#2b 

Polyps are not usually a threat at that size.  And then, about half way up the sigmoid section they discovered two rather large polyps on stems; like little mushrooms.  The second one was unusually large on the monitor, very irregular in shape and multi-coloured.  My heart skipped a beat; this couldn’t be a good thing.  In my mind I knew it was something really, REALLY, bad, but I refused to think about it.  The tech’s comment was, “You’re lucky you had this done today.”

The doctor was called in to see the spectacle of this mutant polyp.  He concurred with, “I’ll bet you’re glad you came in.” and then to the tech, "Get her back in within a month."  The tube was taken out; I got dressed and waited for my husband in the waiting room; colonoscopy and polypectomy pamphlet in hand.

The next week I received a call to book my colonoscopy for June 25^th. This is a little more involved.  No solid food was allowed the whole day before the procedure and I had to drink a gallon of nasty, foul-tasting liquid to cleanse my system.  Starting in the evening I had to drink an 8-ounce glass of the concoction every hour until half the container was empty.  In the morning I was supposed to finish the other half.  My gag reflex kicked in about 2 glasses from the bottom and I promptly dumped the rest of it down the sink. By now I was passing clear liquid every few minutes and I didn’t think there was anything left to clean out, but a Fleet enema completed the prep and off we went to the hospital again. 

Mike had to drive.  I wasn’t allowed to drive myself as mild sedation is given for a colonoscopy.  It involves all of the large intestine and is therefore a little more uncomfortable.  Actually, with the sedation, this process went much more smoothly and with considerably less discomfort than the sigmoidoscopy had.  Go figure!