At 12 pm I took 4 bisacodyl tablets and it's now 4 pm (time to start drinking the solution soon). I'm having severe pain in the middle of my belly. Crap this hurts like nothing I've ever experienced. Is this normal?

I'm also having some anxiety. My dad died of colon cancer at age 42 (I was 11 years old). I have been having intermittent bleeding, constipation, severely bloated abdomen, etc for about a month. The last time I had a colonoscopy, the prep was horrible. I am a bit underweight and prone to dehydration and I blacked out on the commode after having horrible cramps and runs. The morning of the procedure, I passed out on the floor in the bathroom of the hospital and they took me over to the ER, nearly cancelling my colonoscopy. I cried and begged them to do the colonoscopy b/c I couldn't bear the thought of doing the prep again. And here I sit, waiting for the pills to kick in. Any words of comfort? Thank you so much. Love and hugs to you all, Juliah

Hi Julia,

I'm just curious as to why you have to take pills, and liquid for your clean-out? I just had my colonoscopy last Wednesday, and all I had to take was the Visicol pills. I'm sorry to hear about your dad. My dad died of colon cancer in his early 40's, and my sister died of colon cancer at the age of 28. I'm 34, and I've already had 6 colonoscopies, which on all scopes I had polyps. So as you can see, I'm always nervous. Don't feel bad, its ok to feel anxiety. But do not cancel your colonoscopy. How was your last scope, and how often do you have colonoscopies? My doctor said due to the fact that I'm high risk, I will have to have a scope every year. Sorry to go off your question, but try and drink some ginger-ale, and see if that will help your stomach. This board is wonderful, and its full of support. You've came to the right place.

Good luck,

July

I don't have any words of wisdom, but hang in there. What you are feeling is probably normal. Get better soon and take care!

Next time ask if you can extend the prep over two days. Half the first and half the second. This worked well for me with Golytly as the prep. It tastes bad but at only half each day is bearable. Since you are underweight make sure to drink clear liquids other than plain water. Kool-aid even is better than plain water since it has sugar(stay away from red coloring though, try lime(green) or lemon(yellow) ) Sport drinks with electrolytes are even better as is clear chicken broth.

Another prep idea from another cancer survivor is to take a multivitamin pill a few hours before the prep( upon waking the day of the prep for instance). A good multivitamin with a load of minerals such as Centrum complete.

Julia:
I'm sure they must have taken some blood to run some labs... probably determined your electrolytes were off due to dehydration. I hope by now, you have completed your prep, and have had the colonoscopy. Please share with us the results,

I'm praying everything worked out well.

Best Wishes,
CancerDad