OT: Colonoscopy Prep

Well, I finally scheduled a colonoscopy for next month. Doc prescribed MoviePrep for me to take. But I am concerned I will have alot of trouble with it for various reasons.

I would be grateful if people would share their experiences as to what prep worked best for them. I know no matter which one is used, it is not going to be fun. But obviously, I want to make sure I ask for the best option for me.

I did search the archives and found a few suggestions but would still appreciate input.

Thanks!

49er

I survived colon cancer, but one result was to put me on more frequent scopings than average, so I have been through this quite a few times. Drinking the prep as cold as you can get it is very helpful. Using a straw cuts down on the time that the distasteful solution spends passing over your tongue.

I have always used the four liter preps rather than two liter. The two most popular are GoLytely and NuLytely. The latter has no sulfates, and for many people, that is the main source of bad flavor. So for me, NuLytely and the other sulfate-free preps are best.

As I understand it, the four liter preps are isotonic, meaning that they are about as salty as we are. Therefore the liquid is not pulled from the gut into the body by osmosis, but is allowed to flow right through sweeping everything in its path. I believe that lower volume preps are hypertonic, and thus saltier than we are, so they pull additional water into the gut (or are consumed with extra water on the side). All prep is safe, but I just think that the four liter preps present less opportunity of side effects, and that they are worth drinking the extra volume of nasty liquid.

Whatever you take, however, the preps are safe and effective. Icy cold and through a straw they aren't all that horrible.

My wife & daughter had good success with a prep of Gatorade and Miralax. It was much easier to take than others. 2 Qts of Gatorade mixed with a container of Miralax. GI said he also used it..

Going on clear liquids for an extra day or two helps
"lighten the load"

LSAT wrote:My wife.daughter had good success with a prep of Gatorade and Miralax. It was much easier to take than others. 2 Qts of Gatorade mixed with a container of Miralax. GI said he also used it..

+1 on the Miralax and Gatorade. I've never had one myself (not quite old enough yet), but my wife has and the Miralax cocktail works very well and is pretty mild.

LSAT wrote:My wife.daughter had good success with a prep of Gatorade and Miralax. It was much easier to take than others. 2 Qts of Gatorade mixed with a container of Miralax. GI said he also used it..

+1 also. I've had 3 of those so far and this works well (I'm high risk for colon cancer). In fact, all the Walgreens stores in my area have all the 'needs' grouped together in a display by the pharmacy so you can just pick up everything. (there's another liquid you drink just before going to the hospital).

Warning sobb story ! About 4 months ago I did the gatoraid mirilax prep, took
my cpap with me to have this done. They found one small polyp and a small
ulser. Well the blankety blank lab messed up the 2 specimens so 3 weeks later
I get to have this done again. Oh I am fine etc. but having that done once every
5 to 10 years is bad enough but twice in a month is a bit much!

Another vote for Miralax and gatorade. Just had my 1st scope last week. Half a bottle of miralax in 32 ounce gatorade at 5pm, another at 2am, procedure was done next day at 10am. Also had 2 durolax at 1pm and 2 more at 3pm. Was on clear liquids the day before. All went well. It cleared me out for sure. I got pics of the procedure the same day and everything was shiny clean. I didn't notice any particular off taste and was able to down the entire bottle fairly quickly without distaste.

Something to shame them with--forever.
The incident where I was intubated BEFORE the anesthetic took hold is on my PERMANENT RECORD.
It is like having a note on your chart: "DON'T DARE FRACK UP!"

For my first colonoscopy, I mixed cold miralax with crystal light lime margarita mix. It was tolerable for me to swallow (straw helped, too), ate lots of Jello (I could only have in orange) and had beef broth (just the liquid) for all dinners. Baby wipes helped me when I had to spend most of the time in the bathroom (along with hemorrhoid cream. If I had indigestion (which I did from drinking too much liquids), Sparkling water helped me considerably. I could have soft drinks (no diet ones) and that helped with low blood sugar. After the cut off time with liquids, I started to get cold, shivering and shaking. Instead of drinking more liquids, I took a hot shower and slept with the furnace on.

Thank you all so much for your responses. It sounds like the Miralax combination is the winner. I will definitely check that out.

PST - So glad you survived colon cancer.

Woody, I would have been so upset if that had happened to me.

Thanks again.

49er

Thank you for your kind comment, 49er. Since the colon cancer I've been through two episodes of bladder cancer. I'm now determined to keep a close watch over my pancreas and prostate. It's a rough neighborhood down there!

PST wrote:Thank you for your kind comment, 49er. Since the colon cancer I've been through two episodes of bladder cancer. I'm now determined to keep a close watch over my pancreas and prostate. It's a rough neighborhood down there!

My god PST, I am so sorry.

Thinking good thoughts for you.

49er

I've had 2 of them. The first I went through a basic prep, Miralax and Gatorade. Unfortunately I found out that I have an extra long colon so they couldn't finish the test. On the second round I had to start two days before with Magnesium Citrate and Ducolax. I then had to do 1 gallon of Golytely the morning of the day before and then 1/2 gallon of the Miralax and Gatorade mix the evening before. Then another bottle of Magnesium Citrate at 3am and then an afternoon test. It really sucked.

Anyway, the point is that with the Golytely I dumped in Crystal Light lemonade along with a 1/4 or so of cup of lemon juice and some sugar. It actually made a decent lemonade when it was really cold.

Omne wrote:I've had 2 of them. The first I went through a basic prep, Miralax and Gatorade. Unfortunately I found out that I have an extra long colon so they couldn't finish the test. On the second round I had to start two days before with Magnesium Citrate and Ducolax. I then had to do 1 gallon of Golytely the morning of the day before and then 1/2 gallon of the Miralax and Gatorade mix the evening before. Then another bottle of Magnesium Citrate at 3am and then an afternoon test. It really sucked.

Anyway, the point is that with the Golytely I dumped in Crystal Light lemonade along with a 1/4 or so of cup of lemon juice and some sugar. It actually made a decent lemonade when it was really cold.

Oh my gosh, Omne, what a horrible experience to have to go through.

Well folks, I am definitely sold on the Miralax/Gatorade combination. Hopefully, my GI doc will let me switch.

49er