The dreaded colonoscopy.  Just the words make people cringe. The build up and the preparation are worse than the procedure.  At least your drugged for the procedure.

Since you’re drugged you will need someone to drive you have after it’s over. It will also help keep your mind off of what’s to come. Dwelling on it will only make you nervous.

So in the beginning you will have to start on a liquid diet. This could last from one to three days depending on your doctors instructions.   What is a liquid diet? You ask, you can only drink things like fat-free bouillon or broth, water, diet soda, plain coffee, strained fruit juice, or plain tea.  No sugar, No fat and nothing solid.  Not even fruit skin.

The worst part of it is if you cheat on the diet they may not be able to complete the colonoscopy and have to do it over.  If that doesn’t keep you honest about what you eat nothing will. Do over is not a word you want to hear in the proctologist’s office. Not to mention the health risks involved in not following the doctors orders.

Then the night before you have to take a laxative to further cleans your intestines. Now you may be ready to the day of procedure.  At least now you’re so hungry your ready to get it over with so you can go eat some junk food again.

The day of procedure you will have an IV put in (sorry if your scared of needles) and given more sedatives and fluids to help you relax. You will also have patches applied to your chest arms and legs to monitor your heart rate. Then an automatic blood pressure cuff will be placed on your arm and you will put your finger in that clothes pin contraption that monitors the oxygen level in your blood.

It’s almost over and I hope your results are great.  Good luck.

By defining this disease in the feline, we may define our own disease more accurately.  We have seen this disease more and more as cats age and continue to eat a variety of foods.

One of the most common cat ailments in the gastrointestinal system is feline irritable bowel syndrome. The intestinal tract is constantly in turmoil and causes intestinal discomfort.

The suffering a cat endures from feline irritable bowel syndrome is due to the uncontrollable contractions of the intestines. This creates mucus and other toxins and prevents food and waste from passing through the digestive system naturally.

When food and waste cannot pass naturally it will accumulate and cause obstruction in the digestive tract. This will in turn cause constipation, diarrhea and bloating.

When compared to human irritable bowel syndrome feline IBS is very similar in the fact that the cause is unknown. Many of factors that may make it worse are the same for pet and human. Such as, unhealthy eating habits, stress, viral and bacterial infections, allergies, antibiotics(if used incorrectly), and viruses all may contribute to the problem.

Some of the worst symptoms of feline IBS are nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, vomiting and bloating.

A veterinarian should be able to alleviate some of the previously mentioned symptoms of a feline irritable bowel movement. While the symptoms are not usually fatal they are certainly painful and should be reduced as much as possible.

Another problem for the feline is the sometimes direct contact that they have with the carpet and cleaners used in the home. Cats react differently to certain chemicals and just because they are safe does not mean your cat isn’t allergic to them.  Try to notice if your cats health gets worse after you have used chemicals in the house.

Taking the time to notice the attitude of your cat will help toward having a healther cat.