I had both done recently and it was a breeze. But the prep part of drinking the gallon of goat spit, er... I mean the RX mix you get at the pharmacy, isn't fun at all. You have a lot of potty visits after you finish it all.

After it's over you can eat or drink whatever you want.

What is this prep y'all are referring to?
My instructions are for miralax and gatorade. Does the miralax taste???
I was told the day before no solids!!!! Just liquids. Then at 3:00 4 Ducolax pills and 8oz of water. Then a bottle of miralax with 64 oz gatorade.

Oh dear! Okay, you have to poop like you have never had to poop in your life so you colon is clear so the scope going up can take pretty pictures and the doc can decide if you have any precancerous things going on. This is called the prep. Basically pooping for hours.

If you are not clear enough they will empty you by giving you an enema before the procedure.

You are getting the gatorade to replenish electrolytes that you will lose from having watery poops. This prevents you from feeling faint. IMHO it is best taken diluted because that usually increasing absorption, but double check with your doctor.

The good news is they sometimes can remove little things during the procedure that are suspect. Based on what they see you will be told to have the procedure again in 5 years or 10.

My gastro actually showed me my polaroids ( I did not ask) and told me I was very healthy. Not something I really wanted to see, but it was nicer than what I ever could imagine.

Just remember you are doing this to stay healthy and it is something you will not have to do again for a long time. Best wishes.

Well that sounds a lot better than what I had to drink. They RX'd a huge empty gallon jug with a mixture called NuLytely. yuck-o. I had to mix it with warm water, a flavoring, then refrigerate.

Miralax is tasteless. That sounds like a much better mixture. I wonder why my doctor doesn't use that?

Different docs use different things. My colonoscopy was done by a gastro surgeon, not a gastro. I don't know if that makes a difference. I did not have to drink a gallon of awful stuff either. It was something simple I picked up at the drug store.

I was not told to have gatorade, but I think its a good idea because I think it helps prevent you from feeling so weak.

As procedures go neither is too bad. It looks like each physician has their idea of what works best for colonoscopy prep. I used Picosilax and like you had to watch for hypogylcemia. For me the worst part was the gatorade!

I was given Versed and Fentanyl and watched most of the procedure on the monitor. When it got uncomfortable (not really overly painful) I was given more Fentanyl, dropped my oxygen sats and they had to abort. She ran out of scope anyway at the hepatic junction. So once I was up to 98 I was shipped off for a barium enema. Again - no biggie.

Because of the constipation being so severe I had been getting overflow diarrhea and vomiting, which is why I saw the surgeon in the first place. The barium fill was to the cecum which started the incontinence and vomiting. The nurses were awesome, I've had much worse days and when I went home a few hours later I had a great lunch and was fine.

Slept through the endoscopy which was a bit disappointing cause I wanted to watch, but it was a great nap and I was up and about quickly.

With a good doctor things will go well, the chances of something serious happening are rare.

Best of luck to you. Once the prep is over the rest is a piece of cake.

So they still don't put us to sleep for a colonoscopy in Canada, Cricket? I was hoping they would following the American procedure by now . . . but it sounds like it is not so bad if you are premedicated.

I had one when they dx Ulcerative Colitis in the mid-80's. I was pretty raw at the time , and they had given me no medication what-so-ever . It was painful.

Gotta go for my 1/2 century check-up next year.

Cherie