Colonoscopy

Yep. I had to get one. And as one person so kindly observed, "But you're not 50 yet..." Yeah, I know that. And I'm gonna tell you all about my experience (don't worry, there won't be too many details. Hee hee hee) because I think there's a lot of negative vibes surrounding a colonoscopy.

It all started about 3 years ago. I was admitted to the hospital for some numbness..... the doc came in and asked me some questions and then asked me if I had any bleeding when I go to the bathroom, specifically when I go #2, and I said yes.... he told me I want to get that checked out. And guess what, I didn't. Why? Nate and I were students, and when you make a measly $13,000 a year, paying to have tests and all this other crap just to find out everything was fine, was not a priority in surviving our financial situation.

Fast forward to last month. I was super, super sick for a week. Like I didn't eat for a week. Like I just sat on the couch all day. Like I didn't care that my kids watched a million hours of TV a day. I finally called the doc after losing about 6 lbs that week. I was a little worried because awhile ago, I took a medication that has been rumored to be linked to Crohn's Disease. After consulting the all-knowing WebMD,  I read that I was exhibiting every symptom of Crohn's. So, I decided to go to the doc. I knew that I probably just had caught some stomach bug, but I knew it was time to go get the bleeding thing checked out. Ugh.

Sure enough, I was referred to a GI specialist. Then I started wondering if there was any family history I needed to find out about. I called my mom and asked about any problems, and sure enough there were a few. My grandpa's aunt and grandpa died from colon cancer and my grandpa has had polyps removed from his colon. Great. Then, I was talking to my Oma, and found that she has diverticulitis and IBS. Great. I knew my dad has IBS as well, but I found out that he had 30 polyps removed in one colonoscopy, and some were pre-cancerous. He had a follow-up colonoscopy a few years later and had 3 polyps removed, but they were not pre-cancerous. Whew! So... I went to my appointment. And I talked to the doc about  my symptoms. He wanted to do a colonoscopy just in case, but he was pretty sure it was hemorrhoids (ugh... that is such an ugly word!) but it's better to be safe than sorry.

So they wanted to do the colonoscopy on the 21st, which was the day before my birthday, so I said no. We rescheduled it for the 28th. If you've never had one (like me....) here's what you do:

5 days before the procedure, avoid all nuts and seeds which include popcorn and and whole grain breads. Also avoid googling "colonoscopy prep diet" cause it'll freak you out. I wasn't so smart and I googled diet suggestions, and every site had different diet suggestions. I got so freaked out that on Day 1, I really didn't eat anything! By Day 2, I was so sick of worrying what I shouldn't eat, that I decided to go with just whatever my doctor told me to do. After deciding that, the next few days were a breeze.

24 hours before the procedure, you are put on a clear liquid diet. Basically I had some beef broth, Sprite, and apple juice. You have to drink at least 8 oz of liquid each hour you're awake to keep you hydrated. At 4 p.m. I had to take a cuople of tablets. At 6 p.m. I had to mix a huge bottle of Miralax with 64 oz. of Gatorade (can't be purple or red) and drink 8 oz of the solution every 15 minutes. Every site I went to said that you should start seeing "results" within 30 min to 3 hours after. They say to stay close to a toilet. So, I was thoroughly prepared to just stay in the bathroom the whole night. Nate took care of the kids while I waited patiently. Soon enough, my stomach started to churn... but nothing happened.

And nothing happened.

I started to panic. I kept thinking What is wrong with my body? They're going to get in there and find out I'm not cleared out and then I'll have to reschedule and pay for 2 colonoscopies! Not good!

I finally went to bed around midnight. Yes midnight! I definitely have a messed up body.
I woke up at 1:30 and did some business...

Then around 5:00 a.m. I woke up and finished the rest of my Miralax. Then things went as they should, and I was relieved.

Now, why on this beautiful earth would I tell you about this?? Cause I literally thought I was a freak show because my body didn't react the way it was supposed to. Come to find out, it was perfectly okay that it happened that way, and I'm glad cause it wasn't as terrible as people make it out to be. At least for me....

Tuesday morning my awesome friend, Jessica, came and watched our kiddos while Nate and I drove to the hospital. It was funny cause walking into the hospital, Nate held my hand and I told him, "You only hold my hand on dates! What a funny date this is... hee hee hee."  We chuckled.

I got checked in and had my IV put in. I had the nicest nurse in the world. She was from Canada, which explains her niceness and her cute accent. Then we had to wait around, so we watched "The Price is Right". I guessed so well I was within $500 of the first bid and like $300 of the second bid. Yeah, I'm cool like that.

As soon as the doc was ready, they walked me into a room where I said good-bye to Nate. They laid me on my left side, gave me the sleep medicine, and a couple of hours later I woke up. The actual procedure only took about 30 minutes, but I obviously didn't want to come back to the real world yet. :)

While I was recovering, the doc went and talked to Nate. They did find a fairly large polyp and removed it and have sent it off to the lab. The doctor was really happy because it's rare that a polyp that large is inside someone so young and beautiful! Hee hee. Seriously though, it is rare for someone my age to have a polyp that large. We can only imagine what the results would be if I would have waited til I was 50 (the recommended age) to get my first colonoscopy.

Nate drove me home (we stopped at Arby's cause I was s.t.a.r.v.i.n.g.) and I slept until dinnertime. By bedtime I was able to get the kids to bed because Nate had to go to Young Men's, and that was my day!

I have to call to get the pathology reports next Tuesday, and on the 11th, I will have my follow-up.

As for the day after, I was crampy all day and felt like I had done about a million and one sit ups. Yes, I am super sore! So I just laid around in my bed all day and snuggled with Colbie.

Other than that, nothing else hurt!

Since they found a polyp and because of my family history, I'm sure I'll be having a few of these before I turn 50. But that's okay cause now I know what to expect...  and it isn't as crappy as I thought it would be.

Ha ha, I just had to put that in.