Another beautiful, clear morning. Temperature 28.5 degrees with 65 percent humidity. The skies in the southeast were just starting to get light as I left the house and a couple of miles into my run, it was getting light enough to see cracks in the road. My legs and lungs felt good this morning, but I had a bit of cramping and bowel distress -- apparently a lingering effect from the powerful laxative that I took prior to yesterday's colonoscopy.
The colonoscopy itself is completely painless as they put you out for it. They put a syringe in your IV line and within about ten seconds you're out. The next thing I knew is that I was waking up from a deep sleep and looking at the heart rate monitor just beside me. I was a little confused as to why my wife was there and the doctor and nurses weren't because it seemed like I'd just closed my eyes for minute. I asked her why my heart rate was so high (just before falling asleep it was 50, when I woke up it was 87 and my blood pressure was up significantly). I was in a bit of a fog, but no pain at all, that was why I couldn't understand why my heart rate would be up. I laid there for a little while and they said that I could get up and leave as soon as I felt up to it. I sat up and felt OK so I decided to get dressed so we could leave. I noticed the time was about noon, so I figured I must have been out for about an hour. The scary thing is that I thought I could drive home. Laureen wouldn't have let that happen, but I felt like I could have. I guess that's why drunks behind the wheel cause so much damage -- your thoughts are fairly orderly but your reaction times and judgement are off. Anyway, the doctor didn't see anything out of the ordinary so I don't need another screening for ten years. I'd recommend getting one to anyone with any of the risk factors. It's really not bad at all.
For the most part, the whole process is | 