I found Sudocream really helped with the sore bottom if you can get hold of any.

Best of luck tomorrow. Hope you get good news.

Bless you! The prep stage of the colonoscopy is definitely the worst part in my opinion. I left around 200ml of the second dose of moviprep (like you, I thought it was better to keep 1800l down, than risk downing the last 200 and wasting the progress I'd made!), but my colonoscopy showed my colon was clear. I was told that as long as you're running 'clear' or yellow pure water stools, generally you should be okay. 
 

As for the procedure, it's easy to be nervous and almost impossible to stop. I was going to have sedation as I'd previously struggled with a gastroscopy with out, but I changed my mind at the last moment and opted for gas and air. I've had chronic diarrhoea and stomach pains for years so I figured I could handle 20 minutes of it - it actually turned out that the prodcedure wasn't perfectly fine with the gas and air. I didn't feel any pain apart from an initial stinging when they first put the camera in due to several very sore haemorrhoids I'd gotten during the moviprep (and I did use barrier cream so don't beat yourself up about it!), and I felt pressure when they went round corners in my colon but that was it. I also had a trainee doctor perform the first part of the procedure and my consultant took over for polyp removals/biopsies. I think the gas and air giving you a little 'high' plus the fascination of being able to watch the proceedure on the screen helped me. 
 

What I will say if you opt for it without sedation, is don't freak out! It's normal for them to go all the way through your colon and then talk you through it when they do the removals/biopsies at the end. I only say this as I did spend about 5 minutes thinking I had cancer after seeing a polyp on the screen but once the consultant talked me through it, it wasn't scary! That's also a great pro on not having sedation - your consultant will talk you through the procedure and will then come and speak to you in your room afterwards whereas they told me that they don't normally do that if you have sedation as patients tend to forget!

Good luck for later on!

[@MargaretMary]‍ Thank you. Regrettably I found nothing and although I got some sleep, I woke up and it's still not over x

[@tazmin]‍ It is very unpleasant but you know you have to do it so there's a lot of motivational speaking to self. The last bit just wouldn't go down though. Thank you hun. I will definitely post and update. Have you had any news from uni or your doctor about your referral? X
 

[@Lemming]‍ I salute you. I honestly don't know that I could've done 2ltrs. I would have rather taken an entire pack of tablets. The taste is horrendous! I actually think I may have a haemorrhoid because after about 2hrs it was kinda swollen and very sore (sorry). It's running clear but it's still going so I hope it all settles before 9am. I would be mortified if anything happened while I was in transit. 

thanks for sharing your experience. I am going to try and do no sedation because I do want to see what's going on and I can't take anyone with me so I want to be as aware as possible. Worst case scenario I could maybe ask for sedation if it all gets too much. 

I hope your biopsies came back clear. This process has been very stressful and I am grateful that I have been given an appointment so soon as I have read plenty of others have been waiting for a long time. X

I will let you all know how it goes. 

I have had the colonoscopy. The department was very delayed so I didn't get seen until around 12.45pm. Luckily I got a female consultant as the one that was supposed to see me had too many patients. 

I opted out of sedation - I wanted to see everything and be able to ask questions. I also didn't have an escort home! Even though I did not complete the prep my colon was clear (mostly) and she was able to see everything she needed to see. 

there is some inflammation and redness in the bowel but nothing sinister found. Also grade 2  haemorrhoids which she felt was the cause of the bleeding. Biopsies taken as I may have proctitis??? 

the procedure is uncomfortable, felt like mild labour pains going round the corners but bearable. I think I had 50mg of fentonol but I'm not sure that it even worked. No gas or air was offered. 

the waiting has been the hardest part of this process but it is definitely worth doing. The prep was far worse than the procedure and as I got a female she was very conscious about not making me feel too uncomfortable. There was a part of the colon which she said was quite bendy so she spent quite a bit of time there and that's the bit that hurt the most. but other than that it was bearable. 

the nurses were also really lovely and one fanned my face when my blood pressure was going up because of the discomfort.

X

Hi Tazmin,

it was a long day but I'm glad it's over. Just the biopsies to wait for, but I definitely feel more at ease that no cancer was found. Still doesn't explain the symptoms as they still exist but maybe the biopsy results will give a clearer picture. 

I really hope you can make some progress with the GP because your symptoms are persisting and you do need some answers as to what is going on. Your age shouldn't mean you have to wait longer than anyone else. It's shocking frankly. 

I am really sorry that you still continue to have symptoms and it sounds like they are not letting up  have you been back to A&E at all. I also think you should write a complaint to the doctors  my sister done that and things started to move. It's worth a try.

I think you should do the interview with the BBC because it should be highlighted about the barriers younger people face when it comes to getting referred for further investigation. I read through lots of posts on this site and I saw that someone had to wait two years. Not acceptable at all. 

mum so happy that you can continue with your course at Uni. It must be a relief. Look, we all make mistakes and I'm sure you've learnt from yours. Don't be hard on yourself, you are going through a lot. 

please keep in touch and let me know how you are getting on. 
 

much love x