Colonoscopy for a dementia patient. Any tips?

I just can't imagine doing a colonoscopy level prep with a dementia patient. It seems cruel and unusual.

My mom had her last colonoscopy at the age of 85, pre-cognitive decline. She came out of the anesthesia and said to me "I'm never doing this again". The GI doc showed up a minute later and said "you never have to do this again". We laughed and said we were glad that we were all in agreement.

Who thinks that this is necessary?

This is just one of many, many examples I've seen of doctor's who don't specialize in dementia not having a clue. Hospitals are as bad. I sure hope those attitudes are changing, but I worry that it won't really happen until we have a whole new generation of medical professionals.

Re: insurance appeal. My husband is on blood thinners. He has to go off them in order to have polyps removed if they find any during a colonoscopy. The insurance company originally denied certification for what turned out to be a three day hospital stay at Sloan Kettering for the surgery, but we simply bombarded them with evidence that doing this procedure on an outpatient basis was simply too dangerous.

Don't take "no" for an answer.

On second thoughts - can you not find the money anywhere just to pay for the pre-op care? The idea that an untrained caregiver can handle this strikes me as insane; and I assume her prolapse has now turned so nasty that the surgery is absolutely unavoidable?

If she won't drink the fluid no professional will not be able to get it down.

CM it is about a gallon, one glass every 20 minutes.

There are pills that can be given instead of the liquid but I believe there are about 20 so that is another problem.
It may be possible to cleanout with numerous enemas.
Depending on the stage of the patient's dementia is it actually a good idea to do the surgery.
You really need to discuss all this with her gastroenterologist.
Washout could even be done once she is anesthetized. She could take something like Miralax for a few days before and a low residue diet for about a week. Personally I did not find the prep liquid too foul. it was slightly sweet and lemon flavored. I just sat on the toilet for the duration and kept drinking.

I think that doctor should come up with another way to achieve the prep goal. I cannot imagine either my mother or my husband being able to comply when they had dementia.

I would think the doctor performing this would be the best source. Does this doctor have a nurse or staff member who "boards" surgeries and provides pre and post-op advice.

This is a question that's really too specific to be answered on a nonmedical forum.

Well. If your mother's health insurance won't cover her for skilled nursing in preparation for this, you'd better track down an experienced nurse and beg or pay for her help.

How much fluid do you have to get down her, and in what time frame, and what happens if you can't?

Barb, the lady isn't having a colonoscopy - she has a rectal prolapse of over 5 years' duration, and the pre-op process for surgery is the same, apparently. I'm wriggling in my chair just from empathising so I dread to think how badly the poor lady must need this done.