Well this should be fun: Just scheduled my first ever colonoscopy...

[Rich Beaudoin]

I’m thankful I could choose a non-invasive option

[Mabouya]

Propofol is a wonderful drug.

I found a German study online that suggests that after 2 hours it's probably safe to drive after Propofol:

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncpgasthep0589

Anyone care to comment on how soon afterwards they would likely have been safe driving? (six hours would work well for me, not driving until the next day makes thing a bit more complicated) I assume (if I'm given a choice) that "light to medium" sedation is better in this regard than "heavy" sedation (whatever that means).

[Peter Polack]

Anyone care to comment on how soon afterwards they would likely have been safe driving?

I could have easily driven home after the procedure, no waiting. I wonder if they would have let me ride my bike home had I ridden to the procedure center?

[ldamelio]

I've been getting routine colonoscopies every 2-5 years since the late 1980s dure to a hereditary predisposition for colo-rectal cancer -- so I've been through >6 and <15 such procedures -- and not once has the supervising gastroenterologist suggested "5 days of low residue diet."

Or 5 days of anything, for that matter.

I've had four different GI docs over those ~30 years and they've all said one day of liquid-only diet, then do the prep, then come on down to the hospital for the fun part.

...

Wonder what I'm missing?

Nothing, 5 days of low residue is unnecessary and overkill, not evidence-based. WRT recovery time after propofol, you will feel perfectly normal within an hour or two but facilities tell you not to drive, etc. for 24 hours out of a combination of prudence and risk management. WRT the 'non-invasive options', Cologuard is good for screening but misses about 10% of cancers. CT colonography is only about 70- 75% sensitive and involves a fairly heavy radiation dose. For now, colonoscopy remains the gold standard. I anticipate that will change sometime in the next decade or two.

[guido]

I've been getting routine colonoscopies every 2-5 years since the late 1980s dure to a hereditary predisposition for colo-rectal cancer -- so I've been through >6 and <15 such procedures -- and not once has the supervising gastroenterologist suggested "5 days of low residue diet."

Or 5 days of anything, for that matter.

I've had four different GI docs over those ~30 years and they've all said one day of liquid-only diet, then do the prep, then come on down to the hospital for the fun part.

...

Wonder what I'm missing?

My two previous ones were one day of liquids and the power cleanse prep. Not fun at all. This most recent one was the first one for me that called for the low residue diet. Same Doctor as the previous two, new practice. My SO's sister who is a vet (but quite connected to current human medical trends) said that it was an increasingly mainstream prep method...

[Saab2000]

I could have easily driven home after the procedure, no waiting. I wonder if they would have let me ride my bike home had I ridden to the procedure center?

I thought the same. My experience post facto tells me it’s better not to attempt this. Let some else drive and make decisions for a few hours after an anesthesia procedure. It’s normal to feel normal but my experience tells me I wasn’t normal. I paid a tiny price but operating a car could exact a larger consequence.

[Mabouya]

More "driving after propofol" info:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28938982/

[Bingissimo]

A catheter at a urologist clinic is worse.

A urethral swab is even worse than that, at least the catheter is smooth, lubricated silicone. The swab felt like a beach towel wrapped around a 2X4. Hazards of being a donor at an artificial insemination clinic during university.

On the other hand I had the most killer sound system in the dorm.

[Mabouya]

On the other hand I had the most killer sound system in the dorm.

Did your fellow residents know how you'd prostituted yourself to earn the cash?

If so, I bet that after a few beers those were some interesting discussions...

[lumpy]

I had my first colonoscopy this summer. I didn't find the Suprep as nauseating as word had it. And purging myself was unpleasant but I knew it was short term and had the time blocked out so it wasn't terrible. Compared with the onset of giardia I once enjoyed on a flight home from Africa, it was a piece of cake. The anaesthesia was way more benign than I expected. Usually I feel like crap when I've gone under but I came out of that feeling like I'd had a particularly good night's sleep.

As to the decision making, I'd be very conservative. I felt 100% on the ball, but one of my clients really needed something that afternoon and so I did it; looking at it the next day there were obvious errors that I had totally missed. So I wouldn't drive after the procedure.

[Jeffrey Borisch]

I don't know what drug I was given but I sure as hell should not have touched any machinery till the next day. It was kind of a surprise after the handouts said "you might remain partially awake. during the procedure" Hardly.

