Fainted during prep

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CLD
Posts: 206
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:16 pm

Fainted during prep

Postby CLD » Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:34 pm

It's been awhile since I've posted. So 1st, an update. DH is officially cancer free 3 years and change out from dx. While we celebrate his cancer free status, we mourn the loss if his brother, who died in Nov from Lung cancer. I was a daily reader of Colon Talk and still check in a couple times a month. Many of you will understand what I mean when I say I had to take a break from CT to heal and move forward. It was especially hard after Beansmama passed. But something happened to my husband that I never saw as a topic before so I decided to post about it. DH had 4th colonoscopy today. Again, polyps were found, and an area of erosion (something else I never heard of before). So back again next year. Anyhow, he completed his Miramax prep and was on the potty when I heard a thud. I hollowed his name...no answer. I tried to open door but he had locked it (grrrr). Finally, he started answering me. Well, apparently he passed out, fell of the toilet and hit his head. I called the off hours emergency number twice and the on call Dr never returned my call (until 6 AM when she called to apologize for having slept through the call). Anyhow, I guess I want to share the importance of staying hydrated during prep. Dr said it was a vaso vagal episode, but it was scary since Dr didn't return call, DH hit his head, And I didn't know what to do. One phrase kept Comming to me last night : Cancer doesn't end when treatment is over. Truth.
Wife to DH/ Father of 6 (age 42 at dx) diagnosed Jan 2015 stage IIIC
Tumor deposit in mesentery 13/24 lymph nodes +
CEA at dx: 5
MSS
Low Grade/Mod. Diff.
FOLFOX 6 months
N.E.D until June 2018
PET Scan 6/18
Biopsy confirms cancer in 3 Paraaortic lymph nodes
Folfiri + Avastin (6tx) and Xeloda during radiation
Cancer all over both lungs dx Jan 2019
FOLFIRI +AVASTIN presently

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horizon
Posts: 1669
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:10 pm

Re: Fainted during prep

Postby horizon » Fri Mar 30, 2018 10:36 pm

That had to be so scary for you. I hope he wasn't hurt too badly. I've come very close to fainting once during the prep. For me it was a really bad reaction to the dulcolax pills. I haven't had it happen again since refusing to take those.
I'm just a dude who still can't believe he had a resection and went through chemo (currently 13 years NED). Is this real life?

Tdubz
Posts: 152
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 11:01 am

Re: Fainted during prep

Postby Tdubz » Sat Mar 31, 2018 8:36 pm

This has happened to me both times I’ve done the prep. They both happened at the same time too. I had taken the second does of Miralax around midnight, then went to sleep. I woke up a couple of hours later to go to the bathroom and then the fun started. On my first colonoscopy prep I got really light headed. I didn’t faint but I did throw up. Second time around I actually did faint on the toilet and ended up on the floor. Woke up wondering why I was on the floor. Got the same feeling again when I tried to stand up so i had to quickly lay down on my bed to prevent me from fainting again. I can easily deal with the going to the bathroom part of the prep but this light headed/fainting/throwing up makes it really miserable.

User avatar
horizon
Posts: 1669
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:10 pm

Re: Fainted during prep

Postby horizon » Sun Apr 01, 2018 10:00 am

Tdubz wrote:This has happened to me both times I’ve done the prep. They both happened at the same time too. I had taken the second does of Miralax around midnight, then went to sleep. I woke up a couple of hours later to go to the bathroom and then the fun started. On my first colonoscopy prep I got really light headed. I didn’t faint but I did throw up. Second time around I actually did faint on the toilet and ended up on the floor. Woke up wondering why I was on the floor. Got the same feeling again when I tried to stand up so i had to quickly lay down on my bed to prevent me from fainting again. I can easily deal with the going to the bathroom part of the prep but this light headed/fainting/throwing up makes it really miserable.


For me what I've found really helps is to chug the gawd awful prep, do my business on the toilet, and then drink half a glass of gatorade. Obviously don't do the gatorade for every glass of prep but I keep getting gatorade in me. The fullness of my stomach feels awful but I figure the electrolytes in the gatorade are helping me not get dizzy.
I'm just a dude who still can't believe he had a resection and went through chemo (currently 13 years NED). Is this real life?

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3816
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Fainted during prep

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:49 am

How scary! I'm so sorry that happened to your husband!*hugs*
Diagnosed 10/28/14, age 36
Colon Resection 11/20/14, LAR (no illeo)
Stage 2a colon cancer, T3NOMO
Lymph-vascular invasion undetermined
0/22 lymph nodes
No chemo, no radiation
Clear Colonoscopy 04/29/15
NED 10/20/15
Ischemic Colitis 01/21/16
NED 11/10/16
CT Scan moved up due to high CEA 08/21/17
NED 09/25/17
NED 12/21/18
Clear colonoscopy 09/23/19
Clear 5 year scans 11/21/19- Considered cured! :)

Utwo
Posts: 285
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 10:14 am
Location: T.O.

Re: Fainted during prep

Postby Utwo » Fri Apr 20, 2018 9:41 pm

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/fainting-on-the-toilet-is-a-real-medical-problem-but-doctors-say-it-can-be-avoided-1.3895702
Fainting on the toilet is a real medical problem - but doctors say it can be avoided
58 yo male at diagnosis: T1bN0M0, 0/15 nodes, low grade/moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma
03/2016 colonoscopy: 2 small polyps removed in left colon; CEA = 1.3
04/2016 colonoscopy: caecum sessile 3.5 cm polyp piecemeal removed with kind of clear margins
05/2016 "prophylactic" laparoscopic right hemicolectomy - bleeding, leak, infection
06/2017 CT scan, colonoscopy OK; CEA = 1.6
A lot of funny stuff discovered by CT scans in liver, kidney, lungs, arteries, gallbladder, lymph node, pancreas


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