The jug is now empty, all the TriLyte (ten and a half glasses) has been consumed, and I'm definitely a lot cleaner inside (and still getting cleaner) than I was. The liquid did get pretty unpleasant to drink, but after the break I had no more trouble with nausea. I found that rinsing with plain water or white grape juice (which I'm allowed) helped clean out the flavor between doses--I could have drunk the grape juice, but I was drinking more than enough already.
Vaseline is proving helpful at keeping my anus from feeling raw.
I had only the bits of nausea, never had any cramping or other side-effects. A bit of mild "feeling chilly", but that's partially not having eaten quite as much and the effects of constantly consuming cold beverages, and nothing that a blanket doesn't handle perfectly well.
And that is, by all accounts, as bad as this entire process is going to get. Hooray!
I can continue with clear liquids (clear broth, yellow jello, soda, tea, coffee, water, fizzy water, etc.) through 3am as I wish.
Showing posts with label colon blow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colon blow. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Taking a break..
...glass six, part way through, the nausea became acute. Following instructions I'll wait a half hour and then return to the glass-every-15-minutes schedule. My movements are now essentially liquid, but there's still a lot more to clean out. The nausea is already passing, and for the most part this has been a fairly minor annoyance.
Preparation for Colon Blow
In addition to dietary restrictions, before the colonoscopy I need to clear my entire GI tract. Yesterday Mary asked me if I'd need to have an enema, I pointed out that the process I'll go through today was sort of like an enema with the fluid going in the other side, I'll be taking laxatives, fluids and TriLyte according to a set schedule which will leave me needing to be near a bathroom for most of the afternoon and evening.
As I reread this, it sounds like I'm complaining, and to be honest, I'm not. I'm sure this isn't, and won't be, a pleasant process, nausea, bloating and cramps are common parts of the "flushing" experience before a colonoscopy. But I really do look at this as being easier than having colon cancer, and easier than having more intrusive surgery, and from that perspective, it's almost a relief to know that polyps--tissue that might later become cancerous, will be able to be addressed sooner (if necessary) rather than later.
About an hour ago I prepared the TriLyte. This is a prescription medicine that consists of a 4-liter plastic jug (like a big plastic milk jug) with a bunch of powder in the bottom, and a couple of "flavor packets". Preparation consists of adding a flavor packet (one of the provided five flavors) to the powder already in the jug, filling the jug with water, mixing it, and cooling it. It sounds simple, and it is, but there is something a bit intimidating about filling a gallon jug of something that I know I'm going to be drinking later today.
There are five flavor packets, orange, lemon-lime, cherry, citrus berry, and pineapple. I'm told that the nature of the electrolytes in the TriLyte solution are bad enough that these will only slightly aid the palatability of the fluid, and while I got a couple recommendations that the orange was the "least chemical" of the bunch, I've boldly decided to go for the citrus berry. You'll also want to chill the liquid if you can before drinking it, I'm told, apparently this makes the taste less awful. I did add warm, not cold water, when I mixed the TriLyte to get the powder to dissolve completely (that took more shaking of the jug than I expected), but it'll have a few hours to chill in the refrigerator before I get to enjoy it.
Oh, and the mixture looks ... soapy!
Oh, anticipation.
As I reread this, it sounds like I'm complaining, and to be honest, I'm not. I'm sure this isn't, and won't be, a pleasant process, nausea, bloating and cramps are common parts of the "flushing" experience before a colonoscopy. But I really do look at this as being easier than having colon cancer, and easier than having more intrusive surgery, and from that perspective, it's almost a relief to know that polyps--tissue that might later become cancerous, will be able to be addressed sooner (if necessary) rather than later.
About an hour ago I prepared the TriLyte. This is a prescription medicine that consists of a 4-liter plastic jug (like a big plastic milk jug) with a bunch of powder in the bottom, and a couple of "flavor packets". Preparation consists of adding a flavor packet (one of the provided five flavors) to the powder already in the jug, filling the jug with water, mixing it, and cooling it. It sounds simple, and it is, but there is something a bit intimidating about filling a gallon jug of something that I know I'm going to be drinking later today.
There are five flavor packets, orange, lemon-lime, cherry, citrus berry, and pineapple. I'm told that the nature of the electrolytes in the TriLyte solution are bad enough that these will only slightly aid the palatability of the fluid, and while I got a couple recommendations that the orange was the "least chemical" of the bunch, I've boldly decided to go for the citrus berry. You'll also want to chill the liquid if you can before drinking it, I'm told, apparently this makes the taste less awful. I did add warm, not cold water, when I mixed the TriLyte to get the powder to dissolve completely (that took more shaking of the jug than I expected), but it'll have a few hours to chill in the refrigerator before I get to enjoy it.
Oh, and the mixture looks ... soapy!
Oh, anticipation.
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