Hospital (6 posts)

Having a colonoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

This is my fourth colonoscopy. Previously:

I’m a 31 year old woman, and I live in southern Ontario, Canada. In December 2009, I went to the hospital with a perforated bowel. The doctors performed a bowel resection, and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I haven’t been on any medication since 2016, and my Crohn’s seems to be in remission, so this colonoscopy is just a routine checkup.

I expect this colonoscopy will be a little different than my previous ones, since we’re currently in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m not worried about the actual procedure or the prep, since I’ve done that all before, but I am worried about possibly catching COVID at the hospital.

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Colonoscopy with Purg-Odan (Pico-Salax/Sodium Picosulfate)

As I’m writing this, it’s the morning of my prep day for my third colonoscopy (my first was seven years ago in 2010; my second was five years ago in 2012). Even though this isn’t a new experience for me, and last time went pretty well, I’m still a bit anxious. I’m not sure what time my appointments were previously–I suspect they were in the morning–but this time, it’s at 1:15 pm in the afternoon, so I’m a bit worried about going that long without food.

Background

I’m 27 years old, and I live in southern Ontario, Canada. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease about eight years ago, when I was 19 years old. I’m not currently on any medication for my Crohn’s, but I have been on imuran, entocort, and prednisone in the past. My Crohn’s currently appears to be in remission, but having recently come off the imuran due to low lymphocyte counts, I guess my doctor wanted to make sure everything still looks okay, and that’s why I’m having the colonoscopy.

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Small bowel MRI with Sorbitol

I had a small bowel MRI today. I was a bit nervous, since I haven’t done one before. I’ve had a CT scan, a barium flow, two colonoscopies, and probably quite a few other tests, but I can’t remember ever having an MRI.

Before the procedure

My appointment was at 1:30 pm today, and my instructions were to not eat anything after midnight last night, and to only drink clear fluids this morning. I slept in as late as I could, and I didn’t really feel hungry until about lunch time. I drank some water this morning, but I didn’t want to drink too much, because I knew I’d have to drink a lot more before the procedure.

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Colonoscopy with Pico-Salax

I had my second colonoscopy on Monday. My first colonoscopy was a little more than two years ago. That post is one of the most popular posts on my blog, so I figured I’d write about this one too.

Background

First off, I’m twenty-two years old, and I’m in my fourth year of university. I live in southern Ontario, Canada, and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in December 2009, after a terrible year where I was very sick, and the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me. I went to the hospital in December (thinking I had appendicitis) and had some tests done. They found that I had a perforated bowel, so I had a bowel resection. I had my first colonoscopy in February 2010. I wasn’t on any medication until June 2011, when I took Prednisone for a few months. That was a miracle, and I have been quite well ever since. This colonoscopy was just a precaution to make sure we aren’t sitting ducks for something bad to happen.

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Colonoscopy with Klean-Prep

Instructions

From what I read and heard, the day before the test — the prep day — is the worst part, and the actual procedure is not a big deal. I was instructed to take four litres of Klean-Prep mixed with water, a lemon-lime drink, or some other clear (ie. non red or purple) liquid. I was to start at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, but they said if you have trouble drinking large amounts of liquid (and four litres is about the size of two large party-sized pop bottles), you could start earlier. I planned to start at 12:00 pm, and I was supposed to drink a cup (1/4 litre) every ten minutes.

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My time in the hospital

Last Monday meant exams were over and vacation could begin. Well, after a little doctor’s appointment. The university’s doctor got my blood work back and suggested I see my family doctor to get an appointment with a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy. I’ve been having stomach problems since I started taking medicine in the summer, and lately, there seemed to be a constant dull pain in my stomach. As much as a colonoscopy is gross, I was all for it, because I wanted to get better, darnit! We went to see the family doctor and he said he would see about getting me a referral to a gastro doctor, and in the meantime, prescribed me Prevacid to help soothe my stomach and hopefully repair any damage from an ulcer or something.

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