Two Days - "The Last Supper"

Day after tomorrow! 


Today is my last day of solid food. I don't know when I will be able to eat solid food again. Hopefully, a week after the surgery? It's strange for me to think about. This whole "food fear" thing has been weird to me...being a member of the "Clean Plate Club" and all...eating has NEVER been a problem for me. 


Thankfully, I don't have to do a "colon prep". For those of you who don't know what a colon prep is, I can explain. 


Generally a colon prep is done before a colonoscopy. It is done to clean out your colon and enable the doctor to see the walls of your colon and find polyps. The day before your procedure, you are on a clear liquid diet. Broths, juices, jello, but nothing with red or blue coloring and limited orange. Basically, your choices of anything flavored are limited to lemon or lime. >shudders<


You need to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy for the "fun stuff". This (for me) included a small bottle of pills, a 10 oz. bottle of magnesium citrate (labeled "The Sparkling Laxative"...oh fun.), and this jug that looks like something that belongs in the garage, filled with something green or pink, that you need to put in your car at regular intervals. The jug was so big, it wouldn't fit through the drive through slide out thingie...the pharmacist had to bring it out to my car. His send-off, "Have fun." 


Nice.


On the day before the procedure (a.k.a. "Party day"), you take the pills at noon. The pills did nothing for me. Several people advised me to chill and flavor the stuff in the jug. "It makes it easier to drink if it's cold and flavored." My flavoring choice was Crystal Light Lemonade. 


At 6pm, I was to start drinking the stuff in the jug. The instructions say to drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes until gone. Ok, I can do this. I pour the liquid into a glass, and take a sip. Whoah. It tastes like lemon flavored crushed aspirin. Then, I look at the huge jug of it sitting on the counter. I have to drink all of that. This sucks!


I slammed the 8 ounces, and had to rinse my mouth out. "Fear Factor" was going through my head. If they can do...whatever...I can do this.


The "party" didn't start for about ninety minutes. An hour after it started, I was doing "#1 out of the #2 hole"...and I was about 2/3 the way through the jug of hell. I was getting cold, and starting to tear up at the thought of another glass. Finally, my body had enough, and I threw up at the last attempt. I couldn't do anymore. There was an inch of  liquid left in the jug. I was exhausted...not from the pooping, from the fighting this vile, nasty, liquid from hell. 


I had to visit the bathroom a couple more times, but was able to go to bed at around 10 pm. It took two hours to warm up, wearing scrubs, a robe, and under down blankets.


At 4:30 am the next morning, I had to do the "Sparkling Laxative". It was lemon, too. I had read that this stuff was just as nasty as the jug stuff, just in a different way. After the party with the jug, I had considered skipping this tasty treat. But, I wanted to say I followed the instructions, so I drank it. This was not nearly as bad as the jug. I could have drank this stuff all night! Very tart, acidic. Reminded me of a drink my grandma had on hand for mixed drinks called "Lemon Sour". Tolerable. 


My procedure was at 10:30am, and you know the rest.


When people say getting a colonoscopy isn't as bad as the prep, this is what they are talking about! It is absolutely correct. 


And, I don't have to do it for my surgery! Woo hoo! I guess when the first part of the colon is removed, a prep doesn't affect the risk for infection. I could have kissed the surgeon when she told me this. I have also been informed that there are several different choices for prep...I will definitely be researching this, as I will be having colonoscopies yearly as a follow-up to my surgery. 


Today, I will be enjoying my last day of solid food. The day after tomorrow, I start my recovery. I can't wait!