That's when I got back on the scale (upper left). 

Frankly, I thought there would be more than a 2.4 pound difference!

We arrived at the UW Health Digestive Center just before noon for the 12:15 appointment.

At the desk was a small pin with a blue ribbon in the shape of a star that looks kind of like a person.  It was part of a display for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.  Since that is the point of the test, I took a pin.

They slapped on a wristband.  This is important since it is the only way anyone knew who I was.

The UW Health Digestive Center.
3/14/2019 dwm photo

I changed into the wildly fashionable gown.  I answered questions and asked a couple.  Finally, a nurse poked me to start an intravenous drip that would feed the knockout drugs into my system so I could enjoy the show.

I remember getting wheeled into the procedure room.  An aide gave me a warm blanket while another nurse asked me to get on my side.  She put a plastic tube in my nose.

That's it, that is all I remember.  My next memory is drinking a smoothie back in the room where I started.  I remember parts of the drive home and going upstairs and back to sleep.

I'm told I said lots of other things, including telling the doctor I was awake the during the whole thing!

My pin looks like this star.  (internet image)

The "bottom" line is the doc said everything looked good and polyp free.  I learned one of the polyps found and removed five years ago is the kind that could lead to cancer, so I'm stuck with the every five year schedule.

That seems like a schedule I can live with. 

If you have a history of colon cancer in your family or are more than 50, make sure you get it on your calendar.