Colonoscopy and EGD Prep

Unfortunately it’s not a routine screening test. This time the colonoscopy AND EGD are being done because of symptoms. Luckily the blood work all looks good, there is no pain, and the symptoms come and go. But my husband has not experienced any significant health problems in his life - except a horrible flu we both contracted after our visit to Iran several years ago. He landed in the emergency room and needed to be hydrated and checked out. So today is the day when the prep starts, and also the day that he feels most hungry - how ironic. He’s lost his appetite for a variety of reasons and has dropped a few pounds. It’s been a distressing few weeks from the time we first spoke with the internist, then the GI specialist, and several more days to get the test scheduled. It’s the waiting that can drive anyone nuts - like bobbbng on the water. And my husband needs to have an answer now - as he did when he was a practicing surgeon. His analytical ability was unrivaled. But it’s on overdrive now. So we are hoping for a relatively mundane diagnosis. Whatever it is we will need to deal with it. It sounds like GERD, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Since both of us were health care providers we know what it’s like to be on the other side. I much prefer that to this. 

Getting Medical Test Results

When we moved two years ago we threw out a lot of papers. Unfortunately, one of them was a colonoscopy test result. I usually keep copies of the latest medical test results. A lot of them are on line on patient portals, but we also switched to new doctors who don’t have our fifteen year history. I have never seen my new doctor because of Covid, but we did meet virtually last year and I had annual blood drawn. So this year will be the first time for an annual physical and I want to bring along the latest copies FYI. It’s taken three months to finally make contact with the GI center in Chevy Chase. I left about six emails requesting medical records without a response. I called several times and no one picked up the phone. When I finally talked to someone, no one picked up the phone when I was transferred to medical records. Finally last week I talked to someone - and they said I needed to open a patient portal - just to get one report!? So I did. When I looked for my document, they said I had to call the doctor’s office because he was no longer with that clinic. What was the point of setting up a portal? So I asked for his phone number. Before long someone called me from his office and asked when I wanted to schedule an appointment for a procedure. I said I wasn’t interested in scheduling a procedure - I just wanted a medical record. Finally, after fooling around with this, she uploaded the document to the portal where I could finally access it and print it. I really just wanted to know when I had the last test because I’m not looking forward to scheduling another one until it’s absolutely necessary. What a hassle. Since both my husband and I had health cate careers we do get a bit flabbergasted over things like this. I suppose I could have not bothered, but I like to be prepared. 

The Dreaded Colonoscopy Prep

I'd rather mention it now than later this week. After having a visit to the Emergency room last month with abdominal pain and tachycardia, my physician thought it would be a wise idea to have another colonoscopy on my follow up visit. I've been putting it off anyway. Luckily the chest, abdominal, and pelvic CAT scan was negative, along with ultrasounds of the kidneys and leg. I had a colonoscopy before when we first moved here. So we went to see the same GI physician that I saw the first time and scheduled the procedure for this week. Of course, one needs to prepare for this test a couple days in advance. Last time I took pills, but this time he wanted a better result. We went to the pharmacy to pick up the gallon of go-lytely, and then the grocery store for 7 up and broth. To make the go-lytely more palatable, it is recommended to add crystal light to the mix. Unfortunately, we got the liquid kind that turns water to blue or red - a big no no when they will be checking the inside of your intestines! So we had to go back to the grocery store and get the packaged crystal light - this time a lemonade flavor and clear. Luckily for me, I get to start the whole experience two days before so I decided to take another day off from work for obvious reasons. I don't know how I am going to drink all this liquid because on a good day I consume hardly one glass of anything. Even though I am trained as a masters prepared nurse and my husband is a surgeon, I still get nervous about tests these days. Let's hope it goes well. Then the prep will simply be an afterthought. And I doubt if I'll ever drink crystal light again.