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Bowel Prep- Scariest. Words. Ever.

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t even sure what a bowel prep entailed before my excision surgery- but everyone made a face at me when I said “bowel prep”, so I knew it couldn’t be a fun time. I suffer from bowel endometriosis- something that has gotten mistakenly diagnosed as IBS and other digestive issues. What this means is I have endometrial tissue (tissue that lines the uterus and sheds during menstrual cycle) adhered to my colon. With my stage IV diagnosis, I actually had 2 adhesions- 1 on my mid-colon and 1 on my lower colon. Lucky for me, my surgeon does most of his own bowel work, and does not think it useful to get a colonoscopy AND then also have surgery on the bowel. So, I only had to do this once throughout this process- I’m not quite sure I would have made it twice.

Let’s get to the nitty-gritty, shall we? My bowel prep instructions were as follows:

BOWEL PREP INSTRUCTIONS

The day before your procedure, you may have a light breakfast and then liquids only for the remainder of the day. Drink plenty of clear liquids, at least 8 oz every hour to avoid dehydration.

Acceptable liquids: Chicken or beef broth or bouillon (low sodium preferred) Water Coffee, tea – black, no milk or non-dairy creamer Popsicles without added fruit pieces or dairy (any flavor) Clear fruit juices (e.g. apple, white grape) Jell-O (no fruit pieces or dairy added)

Instructions:

1. Mix the entire bottle of 238g Miralax powder with the 64oz of Gatorade, PowerAde or coconut water.

2. At 3:00pm the day before your procedure, take 2 Dulcolax tablets by mouth.

3. At 5:00pm the day before your procedure, drink 1 8oz glass of Gatorade/Miralax; repeat every 15 minutes until you have finished the 64oz bottle of Gatorade and Miralax (this should take approximately 2 hours).

4. At 8:00pm, take 2 more Dulcolax tablet.

5. Nothing to drink two hours prior to arriving to the hospital – 3:30AM Thursday 12-13-18

6. Use the Fleet Enema at least one hour before leaving for the hospital. While sitting on the toilet, insert the enema into the rectum and give one squeeze, only once, and immediately remove and let it flush out.

7. If you tend to be constipated or have chronic constipation it may take a bit longer for the prep to work. You may want to move the schedule up by 2 hours in that case.

Now, I complied and started my bowel prep right before I met with my surgeon for my pre-op appointment. I was worried that I was going to take the laxative and like in the movies, I was going to have to run to the bathroom. Nope, it doesn’t happen like that at all. I took the laxative, finished my pre-op appointment, and we went back to the hotel room. I mixed my Miralax in my purple Gatorade, which I will probably never drink again due to this experience.

My support team- husband and mom- were hungry and there was a Mexican restaurant right across the street. I told them just to go, I would be fine and make sure I followed all instructions. So, I sat down with my pitcher full of a concoction that was sure to clear me out, I put on a movie I wanted to watch, and I followed all instructions. Well, my support team decided that they should have some margaritas with their meal- still okay with me, I realize this is a stressful situation for them, too. I texted them specifically when I started pooping- more like peeing out of my butt (I’m here to give it to you straight, I am not going to sugar coat anything)- and told them to NOT bring any leftovers back to the hotel. I was STARVING and no amount of jello or chicken broth was going to satisfy my need at that point. Wouldn’t you know, they walked back in with leftovers that smelled like HEAVEN about 30 minutes later, just as I had finished the last of my Gator-lax concoction.

At this point, I am going into the bathroom every 30-45 minutes expelling the contents of my bowel. Gross, I know, but I feel like the title was warning to what was coming. We are watching movies and shows together and trying to pass the time. I decide around 10:30 I want to try to go to sleep. I slept for about 2.5 hours before I woke up and the WORST PART came.

The doctor had prescribed me anti-nausea suppositories, but I didn’t use them, because I was feeling okay. Well, what happened at 1am was not okay. I got up to use the bathroom, and it happened. I got the feeling like I was either going to vomit or pass out, or both at the same time. I got cold and clammy, my hearing started fading, and I started getting the stars in my eyes. Thinking as fast as I could I just called out “Mom. Mom….Mom! Mom!” I still think my husband feels some type of way because I called out for my mom instead of him, but they both came rushing anyway.

There I sat on the toilet with my loving husband on one side and my amazing mother on the other. They were both offering me things- sip of water, cold compress, rub my back, walk me back into the bedroom, etc- but I just kept crying and saying “I don’t know” while trying not to throw up or pass out. Finally, my body decided for me. I said “I just need to….” and as I said that, my head and body just went down toward the floor. That bathroom floor in the hotel was calling my name- I didn’t pass out, I literally VOLUNTARILY laid my head on the floor. My mom helped me down and my husband tried to get a towel under there, but that’s where I needed to be. Longest 3 minutes of my life were spent on that floor. Once that happened though, I felt better, and could get myself up to go back to bed.

When I woke up later at 4:30 in the morning, I had to do the enema. It wasn’t the worst or the best part, but after what had happened, I was very unbothered. It honestly was a good thing that I followed all instructions and didn’t cheat or try to sneak and eat any food, because I ended up needing a bowel resection. That could have turned out very bad if I wasn’t properly cleaned.

When I woke up later at 4:30 in the morning, I had to do the enema. It wasn’t the worst or the best part, but after what had happened already, I was very unbothered. It honestly was a good thing that I followed all instructions and didn’t cheat or try to sneak and eat any food, because I ended up needing a bowel resection. That could have turned out very bad if I wasn’t properly cleaned out.

Bottom line, bowel prep sucks. There is no way around it, but if you are instructed to do one before a surgery, do it the right way. I was really lucky to have two very awesome people with me as support. I guess some people do it alone, and I could never even imagine would that would be like. Hopefully I won’t need to experience this again until 50, when you are supposed to get a colonoscopy. Thanks for reading, hope you at least giggled a little with me through this one.