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Best Prep For Colonoscopy?


Texola

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Texola Newbie

My doctor wants me to have a colonoscopy because my last blood test showed low iron. Is there a prep especially for celiacs? Should I have it done by any doctor or one who knows about celiac disease? I am 59 now and do not do well with tests like this. Thanks for any help with this.


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larry mac Enthusiast
My doctor wants me to have a colonoscopy. Is there a prep especially for celiacs? .....

Hey T,

Yeah there is; gluten-free glop!

best regards, lm

Michi8 Contributor
My doctor wants me to have a colonoscopy because my last blood test showed low iron. Is there a prep especially for celiacs? Should I have it done by any doctor or one who knows about celiac disease? I am 59 now and do not do well with tests like this. Thanks for any help with this.

I have been told that Pico Salax is a relatively easy prep...much less fluid to get down than with colyte/golytely. My dr has asked me to prep with colyte/golytely, but I will be asking if I can change that to Pico Salax instead.

Michelle

happygirl Collaborator

I've done two different ones, and they were both gluten free. One was golytely and the other one was mixed with ginger ale (can't remember the name). That one was much easier than golytely!

RNTinkerbell Newbie

Hi, this is my first posting so I hope it makes sense. I am a GI Nurse who happens to have celiac-sprue (great resource for newly diagnosed patients). There are many different preps for the colonoscopy. Golytle, Fleets phospho soda, pills etc. All do the same thing. The pills can be a little costly ($40-80). The Golytle is a lot of yucky tasting fluid and the Fleets is a more concentrated version of the Golytle. I have done all three and I did the best with the Fleets since I could chug 1 and a half ounces of the stuff, throw a GREEN Jolly Rancher candy in my mouth and then drank the water. You usually are also required to stay on clear liquids for the day prior to your procedure. Try and get one of the first appointments and stay home when you start the prep. Good luck and remember the prep is the worst part of the procedure.

Hope this helps!!!

key Contributor

I just did the Fleet Phosphosoda with Dulcolax (4 pills). It wasn't bad. My mom is doing the Nulitely today, mag citrate, dulcolax and Reglan (6 Pills) to keep from puking all the stuff up!! I think her doctor is trying to kill her. THis is her first one in ten years, but she has had like 6 in the past. I am worried for her, because it sounds SO bad!

The worst for me was the phosphosoda is nasty tasting even in ginger ale. Also the second time I drank it, I got really bad heart palpitations, very scarey and short of breath. Something I have never experienced before. If it had continued I think I would have called 911! Luckily that only lasted like 10 minutes. I think I am very small and it just overwhelmed my body at one time. My doctor also gave me Zofran, which i did take, because that stuff is SO nasty!

Good luck. I would definitely suggest doing the Fleet Phosphosoda over the others from what I have read.

Monica

babygirl1234 Rookie

i did the power stuff with (4 delux) pills 2 at 3 and then 2 more at 9pm i had to mix with with crystal lite oh the wrose part is the prep i just had it done tuesday and you will have to go the bathroom alot once you start drinking the stuff but the test itslef is very eazy your midly sedated you dont feel a thing


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  • 1 year later...
maidajean Newbie

How about Halflytely & Bisacodyl tablets as a prep for colonoscopy? Do you know if it's gluten free? This is what my doctor is recommending.

Thank you for your help.

maidajean

Hi, this is my first posting so I hope it makes sense. I am a GI Nurse who happens to have celiac-sprue (great resource for newly diagnosed patients). There are many different preps for the colonoscopy. Golytle, Fleets phospho soda, pills etc. All do the same thing. The pills can be a little costly ($40-80). The Golytle is a lot of yucky tasting fluid and the Fleets is a more concentrated version of the Golytle. I have done all three and I did the best with the Fleets since I could chug 1 and a half ounces of the stuff, throw a GREEN Jolly Rancher candy in my mouth and then drank the water. You usually are also required to stay on clear liquids for the day prior to your procedure. Try and get one of the first appointments and stay home when you start the prep. Good luck and remember the prep is the worst part of the procedure.

Hope this helps!!!

neesee Apprentice

Just use whatever the doctor precsribes. It will be just fine. I had a colonoscopy in September and then I had a partial colectomy in October. The prep for the colectomy was the worst. My last meal was early Tuesday evening and my surgery was friday morning. And as far as having a reaction from being little, I'm 4' 10 1/2" tall. I'm very small. It didn't hurt me. I was pretty sick at the time too. Much better now.

I would like to suggest buying baby wipes and diaper rash cream. The prep tends to make one a little sore.

neesee

julirama723 Contributor

I did the Fleet's phospho-soda (mixed with ginger ale, which surprisingly DID help to cover the taste!) for my colonoscopy in December. It's potent stuff. Make sure you have some sort of cream for your bottom, because it will be sore and rather raw by the time you're cleaned out.

As long as you're consuming GLUTEN-FREE beverages/clear foods for the liquid diet, you should be OK. I had jello, apple juice, ginger ale, chicken broth, all of which were gluten-free. Don't eat anything red or purple!

WestyPDX Newbie
Just use whatever the doctor precsribes. It will be just fine.

Not always. I did the Miralax prep and didn't have another BM for 5 days! I finally reacted to it on the morning of Day 11 with severe diarrhea. That procedure was cancelled, obviously. Second time I insisted on going back to the PhosphoSoda that had worked just fine for me in the past, but even that didn't do the job thoroughly this time.

Came to find out later that my stomach doesn't empty well now at all, and I nearly puked out all of the water I had to drink an hour before my CT all over their expensive scanner. Needless to say almost, the doctor has marked in my chart that I'll be doing a much different prep the next time around.

  • 2 years later...
gailc Newbie

Colonoscopy 3 days ago. I just did the ducolax and miralax prep a few days ago. Essentially 21 doses of laxative. this was the alternative to salt. If there was salt in either I could not taste it.

Miralax in Gator ade, tasted like jello. I tasted Miralax powder and there was no taste. Ducolax was a coated pill.

I weigh the same now as before so I guess no salt. I can put on 5 pounds with one salty sandwich, and it stays on. This is why I wouldn't do the normal prep.

I modified the prep though, I went fiber free a day and a half earlier than they said to and I went liquid diet a day and a half earlier than they said to. And took a couple laxatives early. Watch out for ducolax though , after taking an extra one early I found it said no dairy so I assume that was wasted. I assume it was an enteric medicine, disolves in non-acid environment the ice cream probably negated that.

Well, I was already cleaned out--very gently- before I started the prep which amazed me.

I'll find out when I see the doctor if I did a good job. I only had extremely mild cramps and wondered if it was working at all for a while, then it was bathroom every 5 minutes. I had construction workmen here and I'm sure they laughed a little.

If it was good then that is what I will do next time.

6 biopsies for Celiac just below the stomach and 1 polyp I can feel where the polyp was removed at my left hip, one side effect of the gluten free diet for me is I now feel the insides of my intestines. I could never feel that before. Feels like water sloshing around when I am 'extremely' gluten free. I just learned my bacon had gluten also Altoids just this morning.

Skylark Collaborator

This is a 2007 thread. Let's put it to rest, especially since it is suggesting medications that have since been black box labeled by the FDA and subsequently taken off the market.

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