Have a family history of colon cancer in my family. My dad was diagnosed in his 50's. So as his daughter, the guidelines are that I start at 40 and go in every 5 years. Had to practically beg and bludgeon my dr for him to approve, but that's a whole other story. So if you've been diagnosed in your 50's and have kids, tell them to get their colonoscopy early. Ok, i'll get off my soap box now.
I want to add:
Put extra tp in the bathroom before colonoscopy prep night. I can't remember if I went thru 3 or 4 rolls of tp, but I say, put an extra 4 pack or even 2 extra 4 packs in there. You're going to want to have everything conveniently located. Just keep it out of the walk way so you don't trip over it during a bathroom dash.
Response time to laxative may vary. My aunt 5 mins, me 7 hours. What can I say, I have a slow transit time. And yes, my abdomen was very distended. Oh and no more pills. the FDA pulled it, so back to the liquid.
Use multiple straws for drinking laxative. and use the biggest cup you can when drinking your water.
apply baby diaper rash cream after each trip to bathroom. buy the smallest one you can find, i think the dollar store sells it. you want to create a bit of a barrier.
i have to admit, i reduced what i ate 3 days before prep night. so test on fri, prep thurs, reduced eating mon. with my slow transit time, family history. and the fact that i had to work so hard just to get the test, i wanted to make sure the dr. had good visualization. no nuts, seeds, hulls, or skins. no beef. ate foods with LOW fiber. (you want that food to pass easily since you'll be giving it serious help.) Nothing with red dye. no insoluble fiber. and yes, i was grumpy by wed. but on thur i was a happy person knowing the next day i could actually eat food.
I just kept reminding myself, good prep = nice clear colon for dr's visualization. I wanted him to be able see as much as possible in case of a flat polyp. so think instead of polyp standing up like say broccoli, it's lying flat like a pancake.
really the prep is the worst part. the procedure is a breeze, esp with the meds. better living thru chemistry.
good job for getting testing. for some it really is a matter of life or death.