Colonscopy prep tips****UPDATE****

Not sure what prep they will give you but if the golytly stuff. Get it cold really cold and drink with a straw. It tastes nasty and you want to bypass your tongue as much as possible. Drink a lot the day of your prep. I thought I drank a ton but still felt dehydrated after. I also took the pills a couple hours early as I didn’t want to be up all night.

Stick close to the bathroom and just plan on spending a few hours there. The tucks pads are helpful as you can get sore.

I was told to eat lightly and do a low res diet for the week leading up to it. Google it as I don’t remember the details but remember no seeds or nuts so be careful with yogurt, jam and such. I was also on a liquid diet the day before.

Good luck.

There were some tips in this thread earlier in the year. I’m going to try the tip of using a lemon after sipping or maybe mixing the liquid with something other than water.

2peasrefugees.boards.net/thread/127730/start-rx-liquid-prep-colonoscopy

my specialist said to not to eat nuts, seeds or red things for 10 days--esp the seeds and nuts. then eat very lightly the two days ahead of time. I had the suprep.. 8 oz. of liquid some hours apart. tastes horrible, so I would take a swig, then swig martinelli's apple cider.. then so on. just stay near bathroom

they say to mix with cold water.. but it didn't make much difference to me.

Try going to a liquid diet a couple days before they tell you to. I just ate light soups that week. Avoid things that will be hard to digest. This will make for an easier time in the bathroom. Have things like popsicles and jello handy to eat. I think you can't have red color, so no cherry or strawberry. Make sure the prep is cold! I used a straw and alternated a sip of the prep with a sip of apple juice to kill the flavor a little. I also started at 2pm rather than 10pm and I was so glad I did, because it took me a couple hours to finish the drink. I started the 2nd prep about an hour earlier than they suggested. Taking my time helped me keep the drink down. I was so stressed that I didn't make it in the 45 minute time frame that they gave me. But later the nurse told me I did the right thing because taking my time helped me to not throw it all up. Have some wet wipes (or better yet, Preparation H wipes) handy, because you will be wiping a lot. I mean A LOT.

Drinking the prep is the worst part, but you can do it! And this is such an important screening, so it is so worth it! The actual colonoscopy is painless and you will have the best nap of your life.

I used the A&D Ointment found in the baby section of the store. Worked great. No chafing at all. I applied after each trip to the bathroom.

I also second the suggestion to drink the prep through a straw. Made it so much easier to get down.

I set a phone timer to remind me to chug my next 8 oz glass.

Also, try to get your actual appointment as early as possible in the day. Makes it less miserable to not be able to eat or drink before your procedure.

Glad you are taking care of you (and your DH) best wishes!

My doctor had me do a homemade “cocktail” using a bottle of some powdered laxative. Instead of mixing with Gatorade, I mixed it with Ginger Ale and apple juice. I drank a few bottles of electrolyte drink separately. It was a much better taste than Gatorade. I used a straw because I had read about that here. Worked well. I also ate lightly for about 5 days before the procedure, and that was a good decision.

All great advice. I've had 4 (I might have had more but I lost count). The last 3 landed me in the ER because of blockage, but that's rare. If you are having immense stomach pain and not passing anything within a few hours, don't let it get too far. Are you going for just routine testing? If so, I'm sure you'll be fine.

My additional tips were to buy Depends (they're actually not uncomfortable & it'll help you from worrying) and wear them once you start your drinks. I also put a mat on my bed or wherever I sat, just in case.

BEST PART: You'll have the nicest sleep with this test!! Good luck.

Prep veteran here! Go for the pills if offered. I had to use them because I had baratric surgery and my stomach can not handle the amount of liquid for the drink prep. It’s a lot of pills, like 12 that you have to take over the course of 30 minutes or something like that, but SO much better than all that liquid.

Definetly eat lightly the days before. It makes it so much easier!

Definitely from chafing, so pat when you wipe. And eating lightly for 3 or 4 days before prep will help.

Surgical repair is not recommended except in extreme cases. Very painful.

I’ve only had one a few months ago. My prep rx liquid was just two little bottles. I drank them several hours apart and had to follow up with some water. I didn’t not spends tons of time at all on the toilet and I asked if I did a good job prepping and they said yes. I think what helped me was I researched what to not eat for a couple days leading up. And then ate liquid type things like soup and jello. I’d rather eat those leading up to then spend so much time on the toilet.