Great tips! I’ve had about 20 colonoscopies in my life thx to colon cancer. Your tips are spot on! One I would add is keeping the prep liquid cold (and use that straw you mentioned!) for some reason, a cold prep drink has been easier for me to stomach.
Thank you for reading! I've heard keeping the prep drink cold helps make it easier to drink. Mine had instructions to not refrigerate, so I had to drink it room temp. :( But, the straw really did help!
I had my first colonoscopy last year at 30. I was so nervous about the prep (I had the regular prep) and I honestly didn’t think it was that bad. I definitely think following the bland diet for a few days before helped everything clear out faster.
Sounds a lot like my experience, too. My diagnosis was benign inflammation and I had to stay on the soft/liquid diet for 7 more days, and then slowly introduce Metamucil on a daily basis. I was pleased the hype was just that, hype.
I had no idea there were different levels of prep liquid. I only drank half of mine because I couldn't torture my tush anymore. I felt like I was going to need an a-hole transplant. All night long I worried that they'd say “ not good enough “ and I'd have to do it again. But they said “ Perfect Good job!” Oh, and I also had my not clear coffee the morning of.
Yes I was so worried about the prep but happy my doctor prescribed me the one she did because it was not bad at all! I’m glad it worked out for you - it would definitely not be fun to have to do it all over again!
Love these tips! I’m prepping for my second colonoscopy this week and lo and behold Substack knew what to put on my feed. I’m 24 with gut issues and I know I’ll need these tips for a long time. Thanks!
Agreed. Everyone made it sound like it would be horrific. Not fun but def not horrific. Boring.
I didnt know there were options and mine involved lots of drinking the prep liquid. The next time I started it earlier and took longer than directed but it was fine.
Thank you for reading! As someone with gut issues who's spent a lot of time in the bathroom over the years, the experience was definitely on the boring side, LOL.
I lucked out with the prep my doc prescribed. I've heard from others that there have been improvements in the options over the years, so I think it's worth asking about alternatives!
The part I found most interesting about my colonoscopy is how GREAT I felt the day after! There really is something to a colon cleanse. And of course, the screening is so important.
Side note: DO NOT be tempted to do Cologuard in lieu of a colonoscopy. It is not a suitable substitute.
Thank you for reading and sharing! I felt so refreshed after I woke up from the procedure (having not slept much while doing the prep). It really was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things and like you said, so important to get screened.
There is also a capsule version of the prep (Sutab), which worked well for me. I will definitely prep better for the clear liquid diet next time—I got very hungry /nauseated and didn’t have enough options on hand.
Thank you for reading! I'm glad you found an option that worked for you! To be honest, it wasn't too bad sticking to the low-fiber diet. I felt like I was a kid again eating all my favorites, LOL.
As a 2 time colonoscopy patient, I have used a couple of those tips myself. The second time around for me I was not going to drink that horrible concoction 😝. I used strictly magnesium citrate to clean the bowels. Worked like a charm.
I would also recommend that after the clean out to work at building back up the bacteria in your gut since during the prep you most likely wiped them out. Probiotics, fermented foods.
Thank you for reading and sharing! I'm glad you found a prep that worked for you! That's a great tip about the probiotics. I could've used that after mine!
I highly recommend asking for the pills, insurance wasn’t paying for them two yrs ago, don’t know if some have changed. Having had 7 of them I think it works faster.
I also suggest starting the prep at noon the previous day so you’re pretty much done by bed time. Also, rest assured that nothing, ever, that day, is a fart.
Great tips! I’ve had about 20 colonoscopies in my life thx to colon cancer. Your tips are spot on! One I would add is keeping the prep liquid cold (and use that straw you mentioned!) for some reason, a cold prep drink has been easier for me to stomach.
Thank you for reading! I've heard keeping the prep drink cold helps make it easier to drink. Mine had instructions to not refrigerate, so I had to drink it room temp. :( But, the straw really did help!
I had my first colonoscopy last year at 30. I was so nervous about the prep (I had the regular prep) and I honestly didn’t think it was that bad. I definitely think following the bland diet for a few days before helped everything clear out faster.
We recently found mixing the prep in a blender and using Propel instead of of gatorade helped.
Oo good tip!
Sounds a lot like my experience, too. My diagnosis was benign inflammation and I had to stay on the soft/liquid diet for 7 more days, and then slowly introduce Metamucil on a daily basis. I was pleased the hype was just that, hype.
I had no idea there were different levels of prep liquid. I only drank half of mine because I couldn't torture my tush anymore. I felt like I was going to need an a-hole transplant. All night long I worried that they'd say “ not good enough “ and I'd have to do it again. But they said “ Perfect Good job!” Oh, and I also had my not clear coffee the morning of.
Yes I was so worried about the prep but happy my doctor prescribed me the one she did because it was not bad at all! I’m glad it worked out for you - it would definitely not be fun to have to do it all over again!
Love these tips! I’m prepping for my second colonoscopy this week and lo and behold Substack knew what to put on my feed. I’m 24 with gut issues and I know I’ll need these tips for a long time. Thanks!
Oh wow! Thanks for reading, and glad you found my piece helpful! I hope your colonoscopy went well and was easy!
Agreed. Everyone made it sound like it would be horrific. Not fun but def not horrific. Boring.
I didnt know there were options and mine involved lots of drinking the prep liquid. The next time I started it earlier and took longer than directed but it was fine.
Thank you for reading! As someone with gut issues who's spent a lot of time in the bathroom over the years, the experience was definitely on the boring side, LOL.
I lucked out with the prep my doc prescribed. I've heard from others that there have been improvements in the options over the years, so I think it's worth asking about alternatives!
The part I found most interesting about my colonoscopy is how GREAT I felt the day after! There really is something to a colon cleanse. And of course, the screening is so important.
Side note: DO NOT be tempted to do Cologuard in lieu of a colonoscopy. It is not a suitable substitute.
Thank you for reading and sharing! I felt so refreshed after I woke up from the procedure (having not slept much while doing the prep). It really was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things and like you said, so important to get screened.
There is also a capsule version of the prep (Sutab), which worked well for me. I will definitely prep better for the clear liquid diet next time—I got very hungry /nauseated and didn’t have enough options on hand.
Thank you for reading! I'm glad you found an option that worked for you! To be honest, it wasn't too bad sticking to the low-fiber diet. I felt like I was a kid again eating all my favorites, LOL.
As a 2 time colonoscopy patient, I have used a couple of those tips myself. The second time around for me I was not going to drink that horrible concoction 😝. I used strictly magnesium citrate to clean the bowels. Worked like a charm.
I would also recommend that after the clean out to work at building back up the bacteria in your gut since during the prep you most likely wiped them out. Probiotics, fermented foods.
Thank you for reading and sharing! I'm glad you found a prep that worked for you! That's a great tip about the probiotics. I could've used that after mine!
Excellent information. Thank you.
Thank you for reading! I’m glad you found the article helpful!
I highly recommend asking for the pills, insurance wasn’t paying for them two yrs ago, don’t know if some have changed. Having had 7 of them I think it works faster.
I also suggest starting the prep at noon the previous day so you’re pretty much done by bed time. Also, rest assured that nothing, ever, that day, is a fart.
Isn’t the point of colonoscopy prep to entirely avoid having any sucking?