Well now, that sounds like a whole lot of fun, doesn't it?
Yep, I've finally taken drastic steps in my search for a way to cope with my colon. After a day when all I did was run to the bathroom, even though I'd been following my IBS eating plan religiously, I'd reached the limit of my patience with this. I went to my nurse practitioner and she set up an appointment with me for a colonoscopy...which I've had to change about four times due to scheduling conflicts. There's no way I'm going to a high school track meet the day before the procedure!
Oh wait, you ask why? Well, before you get the scope roaming around your intestines, you get to have a day of spring cleaning. Yep, in my case that was 2 Dulcolax at 10 AM, 2 Dulcolax at 2 PM, and a 10-ounce bottle of magnesium citrate at 5 PM. And let me tell you...that magnesium citrate is one nasty beverage. I've drank the glucose stuff for tests while I was pregnant and it wasn't as nasty as this stuff. The only way I'm managing to get it down is to sip it and then follow with a big swig of water. I've only got a few more sips to go and I'll be done with the bottle. It tastes like lemon-flavored baking soda. Just read the ingredients...it contains sodium saccharin, which is guaranteed to irritate my digestion. Oh hooray.
I tried to tell the nurses that I could get a bucket of Lee's Famous Recipe (the crispy spicy kind) or KFC (extra crispy) and it would have the same colon-cleansing effect, but no go. That would have been MUCH more fun.
Then, from everything I've read on the interwebs, the fun REALLY begins. Apparently this stuff is Drano for your colon. Stuff will come out that you ate at your tenth birthday party. Oh hooray.
But...I'm going to suffer through it. I want to know what is going on. Depending on what they tell me, I may have to change the name of this blog to "Fun With IBD" or "Fun With Crohn's" or maybe just "Fun With Diarrhea". That should bring in some Google hits, huh? :)
Well, just finished my bottle of magnesium citrate. Let the party begin!
Best wishes with that procedure. At the minimum, a good magnesium cleansing would be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteMy last 4 blood tests consistenly show low serum potassium (3.0) despite taking 20 units of potassium supplements daily and eating potassium-rich foods. A level of 4.0 to 4.7 is recommended and 2.5 is dangerously low. My research found out that both calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D are necessary to keep potassium levels up-- so I started taking a magnesium supplement this week.
I didn't know about that "cleansing" side effect until it kicked in last night.
Good luck. We are all in this together.
Thank you for the comment! Yes, it's to the point where I read everything, and if the words "magnesium citrate" come up anywhere in the ingredients I put whatever it is back on the shelf. In fact, I try to avoid anything with the word "citrate" in it, I'm so gun-shy now. :)
ReplyDelete