Cranky

[mamadeb]

1. Clear liquid diet
2. Prospect of icky drink later on in the day
3. Housefilk that I can't attend because of (1) and (2).
4. Argument with husband about "what snacks do you want me to get for you for after colonoscopy" because

a. Don't have any idea
b. Don't want to think about food
c. haven't had coffee yet

We worked out the snack thing - those of you who've been through this, will diluted V8 and wheat crackers work? I don't do fruit juices, and we're somewhat worried that the snacks provided by the doctor won't be kosher. (Husband initially suggested *soy milk* and the idea turned my stomach. Soy milk is stuff to put on cereal, not a beverage, in my mind. I think he thought he might like cow's milk in such a situation.)

Coffee situation is remedied - fortunately, I'm permitted black coffee. And also fortunately, that's how I prefer my coffee.

Comments

[miss-porcupine.livejournal.com]

From my experience, salty plus lots of fluids is the way to go post-procedure -- you'll be dehydrated, decaffeinated (I don't bother with black coffee the day of -- diuretics are the last thing I want to consume after that many hours of prep), and, depending on how you respond to the anaesthetic, a little off-kilter. The biggest post-procedure hazard is, well, an intestine full of air. Which is uncomfortable but not dangerous. To be very blunt: anything that's going to give you gas should be avoided.

My endoscopy place offers coffee and pretzels and I have found that to be satisfactory for sitting around in the recovery room waiting to be discharged. (And then my father takes me out for lunch, since I try to get them scheduled early in the morning.)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I was going by my normal post-fast preferences - I take V-8 juice and crackers to shul with me on Yom Kippur because our synagogue's break-fast, is all cake and oj, and I don't want either, and we have bagels and lox waiting at home.

Turns out the gas was a problem, and it took a while before I could eat or drink comfortably.

[miss-porcupine.livejournal.com]

Your shul puts out food? Lucky you. :)

The gas... one time it was a problem for me, the other not at all. So if you're going to be going through this regularly, you can at least take comfort in that this isn't a guaranteed distress.

On my father's advice, I scheduled them early in the mornings -- the day of is essentially wasted until you go. (Thankfully, my doctor only does them in Queens in the mornings, so it's a question of doing it at 8 or doing it at noon.)

And I offer empathy with the veins -- with me, you can see 'em, but you can't get at 'em. My doctor is a fantastic phlebotomist, but I ended up getting the IV on the back of my hand for my last procedure because the preparations made my tricky veins even trickier. No way to avoid bruising there.

I'm glad your visit was... needed but not necessary, so to speak, and that "benign" was the word of the day.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

The anesthesiologist had to make two tries - my vein collapsed the first time.

I have a truly spectacular bruise there. Scared my husband last night.

The other site, the one that worked? Almost nothing.

The break-fast is sponsored, but it's become a tradition.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Dale tends to want Gatorade after a procedure. I don't know if that's either kosher or safe for diabetics, though.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Neither, or I could have at least the kosher version (Powerade or orange juice.) Fortunately V-8 works as well for me - it's my first thing to drink after a fast day.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

I ate normally right after my colonoscopy. They didn't tell me not to, and I was really hungry, so I had some lasagna. :-)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Turns out the gas made me not hungry, and the anesthetic dried out my mouth.

I ended up eating take-out chicken later on.

I'm TRYING not to be graphic here.

[kid-lit-fan.livejournal.com]

For me, clear liquid diet and the liquid purging was MUCH harder than the actual colonoscopy. I felt a little loopy by the third day.

Ate a lot of lime jello, but, umm, the green goes through and that was disturbing, so I was pretty much on water by day three.

One of the strange moments was looking at the clock and thinking "Hmm, it said it should work in two hou--uh-oh!" I mean, you could have set your watch by it!

The very nice doctor told me "You always see on TV that they say count backwards from one hundred, but people don't usually make it past 99, I want you to breathe deeply, and your next clear thought will probably be "Where'd Dr. Hargrave go?"

I have vague, dream-like memories of watching the screen, but my next clear thought WAS "Where'd Dr. Hargrave go?" and that made me giggle. The nurses thought I was high from the anesthesia.

Post-procedure, I started with the basic post-stomach-flu diet--toast, bananas, soup, and was eating normally by dinner the day after the procedure.

And everything came out clear. I had what turned out to be giardia, but there's a history of colon cancer in my family, so they thought it wouldn't hurt to check.

Been 7 years, gotta do it again, soon.

Oh, and...

[kid-lit-fan.livejournal.com]

Diluted V8 and wheat crackers sounds fine. I brought a banana with me, I can't recommend it enough.

Re: I'm TRYING not to be graphic here.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hate fasting - even this easy fasting thing with liquids.

I avoided anything with color (and, as it happens, jello. Maybe I should have gotten some Kojel.) I had lemon-lime popsicles and chicken broth.

The only problem with the anesthesia was my fragile veins. My skin is very transparent, so it looks like finding one is easy, but it's now. She had to do it twice. I have a spectacular bruise now on the first site. Good thing I wear long sleeves. It doesn't hurt but it looks terrible.