For the longest time (years), I have had some digestion issues. I felt like when I ate better, my body did better and I didn't notice the problems. When I ate foods that were higher in sugar. or more refined foods, I noticed the problem more. I also noticed the issue when I was more stressed. Probably the two go hand-in-hand. I never experienced any pain, but I did notice some blood in my stool. I was probably pretty naive and maybe a little stubborn.
Every now and then I thought it would probably be a good idea to get it checked, but life was so busy that I just didn't take the time. So finally a couple of months ago, I decided it was time to get it checked out. I had noticed it seemed to be worse and it just felt more urgent this time. It didn't seem like it was going away as it had before. I don't really have a regular doctor to go to, so i just thought I would go straight to a gastroenterologist and talk to them to see what they might say.
I went on a Tuesday afternoon and he said that since it has been going on so long he anticipated it would likely be polyps in the colon that was causing it. He didn't seem to suspect cancer, so I walked away feeling really good - like it would be an easy fix. They were able to get me in to get a colonoscopy on Monday morning first thing, so I was grateful for that.
I wasn't really very excited about the colonoscopy prep - for a few days I needed to eat a very low-fiber diet - something I don't do very often. I like a lot of fresh vegetables and whole grains. So that was a challenge. But I made it. On Sunday I drank clear liquids only.
At noon I took a stool softener and things started moving in the afternoon. Then I drank a half-gallon of Miralax - a glass at a time every 15 minutes. So that worked out well until the sixth glass out of six. That one came up the same way it went down. But I was pretty well cleaned out by then. I woke up at 3:15 to drink the last two glasses and it went through fine.
Lori was kind enough to come with me to drive me home after. After you do all the prep, the colonoscopy is pretty nice. They give you a nice shot through an IV. I don't think I saw her finish the injection before I was out. The next thing I knew they were waking me up. They gave me some juice and I was awfully thirsty so it tasted good.
The doctor came in and brought me in the report with pictures of my colon all the way around. He was very surprised to find a mass in there, right inside the rectum.
Lori brought me home and was surprised how lucid I was. She laughed later and said I was a little loopier than normal and probably a little less guarded. :) But she was good to be with me until she was sure I was good. And I was just fine.
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