<p>What do you mean by “lighter” folks? Liquids? Yogurt? Only liquids?</p>
<p>And even if you eat lighter, isn’t the prep the same? So how is eating lighter better – less comes out? (Sorry if that’s too graphic, but inquiring minds want to know.)</p>
<p>There are different prep protocols because some doctors and colonoscopy sites are more conservative. There is, for example, a much shorter prep. It works fine for most people but then some - a decent percentage - have to do it again with a longer prep because they couldn’t get a clear view. It’s all about the view.</p>
<p>The prep standards describe what you can eat because some foods leave more residue on the walls. That’s the “eating light.”</p>
<p>I had my ‘first’ several months ago. The type of prep is Dr. dependent. I had to take the full gallon of sludge and start a low residue diet 3 days prior. The diet basically allowed all the food I normally don’t eat - white bread, white pasta, processed meats - the idea was to reduce the fiber/roughage load. I jokingly said to H I’d been given permission to eat corn dogs and McD’s for 3 days.</p>
<p>The prep was definitely unpleasant. The main problem with a gallon of sludge is that the amount you’re asked to consume is the same whether you are a 130 lb woman or a 250lb man. Of course the reaction of a smaller system is much more - um let’s just say- violent. I was unable to take the last 3 glasses of the stuff because at that point it insisted on coming up and out the wrong end! I addressed the issue of physical size differential with the Dr. after the fact. She advised that next time I could stop filling up the top with sludge when the bottom had produced nothing but yellowish clear matter several tims in a row</p>
<p>The actual event was simple, they gave me a shot to relax me and then fentenol (spelling) to knock me out. I awoke back in the recovery room lying on my side facing the backside of the person in the next bed. Luckily, the aftercare crew had made sure our standard issue hospital gowns were covering all possible territory :)</p>
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<p>Thank you! I have never understood that. Not back when I still had a colon and used to have to have frequent colonoscopies for my Crohn’s Disease; not now, when I’ve had to drink the same barrel of liquid pink chalk for upper GI barium X-rays as the man three times my size sitting next to me. (I couldn’t come close to finishing the last time – I thought my stomach was going to explode, if the foul taste of the stuff didn’t make me throw it all up first.) The burden seems so inequitable to me.</p>
<p>I’ve had 2 colonoscopies, starting at age 37, because of family history. My doc puts me on a clear liquid fast for just one day before. I’ve done it both times in winter, and next time, I’m going to try for summer. You can have clear liquids; italian ice, jello, etc. that are not red, purple, or orange (those colors can stain your colon and look like blood). I just think it will be easier to handle eating light, and having only liquids, during warmer weather. </p>
<p>The hard part is the next day. Far from feeling empty in a healthy way due to fasting, you feel a bit bedraggled and wrung out from the purge. Then, after the procedure, you can feel gassy from the CO2 they fill you up with to better view things. Gassy, with a completely empty digestive tract? Not fair. Still, it’s great fun to eat real food again, just make sure it’s food you can digest easily at first.</p>