I'm working on my second half gallon of GaviLyte at this writing. And, not even remotely trying to jinx myself, it's actually all going okay. I'm getting it down (honey end the end of each glass is helping with the gagging) and I haven't had any of the telltale cramping that used to always accompany the evacuation. My boyfriend keeps saying "I told you everything would be fine!" but I guess I really didn't believe it. My fear of a repeat of previous experiences kept me from doing this for the last four years. Now, I'm not saying it's amazingly great and I'm ready to do it all the time or anything...that would be a big NO. But, I'm getting through it. I even managed to cook my son's dinner in between runs.
One thing I can't figure out is why on earth they can't find something better to use to get one cleaned out sufficiently. We can put a man on the moon, but we can't find a way to make this stuff taste better? Hand it over to Coca-Cola I say, see if they can come up with something! Oh, wait...bad idea. They had that whole "New Coke" thing which was almost as bad. Scratch that.
My procedure is set for tomorrow at 11am. The anesthesiologist will be there, although my doctor is going to try and put me just under enough herself first, but with him as a backup. I haven't been able to tolerate adventures up that direction without being out for years. I told her this, but she's still gonna try. I guess it's safer for me if they can do that, but I don't want to feel anything, nada, nyet. I'm way too sensitive from too many years of illness.
Well, back to the next glass. Wish me luck tomorrow! More to come.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
GaviLyte
If you don't know this word, then you probably haven't had a colonoscopy. I'm in the midst of preparing for mine now. The liquid diet starts tomorrow, so I just finished making lots of varieties of jello jigglers and bought all the other exciting things that will fill my day before I start drinking the GaviLyte. GaviLyte will, if I manage to get it all down, clean me out entirely. It's usually nasty to drink (though this one came with a lemon flavor packet which I'm not sure is going to help) and there's an entire gallon of it. I don't usually drink a gallon of anything in a day.
When I was first having colonoscopies and the myriad of other tests before diagnosis, there was something called GoLightly. That one really made me laugh because it was the exact OPPOSITE of what you do. After a while I switched to the sodium pills which I greatly preferred, but my doctor told me they have been recalled. Apparently if you don't drink enough water with them you can give yourself a heart attack, or something like that. So, well, no more sodium pills for me.
So here I am, back to the gallon jug of doom. I bought bottled water in the hopes of making it taste slightly better. I didn't count however on the cold water causing the mixture to bunch up, so I'm writing this while I'm waiting for it to get closer to room temperature to dissolve so I can put it back in the fridge to get as cold as possible. It helps to get it down when it's cold. Or that's the theory, anyway.
Tomorrow, when I awake, it's liquids, work, liquids, bathroom. That's my exciting plan for the day. Wednesday morning I'll drive to my boyfriend's house, and he'll take me to Kaiser. After I'll stay at his house where he promises to dote on me so I can recover. That's a great thing to look forward to, waking up with him there and knowing I don't have to do a single thing until I feel better.
It's been four years since my last colonoscopy. That's on purpose, because I'm supposed to have them every year but I hate them. I LOATHE THEM. Yep, that's a good word. I can't handle the scope so it's always general anesthesia for me which frankly I prefer. Blink, and its over. I seem to have quite a bit of trouble in recovery though due to the numerous biopsies they have done every time I've had an exam. I feel like crap anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after. I'm hoping this time maybe it won't be that bad. I'm also hoping all goes well with the anesthesia since after losing my elderly cat while under I now have a fear of it...not to mention the whole Michael Jackson thing. I'm trying to just keep positive thoughts and the panic that's rising at bay.
So, here's to some yum yummy stuff and maybe another four years until my next one......
When I was first having colonoscopies and the myriad of other tests before diagnosis, there was something called GoLightly. That one really made me laugh because it was the exact OPPOSITE of what you do. After a while I switched to the sodium pills which I greatly preferred, but my doctor told me they have been recalled. Apparently if you don't drink enough water with them you can give yourself a heart attack, or something like that. So, well, no more sodium pills for me.
So here I am, back to the gallon jug of doom. I bought bottled water in the hopes of making it taste slightly better. I didn't count however on the cold water causing the mixture to bunch up, so I'm writing this while I'm waiting for it to get closer to room temperature to dissolve so I can put it back in the fridge to get as cold as possible. It helps to get it down when it's cold. Or that's the theory, anyway.
Tomorrow, when I awake, it's liquids, work, liquids, bathroom. That's my exciting plan for the day. Wednesday morning I'll drive to my boyfriend's house, and he'll take me to Kaiser. After I'll stay at his house where he promises to dote on me so I can recover. That's a great thing to look forward to, waking up with him there and knowing I don't have to do a single thing until I feel better.
It's been four years since my last colonoscopy. That's on purpose, because I'm supposed to have them every year but I hate them. I LOATHE THEM. Yep, that's a good word. I can't handle the scope so it's always general anesthesia for me which frankly I prefer. Blink, and its over. I seem to have quite a bit of trouble in recovery though due to the numerous biopsies they have done every time I've had an exam. I feel like crap anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after. I'm hoping this time maybe it won't be that bad. I'm also hoping all goes well with the anesthesia since after losing my elderly cat while under I now have a fear of it...not to mention the whole Michael Jackson thing. I'm trying to just keep positive thoughts and the panic that's rising at bay.
So, here's to some yum yummy stuff and maybe another four years until my next one......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)