Well colonoscopy and gastroscopy are over and done with now. No polyps were found, thank goodness! Which should mean no cancer. In 2 weeks time I go back to my Dr. for the rest of my results. Fingers crossed everything is healthy and normal. I'm still feeling a little worse for wear (had the tests done yesterday morning), I'm mainly just tired with a bit of a sore throat. I think the gastroscopy has flared up my reflux and that's what's causing the pain. Now to those of you interested in finding out just what is involved with a colonoscopy and gastroscopy, read on.... (warning some may find it a little gross to read)
I started my special diet 3 days before my test. Then the day before I had nothing but clear fluids. (My advice is to eat some chicken broth, drained chicken noodle soup, plain jelly and barley sugar on this day to keep your energy levels up). I was silly and only had jelly which meant by the end of the night I was feeling pretty faint. Also drink plenty of water and other approved fluids such as apple juice (no pulp).
I took my first dose of picoprep at 3pm. This was one sachet of picoprep mixed up in 250ml warm water. The stuff was nowhere near as nasty tasting as what I thought it would be. It tasted like juice with a bit of a salty aftertaste. I spent about 2 hours in a panic crying my eyes out before drinking it when in reality I should've just downed it. It helped to drink the prep through a straw and follow with sips of apple juice. The first lot of diarrhoea wasn't that bad and I started to think "this is pretty easy" but then by the time dose 2 was due, I was glued to the toilet with watery diarrhoea. I attempted the 2nd dose at 6:30pm but only managed to drink about 200ml because I kept running to the loo. It was after the 2nd dose that I started to feel pretty shocking. My heart was racing, I had a bad headache, felt nauseaus, was shaking all over and felt like fainting. Dave said I was probably dehydrated so after demolishing another 6ooml bottle of water I started feeling well enough to take the 3rd dose at 9:30pm. The diarrhoea lasted all night and I still had it at the hospital the following morning, which I was not expecting. So I had very little sleep. Good thing was that I had no cramps and only a little bloating with the picoprep. I also managed to drink about 3.5-4 Litres of fluid throughout the day which helped to keep me hydrated.
At 7:15am yesterday I arrived at the hospital and waited to be checked in. This was the easy part - though I still managed to freak out a little. They did pre-admission checks and then I was taken to my bed where I got undressed and into a robe. The nurses were lovely and did their best to keep me calm. Then the Dr. came and sprayed the back of my throat with this awful tasting local anaesthetic which I had to gargle and then swallow. This was to stop gagging during the gastroscopy. Yes it was awful but I didn't have to put up with it for long before I was put under sedation. They wheeled me to theatre where they laid me on my side, put a bite piece in my mouth to protect my teeth and then bam I was asleep. Next thing I know I was waking up and ready for juice and sandwiches. Overall the prep was the worst part of the experience and now the sore throat from the gastroscopy. The actual procedure was a breeze - I can not recall anything from the moment the sedation kicked in.
And that was my experience. Am I grateful for having it done... ask me in a few days when this feeling in my throat disappears and I will probably say yes. Remember that I am not a medical professional so always follow your Dr.s advice and check anything you read on the internet with a Dr. before following others advice. I hope writing about my experience helps others to get the tests done. Remember prevention is the key to good health and early detection can save your life.
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