on this coming tuesday, i am having a colonoscope. its not the procedure that frightens me, its the prep work that does. i start out by eating lightly, removing many foods from my diet. then i must take Milk of Magnesia, Ducolax, and finally Miralax with 64oz of Gatoraid. the end of the prep is a full day of only clear liquids diet.
i am on a pump, and i know i can change my basal rate insulin when necessary. i am just wondering if anyone has gone through this and how they handled it, and, what i might expect to happen while i am going through this colon prep.
i hope to hear back from everyone with this experience or knowledge of this experience. my procedure is 3 days away.
Chris, thanks for responding and sending me to that other site. unfortunately, it doesnt help me very much for the part of the prep that is all liquid and no solid foods. when i have nothing in my body except liquids, i go low. Time and again, EVERY time. (for instance, if my current BG were 90, and a drank a large glass of water, diet soda, coffee,etc, my BG would go down to between 80 and even 70 within an hour.) so, being on no solid food and having to drink 2 32oz bottles of Gateraid as well as chicken broth, my BG will go down. i dont know how low; i just know that i will go low.
i am just appealing to anyone who has done this procedure and have either or both had to lower their basal rate and/or continuously corrected lows with sugars/carbs.
so, that being said : SOS to anyone who knows what i am talking about and how they managed it.
@daisymae I had the test done a few years ago and ended up dropping to about 60. I dropped while I was out running errands. My doctor used a different prep than most. No food from Noon on, but the “drink” is early evening. I can’t recall the exact bg now, but I remember how I treated it and when it dropped. It was about 5:00 pm when I was out and about. I used hard candy - root beer barrels, to bring my bg up and prayed a lot that I didn’t ruin the prep and have to redo it all. I didn’t ruin anything. My mistake was too much activity. I’ll be having the test again in a few months. This time I’ll stay put and not do any physical activity. I hope this helps you
I’ve had a few of them and my basal rates stay the same or even go up very slightly with pretty much a straight line BG throughout (although, what’s the Gatorade about?), I try hard not to do anything to change my insulin sensitivity too; sleep, stress, exercise etc are kept consistent. Stupid question and I guess I am missing something in your description, or do you tend to run higher basal levels generally that fit into your life? I only ask as I set my basals at fasting levels…
I had one a few years ago and will have another done next year. I don’t think I changed my basal rates much during the prep. I did go low once the day before (during the clear liquid stage) and I drank glucose tablets dissolved in water. When I do it again I now have straight dextrose (NOW Foods brand) that I could dissolve in water. No dyes or anything. When we were starting the procedure (I never go out completely) my doctor said I could give lessons on how to get cleaned out. So I gather the glucose tablets dissolved in water had no negative effect on that.
I cut my basal rate in half when I started the cleaning-out stage. I used regular sugar dissolved in water when I needed carbs, not glucose tabs because the doctor said anything red could make it harder for him to see anything that’s wrong inside. If you see that you keep dropping low, reduce your basal even further.
You can get glucose tablets that aren’t red or purple (as far as I remember, those were the colours to avoid). The ones I used were white. But they didn’t dissolve that well anyway, so sugar or powdered dextrose is probably better.
I did not change my basal rates the day before, since my basals don’t cover food. I made sure my liquids contained sufficient carbs to keep me going – apple juice, clear sodas like 7-Up and ginger ale (not diet), and green and yellow jello (not diet). I would have had the same things if I’d gone low, plus I had some overpriced liquid glucose at the ready.
I contrived to be slightly higher than normal going in, so I wouldn’t go low during. Immediately afterwards I did a small correction.
I think that when I’m in starvation mode my basal metabolism drops, as if my body is conserving glycogen, so I don’t need as much basal. But as with everything, YDMV. It’s helpful to see the differences in experiences and practices.
I also had one a few years ago. I didn’t have any problems, but like you, was worried. I kept both pump and sensor on during the procedure. I did reduce my basal a bit just to be sure I wouldn’t go low. Better to be a bit high than low when you can’t react!
I get a colonoscopy every year, get polyps, got the last 5 years, and an endoscopy every year before my cancer treatment (they also use endoscope in these, about 6 times) I guess I am lucky, I have a 12 hour clear liquid fast before each.
I’ve had a couple, each with a different prep regimen, I can’t offer any specific advice on pump settings other than just trust your judgement. If you need to drink some clear fluids like apple juice to bump up your bg during the prep or right before the procedure I don’t think that’d cause a problem. I discussed my concerns with both of the doctors I’ve done them with and they were totally knowledgeable and understanding…
Re adjustment, I was using Lantus for one and tresiba for the other and I don’t recall making any adjustments for either
today i had my colonoscopy. the prep work was as follows (i am posting it b/c it worked seamlessly without 1 complication)
at 5pm, i started out in BG target range( 70-100 ) and lowered my pump basal from 100% down to 90% after taking 3 Ducolax stool Laxatives.
1 hour later, i began the liquid prep (64oz of SF Gatorade; 6oz every 10 min) and i turned my pump down to 80% TB
at 9:30 pm my BG was 93, and i lowered my TB to 70%
when i woke up in the morning at 6am, my BG was 82. i took 1 glucose tablet, and i raised my TB back to 80% for a 4 hour period to cover 2 hours before procedure and 2 hours post.
within 1/2 an hour my BG came up to 147 and stayed in that range throughout the entire procedure.
right after the procedure (on 100% basal) i had a cup of black decaf coffee, and i returned home (1/2 hour later)
when i got home my BG was111
at 1pm i bolused for a 37gm lunch of 3 eggs and a extra large English muffin
now i am just waiting to see how my BGs respond to my post procedure/ lunch bolus
UNFORTUNATELY, the procedure did not go well. i was not able to empty my colon completely, i will have to repeat the procedure again in October. UGH.
also, now that it is after the procedure, i have begun to empty my bowels and my BG dropped down to 50. i turned my Basal down to 95% and i will see how that carries me. hoping for the best,
Manipulate the system. The GoLYTELY doesn’t work on me. It makes me urinate a whole lot, but that’s it. They have alternative prep methods for people in this situation. I had magnesium Citrate the night before, clear liquids overnight, and 2/3 enemas at the endoscopy clinic. Tell them you drank the GoLYTELY and it didn’t work for YOU. They don’t live at your house. They won’t know you didn’t drink it, that you truly aren’t one of the people it doesn’t work on, and they will likely give you an easier alternative prep method.
my GI recognized this immediately after the procedure. he was also looking at the multitudes of medications that i take (schizophrenia, etc) which i can not just stop taking.
for the next round of prepping he is going to customize a prep for me which is much more aggressive; his words. we’ll work on it collaborately. i will definately bring up your suggestions.
So I gather the glucose tablets dissolved in water had no negative effect on that.