Colonoscopy after transplant: Anything I should know?

Hello Ronromo
May I ask, are you a kidney transplant recipient & which UC campus LA/SF...Thanks !

PSC liver transplant at Baylor Fort Worth

May I ask a question: prior to taking the go light, were you having any electrolytes unbalanced issue.

I specifically have a potassium depletion syndrome, which is very rare considering the fact that my kidney GFR is in upper 80s and I am nearing 5 years post kidney transplant.

I am concerned, Purging preparation prior to colonoscopy will impact my electrolytes ( from what I read it should not, but every time I get dehyrated my potassium levels go low.

Thanks

The prep is always the worst part of colonoscopy. That part is true whether you you’ve had a transplant or not. If you are concerned about any aspect of the prep as it pertains to your post transplant status could you put a question in to your transplant coordinator? There could be some adjustments or recommendations to the prep that will be helpful to you.

I have had one and the only concern was to do with your kidney function. Your gastroenterologist will recommend the best prep for you. I like in Canada so it's a bit different here, but my pharmacist is aware of my health status and knows what I should take or shouldn't. Good luck

Live* not like

My husband had his colonoscopy when he was about 9 months post-transplant. We were nervous about it but the transplant team assured us that all would be fine. They were correct! Everything went well and there were no issues. A little stomach upset having to take meds on an empty stomach. He also has trouble keeping weight on post-transplant so he did lose a bit of weight with the prep and fewer calories leading up to it (the things he had to cut out for a week) but he rebounded easily. Good luck!!

@hello1234 Hello my friend! I’ve had three colonoscopies post transplant, 11/2022, 3/2023, and 6/2023. 1st was local, last 2 at Mayo. Typically for kidney patients they want the big prep taken in two parts. My best tip I learned years ago from a nurse is to suck on hard candy before/while drinking the prep. Has given a perfect prep score and completely clean. Important for them to see everything. I eat soft food, then liquid diet in days up to test per Mayo. Mayo had the expertise to get my hard to remove big one in cecum near junction that local Dr. could not remove all. So glad I switched. They know my transplant history, too. Hope it goes well! When will you have it? ❤️

Hi @jennifer0726 😊
It's so wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the excellent tip regarding sucking delicious hard candy in between the awful prep liquid. That's an awesome tip! I find the prep drink to be unbearable so a tip like that is priceless. (I also try to refrigerate the liquid, but that doesn't help that much). An unrelated question....now that you are also on your 4th anniversary, how often are you going for your routine lab work? Did you move to every 3 months or are you still on monthly labs?
Thanks so much for jumping into the conversation, I love hearing from you! ❤

Hi and I might add I had a heart Transplant and at my yearly check-up in January my team at Mayo Phoenix actually recommended it. I had my last one 5 years ago at Mayo while in the Hospital and I Just completed one last week at my Local Gastroenterologist.
It went well and I like the new prep a lot better. It was only 2 quarts of liquid mixed with a prescription powder called Poiyeth Glycol mixed with, I used the green Gatorade, and the taste was not bad at all (my last few were a gallon liquid I got for the prep) But the key is both times Ive done it since transplant there was not any special instructions from my team. Good Luck and I hope you prep goes smoothly