It's standard protocal in Canada to test people for Inflammatory Bowel Disease if they develop a fistula.
There are many different types of tests you can have but I will only talk about the tests I had done since those are what I am familiar with.
There are a lot of stories and videos out there showing what the prep is like. For me, it wasn't that bad. I was given a laxative to take first thing in the morning. That took about 5 hours to kick in (and boy did it REALLY kick in!). I took that before I went to work, and when I got home at 5pm that day, I started with the prep. I wasn't allowed to eat and had to drink one mixture that contained Pico Silax and had to drink 3 cups of liquid every hour for the next 3 or 4 hours. Of course, there was a LOT of pooping. It wasn't that bad though, even with a fistula. By the end, only clear liquid was coming out of my bum, so it was kind of like peeing, but from my bum. One tip a coworker gave me was to drink more liquid than was recommended. It was hard but I did it and I think that helped me from getting dehydrated. I didn't mind drinking so much liquid at first, but as time went on I was starting to really hate having to drink so much. I highly recommend you get a variety of things to drink (they recommend clear fluids, which are liquids you can see through. For example, Seven Up, Apple Juice etc.
I went to sleep and when I woke up I had to start the process again. Another round of Pico Silax mixture and lots and lots of fluids. I was shocked when, at first, poop came out. I thought I'd cleaned myself out with my first round of prep and was pretty shocked and worried. By the time I had to see the doctor though, things were fine and I was 'peeing' from my bum again.
The colonoscopy itself wasn't bad at all. I was awake as the hospital I went to didn't give the option for anesthesia but I was given medication to take the edge off.
My biggest fear, of course, was that the doctor would find Crohn's. My colon looked perfectly fine though (you can see what's going on on a screen as the doctor is having a look). The doctor did take a ton (!) of biopsies and, if you get biopsied too, let me warn you that you may fart out a bunch of blood later on - that's normal. Only worry if the bleeding doesn't stop.
One note - if you get sedated or take any drugs to take the edge off, you'll need to take someone with you to drive you home as you will be classified as legally intoxicated.
This blog was also quite cute in describing their experience.
To prepare for this I didn't have any dietary restrictions and only had to take a suppository 2 hours before my visit. It wasn't so bad. I woke up, pooped, took the suppository and after a little bit of cramping pooped some more.
The rigid sig wasn't bad either. The doctor first did a rectal exam with his finger, and then put the instrument up my bum. It wasn't the highlight of my day, but for me it wasn't any more or less uncomfortable than having a finger up there.
Biopsies
I had a biopsy of tissue taken from my fistula as well as multiple, multiple biopsies of my colon. The doctor just cuts a small piece of tissue from your body that is then sent to a lab to check for markers of IBS. These didn't hurt at all.
I love enclosed spaces, so this test didn't bother me at all. I didn't have to go all the way into the machine, but I could imagine that if someone had to do that and had a fear of enclosed spaces that this could be a problem. The MRI took a long time; I had to lay still for about an hour. I was given headphones to listen to music so that helped pass the time. Other than that, the MRI machine was very noisy. I wasn't afraid because I'd looked up what those noises should sound like beforehand. I didn't have to do any sort of preparation for this test.
This is the only test that bothered me. I had to show up 2 hours before my actual test so I had time to drink a ton of liquid to inflate my bowels and the stuff they had me drink didn't taste great. It wasn't the worst stuff I've ever tasted, but it sure didn't taste great. This stuff, so I was told, would inflate my bowls and also slow down the bowel contractions called peristalsis so that the tech could get the most accurate image of my bowels they could. I was told that my it'd take 8 to 10 hours for the effects to wear off and then my bowels would return to their normal.
After feeling queasy from all of the stuff I had to drink, I was led to the room with the CT machine. I won't lie, that machine intimidated the hell out of me. It was super scary and futuristic looking. They had me lay down and drink one more glass of godawfulstuff and then injected me with contrast die.
They did the scan (I had to stop breathing each time they took an image) in about a 15 min to a half hour and then I was allowed to get off the table and led to a sort of recovery room. Well, let me tell you, as SOON as I stood up I felt terrible. I made it to the small recovery room and had just sat down when I power puked all over the floor, in the garbage bucket, and on a chair. I apologized to the nurse profusely and she was so sweet about it. She said she wasn't surprised I'd gotten sick since my stomach was so full of liquid.
I hung around the hospital for the required 15 or 20 minutes so they could make sure I didn't have a negative reaction to the contrast dye and then I went home. I was fine to go to work after and felt good. But then...THEN after I'd been home for a few hours my bowels 'woke up' and they were NOT happy! They gurgled and grumbled and churned and I had a few bouts of diarrhea. *sigh*. Things went back to normal shortly after though. Maybe it was like when you're put to sleep and wake up suddenly and are all like 'WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE AM I?!"? I don't know. All I know is I never want to drink that stuff ever again!
After much waiting and angst, my test results came back consistently saying there was no sign of inflammatory bowel disease. The whole process of all these tests took about six months. There was a lot of waiting and tears, but I'm glad to have had IBD ruled out.
If you have any of these types of tests coming up, don't worry. They are absolutely nothing compared to the hell of dealing with a fistula or an abscess. You'll do just fine.
