My DH has prostate cancer

[bbbamI]

Ahhhh W2R, I'm sorry you had to go through that...but I'm glad everything is ok.

 

[ls99]

Thanks, guys, I'm taking "world-class colonoscopy" notes.

Presuming I still have a colon to scope after my taekwondo black-belt testing is over, I'll be surrendering myself to the scheduling authorities on 15 Feb.

Heh, heh. If you do badly they'll tear you a new one.

I'm sure being the laid back casual dude, you have been easing up to the demo.


Good luck, and be sure to keep the original for when the doc needs to examine the twists and turns.

 

[BTravlin]

bbbamI, the description of the prep for and actual colonoscopy procedure are spot on. Both my mother and aunt died from colon cancer so I've had 3 screenings so far and all results were good.

The first time I did the prep I used the cherry flavored HalfLytely. Tried the first drink and I thought this isn't too bad but then you have to drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes. By the time I got about half a gallon down that cherry stuff was starting to taste a little on the greasy side. Strange that I didn't notice that at first. Anyway, I got about 3/4 of a gallon down when my stomach couldn't take it anymore and I did my best Linda Blair impression. And before I could even begin to get that cleaned up that dreaded cherry elixir had it's intended effect. Fun times were not had by me that evening!

Anyway, the moral of the story is DO NOT to let your doctor prescribe the gallon jug routine. There are other, more humane, options available. Now you can just get a couple of small bottles of some liquid and drink those. Much easier!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Bbbam, your DH has a nice sense of humor. And I like that he's a DingDong man, and this bit:

After I came more to my senses, I got dressed and my wife drove us home. She had a snack of Hostess DingDongs and water for me to have on the way. Now I know why I married her.

 

[Moemg]

I spent a few years working in an Endoscopy center and everybody complains about the prep no matter what it is . Try to get an early morning appointment . Endoscopy centers do lots of patients and usually start to back up around 11 am so your appointment will be a lot later . Make sure you take all your prep no matter how much you hate it . If you are not clean they send you home to do another prep . After this awful ordeal eat light . I violated this rule and paid for it with instant nausea . Last clue dress in easy to get off & on clothes and lastly my own personal clue get rid of the left over juice , broth & other stuff from your prep or you will gag ( trust me on this ) every time you see it .. and Kudos to MR. bbami for doing a great job . He must have he got Ding Dongs !

 

[freebird5825]

Oh the joys of the colonoscopy prep process...
DH did an excellent j*b with his writeup. I award him an A+.

I myself am on the 3 year schedule, not because of polyps, but because of some non-irritated minor diverticula that need to be monitored. I was advised to give up seeds, corn on the cob, popcorn and nuts of all kinds, or be guilty of playing the equivalent of gasto-intestinal Russian roulette. All I need is one of those things to get lodged, inflame my innards and I'll be in a heap o' trouble.

My next one is 2012, in the spring. I will be there, right on schedule, for sure.

 

[Nords]

Make sure your spouse brings along some DingDongs....that will make it all better.

I'm more of a bananas kind of guy, at least until I lay down a solid base coat before applying a finish of chocolate...

There are other, more humane, options available. Now you can just get a couple of small bottles of some liquid and drink those. Much easier!

Were you planning to share your brand names or links with the rest of the audience?

Endoscopy centers do lots of patients and usually "start to back up" around 11 am...

... so to speak?

 

[Rambler]

Oh the joys of the colonoscopy prep process...
DH did an excellent j*b with his writeup. I award him an A+.

I myself am on the 3 year schedule, not because of polyps, but because of some non-irritated minor diverticula that need to be monitored. I was advised to give up seeds, corn on the cob, popcorn and nuts of all kinds, or be guilty of playing the equivalent of gasto-intestinal Russian roulette. All I need is one of those things to get lodged, inflame my innards and I'll be in a heap o' trouble.

My next one is 2012, in the spring. I will be there, right on schedule, for sure.

Interesting. Mine flared up before I knew I had them. Don't wanna go thru that again. My dad has this issue as well and has been given the same "no seeds, no nuts, no corn...etc" advice. So I asked my doc about that. He told me that is the advice they used to give and that I could eat anything I wanted unless and until I found something that caused me trouble. He said that the old advice had actually not been proven. Who knows for certain. Anyway, so far so good. This was 3 years ago, almost to the day. I remember it well because the flare-up started on a plane-ride from Paris to Tokyo. Every little bump of turbulence hurt like H E DOUBLE-toothpicks. Same for the drive back home, and for the walk to the doc's office in the morning (every step in that case).

