Stopping Tirz for Colonoscopy and Endoscopy

[Romulusguy]

M doctor instructed me to stop my Tirz 2 weeks before my colonoscopy and endoscopy. By that time, I will have been on Tirz for a total of 5 months. What can I expect to "feel" once I stop my injections, and when will I feel it? Will I begin devouring everything in front of me within a day, or will I slowly start to feel cravings after a week? Just curious what to expect for that 2 week period before I begin my injections again once the procedures are complete.

 

[5byfive]

I would push back. The Americans Association of Anesthesiologists has recently changed their guidance on this and no longer recommends stopping before a procedure.

 

[latviantower]

For a colonoscopy that lower end needs to be clean as a whistle, so to speak. GLP’s slow your GI tract down, sometimes dramatically. It just makes sense. I did pause for 2 weeks for my c’scope. Frankly about the time I felt cravings, it was time for the dreaded prep. Lost a ton of weight during that! Had a huge delicious sinful meal immediately afterwards and then resumed the shots.

I had two procedures last fall (vein phlebectomy and a double hernia repair) and I was given conflicting instructions- stop tirz for one week, stop tirz for two weeks. I took my weekly shot 8 days before the procedure and resumed the day after. Technically I was off for a week, right??? . No ill effects.

 

[Romulusguy]

For a colonoscopy that lower end needs to be clean as a whistle, so to speak. GLP’s slow your GI tract down, sometimes dramatically. It just makes sense. I did pause for 2 weeks for my c’scope. Frankly about the time I felt cravings, it was time for the dreaded prep. Lost a ton of weight during that! Had a huge delicious sinful meal immediately afterwards and then resumed the shots.

I had two procedures last fall (vein phlebectomy and a double hernia repair) and I was given conflicting instructions- stop tirz for one week, stop tirz for two weeks. I took my weekly shot 8 days before the procedure and resumed the day after. Technically I was off for a week, right??? . No ill effects.

OOF, I had a double hernia repair 3 years ago. They told me it was a "minor" procedure and that they would send me home the same day. Holy moly, were they full of crap! My balls looked more mangled than when I got my vasectomy and I was in so much pain, it took me 6 months + to recover from that and my scars still itch

 

[woundcarping]

If you’re not “prepped” enough, they’ll still do what they can.

Aspiration risk doesn’t require weeks of clearance.

I split dose Reta every 3.5 days with no constipation issues. If I was going to get the lower end snaked, I’d skip a ~week, with the end landing on dropped soap day. I’d go mostly clear (easily digestible) two days before and clear the day before.

I had an EGD in Feb, he just wanted me to be before my next dose.

 

[Troposphere]

I'm glad people are talking about this. Got a scope coming up in 5 weeks or so.

 

[lessthanhalf]

I unfortunately had 2 last year colonoscopy and gastroscopy. The top one was to see why my iron levels had dropped ( bleeding from low dose aspirin ) and the other for monitoring of ulcerative colitis. Both colonoscopies had bad prep and there was retained contents in my stomach as well, the 2 problems caused by GLPs. I had had enough after doing the prep twice and decided if they missed a tiny bit of dysplasia somewhere then bad luck rather than doing it a third time. The slow gastric emptying also meant it took 7 hours to drink the 3 litres of prep solution.

The main reason they want people to stop them is so you have an empty stomach so you cannot end up with gastric contents in your lungs after they give you sleepy drugs. The official opinion on this is it is probably not needed, but you are likely better off following instructions by whoever is doing it to keep them happy. You do not want to do the prep and then have them refuse to do the proceedure because you had not stopped the GLP's as instructed.

The slowed GI motility can also cause bad prep, so enhanced prep might be a good idea, and following the dietary instructions is a good idea, maybe even fluids only for 24 hours earlier than required. Bad prep is just some poop left in the colon so they cannot see every thing perfectly.

2 weeks after stopping there is still going to 25% blood levels of tirz so stopping it for 2 weeks does not solve the problem completely.

 

[Romulusguy]

I unfortunately had 2 last year colonoscopy and gastroscopy. The top one was to see why my iron levels had dropped ( bleeding from low dose aspirin ) and the other for monitoring of ulcerative colitis. Both colonoscopies had bad prep and there was retained contents in my stomach as well, the 2 problems caused by GLPs. I had had enough after doing the prep twice and decided if they missed a tiny bit of dysplasia somewhere then bad luck rather than doing it a third time. The slow gastric emptying also meant it took 7 hours to drink the 3 litres of prep solution.

The main reason they want people to stop them is so you have an empty stomach so you cannot end up with gastric contents in your lungs after they give you sleepy drugs. The official opinion on this is it is probably not needed, but you are likely better off following instructions by whoever is doing it to keep them happy. You do not want to do the prep and then have them refuse to do the proceedure because you had not stopped the GLP's as instructed.

The slowed GI motility can also cause bad prep, so enhanced prep might be a good idea, and following the dietary instructions is a good idea, maybe even fluids only for 24 hours earlier than required. Bad prep is just some poop left in the colon so they cannot see every thing perfectly.

2 weeks after stopping there is still going to 25% blood levels of tirz so stopping it for 2 weeks does not solve the problem completely.

Yeah, this is my second colonoscopy. I had my first 2 years ago (I was not on Tirz or any type of medication at that time) and despite following the prep directions to the letter, they were not able to complete the procedure. From the area that they could access, they removed a GIANT (in the MM range!) polyp that turned out to be non cancerous, but it scared me into getting another colonoscopy

This time around, I'm with a different doctor and after hearing about my previous experience, they gave me some sample medication to take 1 week before the procedure to start my gastric emptying VERY early. It's going to be a rough week but a little bit of suffering can literally save my LIFE so....I'll deal with it.

 

[Jittrbug]

I stopped taking mine 2 weeks prior, which ended up being my last shot 16 days prior. I then waited another week afterwards before starting it back up again. I felt the food noise after about 7 days, but didn't seem to last as long. I did eat slightly larger meals but with the habits and determination I had built up, I was able to lose 2 pounds during those 3 weeks. (Not counting the loss from the clean out of the colonoscopy, I didn't weigh after that).

 

[Homer]

I just went through this about three weeks ago. You definitely want to make sure you're prepped correctly and thoroughly as insurance will not cover it if you have to re-do it (at least not in a family members case). Stopping GLPs one week before was recommended and sufficient. You'll probably feel more hungry at the 7-10 day mark but the prep will kill your appetite sick:). But once your done, it's back to normal and hopefully good test results. Good luck!

 

[grizpat]

Here was my strategy: I stopped meds only 1 week (maybe 5 days?) before procedure but then fasted for 3 1/2 days before the procedure just to make sure everything was cleared out.

After dreading it for years, I found the whole experience so much easier and pleasant compared to my expectations. 9/10 would recommend.

I was all clear and now I get to wait another 10 years.