PD and Colonoscopy preparation, something to be aware of.

I wanted to pass along my experience this week regarding having PD and preparing for a Colonoscopy.

This is obviously a case study of one, and may not apply across the board, but I feel it's information worth passing along.

I'm a 71YO male and was diagnosed w/ PD eight months ago. I'm on Sinemet 50/200 @ 3x day. I was scheduled for my 10 year Colonoscopy this week.

I had completed the bowel prep exactly as specified in the instructions from my Doctors office. From what I could tell, I should have been clean enough for the Colonoscopy to be carried out; unfortunately, it wasn't.

The doctor informed me (post procedure) that he could not complete the exam because I was not clean enough.

He was aware of my PD prior to the procedure, and he asked me then if I had any of the PD related constipation issues. I replied that I did for short periods and then my gut went in the other direction for a while before swinging back toward constipation in a somewhat cyclical fashion.

I think we both came to the same conclusion, in that... the well-known issues with PD and constipation (i.e. smooth muscle involvement) meant that the STANDARD bowl prep given to most patients was not sufficient for a person with PD.

The Doctor advised me that he was going to reschedule my exam for some months down the road and prescribe a more thorough bowel prep regimen in order to ensure the Colonoscopy could be completed.

Thus, I would suggest that if you have PD and also plan on a Colonoscopy, that you discuss this at length with your Doctor to see if you may need to take extra measures for your bowel preparation.