After the flare cleared, I had the scope, but the way they do it in Japan is to have you come to the hospital in the morning after not eating the night before, and have you drink the potion. By noon or so, you are cleaned out, and they start the scoping in the afternoon. The worst part of all of this is that they only have two stalls in the restroom, and 5-6 people prepping at the same time. Talk about a backup...Whew! Anyway, with "elder-tang" (thanks to T-Al for that fitting description of Metamucil) and a much higher fiber diet since then, I've had no problems, even with seeds and nuts.

Loved Mr bbbami's description though. I read it during an executive committee dinner, and could not stop laughing (nor could I tell them why I was laughing...). Glad to hear there were no problems.

R

 

[BTravlin]

Were you planning to share your brand names or links with the rest of the audience?

Here you go:

LoSo Prep™
LoSo Prep™ is a complete bowel cleansing system that eliminates the major sources of patient dissatisfaction common to other preps. Each kit includes a 1.2 oz packet of effervescent magnesium citrate that produces approximately 8 oz of laxative, for the patient to consume on the evening prior to his or her procedure. Bowel evacuation with LoSo Prep™ is thorough, comparatively gentle, and offers significant advantages in several areas important to patient acceptance.
Low Liquid Volume
Consuming large volumes of fluid during a short period of time is a major complaint associated with the prepping process. Except for periodically taking in liquids to maintain proper hydration, LoSo Prep™ requires patients to drink one 8 oz portion of magnesium citrate. Contrast this small amount of liquid with the 3 to 4 liters of PEG laxatives that must be consumed for thorough cleansing.

 

[GregLee]

I found the colonoscopy prep liquids I tried slightly nauseating, so I asked for pills, instead. For my last 2 colonoscopies I took OsmoPrep tablets --- it's about 30 fairly large pills, and I take one every 15 minutes with water (or whatever) the evening before a morning procedure. Not pleasant, but not that bad.

 

[Nords]

Thanks for everyone's brand names and info. Nice to know that such "choices" are available...

 

[kyounge1956]

I found the colonoscopy prep liquids I tried slightly nauseating, so I asked for pills, instead. For my last 2 colonoscopies I took OsmoPrep tablets --- it's about 30 fairly large pills, and I take one every 15 minutes with water (or whatever) the evening before a morning procedure. Not pleasant, but not that bad.

I have had two colonoscopies. For the most recent one I also had the large quantity of liquid to drink as described by bbami's DH. It took longer to work than I was told it would, and made me really queasy before it finally took effect. Was there any nausea/queasiness with the OsmoPrep?

I did notice one difference between this and the prep I had the first time around, which is that I didn't feel nearly as light-headed and weak this time. At the time of that earlier procedure, I thought the light-headedness was due to hunger, because I almost never go that long without eating. Now I wonder if it was caused by dehydration. Does the prep with pills avoid this also?

 

[GregLee]

Was there any nausea/queasiness with the OsmoPrep?

I didn't have any nausea from the pills. My wife didn't mind the liquid stuff at all, though, and pills make her gag.

... dehydration. Does the prep with pills avoid this also?

I didn't notice any lightheadedness (but I tend not to notice such things). The pills may cause dehydration, so it's important to drink lots of liquid with them --- I recall reading that there have been some cases of kidney failure when patients did not drink the prescribed liquids.

Here is a long discussion thread about various prep agents: http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1630#p9929

 

[bbbamI]

After the flare cleared, I had the scope, but the way they do it in Japan is to have you come to the hospital in the morning after not eating the night before, and have you drink the potion. By noon or so, you are cleaned out, and they start the scoping in the afternoon. The worst part of all of this is that they only have two stalls in the restroom, and 5-6 people prepping at the same time. Talk about a backup...Whew!
R

....all I can envision is tacklin' and [-]poop[/-] bodies being flung in the air....

 

[Meadbh]

Thanks, guys, I'm taking "world-class colonoscopy" notes.

Presuming I still have a colon to scope after my taekwondo black-belt testing is over, I'll be surrendering myself to the scheduling authorities on 15 Feb.

That'll make a nice follow up to Valentine's day.

 

[MBAustin]

Great thread on colonoscopy that might be found by more folks if it was a thread on its own, not sure if the Moderators can do that or not.

In any case, getting the word out about this saves lives. Just had a friend who dutifully called for their appointment on their 50th birthday and by doing so significantly raised his probability of many more...he had surgery a week later for Stage II colon cancer. Zero symptoms, zero family risk factors.

Just do it!

 

[bbbamI]

Great thread on colonoscopy that might be found by more folks if it was a thread on its own, not sure if the Moderators can do that or not.

In any case, getting the word out about this saves lives. Just had a friend who dutifully called for their appointment on their 50th birthday and by doing so significantly raised his probability of many more...he had surgery a week later for Stage II colon cancer. Zero symptoms, zero family risk factors.

