topic Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question in Wellness

Colonoscopy Prep Question

aubnwa01 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:36:47 GMT

I'm due to have my every 5 year colonoscopy done on 10/26. This will be my 4th colonoscopy done by this particular gastro-doc & I like him a lot. This time, it was a bit different, in that I didn't have an appt with him ahead of the test & I spoke with a NP in the office on the phone who asked questions & sent me some info & called the Rx for the prep over to the pharmacy at Costco. She said that this was something to do with Medicare & truthfully, I guess what's the point, he doesn't really do anything at the appt.

For the prior tests, he's had me use as the prep Go-Lytely (which I hated) & the past 2 times, Miralax mixed in GatorAde, which I tolerated very well & could get the whole thing down without it wanting to come right back up. This time, he's having me use something called Suprep. In the paperwork the NR sent me, it says something about it not tasting good, but that's OK. When I picked it up at the pharmacy, the Costco pharmacist said it doesn't taste great but, but is generally well tolerated & does a good job of cleaning things out. The pharmacist said he doesn't understand why they seem to change to a different prep from one year to the next.

Does anyone have experience with this Suprep stuff that they can share or tips & tricks to make it easier? My main concern is that it does a good job, so the test goes well & I don't have to do it over again!

TIA

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

hckynut — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:45:32 GMT

@aubnwa01

All 15 of my Colonoscopies and 5 Double Balloon Enteroscopies I was on only liquids 2 days before each one. All of mine were preceded by a gallon of Go or Nulytely. 20 at last count. Only prep my group of Gastro Docs will except.

hckynut

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Mmsfoxxie — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:47:47 GMT

@aubnwa01, did you have to get a Covid test? I've heard that it's required now.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Love my grandkids — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:51:26 GMT

@aubnwa01 For my first one the nurse told me to get some hard candy, nothing red, orange or purple, and suck on one immediately after drinking a dose of the prep.

I bought a small bag of butterscotch candy and it worked fine. Also, she told me to drink it through a straw and let it go down the back of my. I barely taste it when I do it this way.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

nana59 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:53:46 GMT

@hckynut wrote:
@aubnwa01

All 15 of my Colonoscopies and 5 Double Balloon Enteroscopies I was on only liquids 2 days before each one. All of mine were preceded by a gallon of Go or Nulytely. 20 at last count. Only prep my group of Gastro Docs will except.

hckynut

OMG.....15!!!

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

aubnwa01 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:58:36 GMT

@Mmsfoxxie wrote:
@aubnwa01, did you have to get a Covid test? I've heard that it's required now.

@Mmsfoxxie They didn't mention anything about getting one. I've been vaccinated, so that may factor in? Most places around here (I'm in Tucson) do the forehaed thermometer thing to check for a fever before you're allowed in.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

RedTop — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 21:59:17 GMT

@aubnwa01

Suprep will do the job, I assure you! My last 2 preps were done with Suprep, and my surgeon said he had a good view of everything as far as he needed to go.

My advice is to eat light the weekend before your prep; go for chicken and turkey rather than red meat. Easing up on the heavy foods before the prep makes the process much easier.

Refrigerate the Suprep as soon as you get it, put it in the freezer several hours before you start the prep.

I mix the laxative with super cold white grape juice and drink thru a straw as fast as I can. I chase this with strong sweet tea or Coke.

With my last prep, within 2 hours after the second dose of laxative, I went to bed and slept all night. I felt like my colon was empty, which the doctor verified after, but every prep I've used has been successful.

Best wishes and good results to you on the 26th!

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

hckynut — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:00:48 GMT

@nana59 wrote:
@hckynut wrote:
@aubnwa01

All 15 of my Colonoscopies and 5 Double Balloon Enteroscopies I was on only liquids 2 days before each one. All of mine were preceded by a gallon of Go or Nulytely. 20 at last count. Only prep my group of Gastro Docs will except.

hckynut

OMG.....15!!!

@nana59

Yep! The Colonoscopy took about half hour. The Lower Double Balloon Enteroscopies took about 4 hours. Same prep!

hckynut 🏒

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

aubnwa01 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:05:38 GMT

@Love my grandkids wrote:
@aubnwa01 For my first one the nurse told me to get some hard candy, nothing red, orange or purple, and suck on one immediately after drinking a dose of the prep.

I bought a small bag of butterscotch candy and it worked fine. Also, she told me to drink it through a straw and let it go down the back of my. I barely taste it when I do it this way.

