Has anyone ever been sick from having colonoscopy prep?

[IBlameTheDog]

DD (18) has been urgently referred for a colonoscopy. She has calprotectin of 415. She suffers from extreme emetophobia and I'm scared the prep is going to make her gag. If it does, she won't continue and she won't be able to have it done.

Is this a common thing? I've read a few articles that say it can make you gag and/or actually vomit.

Any tips to help her drink it all would be useful. I've read a lot of threads on here and understand that cold and with a straw seems to be the way forward. Her emetophobia makes her scared of foods that she doesn't like at the best of times so she'll really struggle with this.

Is one of the brands less in volume than another?

Terrified of what it may find, terrified of her going through it and trying desperately hard not to show any of it 😕

I've had multiple rounds of bowel prep and never been sick with it either. I've always had moviprep (which is the high volume one).

My tips: you can add squash to it to make it taste better (but avoid blackcurrant, I think, because it can stain the bowel, so peach/apple etc is better). Didn't chill it, didn't bother with a straw.

I always wash it down with a 2 litre bottle of apple tango for the extra fluid. Fizzy is fine.

You don't have to drink at the pace it says in the instructions. I just drank slowly but constantly (with the break in the middle). If it takes a bit longer than the instructions say it doesn't matter as long as you're running clear by the end. Once it starts, the diarrhoea is completely liquid, so basically she will need the bathroom completely to herself, with a laptop or ipad or book for entertainment as she may not be able to get off the loo for a couple of hours. Vaseline/sudocrem/wet flannel for cleaning as it can get sore.

It helps to follow the low residue diet beforehand (which is basically white bread and cornflakes) and to take senna to keep things moving if you need to.

She will feel very washed out and wobbly the morning after the prep, that's normal, but worth being prepared for.

The colour of the drink matters a lot. Ask the doctor about Coke. Iirc red, orange, and purple drinks are verboten. Coke might be OK, but you need to make sure

I had a prep that involved 64 fl ozs of gatorade, dulcolax, and miralax, taken in 8 oz glasses at 15 minute intervals. (In US). I couldn't keep the last 12 ozs down and in fact couldn't even swallow the last half glass. The procedure went ahead anyway as I had dutifully followed the instructions wrt foods and liquids for the days before the prep.

The enema at the hospital sounds like it might work for your DD.

Or perhaps a lorazepam tablet might ease her anxiety about the prep at home if that's not possible?

Thank you. Think I'll pop a heater in the bathroom and let her stay in there for as long as she needs. Maybe her hours and hours on TikTok will finally come in handy?

I don't think she knows what it will entail which I'm glad about. Not going to tell her to stay away from Google as she'll head straight to Google!

Fizzy apple is a good shout. I'll get some of that and some lemonade in.

@mathanxiety

That's a good idea re lorazepam. I'll speak to GP about that too. Thank you.

I would be very interested to know if your DD is offered prep in tablet form ..paid for or not. This was said to me during a phone appointment so no idea whether what was said in theory would actually be followed through on fact. Please come back and let us know the answer if you enquire about this. Hope it goes ok for your DD.

I've had it.

Never been sick.

Did need to take up residence in the bathroom as the diarrhoea was something else.

It doesn't taste nice - others have recommended straws etc.

Yep. We often have kids come into hospital for it. The night before. They are occasionally sick.,

DS is autistic so the very smell/look of the prep had him gagging straight away and then the texture of the drink was just too much for him. I had previously had a colonoscopy so advised him to take a big gulp then immediately drink a glass of ice cold water or dilute (you aren't allowed to drink coloured drinks so no red dilute/coke etc) and it did help him get it down. I also made it for him an hour earlier than suggested like a PP as it gave him more time to drink it.

The second dose was easier for me as I thought it tasted nicer so told him not to worry about the second dose but prepared it all the same way again with the extra hour etc. He took one drink of it and vomited. We rang the hospital as soon as they opened but they said it was fine just to bring him in and the colonoscopy was completed. He has severe chrons and knows he'll have to drink it every year or so but I've no idea how as this has given him a mental block now.

I’ve had colonography like this and it still required bowel prep. Also the disadvantage is that if any abnormality is viewed that requires biopsy there then has to be a colonoscopy to do this.

I've had two lots of prep over the last year. One was Moviprep and can't remember what the other was. They both made me sick as a dog and I'm not particularly prone to vomitting.

There used to be a chocolate flavoured prep as well!! Don't know if they still make it

It definitely made me gag / feel nauseous. Luckily I’d had some anti sickness medication prescribed, not for this specifically but tablets you dissolve under your tongue and they got me through it.

Yeah I can’t have moviprep cos it makes me vomit. Picolax on the other hand was fine

Hi I am in a similar situation to your daughter, I'm 25 and previously had a colonoscopy and endoscopy when I was 19 and I also suffer with emetophobia. I was given Movieprep - I didn't read or google anything beforehand as I knew I would talk myself out of it, and was absolutely terrified of the thought of having a colonoscopy and being sick, but I wasn't. It went smoothly, I struggled to finish all the prep on the second dose and the morning of I had some raw ginger to smell (not to eat as I knew that was strictly forbidden) but the smell helps to make me feel calmer. I felt anxious beforehand when waiting for the procedure, but managed to find some humour in the backless hospital gown and trying to find the humour in the situation (which can be difficult!) and listening to a feel good/calming playlist helped. My mum was able to sit with me in the waiting room, so definitely recommend taking a good book or something to watch beforehand, which is when my anxiety was at its max. I was given a general aesthetic due to my phobia, so completely knocked out which helped. The relief I was filled with afterword was immense. I need to have another colonoscopy this year as my Calprotectin has skyrocketed to 1800 and my emetophobia is still incredibly debilitating but have been reading a book called 'The Emetophobia Manual: Free Yourself from the Fear of Vomit and Reclaim Your Life' which has been helping somewhat, as well as trying to tackle some of my core beliefs around my emetophobia and fear of loss of control. I wish your daughter all the best and hope this helps offer some reassurance