Hi everybody,i am scheduled to meet with a physician here in town this afternoon to discuss my upcoming colonscopy.  I've read online about various laxatives they give you to clean out,  pain meds, and something called versed that makes you forget the procedure.  it all sound fairly ghastly.  Any reccomendatons on quesstions I should ask my docotr?  Has anyone had any luck fasting rather than taking the super strong laxative they give you? I appreciate any advice.  Happy (almost) Fall!

obviously i should have taken the time to proofread my entry.  Jeez!  please ignore the spelling errors!

Hi I just wanted to share my experience.  My husband had to have one about a year ago and I asked a couple different doctors (his doctor, my doctor and the doctor doing the test) about the strong laxatives.  How it was explained to us is that in order to have a complete view everything needs to get out so, just not eating will not be enough.  And as for being put under I have to admit I probably won't want to remember it!  Good luck!

No matter how much you fast, you're not going to get everything out (in terms of the colonoscopy). My mother doesn't handle the laxative solution well and was only able to drink 1/2 of it a few years ago and they had to reschedule because once the doctor got in there, things still weren't clear enough. Good luck - you'll make it through!

Yeah, my parents have said it is not fun, especially the laxative.  My sister-in-law works for a gastro and some places use this new thing (this was a few years ago even) that is like a pill that you swallow but it is a little camera and it takes hundreds of pics as it goes through your system.  You collect it when it comes out (sounds gross, but I dont' know) and then take it back to the doc.  Less invasive if you want to look into it.  A funny story is that one person thought it came out too fast so they swallowed it again . . . gross!  Haha.

I am 33 and have had several colonoscopies. You definitely have to use the laxatives or, like a couple of other posters said, the GI doc won't be able to see the walls of your colon. The liquid laxative they give you is FOUL. Tastes like liquid saran wrap and you have to drink a ton of it. For my last colonoscopy, I actually got the laxatives in pill form (more expensive than the liquid). I just had to take the pills and drink tons and tons of water. It was much more pleasant than the liquid. You might consider talking to the doc about using the pills. It made the whole thing way less unpleasant. As for the anesthesia, I've had both the stuff that makes you forget and Propofol, the stuff that killed Michael Jackson. The Propofol was wonderful. It put me out completely and I had no memory of anything. On the other stuff, I could still feel some pain and hear what was being said during the procedure. Both were fine, really, although the Propofol seemed to wear off sooner. On the other stuff, I was pretty out of it for the rest of the day. You really have to get the anesthesia if you get a colonoscopy. It truly is a surgical procedure. There is a little pill camera that catconsrv mentioned, but that's usually done if the colonoscopy was inconclusive and the doc needs to see your small intestine. Honestly, I get stressed out before colonoscopies, but really the worst part is doing the laxatives. Don't fret too much :-)

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses.  I met with the very cute (not sure if thats a good thing) doctor and he uses the pill laxative  and the propfol so I guess thats all good.  I am not too stressed about it..... yet.  I think I am going to do the Kathy Freston Quantum Wellness Cleanse either right before or right after.  i guess its my time in life to clean out!

Sounds like you have a good doc. Both of those options are the better. Trust me, you won't remember a thing about the procedure after the Propofol and you'll walk out feeling well-rested! Good luck with your cleanse. Just be aware that the laxatives you'll have to take are aggressive, so drink lots of water and get plenty of probiotics once it's all over.