Flatmate has just taken out of date moviprep. Is this dangerous?

[nomegustanlasmontanas]

She has to start on some antibiotics tomorrow and was told to drink this stuff mixed with loads of water first - it's a laxative I think. She's had to take it before though and was prescribed two by accident last time so didn't order a new packet this time. She said as it's powder she didn't think it was the kind of thing that would go off but has just looked at the use by date and it says December 2020. You have to drink it with several litres of water so she's too uncomfortable to type so I'm asking on here for her! She says she doesn't feel any more uncomfortable or ill than last time she took it. Will she be ok? It is just powder mixed with water so I'm also unsure as to how risky this is?

I’m sure I’ve done this fairly recently and I was fine! Worst thing is she will poop but that’s the point. Don’t panic!

Thanks JJSS123 - that's reassuring!

It's dry powder til mixed so at worst I guess it will be slightly less effective for being out of date.
Vile stuff... taste slightly better mixed with lemonade...

God I hate moviprep. She’ll be fine, other than the diarrhoea that it’s supposed to cause.

I'm a nurse and am baffled and very nosey to know why she has been told to take moviprep before starting antibiotics. Who told her to do this? The only reason I've ever known it to be prescribed is to clear your large intestine out in preparation for a procedure like a colonoscopy. I can't see the logic of having it before antibiotics. It looks like just powder and water, but it's a pretty powerful laxative which can affect the fluid and electrolyte balance in your body, and it will also wash out most of the 'good' bacteria from her large intestine; the bacteria will usually grow back within a couple of weeks. But the antibiotics will also kill off the bad and good bacteria.

It being 4 months out of date won't make much difference, but your poor friend will probably have a bit of a dodgy stomach for a while!

Also a nurse and have never heard of needing to take moviprep before starting antibiotics. Strange.

Not a nurse but also at having to take this before a course of antibiotics and "just happening to have some spare moviprep in the house."

It's basically Epsom salts and that stuff lasts for years so I doubt very much it would do her any harm.

But I would be worried why she has stockpiled it and the frankly cock-and-bull story she has for taking it.

The antibiotics are for a gut bacteria condition so I think the idea is you clean the gut out thoroughly before starting (she's seeing a private doctor) . I don't know more than that and not sure I want to ask! She was prescribed two by accident - there hasn't been any stockpiling!

i.e. she's done a course of the same antibiotics before (last year) and was prescribed two boxes of the Moviprep by accident somehow back then.

At worst it just won't be quite as effective as it should be in date because of breakdown of the active ingredients. It's not going to suddenly turn poisonous or anything.

Thanks all - she's fine and it apparently had the desired effect!

It sounds a bit like the COVID vaccine: if she feels shitty afterwards then she’ll know it’s working.

Ha ha, yeah, that's probably quite a good analogy YankeeDad!