TMI: More Medical Fun.

Sorry about being MIA!  it's been quite the busy life I've been leading and I am utterly grateful for such a full life!  All right, let's get straight to it.

Thursday after work, and after many phone calls, I picked up my prescription for Colyte (aka, GoLytely).  For those of you unawares, you lucky people have yet to experience such fun, this is the solution you make to prep your intestines for a colonoscopy.  Yup, my digestive problems had led me to go through this horrible procedure.  Thankfully, I had several people I could discuss this experience with.  And I thank them for their comforting words: "It's going to suck, but at least you're mostly asleep."

I began the Colyte at 6:30pm the evening before (my appointment was at 7:40am the next morning).  Oh yes, let's not forget I'd been fasting since that morning at 6:00am-ish.  Yup, not only do you have to drink this Colyte delight, but you have to fast a full 24 hours before your procedure.  Luckily, I was already having "incidents" and wasn't hungry one bit anyway.  So, I began the Colyte.  A nurse that had called me a couple days prior advised me to add a couple of lemon-lime Crystal Lite packets.  Thank you Maria, for they made the taste much more tolerable!  For the first 2-4 hours, after adding water to the Colyte powder making 4 liters worth of solution, I drank one 8oz. glass every 15-20 minutes.  For those of you doing the math, that's 3 liters of fluid in 2-4 hours!  And after not eating all day, it affected me very quickly.

The next dose of Colyte was to be taken 4 hours before my appointment.  This meant I had to wake up at 3:40am to continue the cleansing.  For the final liter, I had to repeat the 8oz glasses every 15-20 minutes to complete the cleansing in one hour.  Let's just say that by the time I got to my appointment (including while they made me pee in a cup to be sure I wasn't pregnant) I was squeaky clean.  To put it bluntly, ear-muffs if you are grossed out easily, I was passing only a clear fluid.  Nothing solid and nothing colored.  I couldn't wait for this to be over.

I was prepped with an IV and fluids, my vitals were taken and I was on my way.  Unfortunately for me, the doctor I saw was hot!  Really?!?  THIS is the guy who will be performing this procedure on me??  Wow.  To make things even better, when they perform a colonoscopy on you, not only do they enter via the rectum, but they have to inflate your intestines to see properly.

"Now, Hollie, after this scope is done you are going to feel bloated and may have a lot of discomfort.  You. Must. Fart.  DO NOT hold it in because then you will be very uncomfortable, in pain, and we're going to have to send you to ER.  Don't be embarrassed, it's part of the procedure.  DO NOT HOLD IT IN."  So many thoughts running through my head....

The anesthesia began.  I woke up a couple of times because I'm the lightest sleeper in the world (oh and because it was twilight sedation).  I recall looking up at the screen and asking what the white things were.

"Those are polyps."  And I was out again.  The next time I awoke, I felt pressure and mild pain as they were removing the scope.  Excellent.  This is the exact part I woke up when they performed the endoscopy on the opposite end and I woke myself up belching.  At least I was sure to say an infinite "Excuse me" before they began.

I finally woke up after about an hour because it always takes me a while to come out of anesthesia.  Maybe it's due to my low blood pressure?  Anyway, I had extreme pain in my abdomen as the air was still trapped inside of me.  Come to find out, he had scoped my small intestine as well.  No wonder the air was trapped.  I envied the patient next to me who had no problem releasing his bubble.  Nurses cheered me on when I was finally able to pass the air.  I left in pain anyway as the air would still not come all the way out.  I'm fine now by the way. ;)

Results, I know you're all on the edge of your seats here.  Turns out I had a few polyps, which they removed.  I also had some inflammation in one area as well as a red, blotchy rash in another area.  They took multiple biopsies and I should get those results in 10-14 days.  So, it's the waiting game.  For now they have me on a high fiber diet.  Insane, I have to consume 25-35 grams of fiber a day!  It's not easy when you're not hungry.

So we'll see how it goes.