8:51am MetroNorth Train : Packed?

May 3, 2013 7:21 PM

I'm trying to decide whether to take MetroNorth to Grand Central Monday morning. Will a train arriving @8:51am be unpleasantly packed, or is that considered late in the rush hour?

Full story: I live in the 'burbs and have a colonoscopy in downtown Manhattan with a 9:15am arrival.

So my options are:

1. take metronorth Monday morning in a weakened fasting state after a miserable Sunday of purging (I'd imagine standing for the trip would be pretty awful), or

2. check into a downtown hotel Sunday afternoon, and attempt to wrangle the purging regimen in the hotel room (using ice buckets to cool the awful-tasting liquids to make them more palatable). Problem is I need to take four bisacodyl tablets at 1pm Sunday, and check-in isn't going to be until 3pm, so I might have a scary trip down (OTOH the nurses say bowels shouldn't crank up until 4 or 4:30).

No great choices, obviously. It sucks to be middle aged.

posted by Quisp Lover to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (19 answers total)

Best answer: First, ask if you can check in a little early. Sunday afternoon should be ok at the hotel.

Second, having had both a colonoscopy and taken the Metro North, I would not do the train thing in the morning regardless of how crowded it is. At that hour, the train will be close to full, but I doubt there will be standers.

I think the best place you can do it, would be on your home throne, but the second best place would be in a decent hotel room.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:51 PM on May 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I do MNR from CT (based on your arrival time I think you use a different line.) I agree with JohnnyGunn there likely won't be more than a handful of standees. Could you depart from the first station for that train? (C-H I believe) This would guarantee you get a seat.

That said I agree, I can't imagine the hotel would have a problem with an early checkin. Good luck!
posted by gazole at 7:56 PM on May 3, 2013

Best answer: Is this happening this weekend? If not, ask your MD about the magnesium-based preps. They are significantly smaller volume than the traditional PEG/glycol based options, the downside is that you really need to make a point of drinking a large volume of other fluids. But it's nice because the 'other fluids' can be Gatorade or water or whatever. So your hotel option might be more reasonable in that context.

FWIW, "bowel preps" are in general lacking in evidence, and what you are really trying to do is prep your bowel such that the colonoscopist is satisfied with the level of prep. In my mind, that means pushing the "prep" as far as your GI doc will let you.

It's a funny thing, but the sole evaluation of the entire process comes down to whether or not your GI doc evaluates your prep as "adequate", and that really comes down to whether or not you followed their recs.
posted by sanderman at 8:01 PM on May 3, 2013

Response by poster: JohnnyGunn, you've captured my ambivalence perfectly. Prefer home throne. But don't want to deal with train.

Gazole, first station is smart, but sleep is smarter!

I may go with the hotel (though to get decent rate, I'd use Hotwire....hope that doesn't make them reluctant to accommodate early check-in.

For one thing I'd need to contemplate what clear liquids I could bring with me. Hate to lose the hot broth option, as that's the most food-like permissible item.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:02 PM on May 3, 2013

Response by poster: Sanderman, that was mostly over my head, but, fwiw, I've been given Moviprep (glycol), and feel like I should just do as I'm told.
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:04 PM on May 3, 2013

Best answer: You can bring a small electric kettle to heat water for broth (if making it from a cube or a packet, obviously, but you can probably use a not-beloved electric kettle to heat the broth itself if it's already a liquid.
posted by rtha at 8:16 PM on May 3, 2013

Best answer: If you're considering renting a hotel, would you consider hiring a nice car service?

There would be traffic but would certainly be more comfortable than MNR.
posted by waterisfinite at 8:38 PM on May 3, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks, guys, for the kindly suggestions..
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:43 PM on May 3, 2013

Best answer: Also if you are in NYC, do not forget all your delivery options. Many Asian restaurants, especially noodle places of course, and delis will bring you plain chicken soup broth...it may come in the form of soup, so just skip the solids. The last time I was fluish in NYC and couldn't bring myself to eat anything else or leave the apt for replenishments, seamless.com was very helpful for price comparisons.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 9:02 PM on May 3, 2013

Response by poster: Chinese takeout broth. Brilliant!

Only question is whether the high MSG content presents a drug interaction issue with the anesthesia!
posted by Quisp Lover at 9:59 PM on May 3, 2013

Best answer: Take a slightly earlier train (arriving at 8 or so) and you'll almost certainly get a seat. All my metro north experiences have been pretty civilized.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:22 AM on May 4, 2013

Response by poster: What station do you get on, thereemix?
posted by Quisp Lover at 7:46 AM on May 4, 2013

I just had a colonoscopy. In your position, I would do everything in my power to be at home during the prep. Drinking several litres of PEG and spending the evening on and off the toilet is bad enough at home; I would be miserable doing it in a hotel.

YMMV, and my scheduling was a little different than yours (my procedure was mid-day, so I had to split up the PEG dose the night before and early morning of), but I felt ok by the time I left the house and could have handled rush hour trains fine.
posted by quaking fajita at 10:23 AM on May 4, 2013

Response by poster: thereemix - I'm much further down toward the city. But your point about non-crowding is helpful. I know the afternoon rush hour trains are horrors. Not really sure why morning shouldn't be symmetrical, but I'll take your word for it.

quaking fajita - Yeah, I don't expect to love the experience in a hotel. But I really dread the long train (plus subway) ride. For one thing, as a freelancer I'm not used to being up at that hour. And I'm not expecting to get quality sleep that night. And there are nice and discounted hotels a five minute walk from my procedure.
posted by Quisp Lover at 11:24 AM on May 4, 2013

Response by poster: Fortunately, the doctor's right off the 5 train, which is easier to get on than a taxi. But thanks! Good news about the extra trains!
posted by Quisp Lover at 3:31 PM on May 4, 2013

I regularly take a similarly timed trained into GCT on the New Haven Line from Mid/Lower Westchester, and the trains are frequently very crowded at this time. Seats can be found, but it's usually pretty tightly packed.
posted by OsoMeaty at 7:23 PM on May 4, 2013

I should add, it's not like it's standing room only, but it's a tight squeeze.
posted by OsoMeaty at 7:25 PM on May 4, 2013

Sorry, one more thing: my dad takes the train when he gets his colonoscopy in midtown, but he's a super trooper.
posted by OsoMeaty at 7:29 PM on May 4, 2013

Response by poster: For the sake of future readers searching back....

I went with the hotel. I got a $119 deal on Hotel Tonight app for the Wyndham Garden Hotel Chelsea (there were also good deals on HotWire). And, man, was I glad.

First, the purging isn't like diarrhea, with cramps and discomfort. It's just water. No huge biggie. And since hotel rooms are smaller than my house, I was always closer to the pot, which was GREAT. I brought baby wipes, lots of drinks, and my ipad.

After 36 hours of fasting PLUS dehydration, it would have been torture to do 90 minutes of rush hour commuter train + subway to get to the test. Instead, I grabbed a quick cab.

Procedure was easy. I understand what Michael Jackson saw in Propofol.

All in all: wherever you live, stay overnight near the test, if it's scheduled early. Much better!
posted by Quisp Lover at 3:10 PM on May 6, 2013