Post op report.

Well, less than two and a half hours ago, I got finished having my first "routine" colonoscopy at age 60. No symptoms - I just thought it was high time. I had a brief first meeting with Dr. Varges on Monday afternoon. I told him it would best suit my calendar if we could do it today. Amazingly, that was not a problem. It was scheduled at our Camden hospital for 11:00 AM today. If you have not had one, you've probably heard all of the horror stories. Here's the truth. Yesterday, at noon, I had to take the two laxative pills that come with the prescription "bowel cleansing kit" I had picked up at the drugstore on Monday. It says you should expect a bowel movement in a couple of hours. Not so for me - I usually require double the dose of most laxatives. At any rate, at 6:00 , BM or not, you have to start drinking a 2 liter bowel cleansing solution which you had to mix up that morning in the little plastic jug which comes with the kit and store in the refer. You have to drink one eight ounce glass every 10 minutes until you've consumed the entire 2 liters of the solution. It took me from 6:00 'til 7:00. The last two glasses were really slow going down. Now, the directions said you should be done about two hours after that. In my case, my first movement was not until two hours after the last glass. I went to bed at ten. I had to get up three times during the night and twice in the morning before I was clear. Mildly aggravating, but no cramping or bloating. All in all, not nearly so bad as cracked up to be. I went into the procedure room promptly at 11:00. I was done and out by 11:45. After I got on a gurney and got undressed (you do it in that order when you can't stand up), they hooked up a heart monitor, a O2 saturation monitor (finger tip clip), an IV line, and a nasal cannula for a little O2.. I was told to get up on my left side. As I was trying to get my pillow comfortable, the nurse said she was giving me some Demerol, to be followed by whatever the "twilight sleep" drug is. The next thing I remember was being aroused about 30 minutes later and being told to get dressed as the procedure was all over. I have no recollection of the procedure itself. Insofar as I had been on a liquid diet all day Wednesday and NPO for the procedure, I had my housekeeper drive us straight to Aunt B's for lunch. It's now 2:30. I feel no post-procedural effects whatsoever. Colonoscopies are recommended for everyone, every 10 years beginning at 50. If the horror stories have been putting you off, don't worry They are just "stories." It's a piece of cake.