The Pains of Prep
By: Brianna Bowers
I have been through many different medical procedures: colonoscopies and endoscopies, a knee surgery, tonsillectomy, biopsies, and countless others. Through this, I have gained a lot of knowledge on what one needs to do to prepare. Since I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease as a child, there is truly only one procedure that has been consistent in my life and that is the colonoscopy/endoscopy. Out of every procedure, this one has been unfailing in breaking down my mind.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that can be spread throughout the digestive tract. The immune system becomes overactive due to this disease and can eliminate not only the bad cells, but the good cells as well. This causes perforations within the bowel, which can be extremely painful.
The procedure overall is considered a “scope,” where the patient is placed under anesthesia and doctors place two cameras in their body to take pictures. The goal of this is to take notice of any abnormalities that may be occurring within the large intestine and gut. A lot of people need to go through colonoscopies every so often to check for colon cancer. Others, like myself, have chronic illnesses that affect the gut.
The specific preparations for colonoscopies are known to be difficult, even for grown adults. As someone who has gone through this 18 times, it has been difficult each time.
The very first day includes weaning off solids, only eating soft foods that include pasta, macaroni and cheese, bagels, etc. The second day is when you go from solids to only liquids, in which someone can have broth and jello. (Side-note: I now hate Jello because of this.)
On the third day, where the actual hard part occurs, you must drink sixty-four ounces of any liquid, specifically without red dye since it could be mistaken for blood during the procedure, along with laxatives over the course of six hours. Originally as a child, this amount had to be done in an hour and a half. Although it has changed significantly time-wise, it is still mentally daunting. You would then end the night with medicine and would no longer be on liquids until the end of your procedure.
Through the years, I have tried many different things to have an easier colonoscopy prep. Nothing has worked. There was a time I thought “lemonade is my favorite drink, so that should do the trick.” Long story short, that did not work. Another time, I tried using a straw instead of drinking from the cup, but this idea failed as well. One time, I tried the prep with just spicy chicken broth, and I still was unsuccessful. No matter what I did, spoiler alert: it was always a challenge to get to the finish line.
This year, I had a scheduled colonoscopy/endoscopy for June, and it was no different compared to the many other attempts. I started out the same, confident in the beginning with the thought that it will be different. I even started the preparations a few days before I was supposed to. I had an entire plan of how I was going to go about it, where I would finish half a bottle every thirty minutes. I was two hours into the six hour challenge when my resolve slowly started fading and everything went wrong. Once I began to stall every time I needed to drink, it was noted by my family members that I was deteriorating.
And trust me, that was just the start. With four hours left, I already started to break down mentally.
Throughout the remaining time, it was very difficult to get through the rest of the bottles of lemonade I had. My friend, who was there to assist me, even tried it on her own and could not handle it. It felt like I was slowly giving up as I kept asking my dad what would happen if I did not finish all the lemonade bottles. The answer: “just try your best.”
Not only was I starting to feel down in the dumps, but I also started to feel sick. I am not someone who can drink a lot of liquids throughout the day. So when I chose a sugary drink to start, not only was it too much liquid, but the sugar was starting to get to me. I had two hours left at this point and I was really struggling. Having a complete breakdown only made the situation worse, as my anxiety convinced me that I would not be able to get it done.
Throughout each of these instances, my mental health was the part that really hit the nail on the head when being unsuccessful. I had thoughts like: If I do not finish, will I have to repeat this? Or, what happens if it is not enough? It would all come down to, do I have to go through this process again?
For some reason, I always crossed the finish line— one that I originally did not think I would be able to do. In the moment, I would always count down the minutes until it would all be over, although it seemed like the day would never end.
No matter who my support system is or how confident I am at the start of the process, the mental aspect of preparing for these types of procedures is always the most difficult. There were a lot of pressing issues during each of my preps that ranged from the liquid intake going too fast or I was getting sick too easily, but at the end of it, my mind took over and ruined everything.
Overall, even though procedures are meant to assist with your physical wellbeing, your mental wellbeing is just as important, if not more. My experiences with colonoscopies and endoscopies are certainly not the same as others, but the procedure, like many others, is extremely difficult. Although it is difficult, these are situations that need to be done for the benefit of our health. The most important thing to remember is that, at the end of the day, the preparations will always come to a close regardless of the mental struggle and that you will always make it to the finish line.