Colonoscopy Tips

I could not drink the stuff they gave me, it made me vomit, so they let me use Miralax in gateraid and it was easy to drink and keep down.

My friend has to get one every yr due to her health.
She takes the prescription pills and does not drink that wonderful drink !

Mix it in advance and drink it COLD. That was the doctor's suggestion to me and he was right. Go exactly by the directions as far as how often to drink it and how much. You aren't supposed to drink it all at one time. If your concoction says you can add flavoring to it, like jello, do it. NO RED anything. Red will look like blood to the doctor. That's why they tell you no red...

I think it's tea, broth and jello you can have (specific colors). Do that as much as you are allowed. I went out to a diner for breakfast (no food) and drank lots of tea to get my head prepared for it. I think that the day before I ate small amounts to get my stomach ready for less, too.

According to how much you have to expel and the kind of drink you get, you should consider sitting on a towel that you can gather in front and in back of you to run to the toilet. That way you don't have an accident on your furniture or floor. (Yes, I learned that the hard way.)

Don't cut corners with this drink. If you don't get yourself actually cleaned out (and you won't know - only the doctor will when he or she gets the scope up in there), they will stop and after you wake up, tell you that you have to re-schedule.

Drink it ice cold and be sure to ask for a flavor packet from the pharmacy!

I'm not sure why you sat outside in the heat and why you mention the temp of the drink. I have never been told to do that. Did you think that, if you were really thirsty, you'd want to drink more liquid?

You definitely want to do this properly, because if you aren't cleaned out, they can't do the test. Then you've gone through the prep for nothing and have to do it again a few weeks later or whenever they can get the appointment scheduled.

Cut back on the types of foods you eat for 3 days before - they should be giving you instructions about that anyway. Less meat, no red foods, no insoluble fiber like corn and peas, etc. The less "stuffed" your stomach feels, the easier it will be to go without food on the day before. And yes, certain colors are off limits - red and dark dyes, in particular. A lot of people try adding Gatorade but it's loaded with dyes and sodium, so I never do that.

My colonoscopy prep was so much easier the second time around because I was already using a patented fiber product (so I just wasn't clogged up anyway!) and a patented hydration product (with no dyes) so my cells were already in good shape. A friend of mine "failed" her colonoscopy because she had such terrible constipation and IBS over the years that she just didn't get cleaned out, and she was sent home. She found that she did great when she switched to what I was using (made by a food science company and patented which means they are safe), so her second colonoscopy was great and much easier to prep for.

Then talk to the pharmacist about the different prep liquids available - there are several flavors that are okay. There are several brands, and even if your doctor says a particular brand, you don't have to stick with that. (Kind of like a doctor saying, "Buy some Kleenex" - when "tissues" are what he means!). I used 3 small bottles of a lemon-flavored prep kept behind the pharmacy counter but sold without a prescription. The name escapes me at the moment but I think it might be something like Citra-Sol. It's really not horrible and you drink them hours apart (afternoon and night before, day of), so it's not all at once.

If you use a straw, much of whatever solution you choose actually bypasses a lot of your taste buds, so you don't notice it. But I didn't bother to do that - the taste didn't bother me at all. Try not to hang around people who are eating all the time so you aren't looking at food and wishing you could have some. Do something nice for yourself,whether it's queuing up some favorite movies or getting some DVDs of movies from the library (they'll have a lot you haven't seen) - you'll be hanging around the house so it's good to be occupied, but you can stop the movie whenever you have to go to the bathroom.

If you don't already have wet bathroom wipes on hand, get some. They are much gentler on your anal area than toilet paper. When you're going so often, TP can really irritate that area. You can also get some of those incontinence pads (like Poise or the store brand) and put them in your underwear but pushed farther back near the anal area so that, if you have any "leakage" you don't mess your clothes. I didn't have that problem but if you are concerned about not getting to the bathroom in time, it's extra security, particularly at night or if you are napping as you say you did the first time.

By 6 hours before, you should be passing mostly liquid and very few solids. That's good!

You can eat anything you want afterwards, but I found that eggs really hit the spot. You should be able to take something with you to eat right away, although depending on how groggy you are, you may not feel so starving. I was awake for my first one, and really zonked out during my second one (missed the whole thing!). So I wasn't that famished afterwards, or maybe I was just used to being hungry. But I would NOT take a high fiber granola bar - you really don't want a lot more fiber right away! Maybe take a banana and some crackers, or a thermos of soup. You'll have someone with you anyway because you won't be allowed to drive yourself home, so that person can go out and get you something of your choosing and have it available for you.

Good luck!

I had SuPrep so there wasn't as much to drink (4 cups). Ask your doc for that.
I was also given an anticonstipation drug and told to drink 2 bottles of mag citrate followed by clear gatorade & miralax. Clean as a whistle.

Rhonda,

Put it in the fridge and drink it as cold as possible! Your pharmacist should have told you that!! I'm sorry that your pharmacist or doctor didn't give you more information and more advice about the cleansing the first time you did it....

I was allowed to eat jell-o and broth up until 12 hours prior. And my "concoction" was broken up - i had a jug to fill and drink 8 ounces every 4 hours until it was done.

I also was told by the pharmacist to change my diet starting a week before - so things wouldn't be so hard...like cutting back on Coke (soda) and heavier items and eating more salads - more fibrous items in my diet so that it would be easier...

I lost 5 lbs that week! YAHOO!!

