Despite knowing that I was not having any issues, I worried about what my colonoscopy screening would find. I prayed not to find anything - not even polyps. I know my mom was watching over me because she would tell me how sorry she was to have possibly passed along the chance of getting cancer. No one really knows who gets what. It just is what it is and you have to have faith that all will go well.
There is no good way to deal with the preparation for the procedure. The bottom line (pun intended) is to "clean you out!" The medication given does exactly that. My preparation medication was called "Su-Prep". There were two bottles of some sort of concentration and a 16 oz measuring cup. At 4 PM, I poured one bottle in the cup, then diluted the concentration with cold water until the level reached the 16 oz mark. I gulped that down, then had to drink two more 16 oz cups of water within the hour.
Depending on your system, the medication will begin working within 10 minutes to an hour. I walked around feeling really bloated for about an hour. Once it started working, I just dealt with it. Around 7:30 PM, I had to do the same thing again with the second bottle. The second dose made me feel a bit worse, but I needed to get through this. It was important.
The one thing I really do not like about the whole mess is the amount of distrust one has their own system at this point. For me, that is the stressful part. I had no accidents, but any sort of exertion was a bit tough, so sitting in a recliner for me was out of the question. I would lie on the bed, then roll off when I needed to make that trip back to the bathroom.
By 10:30 PM, my system started slowing down and allowed me to rest for a bit. I was just thankful for that. Since my appointment was at 9 AM, I got up at 6 AM and got ready for my father to take me to the endoscopy center.
So many things were running through my mind. I was worried about the nurses putting the catheter in my hand. I asked my father if he would take care of the dogs should something happen. Someone had offered to take Bo and Chloe, but I would rather have my father take care of them. My father kept assuring me that all would be fine. It was something that had crossed my mind.
We arrived at the endoscopy center early - 8:30 AM. I signed in and figured I would need to wait until 9 AM. By the time I had removed my earrings, I got called by the nurse. I was asked a bunch of questions, then taken to a changing area with the bed used for the procedure. Once I was undressed and wearing the gown, the doctor, anesthetist, and two nurses enter. Everyone was very nice and the doctor joked with me about not being in there earlier - I had gotten sick last month and it was decided to hold off on the procedure.
Soon, I was wheeled into the room. Anesthetist gave me some instructions on moving my body close to one side of the bed and he made a joke about he got my good side while the doctor got my bad side. Pretty soon, the room started to spin a bit, when I fell asleep.
Once medication began to wear off, I woke up thinking that Bo was climbing all over my butt to wake me up. LOL I think that made everyone laugh. The doctor told me that all was clear and no polyps! I was happy, but still loopy and fell back to sleep a bit. I was wheeled back to a recovery room, and my father was there. He was excited that all was clear and no polyps. The doctor came by when I was fully awake and showed me the pictures of everything. He told me that I was clear for another 5 years, then I have to come back for another screening. I admit - not looking forward to that again. I will say, that part of the procedure was not bad.
The nurse wheeled me out to my father's car and we headed over to Galligaskins' in Fort Worth on Camp Bowie. While eating breakfast/lunch, we talked about wanting to know more about what happened with my mom. I still have a lot of questions. I feel that there are some things I need to know, so that I can be aware for myself.
I feel very blessed and thankful that my screening went really well. I would like to think my mom was very happy for me - she would have never wanted me to go through what she went through. I know when everyone allow me privacy to put my clothes back on, I thanked God and my mom. The nurse who checked me in asked me why I was so nervous. I told her my fear and what she said made me feel a little better:
You cannot worry over something you do not know is even there. You have come in for the doctor to check you out and that is important. At this point, put all of that worrying in God's hands and let him handle it for you.
I did.
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