My Endoscopies
As those who've been following my blog or chatting with me know, I've been dealing with right-sided abdominal pain since mid-April. This has led from an initial ER visit to an OB/Gyn, to a general doc, to a 2nd OB/Gyn for a second opinion, and finally to a gastroenterologist. He did a lot of labwork, sent me for an abdominal ultrasound, and scheduled both an upper GI endoscopy and a colonoscopy, which I had this morning.
It started yesterday. I was put on a clear liquid diet for the whole day. No milk, nothing with red or purple dye, and nothing solid except Jell-O. At 4 pm I started drinking the 1st of 2 doses of Supraprep. It was horrible! It tasted like bad cherry cough syrup. And it kicked in rather quickly! After an hour in the bathroom, I had a small respite before drinking the 2nd bottle of prep at 7 pm. It was so hard to force myself to drink that 2nd bottle! I was still having occasional bathroom dashes when I went to bed.
My husband came with me for my procedures. I had to have a designated driver, and he of course wanted to be there with me.
I was called back, and first went into a consult room with the nurse. She went over meds and what would be done, and had me sign a couple of consent forms. A name bracelet and an allergy bracelet were affixed to my left wrist. She pointed out the restroom and said she'd meet me at the curtained area. I had to laugh at a sign posted on the back of the restroom door - something about how they do patient surveys so that everything will be great the next time I'm there. I hope that there won't be a next time!
After using the restroom, I saw the nurse setting up in an open curtained area. She instructed me to take off everything and put on the gown, opening to the back, not tied. Then I could call her name and she'd be back. I was allowed to keep my socks on. She left, closing the curtain behind her. I quickly undressed, putting my clothes in the bag provided, and put the warmed gown on, open to the back. I then settled on the stretcher and called the nurse's name.
She came back, gave me a couple warm blankets, and hooked me to monitors: EKG, BP cuff, and pulse-ox. She then started an IV in my right hand, and finished her chart. I met my anesthesiologist and the nurse who would be in the procedure room (a guy), and my hubby was allowed to come back and sit with me until it was time for my procedure.
When it was time, I was wheeled into the endoscopy suite. The anesthesiologist helped position me on my left side very close to the right railing. She gave some fentanyl through my IV. When it kicked in, my vision started looking like an old tv with a slipped vertical hold!
The doc entered the room, and they had a "Time Out". The nurse read my chart, stating why I was there (symptoms) and the procedures being done. Once everyone verbally agreed, the anesthesiologist showed me a pink plastic mouth block - place for teeth to sit, and a hole in the middle for the endoscope to be passed through. She explained what it was, and had me put it in my mouth. Once in, she pushed propofol in my IV and out I went!
I remember waking up to someone calling my name. The recovery nurse was having me bear down to try to release some of the gas used during the colonoscopy. My husband was there. I was able to sip some Sprite, and then the doc came and spoke with us.
He told me that things went well and everything looked pretty good ( they found one small spot of gastritis around my pyloris - the area where the small intestine connects to the stomach). He then told us that the ultrasound done last week showed a gallstone. I now have a referral to a surgeon. I will try to keep things posted as it all progresses.