Made it through the procedure

Mmm, a gallon of fun ... not!

I had my colonoscopy today and it wasn't bad at all.  I do think I should be awarded the title of Dumbass Laureate because of what I did during the prep.  The day before the procedure, you can only have clear liquids, Jello or Popsicles.  So I stocked myself up with water, flavored sparkling water, green Jello, etc.  What I didn't realize is that nothing I had grabbed had any sugar in it.  This is normally fine since I'm a diabetic and try to be aware of the sugar in food. However, since I wasn't eating any food at all to off-set that, this was a problem.  By the time I got home to start drinking the fluids we're required to have, my blood sugar had dropped so low that I was literally shaking and sweating.  I grabbed some Gatorade in the store, but that tasted disgusting to me when I finally got it home.  I started drinking the solution and truly felt like I was going to to hurl any second.  It wasn't pleasant.  Thank God for friends because one of them has had this procedure four times and told me it was safe to suck on Lifesavers as long as they weren't red, blue or purple.  I did have some Lifesavers on hand for diabetic emergencies, so that really helped me feel better.

By the time I went in for the procedure this morning, my head was pounding and my tummy would not stop grumbling because I was beyond starving.  They got me situated in a bed, hooked me up to an IV and blood pressure cuff and then I just waited until it was my turn to go in.  So I laid there in the bed and thought to myself that the next time I'm in a hospital bed will probably be when I have the gastric bypass surgery.  And you know what thought ran through my mind the most?  "I hope the bed in the hospital is more comfortable than this one."  Seriously, that was the thing that I thought of the most.  I wasn't scared of the process or the skill of the medical team.  Maybe that will come in time and maybe it won't.  I think I feel that way because the doctor that performs these surgeries does these all the time.  The bariatric program they have for Kaiser here has this doctor in charge so I'm not questioning skill level at this point.  To my recollection, I haven't ever stayed overnight in a hospital.  Even when I had the melanoma surgery on my back, I went home within an hour or two of waking up from anesthesia.  It's funny thinking about the things that run through our minds.

Sara took care of me with rides and bringing me food after the procedure (thanks girl!).  I got to see her little boy, which is always awesome.  He smiles when he sees me and who couldn't love that.  So now my next step is to call surgery on Friday to book an appointment.  I'm likely going to have to have internal surgery so that's the next part of this particular journey.  The doctor today also is going to do some biopsies on me.  If I learned anything from the mammogram calling thing from the other day, it's not to panic when I get a call from Kaiser.  It can be routine or it can be major; I'll handle it no matter what.