(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: PSA- Colonoscopy and Other Screenings Edition [1] ['Chitown Kev', 'Belinda Ridgewood'] Date: 2026-06-29 Way back in March 2016 I had my first colonoscopy. I’m actually shocked I didn’t use it as a Top Comments topic then, but it was a busy time with lots of other topics, apparently. Today was my second, and I’m here to share my experience with this as well as other routine screenings, in the hopes it will encourage YOU to get one if you’ve been hesitant. I know, you may be thinking “But brillig, do we HAVE to talk about butt stuff? It’s squicky and I’ve heard the prep is the worst thing ever and you’ll spend a whole day and night chained to your toilet!” And so on. But we are going to talk about it, and demystify the whole thing, and share tips if you’ve got em, and we’re going to empower ourselves to either get our own exams or encourage others we care about to do so. So let’s dive in. Casa Brillig is no stranger to colonoscopy prep. Mr. Brillig was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix (the same type of cells as colon cancer) when his appendix burst in 1999. He’s had many since then, and thankfully has never had a recurrence. We’re grateful in a weird way for his appendix bursting, because in many cases colon cancer goes undiagnosed until it’s at a late stage. First up, what I did in preparation for the Prep. As most of you know, I’m a type 2 diabetic who eats keto/low-carb to manage my blood sugar. This means I eat a lot, and I do mean a lot, of fiber. So a few days ago, I dramatically cut down on my fiber intake, and I eliminated nuts and seeds from my diet. My goal was to have as little as possible inside that needed to be outside. I also stocked up on low-carb clear liquids for my prep day, so that I wouldn’t be both hungry and sugar-spiked. If YOU have Type 2 diabetes and wanna know what I had on hand, let me know in the comments! I ate my last solid food late Saturday evening, and began my clear liquid diet Sunday morning. I’ll be honest… I really wasn’t hungry for most of the day and I knew that I’m, well, fluffy enough I wasn’t going to starve :). I had homemade chicken broth (strained to be sure), sugar-free jello, caffeine options to avoid a headache, and I made it to dinnertime easily. The prep I was assigned did not use that utterly vile gallon jug of powder with “lemon line flavoring”. That shit is disgusting. Instead, it involved mixing a bottle of flavorless Miralax powder with three bottles of (acceptably colored light blue) Gatorade. Unlike a decade ago, there was sugarfree Gatorade available, and I’ve even heard online of people using coconut water and other things if they wanted to avoid Gatorade. I am not lying to you when I say it tasted EXACTLY like unadulterated Gatorade. I began drinking it at around 5pm, and according to my instructions had to finish two bottles by 10pm. The expected, erm, output began about an hour after I started and went an hour after I finished. Thanks to my planning the days earlier this week, it really wasn’t awful at any point. Yes, I did a lot of reading while sitting down, but reading! I had two hours off, then had one bottle to finish between midnight and 2am, because my appointment was first thing in the morning. Yes, the split prep is important even though it meant I was up stupid late. I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but I could have avoided that with an afternoon appointment (which brings its own issues regarding hunger, as you cannot eat once you begin the prep. I prefer morning appointments!). We were at the Endoscopy Department at 6:30am, and I was back getting prepared by 7. I don’t remember what time they gave me the sedation into my IV, but I do know I was out like a light in under ten seconds. Whereas last time I had a ‘twilight sedation’ and actually woke up mid-procedure and watched, this time I went from chatting in the procedure room to coming awake in a recovery room. The entire procedure, according to my report: Scope In: 7:53:09 AM Scope Out: 8:10:57 AM Scope Withdrawal: 00:11:24 Total Procedure Duration: 00:17:48 We were home by 9am, I had coffee and breakfast, and we got back to normal. I listened to my doctor and refrained from driving or making large or legal decisions today, because some people do react to the sedation. I wasn’t sure I was going to write tonight, but a nap this afternoon and I felt well enough to try. If you think this diary didn’t live up to standards, blame the anesthesia :). Let’s talk about my results. The doctor (I had an all-female team!) was able to view my entire colon, all the way to where my appendix joins up. She saw nothing. Nada. And that means I show up again in ten years unless I notice symptoms. Had she found polyps, I’d be returning in 3-5 years andbe thankful, because polyps gone are cancers that didn’t get time to develop. I am beyond relieved of course. This year I’ve had my colon cancer screening, and earlier in the spring saw my dermatologist for my annual skin check. My father died of melanoma in 1990 because he ignored a scary mole for a year, and my sunburn history makes me a high risk case. I’ve had suspicious lesions removed and am grateful every time. I have my annual mammogram later this summer, and I have another few years of Pap screenings before I age out of those. Because no polyps were removed, this procedure fell squarely in “Screening” and not “therapeutic/diagnostic” categorization. This is important because while the ACA mandates coverage for screenings, the moment it veers into “hey we found something” it’s no longer covered and that is ridiculously stupid. While I am profoundly grateful that Casa Brillig has insurance that covers these routine screenings I have uninsured friends and unfortunately even simple screening procedures are not covered. This is to me unacceptable but so is our entire health ‘care’ system. I encourage anyone in this situation to investigate whether free/low-cost exams are available in your state. So, tell me: do you get all the screenings you’re eligible for? If no, why not… I’m not asking judgementally, but genuinely interested as to whether it’s financial, inability to take time to have them done (a self-employed friend says it’s impossible to take the time off to have a colonoscopy screening even if he HAD insurance), or other reasons? This is an ask me anything diary… need tips for making the prep easier? Wondering about any aspects of routine screenings? Let’s talk! After consideration of what we come here for, Top Comments of course! 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We did not have any comment nominations, and while I got this diary out I admit it’s been hard to read today, my concentration is hit or miss. Please, please send us those great comments when you see them. Lastly, an update from last week’s license plate saga… thanks to a wonderful RMV employee who Mr. Brillig spoke with on the phone, our plates arrived Friday and my car was immediately inspected. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/29/800062872/community/top-comments-that-exam-again-edition/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/