Been referred for urgent Colonoscopy

Hi Lightrose and welcome to the board. I’d never heard of this so did a bit of investigating and found this

Hi Karen,

Thank you for your reply and information. That's useful to know about this multi platform digital tool. I had never heard of it before and when my parents had their cancer diagnosis (both within the last 7 years)- they never received these texts. So it seems that it must be a new thing that some doctors are using when doing referrals.

I have my Colonoscopy this Thursday morning. I still have not received my prep or even my appointment letter-so I have to go to the hospital tomorrow and pick the prep up. And then I start my prep on the Wednesday afternoon.

I am unable to access the documents section in my NHS app- so perhaps the letter has just been sent there?

Am I right in thinking that if there is cancer,  can they give me that result on the same day as my Colonoscopy?

Also do they normally sedate you for Colonoscopys? 

I can't remember if they sedated me during my last Colonoscopy in November 2017.

Lightrose x

Hi Lightrose. My appointments come by text now with a PIN number and link attached which takes me to an NHS portal with my documents on although I’m not sure if every health authority does it like this. My prep sachets were sent in the post. If it’s the rather unpalatable Moviprep then I would recommend making it up in advance then putting it in the fridge for an hour to chill. I drank it through a wide straw then took the taste away with a swig of tonic water with lemon. If you’re thinking of adding any cordial to ‘improve’ it then try it in a small amount first in case it makes it worse - remember you can’t use dark coloured cordials like Ribena for example.

You can have gas and air or sedation but you would need someone to drive you home and stay with you for 24 hours if you have sedation. You can still see what’s going on with sedation but you are very relaxed.

They will normally discuss the colonoscopy afterwards with you and whether they’ve removed any polyps. In my case it was obvious that there was a tumour there and they told me after that they were 99% sure it was cancer.

Let me know how it goes?

Take care

Karen x

Hi Lightrose,

I am due to have a colonoscopy in 10 days and was sent the delightful Movieprep (bowel preparation) in the post.  Did they also advise you that you have to follow a particular diet?

7 days before: avoid eating seeds, seeded bread, watermelon, cucumber, grapes, kiwi, melon, nuts, tomatoes, popcorn.

3 days before: also avoid wholemeal bread, cakes, biscuits, wholemeal flour, wholemeal pasta, high fibre white breads, high fibre cereal.  Fruit (including figs, prunes, dates, blackberries, grapes , pears and tomatoes). Dried fruit/nuts (including sesame seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, jams/marmalades containing seeds and peel).  Vegetables (including broad beans, peas, butter beans, baked beans, Brussel Sprouts,, celery and the skins of potatoes)!

Basically you CAN eat: potatoes without skins, plain white pasta, noodles, rice, cornflakes, crisped rice, white bread, eggs, cheese, clear soup, margarine and butter.

Wonderful isn't it.  Its so that there is no residue in your bowel that might obscure their view of it.

I would start tonight if you can. 

I will be thinking of you on Thursday.

Best wishes,

Jane

Hi Kareno62

For my appointments I get a text with a PIN number, which I need to use to open an email with the appointment details. Maybe because I’m already “in the system”. My partner recently had a first time 2 week referral, which was by text, and there was was a letter attachment then on an email outlining the 2 week process and mentioning cancer as a possibility. Luckily it wasn’t in this case! 

Sarah xx

Hi Karen,

Thank you for your post.

And thanks for the heads up on the prep. Yes the nurse mentioned about cordial on my initial phonecall - but I am glad you mentioned about ribena, as I was actually thinking to use black current cordial with my prep! 

That's a good idea on chilling the prep beforehand- I will do that.  I will try and visualise this as a refreshing drink quenching my thirst,  especially with this hot weather that we are going to have over the next few days,  lol!

I remember seeing the screen during my last Colonoscopy but I couldn't see it clearly as I had to take my glasses off (am short sighted). But the Dr was giving me a partial commentary whilst he was doing the procedure.

Ah ok, so they do have a discussion after the Colonoscopy. I remember my first Colonoscopy back in 2009, the Dr came out and spoke to me afterwards when I was still coming around from the sedation. He mentioned that I had Ulcerative Proctitis. I remember borrowing a pen from one of the other patients in the recovery room and trying to figure out how to spell it whilst jotting it down on the back of a sugar sachet (from the much needed cup of tea I was drinking).

Anyway,  I am hoping that the microscopic blood in my stool and the raised inflammation markers are just pointing to a re flare up of my Ulcerative Proctitus (I was told that this was in remission during my last Colonoscopy in November 2017).

I just wanna get it over with already.

I shall update on here how I get on.

Thank you.

Lightrose x

Hi Jane,

Thank you for your post and the info on special diet.

I had no idea about the special diet but I have seen references to a special diet on some of the posts on the forum here.

I am so glad you mentioned this. It does make sense on having a special diet on the run up to my Colonoscopy- I am not sure why on previous Colonoscopy that I didn't have a special diet?

But as soon as I read your post,  I thought back on what I had eaten in the last few days and luckily I had not eaten anything from that list.

Do you know if you can drink milk?

I am going to ring the hospital shortly and confirm my actual appointment,  just to ensure all is correct and will make them aware again that I still have received no prep/letter.

I will have to make a trip to the hospital later to collect the prep- I don't want to leave that until tomorrow. The thought of fasting from 1pm onwards tomorrow is already making me hungry!

Thanks again.

Lightrose x 

Before I started the prep I had a meal that I had a take away Chinese. I couldn’t eat it all but it tasted so good. I knew it was not going to be there very long 

Dont read anything into it if they dont give you the results on the day.every hospital is different.I wasnt told anything just sent for a ct and mri.it wasnt until I got an appointment with the surgeon that I was told  anything,by which time I had a pretty good idea of what was happening.

All the best

Kath