Any way - I don't know if you live alone or not. However, the deal was that whatever bathroom I was closest to - no one else could use. Thank God we have 3 bathrooms in our home! LOL!! It really did help as the first and second "round" as the need comes on quick.

Good luck! Hope it's a "smooth" search with no pollyps or other problems!

I hope you have someone to drive you. Mine was done in "twilight sleep" and there is no way they'll let you out without someone driving you or taking a taxi.

Drink ice cold. I was told I could add some kool-aid flavoring to it - the small packets without sugar in an acceptable color like the lemonade. The pharmacist can give you more recommendations on flavoring I'm sure.

Otherwise, for distraction - rent some DVDs to watch all day or movies on demand, or something like that.

Having just had one last month? I would suggest that you drink it as cold as possible.

The less you put in? The less that comes out...in other words, limit your diet a few days before the prep so that you don't have to stress over food. The day before your clear liquid day and prep...eat a big breakfast, small lunch and small dinner. It will make the prep so much easier.

My doctor also had recommended that I add lemon flavored Crystal Light tubs, mine was the GoLyte type prep. Make sure it is really cold.

You need to be NEAR a bathroom!
And yes, drink it cold.

1. put some vaseline on your anal area before you start going. Eventually you are shooting stomach acid out of your bum. I put it on after every time I went.
2. you can stop drinking the liquid laxative when the color of your drink is the same color coming out the other end. So once your bowels are empty, no need to drink the rest.
3. Eat lightly for the 2nd day before you start you clean out. Only liquids one day before your clean out. Less to clean out, quicker and easier.
4. If you cannot stand the awful concoction, my doctor recommended taking Dulcolax at night and then 2 full doses of Miralax a few hours apart. Ask for other options. There are also pills that my father-in-law took in order not to have to drink so much stuff.
Good luck.

When you're ready for some humor, Dave Barry - humor columnist, wrote about his "adventure".

http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/02/11/427603/dave-barry-a...

I just had one a couple of weeks ago. I was strongly advised to eat NO fiber two days before the procedure. That includes fruits, veggies, whole grains and anything with nuts and seeds. I actually did a google search for fiber free diet (which is recommended to only do for a day or two). I was actually surprised at what I could eat.

For the day before, only clear liquids. That does include chicken broth. My initial thought was YUCK! But, after only having water it was actually pretty good. Drink it really hot and that helps. You can also drink pulp free, non-red juice like apple juice, tea and coffee without cream in it. You can add sugar. You can also have frozen fruit pops as long as they are pulp free and don't have chunks of fruit. Jello is also OK as long as it doesn't have any red food dye coloring. That pretty much limits you to lemon, but I think in some places you can also get apple flavored. You can make slushies by partially freezing apple juice. Flavored waters or ice chips are OK as long as they don't have red dye. I pretty much just drank all day to keep me from feeling hungry. I also chewed gum a lot that day.

Best advice my doctor gave me for getting the other stuff down was to chew gum just before drinking and just after drinking. That really helped to cut down the bad taste for me. Before mixing it with anything but water, check with your pharmacist. Some of the solutions can only be mixed with water. Mixing them with anything else can make it ineffective.

I had MoviPrep and basically just stayed in the bathroom with a good book. The less wiping the better. I was there about an hour the night before and an hour in the morning with a few other short stops later. Have Tucks pads or baby wipes on hand.

If at all possible, have your appointment first thing in the morning. I had to do the first round of the prep starting at 6:00 the night before. I had to do the second round at least three hours before the exam with nothing to drink for at least an hour before the exam. After doing the prep at 6:00 and what resulted after, I had no appetite. Then with sleeping through the night and doing the prep again 1st thing in the morning again I had no appetite. My appointment was at 9:00 and I didn't have to go all day the day of the appointment waiting to eat.

After the appointment I was told to avoid any foods that are "gassy" like beans and veggies. That can increase the possibility of gas pains.

Good luck!

Well, I had oral surgery two days before the colonoscopy so I didn't feel like eating anyhow! Actually, I don't recommend that. It was too much too soon; I was trying to get all medical procedures done before the kids got out of school for the summer.

Anyhow, you've gotten some good tips. And remember the less you eat the couple of days before the cleanse the less there is to clean out. If you have a spot in your house where you can somewhat isolate yourself that helps. I put myself in our partially finished basement with its own bathroom, a TV and a mini-fridge for the solution. I watched a lot of movies and stayed away from all food and food preparation. My kids either got their own meals or my husband took them out to eat. I had the horrible powder that has to be mixed with gallons of water and I think I found out later I could've mixed it with clear Gatorade. I would double check with the pharmacist though. It was awful and made me gag so I alternated it with sips of clear, flavored Gatorade.

Someone suggested wet wipes instead of TP. I agree, but even those can get irritating. Paper towel or something moistened with plain water, like you do for a baby with diaper rash, might be less irritating. Good luck!

You might already know this since it is your 2nd one, but I was a little surprised that it took me several days to get my system back to normal afterwards. That might have been at least in part because I have IBS. I wasn't really hungry afterwards and my husband wanted to stop at a restaurant! Ah no, not ready for that. I ate a bland diet for several days.

I didn't cut out food altogether, just reduced my diet for a couple of days and drank broth on the day before, in addition to the gunk. The broth gave me a break from the other taste.

get a good book to read in the bathroom. you will be in the bathroom for a good long while..