u/Haunting_Duty883

Having a colonoscopy each year is nothing new to me due to UC and surgeries I’ve had.

But I was thinking back to my last colonoscopy and how I felt the lube gel and wetness in between my cheeks when I woke up.

Look, I know the wetness in my bottom cheeks was from the scope’s lubrication gel as they lube up the anus for the scope to enter in. But at the same time and this is gonna maybe sound overdramatic but I immediately felt dirty, violated, distressed, and maybe even degraded and less than when I felt the lube gel on my anus as it was a distressing reminder of what happened. Even though the procedure was over and I knew what the gel was for obviously. But I was too embarrassed and shook to ask the docs or nurses that came to check up on me about it.

Was I expecting too much of them to think they would clean me up better or at least tell me that there may have been leftover lube? Is it just a rush on their part or just laziness that they wheeled me into recovery with a still soaked and gelled up bottom (and didn’t tell me or didn’t notice the gel) ? They really expected me to clean it myself even though I’m fully out of it and in no position to do it yet?

To give them the benefit of the doubt maybe some remnants in the anus just flowed out though due to gravity ?

But they couldn’t tell me at least when I woke up “hey there may be lube in between your cheeks from the scope!” Nope. They just went over all my vitals , saw I was stable and told me to get dressed and I was free to leave. And I had to go home sitting in the car with the gross lube gel in between my cheeks as a reminder of what happened. Felt like I was in a diaper .

Just got hit today thinking about it and I had a decent panic or anxiety attack.

Was I overreacting or did I get legit PTSD and have a good reason to bring this experience up for my next colonoscopy?

I’ll set this straight , I myself would never do this and I would never recommend anyone do it either for their own safety or anyone else’s. Not to mention for liability reasons. Always follow your doctor’s advice.

Would the “I needed the money so I came in anyway” not a valid reason for them not to fire you? Could they actually just fire you on the spot if they found out you disregarded your discharge instructions and ended up hurt at the job site? Even if you yourself were at fault ?

Like really?! Even though you’re supposed to take it easy and rest for the remainder of the day and not make any important decisions ? As the sedation can linger for up to 24 hours (why they also tell you not to drive or operate any heavy machinery in that time) and impair your judgment and reaction time . Especially if polyps were removed they say to not do any heavy lifting for a while. The last thing you need is to have an incident at your job site.

I have heard if you try to go into work right after and something happens to you (you pass out, fall etc) and they find out you ignored medical advice the company you work for can terminate you and they can even get sued . Not to mention how it seems incredibly reckless and stupid for people to think they can go into work the same day as they should be at home resting (yes I know people recover and react to sedation differently but still). Not to mention you may still feel bloated or have loose stools the rest of the day so I fail to see how anyone would still be down for going back to work the same day.

So I’ve heard like if polyps are found and the site stapled that some people had to keep on a liquid diet for a day or more still after the procedure. Not even solid foods were allowed after for a while.

I really don’t know how well I’d react to it, having to drink only liquids for the previous prep day and now maybe having to do the same for 24 more hours or more . I would freak myself out thinking I could resume eating again only to be told no. And I’d probably be super hangey after too .

Any advice to maybe prepare myself?

This is gonna sound dramatic and maybe silly but I’m super curious.

So I know the procedure is usually outpatient but I have like severe anxiety sometimes that something bad is gonna happen even though I know I’m in good hands. However I have sleep apnea and asthma which does slightly increase the risk of breathing issues while under anesthesia for the procedure (they will have a special machine for me afterwards and I always bring my inhaler in case). Would that give them a good reason to keep me overnight? To make sure nothing happens to me within those 24 hours? And would I have good reason to think I should be admitted afterwards ? Especially if polyps are found and removed ? Last thing I need is going home and developing complications and wishing I would’ve been kept.

On a side note I remember when I was 7 and got my tonsils and adenoids removed that at first I was gonna go home that day but after I developed breathing issues while coming out of surgery they kept me overnight until the next morning.

Like come on. Do they really think most kids or people still won’t still be fatigued, gassy, or have (urgent) loose stools or bleeding (from polyp removal) the day after ? Why would they push people into returning when they may not be fully comfortable yet or recovered ? It’s not good to rush recovery and I’ve heard many people still take the day off after because they’re still not feeling fully well. Not to mention shouldn’t the patient be monitored for the next 24 hours anyway? Especially if the procedure is in the afternoon but their job usually starts early morning ? And for kids in school ?

Do they forget you can’t drive or heavy lift for 24 hours after anesthesia especially if polyps are removed (straining can make the polyp site bleed more)? And how it can affect your mind during that time? Same goes for kids, I fail to see how they’d be fully with it the next day.

The last thing people need is to have an embarrassing incident the next day or a health emergency because they’re still returned to work or school when they shouldn’t have.

So to start, I don’t have a full colon. I got the full on colectomy several years ago so I just have the rectum connecting to the small intestine.

So I got the instructions a while back for my procedure next week and it said to take Miralax and Dulcolax as the prep says. Okay right ? A couple other times I also drank them ahead of time.

Now suddenly today I get a call roughly a week ahead of time that no, I’m not supposed to take them but instead insert an enema the night before and morning of.

Um, I’m sorry. But is this just laziness or incompetency on their part? Whats with the switching between enemas and OTC prep? Why wouldn’t they know by now that I don’t have an actual colon by now so the prep would be different ?! (I’ve been their patient for a little over three years now).

The fact that gave me the wrong instructions is just frigging irritating, there’s no reason that they wouldn’t have it already documented that my prep is different compared to someone with an actual colon.

One doctor also told me the enema tip could irritate the inside, but then if that’s the case why bother using them still ?

So my instructions say to finish the prep around 5 hours before arrival time (they say it’s best that way to make sure the intestines are full cleaned by then) . Even a small sip of water is okay at that time with it too.

However I’m afraid even if I follow the instructions to a tee that when they ask me the last time I had something to drink and I tell them the rest of the prep from 5 hours they’ll be like “well you still drank within the 8 hour fast period so we can’t give you any sedation”. I’m afraid even if I plead my case and say I followed the instructions they’ll still deny me sedation over safety reasons or something as I’ve heard many doctors still abide by the “nothing to eat or drink after midnight” rule.

Part of me wonders if I should just finish the prep around the eight hours ahead so I don’t alarm the doctors .

Am I overreacting or overthinking things ?