I am a type 2 diabetic and will be having a colonoscopy ( May not be the right medical term. Sister died of colon cancer to I’m having that test ) in the first week of April. I understand that I will not be able to have solid food for quite some time, less than 24 hours. I also have to drink this stuff to clear out my colon. I’m wondering if anyone has had to go through this and would like to know what to expect. The appointment was set up today so they will be sending me a packet with instructions. They are also aware that I am diabetic and insulin dependent. Any information or helpful hints will be appreciated.
I have not had a colonoscopy, but I had an abdominal CT scan and had to go through a similar procedure for preparation.
The doctor suggested that I use apple juice if my blood sugar went low.
I needed to fast. So I didn’t take any meal boluses and even decreased my basal insulin by 1-2 units.
Ask your doctor to check what you should drink or eat if you go low.
I can let you know in a couple days. I have one tomorrow, so today is my “prep day”. I found my dr was pretty well versed in what instructions to give if you are on insulin (I am type 1, so my TDD is 25-35 units, usually 14 units of that is basal). I admit I am not looking forward to the “clean out” procedure tonight. Basically I am using mostly zero-carb foods after breakfast today (diet snapple, diet jello, crystal light, clear chicken broth, etc) but can fill in with real juice/soda to avoid lows. They said to make sure to drink a lot to avoid getting dehydrated.
Also, I asked what would happen if I needed to treat a low in the six-hour “no food or drink” window before the procedure. He said to go ahead and drink juice to treat the low, but let him know I did that (and at what time) when I show up before the procedure - that is just a precaution in case they need to do general anesthesia for an emergency, so they want to know (and of course it’s better if you don’t have to) but it should not affect the test.
I also plan on reducing my basal (I’m guessing I will start by about 20% but will adjust on the fly) and running a little high starting the evening before, figuring it’s better to be high for half a day than risk multiple lows during all the “purge out” phase…
I’ll send you an update on Friday and let you know how it went. I am sorry to hear about your sister and will be hoping your test comes out fine (I’m having this done at 42 because a 45 year old cousin has advanced colon cancer…)
For the clean out procedure. Don’t drink the clean out liquid too quickly. They told me to drink it all at once and I drank it too quickly and it induced vomiting. Sorry for the not so pleasant advice, but drink it all at once, just pace yoursefl!
Let us know how it goes Val!
I’ve been though this – prep day is not fun, but it is manageable. I was told to olnly have clear soups and juices during prep day, and nothing the morning of, unless absolutely necessary. They said if I went low, I should use glucose tablets – very little, if any waste, as they are mostly absorbed in the stomach. Kristin is right – don’t drink the elixir too fast.
thanks for the advice too guys : )
My dr said to drink some every 15 minutes, but to wait if I feel nauseous and take it slower…
PS I’ve already screwed up clocking in at 75 two hours after my last-food breakfast… drinking juice now. Sigh…
Well, my BG did suprisingly well for this.
I started with a 20% basal reduction around 3pm (I had had 20g carbs for lunch but also did a walk so didn’t bolus). By 7pm when the real fun started I changed to a 30% reduction, set for 14 hours. I was 128 at bedtime and had a just-in-case juice box. I did not get much sleep (TMI) but around 4am notice my BG was down to 95. Since I usually drop in the morning I cancelled my temp basal and started a new one with a 50% reduction to avoid having to treat a low before the colonoscopy.
By 5am it hadn’t come up as much as I’d like, so I suspended the pump for about 90 minutes - was 146 right before the procedure, and 112 when I got home.
As everything is still passing right through me (TMI again, sorry) I am being very conservative with my boluses, and only covering about half of what I eat. I still hit 50 in the middle of the afternoon, but since then it’s been more like 140.
And BTW it took me almost 4 hours to down the 8 glasses of gunk last night - the first 5 were right on schedule every 15 minutes, then the last 3 took like 45 minutes each to choke down. Not fun - but a necessary evil, I suppose. Good luck with yours, Danielle!
Glad to hear that all went well Val!
My doctor told me to drink the “gunk” all at once. I guess I took it WAY too literally. Can you imagine that I drank it all within half an hour.
Hope all goes well for you Danielle!