2 days until endoscopy. Let the "bowel preparation" begin!

In two days time I have my endoscopy appointment.  I am having a double wammy  - a camera down my throat (gastro-oesophogeal endoscopy)  and a camera up my bum (colonoscopy).  For this to happen, my bowel has to be "cleansed".  I have had to eat only very low fibre foods for the last 48 hours.  Chicken, white rice or skinless potatoes, white bread.  Thankfully I can have butter, cheese and milk.  I love all things dairy so at least the plain white bread isn't too boring. Tomorrow morning the fun really begins.... I have to take two senna tablets at 8am.  These are herbal laxatives.  From lunchtime, I must begin fasting, and take a dose of Citrafleet, a more ... heavy duty laxative.  The next morning I take another dose of Citrafleet, and ensure I keep my fluids up. So hopefully by the time I have my appointment, the day after tommorrow at 1:15pm, I will have a completely empty bowel for the camera to go up and  view the inside of my gut.

I have done something very similar to this before, nearly ten years ago, when I had a barium enema - an x-ray to view the gut.  The same kind of preparation had to be carried out.  This time, I am far more nervous about the whole thing.  Last time I found the procedure painful and uncomfortable (not surprising really as it's pushing something through a very inflamed area of my body, where I feel some pain most of the time anyway.

I think the reason that I feel nervous this time is because before, all I wanted to know was what was wrong with me, and by that point I didn't really care what it was, as long as I could start getting the right treatment.  This time, I already know what's wrong, so that just leaves me worrying about how bad it could me. My main concern is that they might find I have a stricture.  This may account for the sudden bloating, and pain.  If I have some sort of a partial blockage, and everything is backing up in there then this would make a lot of sense.  If this is the problem, then my main worry is that it may mean surgery.  Well, I think the best thing to do now, is try not to think about it and just concentrate on getting through the next two days of preparation, and the procedure and then think about the result when I have them.

I'll keep you posted.