[j44ke]

One time. I drank the prep and nothing happened. I went to bed. Slept 2 hours and then woke up with some urgency. Spent 12AM to about an hour before departing on the toilet. Riding the subway was tough. Got to the clinic, onto the operating table, the anesthesiologist said “start coun…” that was all I heard until the nurse started shaking me to get me up. Took about an hour to get stable on my feet. My wife led me home. Plenty of non-sequitor remarks from me. Basically lay on the couch until about 6PM when I started to feel normal. Ate a giant falafel sandwich and pile of fries from Taim and 3 Boylan’s black cherry sodas. Took me a week to get back to a non-explosive relationship with the toilet. I am not looking forward to the next one, which should have been last year but now will be in a couple months.

[monadnocky]

One of the drugs commonly used in the procedure is Versed (midazolam), a potent benzo that happens to cause anterograde amnesia for a few hours.
Apparently, this caused me to sing "Moon River" when the scope was introduced (anyone else a fan of "Fletch?") and having absolutely no memory of it (this is something in my normal life I would never do, nor would I think it would be funny in the least).
Have fun.

[Tom]

I have to say I do get a little nervous going in to surgeries worried about what I might dig up from my repressed subconscious when they load me up. Not to mention that the last couple times I went in to get stuff done I was completely buck naked under the little sheet and it's a whole room full of people I don't know. Maybe it's better I don't know them but I do have to go back to see the surgeon for followups so if I did something truly embarrassing or weird at least I don't remember it.

[Bingissimo]

... I went in to get stuff done I was completely buck naked under the little sheet and it's a whole room full of people I don't know.

Yeah that's always fun. When I had my vasectomy i had to shave to prep. Feet in the stirrups, the surgeon flips back the sheet and remarks, "Good shave you look like a porn star, well 1/3 of a porn star anyway." And when he went to inject the freezing he said, "Just a little needle prick, sorry I shouldn't call you that." Funny guy. One nurse rolled her eyes, the other chuckled behind the mask. Fortunately his schtick eventually caught the ears of higher ups and his 'retirement' started a few years earlier than he intended.

[Mabouya]

Well, the results are in - no polyps, come back in 10 years.

One thing worth noting (and I'm sure this varies from person to person) - I'd heard that propfol provides "the best nap you've ever had" and before the procedure one of nurses mentioned that. In my case there was no such thing. I came to and was groggy for a few minutes, and that was it, no "special rest" feeling at all. Other than that, there were no surprises, and it's one less thing I need to deal with...

[guido]

Good to hear it went smoothly!

[jdanke]

One time. I drank the prep and nothing happened. I went to bed. Slept 2 hours and then woke up with some urgency. Spent 12AM to about an hour before departing on the toilet.

I just got the materials in the mail for my early Dec appt. The doc is going with Suprep, not Sutab, because he apparently believes the liquid works better.

The first dose is to be taken between 6 and 7pm the night before, and the second dose 5 hours prior to the exam (that would put it at 7am). The instructions say "the laxative starts to work in 3 or 4 hours.... individual responses to laxatives vary widely; plan to remain within easy reach of the toilet facilities." Now I'm slightly worried I won't get much sleep either...

Feels kind of strange to discuss with, basically, a bunch of strangers on the internet (no offense, see my post count) but that's what the internet is for.

Ate a giant falafel sandwich and pile of fries from Taim and 3 Boylan’s black cherry sodas.

Okay, this makes it worthwhile.

[Mabouya]

The instructions say "the laxative starts to work in 3 or 4 hours.... individual responses to laxatives vary widely; plan to remain within easy reach of the toilet facilities." Now I'm slightly worried I won't get much sleep either...

Hey Stranger...

In my case (Sutab) the first dose worked in 2 hrs, and 2 hrs after the "initial effect" (if you know what I mean) it was all said and done.

The second dose worked in 1 hr, and 3 hrs after that all the damage had been done.

(yes, I kept notes...)

The only thing they will be interested in when you check in (at least they were for me) was when you last drank water, which will have been the last drink associated with the second dose, since they tell you for the day of to only drink exactly what's associated with the prep and nothing else.

Finally, tablets, vs liquid - I've never done the liquid, but in my case it was really easy to take the 12 tablets (per dose, so 24 total).