Just do it!

If the mods want to split it up...that's fine with me...

I'm glad your friend is doing well MB.

 

[Nords]

That'll make a nice follow up to Valentine's day.

Telling the clinic in February that I want a routine colonoscopy will probably mean that I don't get it until April. Believe me, I'm in no hurry...

 

[NW-Bound]

I had the procedure done 2 years ago. The prep was nowhere the ordeal like most people feared. In fact, I do not even remember the stuff that the doc's procedural sheet specified for me to buy. But I remember it cost less than $20, and in some small packages or bottles. See, I do not even remember that much, so it had to be insignificant.

What I do remember is that I had to have free access to the bath room AT ALL TIMES during the prep day. I followed the written procedure to the letter, which told me to ingest quite a bit of water. Anyway, the doc's report later noted "Nice prep." Obviously, he had seen too many patients who did not follow his instructions.

...After the flare cleared, I had the scope, but the way they do it in Japan is to have you come to the hospital in the morning after not eating the night before, and have you drink the potion. By noon or so, you are cleaned out, and they start the scoping in the afternoon. The worst part of all of this is that they only have two stalls in the restroom, and 5-6 people prepping at the same time. Talk about a backup...Whew!

I would pay extra to have one stall reserved JUST FOR ME. Else, I would not do it in their hospital. Enough said!

 

[Meadbh]

Great thread on colonoscopy that might be found by more folks if it was a thread on its own, not sure if the Moderators can do that or not.

In any case, getting the word out about this saves lives. Just had a friend who dutifully called for their appointment on their 50th birthday and by doing so significantly raised his probability of many more...he had surgery a week later for Stage II colon cancer. Zero symptoms, zero family risk factors.

Just do it!

MB, we've had multiple threads about the merits and adventures of colonoscopy (for some reason it seems to be an emotive topic around here) which can be found using the Search function.

 

[Ronstar]

I had mine done as part of a recon mission to investigate a abdominal growth. Endoscopy was done simultaneously. The 2 scopes covered everything but my small intestine. My insurance co received the bill with 2 procedure preps on it and insisted on paying for only one prep since the 2 were done at the same time. The doctor insisted that he be paid for both since the 2 preps were done at two distinctly different body parts. I think the insurance co won, but I liked the doctor's reasoning.

 

[bbbamI]

We finally made the trip to the medical center this morning for DH’s radiology appointment. His appointment had to be rescheduled twice because of bad weather. A few of the roads were clear, but most were not and were treacherous. But I digress…

Before we left for his appointment, he had to spend some time with his ‘buddy’…the enema; then drink 16 ounces of water. We made it to the center on time without much conversation. However DH took me by surprise when he took advantage of the empty snow laden lot next to the center and proceeded to do a donut in the car. Mmm, hmmm…boyz will be boyz.

He didn’t have to wait long to be called back into the examining room. While there, he laid on a table while a foam mold was wrapped around his legs. They ‘vacuum sealed’ it and will use the bottom part of the mold to keep him still during RT. Next he had a scan; then came the time for his tattoos. He has two dots on his hips and one right above the groin. He was not pleased with said tattoos as they were painful.

I sat in the lobby waiting for him. I tried to read, but that was impossible. I kept glancing at the other people in the lobby wondering what type of cancer they had. I wondered how sick or worried they were. My mind went to my DH and wondered how much anxiety he was feeling and if they were doing anything to him that was painful. I felt my eyes puddle up a few times but managed to keep myself together.

Of course when we left the medical center, there was that damned mat on the floor that said Oncology. ...........sigh.......

He is scheduled to have x-rays next Wednesday and the following day the RT will begin….and end after 44 treatments.

Oh…btw…once again he took advantage of that lot and maneuvered another donut when we left.

 

[BTravlin]

Good for him, shows he's maintaining a good attitude in the face of adversity!

 

[Moemg]

I sat in the lobby waiting for him. I tried to read, but that was impossible. I kept glancing at the other people in the lobby wondering what type of cancer they had. I wondered how sick or worried they were. My mind went to my DH and wondered how much anxiety he was feeling and if they were doing anything to him that was painful. I felt my eyes puddle up a few times but managed to keep myself together.

These treatments are going to be as hard on you as they are for him so try to find something to distract you . Something light like trashy novels or people magazine or an ipod with music or your lap top or crosswords . Any thing that will keep your mind occupied . Also you need to treat yourself well . This will take a toll on you to so eat chocolate ,take bubble baths and sip J.D .

 

[bbbamI]

Ahhhhh once a nurse...always a nurse. Thanks Moe.