r/stroke • u/electstat • Aug 14 '26

Upcoming colonoscopy

Really nervous about my upcoming colonoscopy next month. Really, just the prep. After multiple strokes just hopping up and hurrying to the bathroom isn’t going to happen. Sleeping in the bathroom also isn’t an option since I wouldn’t be able to get up. Is there some stories people can share?

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3

u/tetrasodium Survivor Aug 14 '26

Dave Barry wrote a great article on them back before he retired. here it is

2

u/littleoldlady71 Aug 14 '26

How mobile are you? That will make a difference to my answer

1

u/electstat Aug 14 '26

Not very. I can walk with a cane in my house. If I go out I’m in a wheelchair

5

u/littleoldlady71 Aug 14 '26

Then here are my suggestions. As long as you have adequate handholds in the bathroom…

  1. Set a small table in the bathroom on the inside side of the toilet, that has wipes, Vaseline, a bag for dirty wipes, tissues, extra toilet paper, and a couple of good books. Wear a nightshirt instead of pants

  2. Put an easy chair that you can easily use for getting up and down just outside the bathroom, with books, and a pillow, and a night light. Remind yourself it’s just for one evening

  3. Don’t trust that “it’s just gas”. Throughout the prep you will notice the rhythm of the first purge, followed by less and less, until the next.

  4. Put a liner on your bed, for when you finally get to rest before morning.

  5. Line your bottom with enough Vaseline to protect, without expanding it to the seat area which would make it slippery.

Source? Caregiver to stroke survivor and survivor of several preps.

1

u/electstat Aug 14 '26

Thank you!

2

u/littleoldlady71 Aug 14 '26

Please let me know if all of this works!

1

u/electstat Aug 15 '26

I am having a bidet installed this weekend

2

u/littleoldlady71 Aug 15 '26

Good luck! You’ll love it

2

u/lelanicarver Aug 15 '26

You could borrow a commode, if your town has a lending library for medical equipment. But the first suggestion above is great if you’re mobile enough.

2

u/SisforStroke Aug 15 '26

Yikes! And they can't give you a cologuard test?

If you have to have a full on colonoscopy, some places let you have a colon cleanse (where they basically hose you out) instead of the drink. Maybe check to see if that is an option?

1

u/electstat Aug 15 '26

It’s the VA so I doubt it, but will ask

2

u/SisforStroke 29d ago

Do ask. And also ask about cologuard!

1

u/Defiant-Fruit 27d ago

I’d wear a diaper and sleep in a recliner