Colonoscopy prep

The Prep
2023 booklet
Four to two days before the exam: Low-fibre diet

Not my regular diet. No wheat, no grain, no seeds, no nuts! White bread, white rice, white pasta! Canned fruits only. Fully cooked veggies and no raw food translates to no sushi, and no green salads either.

Day before the exam: Clear Liquid Diet

I had the light breakfast. Just butter, toast, and some apple juice. All I ate would need to come out,. The lighter I ate, the easier it would be for my prep later.

I stored the strained homemade vegetable chicken soup from a few nights before for the clear liquid diet. Tasted so much better than the canned chicken broth.

I mixed the Jello powder with (15%) less water to make it firmer.

http://pendopharm.com/product/colyte/

As for the Colyte, I got the pineapple favored one. Mixed it in the morning and kept it in the fridge for use in the evening. There were some undissolved powder in the beginning. I shook the container a few more times throughout the day and the powder were dissolved.

Drinking 2L of Colyte was not difficult. I didn’t like it too cold, so I poured the solution into a cup 15 minutes before using it. I drank it with a thicker straw. The bitter aftertaste did not bother me at all. I drank Gatorade (no red or purple), coconut water, soup in between to keep myself hydrated. Diarrhea started after the 4^th cup of Colyte. It’s rapid, frequent, and unstoppable. I could not leave the bathroom for almost 2 hours. Rectal discharge was clear fluid at the end.

I used zinc cream and Vaseline to keep my skin moisturized, water and bidet for cleaning instead of just paper.

I tried to be cautious and did not sleep well that night.

Day of the exam

Continue on with the liquid diet.

Another 2L of Colyte in the morning. The bowel was very sensitive. I drank one glass of laxative every 10 minutes. Emptied the remaining of the jug in less than an hour and half and spent a good half of the morning in the bathroom.

I stopped drinking two hours before the scheduled procedure.

Arrived at the hospital on time (30 minutes before the procedure to check-in). The nurse put an IV on my arm immediately.

Waited in a hospital bed for another 30 minutes and I was wheeled into the exam room.

A snake camera was on the table. It’s black, cold, long, and thick! Just when I thought it’s going to hurt, the anesthesiologist asked if I wanted to be sedated. I accepted her offer immediately. I gradually passed out. Woke up briefly and saw the inside of my intestine on the big monitor. Then the doctors tried to move me to another position and I passed out again. The next thing I knew, I was returned to the recovery area.

The nurse briefed me with the results of the exam and discharged me.  It's good to know that I don't need to go back for another exam in a few years.

Colon cancer is normally hard to detect. Colonoscopy makes early detection of the disease more accurate and saves lives.