colonoscopy 💩

[BasilG]

I’m due to have a colonoscopy on the 16th which I am not looking forward to as when I had a sigmoidoscopy years ago I was in considerable pain when they used the air. I believe my bowel prep is going to be Picolax any tips on getting it down? I get bad reflux and nausea so praying it’s not going to make me worse. Does anyone know if you can still take gavison while doing the prep?

[Linley]

No one likes having a Colonoscopy, always maintain the prep is the worst part. But its the best way to find out what's happening in the gut. I have had 4 and I preferred Picolax easier to take than Moviprep. You need to speak to the clinical staff re Gaviscon and sedation. Good Luck

[Amolicious]

picolax is a smaller amount of fluid to drink compared to moviprep so it is easier to drink. You can’t take any meds whilst doing the prep, and only fluids you can drink is water or clear fluids like orange squash, lucozade etc.

[CockeyMoor]

I had Moviprep . It was heavy going and I had a good glass of water immediately after each glass of Moviprep. It was lemon flavour so not sure if you would find that nicer.

I don’t think you are able to have Gaviscon.

The sedation seemed more effective at my recent Colonoscopy than my Sigmoidoscopy in 2014 and Colonoscopy in 2017.

I had sedation of Midazolam and Fentanyl and watched everything on screen so I was awake. I only had mild discomfort compared to the previous ones. I think things have improved a lot.

[Minty00]

Hi i had a virtual colonoscopy in 2018 (CT VERSION) this still required bowel prep but this virtual version wasnt invasive like the manual. I was given picolax and it was surprisingly very effective in some way a relief from the constipation i had been going through with the diverticulitis i had been suffering from. However for me it was the drink they gave me which was the horrible part.

[Frasina]

Tell the staff about your painful experience and ask for max sedation. I have had three and they are tolerable! I have not had Picolax but heard it is easier due to having smaller amounts to drink. Good luck - you will be fine. Just make sure you are ready to spend many hours in the bathroom and buy some Sudocrem as you will get very sore otherwise!

[mal444]

I had a full colonoscopy done a year half ago for passing mucus constantly which still have. Prep was the worst moviprep but it goes down. Procedure was absolutely painless even with biopsy. No pain. Over and done with quickly and no bad results which makes it even more of a mystery. Only thing I would say is next time I would take the moviprep a few hours earlier than what is said as I was still going to the toilet waiting on the procedure. They gave me fentanyl with midazolam. I was in a relaxed state and really could not have cared what they did.

[Leo70]

I had a colonoscopy in January and was absolutely dreading taking the bowel prep, but asked if I could have Picolax as was only a small amount of liquid to drink - I just knew I could not cope with drinking all the liquid that goes with the other bowel preps. I had no problem at all with the Picolax, and the taste was tolerable drinking it quickly, and I sucked an ice lolly straight after. One had to have plenty of clear liquids to drink throughout the day, but I had no discomfort or pain at all and it worked well with me just having 2 sachets. The Consultant said my bowel prep had been excellent when he undertook the colonoscopy.

[bungi1961]

Hello BasilG

I had 2 of these done in a month "NOT" very nice at all as I found that even water went right through me so in my view it's best not to take anything and to avoid iron supplements for at least 7 days before so they can get a better look OK but any worries contact the place where you are having it done I wish you well and take care xx

bungi1961

[Dh19]

hi I had a colonoscopy on Thursday last week and tbh it wasn’t as bad as expected… the prep wasn’t pleasant. I took moviprep, it has a ok lemon flavour but still heavy going and important to drink 500ml of water afterwards. It certainly cleaned me out but was worth it as the Endoscopy Specialist says it was a very clear procedure and she could see everything clearly. I didn’t have sedation nor gas and air ( but it was available). The skill of the specialist was excellent, she talked me through everything and through getting me to move the only thing I felt was a tugging. The nurses assisting chatted to keep my mind of things so overall definitely not as bad as expected. The best thing the end was getting the all clear (and a set of pictures) to take home !! And of course the tea and biscuits!

As others have said I would advise not to take gaviscon as it will leave a residue in your bowel you need only to drink clear fluids. The hospital should be able to confirm.

Good luck and remember the outcome of knowing there is nothing sinister there is worth the mild discomfort.

[Sc12Coco]

You can have gavison ! I have to take acid reflux tablets.I phoned about it, as I was really worried about leaving my tablets off.

I let them know it was starting to hurt and they gave me ( I'm not sure what) anyway it helped straight away.

[BasilG]

thank you for all of your replies it really helped. Prep was the worst and the procedure was fine, my consultant was amazing and I only had slight discomfort. Despite drinking 250mk of fluids an hour I had the most horrendous nausea and headache that was bordering on a migraine so whether that was a reaction to Picolax or down to not eating I don’t know. All I can say to others going through this it’s fine nothing to worry about.