When a man reaches a certain age, there are things he will start to do. He’ll take stock of where he is and how he got there. Not necessarily have regrets, but just stop and reflect. He’ll also think about the future: What will retirement look like? When can I afford to retire? There are other things, too—-more medical things. Like get his first colonoscopy.
I became a Man Of A Certain Age on May 19th of this year. Today was my first colonoscopy. The Mayo Clinic notes that this procedure is to check for colon cancer and polyps. The bowels have to be completely empty for the process to be successful. That’s where yesterday’s adventure comes in. I couldn’t eat anything all day, except 7-Up, a little bit of Jello, and apple juice. The real fun, however, happened from 3 PM to Midnight. I’ll spare you all the details, but I had to drink a certain medicine mixed with Gatorade that made certain things happen.
It was a very long day.
Arriving for my 10:15 appointment this morning, I check in and a few minutes later am taken into the prep area. After getting my bed, taking vitals and a medical history, the anesthesiologist came by do her paperwork, and then we went into the procedure room. That’s where I met my gastroenterologist , Dr. Mariann Padron Gleich, MD . She will be doing the actual procedure.
With this procedure, you go completely asleep, so the last thing I heard was the assistant, Erin, wishing me a good nap. Next thing I know I was in recovery. So, what they say is true—the prep is much worse than the procedure itself. Before I knew it, I was finishing the provided snack and was on my way home.
Everything went fine, by the way.
Now that I’m a Man Of A Certain Age, I’m glad this is out of the way. Now, I can move on to other things….like finally being able to eat again.
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