There are many different types of tests you can have but I will only talk about the tests I had done since those are what I am familiar with.
There are a lot of stories and videos out there showing what the prep is like. For me, it wasn't that bad. I was given a laxative to take first thing in the morning. That took about 5 hours to kick in (and boy did it REALLY kick in!). I took that before I went to work, and when I got home at 5pm that day, I started with the prep. I wasn't allowed to eat and had to drink one mixture that contained Pico Silax and had to drink 3 cups of liquid every hour for the next 3 or 4 hours. Of course, there was a LOT of pooping. It wasn't that bad though, even with a fistula. By the end, only clear liquid was coming out of my bum, so it was kind of like peeing, but from my bum. One tip a coworker gave me was to drink more liquid than was recommended. It was hard but I did it and I think that helped me from getting dehydrated. I didn't mind drinking so much liquid at first, but as time went on I was starting to really hate having to drink so much. I highly recommend you get a variety of things to drink (they recommend clear fluids, which are liquids you can see through. For example, Seven Up, Apple Juice etc.
I went to sleep and when I woke up I had to start the process again. Another round of Pico Silax mixture and lots and lots of fluids. I was shocked when, at first, poop came out. I thought I'd cleaned myself out with my first round of prep and was pretty shocked and worried. By the time I had to see the doctor though, things were fine and I was 'peeing' from my bum again.
The colonoscopy itself wasn't bad at all. I was awake as the hospital I went to didn't give the option for anesthesia but I was given medication to take the edge off.
My biggest fear, of course, was that the doctor would find Crohn's. My colon looked perfectly fine though (you can see what's going on on a screen as the doctor is having a look). The doctor did take a ton (!) of biopsies and, if you get biopsied too, let me warn you that you may fart out a bunch of blood later on - that's normal. Only worry if the bleeding doesn't stop.
One note - if you get sedated or take any drugs to take the edge off, you'll need to take someone with you to drive you home as you will be classified as legally intoxicated.
This blog was also quite cute in describing their experience.
To prepare for this I didn't have any dietary restrictions and only had to take a suppository 2 hours before my visit. It wasn't so bad. I woke up, pooped, took the suppository and after a little bit of cramping pooped some more.
The rigid sig wasn't bad either. The doctor first did a rectal exam with his finger, and then put the instrument up my bum. It wasn't the highlight of my day, but for me it wasn't any more or less uncomfortable than having a finger up there.
Biopsies
I had a biopsy of tissue taken from my fistula as well as multiple, multiple biopsies of my colon. The doctor just cuts a small piece of tissue from your body that is then sent to a lab to check for markers of IBS. These didn't hurt at all.
I love enclosed spaces, so this test didn't bother me at all. I didn't have to go all the way into the machine, but I could imagine that if someone had to do that and had a fear of enclosed spaces that this could be a problem. The MRI took a long time; I had to lay still for about an hour. I was given headphones to listen to music so that helped pass the time. Other than that, the MRI machine was very noisy. I wasn't afraid because I'd looked up what those noises should sound like beforehand. I didn't have to do any sort of preparation for this test.
This is the only test that bothered me. I had to show up 2 hours before my actual test so I had time to drink a ton of liquid to inflate my bowels and the stuff they had me drink didn't taste great. It wasn't the worst stuff I've ever tasted, but it sure didn't taste great. This stuff, so I was told, would inflate my bowls and also slow down the bowel contractions called peristalsis so that the tech could get the most accurate image of my bowels they could. I was told that my it'd take 8 to 10 hours for the effects to wear off and then my bowels would return to their normal.
After feeling queasy from all of the stuff I had to drink, I was led to the room with the CT machine. I won't lie, that machine intimidated the hell out of me. It was super scary and futuristic looking. They had me lay down and drink one more glass of godawfulstuff and then injected me with contrast die.
They did the scan (I had to stop breathing each time they took an image) in about a 15 min to a half hour and then I was allowed to get off the table and led to a sort of recovery room. Well, let me tell you, as SOON as I stood up I felt terrible. I made it to the small recovery room and had just sat down when I power puked all over the floor, in the garbage bucket, and on a chair. I apologized to the nurse profusely and she was so sweet about it. She said she wasn't surprised I'd gotten sick since my stomach was so full of liquid.
I hung around the hospital for the required 15 or 20 minutes so they could make sure I didn't have a negative reaction to the contrast dye and then I went home. I was fine to go to work after and felt good. But then...THEN after I'd been home for a few hours my bowels 'woke up' and they were NOT happy! They gurgled and grumbled and churned and I had a few bouts of diarrhea. *sigh*. Things went back to normal shortly after though. Maybe it was like when you're put to sleep and wake up suddenly and are all like 'WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE AM I?!"? I don't know. All I know is I never want to drink that stuff ever again!
After much waiting and angst, my test results came back consistently saying there was no sign of inflammatory bowel disease. The whole process of all these tests took about six months. There was a lot of waiting and tears, but I'm glad to have had IBD ruled out.
If you have any of these types of tests coming up, don't worry. They are absolutely nothing compared to the hell of dealing with a fistula or an abscess. You'll do just fine.
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