From the Inside Out

I’m pleased to report that I made it through my second colonoscopy today.

The day started early. After about four hours of sleep, the alarm went off at 6:30 am. Normally, I would be dragging myself out of bed, but it was easy to get up this morning. It’s strange how anxiety strips away your tiredness.

The morning was rough. My body was complaining fiercely due to my forced liquid diet — consuming no real food in the last 31 hours. I was weak, unfocused and shaky. I was also dying for some water, but I wouldn’t be able to eat or drink until after the procedure.

Gary drove me to the endoscopy center in Plano where the colonoscopy would be conducted. I filled out paperwork and soon was ushered into a small room with a single bed and a privacy curtain. It was at this point that I started to get extremely anxious about the IV. For me, it is always the most dreaded part of any medical procedure.

The nurses were nice and tried to help calm my nerves. After letting them take my vitals, I explained that they would need to wait to put in the IV until the anesthesiologist was ready to administer the medication. That was a lesson I learned from my last colonoscopy. I don’t do well with an IV in my arm and no medication to calm me.

Gary came in to sit with me until the anesthesiologist came. It helped keep my mind off of what was about to come — the dreaded needle stuck into my vein. Finally, she showed up and did her thing. I endured it until I felt the sweet relief of the anesthesia flow through my body. At that point, my worries were over. I was wheeled into another room, and the rest of the procedure is lost in oblivion.

I slept most of the day and slowly started eating again. One thing’s for certain, I would never last long on a show like Survivor. Even though I don’t like food that much, I don’t do well without it either.

Anyway, it’s nice to have the procedure completed. Now I can quit obsessing about it and move on. It looks like my colitis is back, but that’s not a big surprise. It always flares up when I’m stressed. I’m sure with some medication, it’ll be under control again and I can get back to normal.

Thanks for the prayers!

It’s almost 1 am, and it’s been 25 hours since I’ve had any solid food. Is it too obvious if I state that I’m STARVING? Seriously, I think the liquid diet is one of the toughest parts of having a colonoscopy. Jello, soda and popsicles just don’t satisfy, and I still have several hours to go before I’ll be able to eat again…ugh!

Fortunately, they have improved the process for taking the medication since my last procedure. It was a two-day process back then, and it involved drinking two types of the nastiest tasting stuff I’ve ever consumed. Today, all I had to do was take a few pills and then mix a tasteless powder into Gatorade. It wasn’t too bad, except for the part when Gary mentioned that the purple Gatorade I was drinking might have red dye in it — yikes, that’s forbidden!

I was halfway through the mixture at that point, and the doctor’s office was closed so I had to “emergence page” the doctor. Argh, I felt so stupid! And it was really frustrating since I had already gone through most of the process. I was really worried that I’d have to reschedule and do it all over again!

I nervously waited for the phone call, uncertain of what to do next. Finally, the call came. I explained the situation and….it was okay! Whohoo, what a relief! I did switch to a lemon-lime Gatorade for the 2nd half of the mixture, though. It didn’t taste quite as good, but that’s okay, at least I didn’t have to reschedule.

Now the only challenge I have to overcome is the dreaded IV needle!

Wish me luck tomorrow — and a few prayers wouldn’t hurt either.

Aside from kidney stones, the worst medical experience I can remember happened 6 1/2 years ago. It started out with a forced liquid diet and progressed to drinking the worst concoction known to man. The grand finale was at the hospital where the procedure took place. The nurse put the needle for the IV in my arm way too early — before the doctor was even at the hospital. I had to wait for him to arrive before they would administer the sedative. Since I have an unnatural, irrational phobia about needles being in my veins, that was not a good thing. I think I was close to having a panic attack…my heart raced, my blood pressure went up, and I broke out in a sweat. The staff tried to calm me down, but I knew that wouldn’t happen unless (1) I got drugs or (2) they removed the needle. I don’t know why, but they didn’t want to remove the needle so I suffered until they finally found someone to administer the drugs and put me out of my misery. That was my first colonoscopy.

I have since learned to never allow anyone except the anesthesiologist to touch me. That has reduced my discomfort when having procedures, but it’s still nerve wracking. Most people are scared of the procedure itself — that’s where the real danger is — but not me. I’m not worried about the pain or complications. I’m only scared of that dang little needle. It’s ridiculous, but it’s something I have not been able to overcome no matter how hard I try.

Since my first colonoscopy, I have dreaded the day when I would have to undergo the procedure again. I knew it would happen, but I was hoping it would be later — much, much later.

My doctor informed me today it was sooner rather than later. It’s scheduled for May 5th. The bad news is that it means I have to face the needle again. The good news is that it’ll provide lots of fodder for my blog. Okay, the good doesn’t outweigh the bad, but I’m trying to be positive.

Wish me luck!