Countdown time!

It's getting to that time... I do my bowel prep tomorrow. Oh the fun. I still can't believe that the time has gone this fast, but I am SO ready. I'm much more worried about my mother being here and taking care of the kids! I'm not sure how she'll cope, but I'm sure she won't lose any of them... I hope. I keep telling myself that I really won't be gone long, so she can't possibly lose that much control - and my husband will be here in the evenings so that bed time goes more smoothly. (My mother is famous for letting them stay up all freakin' night!) So, 8 am on Tuesday is the big day. Karen (come out of lurking!!) is lined up right behind me, so we can be walking the halls together before long. It's nice knowing that someone is going to be right there with me. Amy

Hi Amy, Good luck on Tuesday. You are in excellent hands with Dr G & I know all will go well. Can I give you a few hints about the prep? So many of us have gone through it and we compared experiences & we have come up with some good ways of doing it. First, be sure to refrigerate the "crap". It doesn't taste as bad really cold. Were you told to mix it with something when you drink it? I think I was told juice or pop. Make sure it is ice cold also. After I drank it, I immediately followed it with as much water as I could drink, probably 2-3 glasses. That helped wash the taste out & gave me more fluid in my body so it would work well. Be sure to keep drinking lots of water though the process. You will lose lots of fluid. One of my friends was afraid the taste would make her vomit it up so she wanted a way to clean the taste out of her mouth as quickly as possible. She brushed her teeth just before drinking it & then loaded the toothbrush up again to use immediately after. It worked for her. Actually the taste is not awful, just a funny salty taste. Not pleasant but not too bad. It can start working anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple hours later. Plan to stay very close to the toilet. Take some magazines in or other reading material. There will be times when you think you are done for awhile & immediately after getting up you'll feel the urge to go again. Sometimes it just is easier to stay there. I even took the phone in the bathroom. The person I was talking to didn't know what was happening. It will most likely stop before you have to take the second dose but then it starts all over again. It too will stop & you'll be able to sleep in bed just fine. The next day you take the antiobiotics & it may also get you going again. I couldn't figure out where that came from after everything the day before. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones who don't react to the antiobiotics that way. If not, it won't be anywhere near as bad as the day before. Good luck. You're almost there! Dixie

Two doses?! I was told to drink the whole thing and tons of water. I was a RN, so I've seen lots of bowel preps (especially in home health), but luckily haven't been on the other end (literally!). I have a feeling I'll have a couple of kids int he bathroom with me, asking a whole lot of questions! Thanks though - advice is always appreciated. Amy

I imagine they changed products that they want you to use or maybe decided that one was enough. I'm glad that's the case. My surgery was in Dec of 2003 so it wouldn't surprise me. I was just glad we didn't have to drink the product that comes in a gallon container. My mother did & it was supposed to taste like Sprite. She had such a hard time forcinng it down & never could drink Sprite again. I've heard now they have pills you can take. It's a bunch & they are really big but tasteless. Maybe someday he'll change to them. Amy, if you will e-mail me your last name & also Tracie's I'll try to stop in to visit you while in the hospital, most likely on Wed before you go home. Dixie

OOPs, Tracie just corrected me. It would be quite a long drive for me to go to DesMoines & Cedar Falls. I meant Karen. Good luck to all 3 of you. Dixie

Good luck Amy. I don't do my until Monday. I plan on moving a small TV into the bathroom, cause I know I'll be there awhile. Might as well enjoy my first day of unemployment.

Good Luck Amy !!!! Prayers to you for a speedy and safe surgery and recovery!!! I will be thinking about you all !! Type at ya when your on the losing side... Lori 287/239/140

Congratulation Amy! You'll be a "big loser" soon! I didn't find the bowel prep to be as bad as everyone said, which was a nice surprise. I even worked on the second day. Good luck with the surgery, you are in great hands! Colleen

Amy.... this is your angel speaking! Sure hope you got through that bowel prep okay. Mine wasn't that bad and I didn't have much reaction to the antibiotics either. After two weeks of liquids, there usually isn't much left in there. One more day woman!! You are almost there. I'll be waiting to hear from Scot on how your surgery went and then I'll give you a call so I can update everyone. Try not to be too nervous.....and hopefully your mom won't lose any of the kids. take care and wishing you the best with your surgery Leslie