[mass55th]

The worst part of a colonoscopy is the fasting and prep the night before. I'm 74, and have had colonoscopies regularly since I was 50, because my father had polyps. On my last colonoscopy in June, they found a small polyp, and removed it. It was benign. The good news is that my doctor has said we can do the colorectal tests from now on, as long as there isn't a problem. My doctor also said that because of colon cancer appearing in younger people, they have lowered their screening age quite a bit.

My youngest son, age 48 at the time, was diagnosed with cancerous polyps in 2019. The doctor told him the polyps were so big, he'd wish he'd come to see him 10 years earlier. He would have been 38 at the time, but they didn't do cancer screening on people that young back then. My son had surgery...two re-sections. They also took out at least 70 lymph nodes, and he went through 6 months of chemo. He's cancer-free, but as a mother, I can't help but worry, because he still smokes occasionally. Everyone in my family smoked but me. Three died of lung cancer, one of a stroke, and my only brother at 51, of a massive heart attack. I'm the last one left. The oldest lived to be 74, so if I make it to 75, I'll be lucky.

[mmichaels1970]

The worst part of a colonoscopy is the fasting and prep the night before

Yes! I agree. Hardest part for me is the FASTING. The wife decided to pan fry a steak and risotto the day before likely just to taunt me. I do not like going an entire day without eating.

I didn't think the prep was near as bad as others prepared me for. Started with 4 Ducalax tablets and then had two 32-Oz sugar-free Gatorade bottles spiked with Miralax. One at 6pm, one at 6am the following morning. I drink like a fish, so I rather enjoyed the drinks.

Then, spent quite a bit of time in what I consider my "natural habitat", but that can be a plus depending on how you choose to look at it. My advice would be to make sure your phone has a decent charge.