@Love my grandkids This will be my 5th colonoscopy overall & the 4th one with this gastro-doc, so I've pretty much got the pre-test diet down: low residue diet for 3-4 days & clear liquids the day prior, etc. My main question is I've never used this prep before, so don't quite know what to expect. It seems a little different than what I've used before, but it's what my doc wants me to use this time, so I'll do as dierected.

I hope it's as easy on me as the Miralax/GatorAde was as the GoLytely stuff just didn't want to stay down when I drank it. That stuff is like drinking heavy seawater!

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Mmsfoxxie — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:07:14 GMT

Thanks, @aubnwa01. I can deal with that, lol. I'm vaccinated but I've heard that a Covid test is automatic. I guess I should call the doctor and find out.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Shelbelle — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:19:09 GMT

I have had 2, I only take pills, lots of pills but they sure do the trick!!! My gastro doc is very laid back, if you do your research and prefer one prep over the other he will sign off on it. His main concern is getting patients tested, not worrying over one prep from the other. Pills were my choice, and both times he said my prep was very complete.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

aubnwa01 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:17:40 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
@aubnwa01
Suprep will do the job, I assure you! My last 2 preps were done with Suprep, and my surgeon said he had a good view of everything as far as he needed to go.

My advice is to eat light the weekend before your prep; go for chicken and turkey rather than red meat. Easing up on the heavy foods before the prep makes the process much easier.

Refrigerate the Suprep as soon as you get it, put it in the freezer several hours before you start the prep.

I mix the laxative with super cold white grape juice and drink thru a straw as fast as I can. I chase this with strong sweet tea or Coke.

With my last prep, within 2 hours after the second dose of laxative, I went to bed and slept all night. I felt like my colon was empty, which the doctor verified after, but every prep I've used has been successful.
Best wishes and good results to you on the 26th!

@RedTop Thanks! I already bought a big bottle of white grape juice & some lemon-lime GatorAde & some clear broth, so I should be good on the clear liquids. Thanks for the chilling tip, I had planned on doing that, but good to know about freezing it, too.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Daludog — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:26:24 GMT

I just had one, bring laptop and magazines in bathroom, with plenty of toilet paper....i was in there hours and then had to take another prep at 3am to be done by 6am.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

nana59 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 22:54:58 GMT

@nana59 wrote:
@hckynut wrote:
@aubnwa01

All 15 of my Colonoscopies and 5 Double Balloon Enteroscopies I was on only liquids 2 days before each one. All of mine were preceded by a gallon of Go or Nulytely. 20 at last count. Only prep my group of Gastro Docs will except.

hckynut

OMG.....15!!!

i shouldn't tell you this....i'm 71.....and have never had a colonoscopy.....

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

millieshops — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 23:00:18 GMT

@aubnwa01 I know I used Suprep for my last colonoscopy and it worked so well the gastro actually thanked me afterwards for coming in so clean. I wish I remembered more, but I don't. Those details from someone else I hope

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Furgirl — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 23:32:50 GMT

I've lost track of how many times I've done this. Suprep works great for most people, even though it is totally DISGUSTING. I never had a problem getting cleaned out, until they changed me to Suprep. The Gatorade/Miralax combo worked great which is basically the same as the Go-Lytely but tastes better and easier to swallow. My advice is to drink as much liquid as possible after the Suprep to achieve the desired "fire hydrant"

effect. Sorry, but that's what it feels like to me! 😬

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Love my grandkids — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 23:41:35 GMT

@aubnwa01 OH okay, sorry, wasn't trying to tell you what to do (smile). I"ve had a few of those myself!

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

vsm — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 04:35:41 GMT

I've had Suprep. Didn't like the taste, but it worked well. I wish I'd made prep day easier by starting a low-fiber diet 2-3 days earlier. Wishing you well!

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

vsm — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 00:04:51 GMT

@Shelbelle wrote:
I have had 2, I only take pills, lots of pills but they sure do the trick!!! My gastro doc is very laid back, if you do your research and prefer one prep over the other he will sign off on it. His main concern is getting patients tested, not worrying over one prep from the other. Pills were my choice, and both times he said my prep was very complete.

I took the pills for my 1st procedure, and they worked well. My doctor wouldn't let me have them for the next 2 procedures, because of reports that some patients suffered kidney damage from them. I took GoLitely and Suprep for those. They worked just as well, but of course were harder to take.

Re: Colonoscopy Prep Question

Skyegirl21 — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 00:09:24 GMT

My sister just used it and while it's not enjoyable ( duh), but it wasn't horrid and not a huge volume- Should be ok.