Colonoscopy - worried about the prep 🥺

[Belle82]

I have a colonoscopy booked in for Thursday and although I probably should be, I’m not concerned about the procedure.

But a little worried about the prep 🥺
Does anyone have any tips they would be kind enough to share

The drink is awful. What I did was make up the full amount and have two pint glasses. One for the medicine and the other with orange squash ( not any dark coloured) then held my nose and gulped a load of the medicine followed by a load of squash. Eventually it's all gone then stay near a toilet.

The prep isn't pleasant but it's not awful either.
I struggled to drink it all but found keeping it really chilled and drinking it through a straw helped. I had to gulp it down glass at a time and have nicer juice on the side to take the taste away.

Once it starts working just stay near to the toilet and have wet wipes at the ready as it can be tender.
The procedure itself wasn't too awful.....I mean I wouldn't be rushing back to get it die again it it was ok and over fairly quickly.

Make up the prep and the other drink of water and sit on the loo with a good book. Don’t wipe your bottom until everything has stopped coming out which will take about three hours.

Walk around the bathroom, if you can. It will, ahem, get things moving. And use vaseline to soothe your skin.

Don't worry too much OP. I found every step of the process 100% better than what I'd been imagining. It was such a relief after worrying so much about it all. Not wanting to minimise what others are saying, but the prep really wasn't that bad for me. Not too much, didn't make me feel sick. It was I think one litre over one hour, then a break, then repeat. I found tonic water helped to cut the sweetness but water would have been fine too. Also don't use too much loo roll, just use it when you're sure you're finished. And sudocrem.

I got some miso soup packets and made a bouillon-like drink from them (just strain them so you don't get any of the sediment) which really helped to stave off the hunger, I unexpectedly felt totally fine after 24 hours of not eating.

The only thing I'd advise is to drink LOTS of water (maybe with some sugar/salt in so you rehydrate properly). I did wind up with a headache after it was all over (though maybe I shouldn't have had a celebratory pint at lunch afterwards, should I).

Oh and the sedation was bloody lovely so you can look forward to that! DP had to come to reception before I could leave due to that, but I was absolutely fine walking half an hour into town afterwards. Very best of luck!

I don’t know which prep you’re using, but I had to take two separate sachets, one the night before, the second in the morning. The first went quite well, but the second was really salty and I didn’t manage to keep it down. I spent the few hours in between worrying that it wouldn’t have worked and I’d have to go through it all again, but they managed to do the procedure fine. I was like you, more worried about the prep than the procedure, but it was okay.

Suggestions I came across too late were mint tea, and mints or something fresh to suck in between doses.

I found the prep vile. But it was vanilla flavour, and while I could chomp vanilla ice cream till the cows come home, the vanilla prep not so much ! It might take a while to start working but once it does don't venture too far from the loo. Make sure your poopings are clear at the end. This will be much easier if your diet in the preceeding few days us a low residue diet. Have clear ice lollys for a bit of a break from gulping all the fluid. I will emphasise , clear ice lollys , (effectively frozen flavoured water) not not not ...ice creams !!! Good tips from previous posters as before, for keeping your bottom from getting sore. Good luck. Bring some socks, just to keep your feet warm.

my bowel prep was lemon flavour and the best tip i have if you have the same flavour is to add a ton of lemon cordial to it to make it bearable, get it nice and cold and sip through a straw. i managed the whole two sachets this way even though when i got there they said i could probably have had less! (im a very small person height wise so it just makes sense that all my organs are smaller than average!)

Make up the prep ahead of time and put it in the fridge so it's really cold. Then have something nice to alternate it - for me, R Whites lemonade!!

I basically chugged each small glass of prep snd then sipped at the lemonade over the interval until the next glass of prep.

And concur with not bothering to wipe each time, I just stayed put on the toilet until it was all over!

Mix the prep with cold Coke Zero. It's not like drinking a delicious cocktail, but it is marginally more bearable. There's something in the Coke that has a laxative effect too so you get a nice side benefit.

Prep was ok, just needed to hang around in the bathroom for a while.
The procedure was much more of a problem for me.
I'd advise sedation.

Like I said, that's me.

Use vaseline around the relevant area from the start and baby wipes instead of loo paper. Chill the drink and drink through a straw.

If it's the stuff you've to drink litres of people will tell you to put it in the fridge, to add cordial etc - none of them ever worked for me. I just ate as little as I could for a few days before it and drank as much of it as I could without throwing up. So long as I had cleared a decent amount out of my bowels I didn't let on to the hospital.

You can ask for the prep that is 1 litre vs the 4 litres that some give out. Chill it in th fridge after making it up and have squash (no blackcurrant or anything purple) inbetween.
Get a straw and sip the prep then the squash and keep going.
The prep that is 1 litre is balanced so won't dehydrate you if you drink the clear fluids it tells you to.
Google the name of the prep for a time chart of when to take what too. That helps.

The prep is horrible but I used a straw and just necked it as fast as possible. Used zinc and castor oil cream to prevent the sore bottom issue. Stay close to the toilet, when you've got to go it's immediate. I had gas and air rather than sedation, little bit uncomfortable at times but I was so interested in watching the screen I didn't mind a bit of discomfort. The dignity pants are hilarious!!!

It’s not the best few days of your life but it’s not as terrible as you think it will be. Can’t better the tips already given about getting the movi prep down, hope you don’t have the orange flavour, it’s rancid.
Best of luck!

It may take some time to work, don't let it lull you into a false sense of security.. I thought mine hadn't worked so went out for the night although in my defence I was a teenager!

I was dreading it but it really wasn't that bad. I put the prep in the fridge so it was really cold. Then I drank it through a straw (while watching favourite tv show) and took a slug and then a slug of cold 7 up. It really isn't that bad.

Also follow the diet for the few days before (no fruit or veg, bland etc)

I am laughing at tintami who took the prep and went out for the night. This is like a definition of being a teenager :)

Lots of good advice here. I found the prep fine, nowhere near as bad as expected, but second the vaseline/sudocrem advice.

One thing that was difference for me was that in the country we are in, you go on a strict low residue diet for 3 days before the prep. So very little fibre, but just bland stuff so ice cream, cake, cheese, white rice, white bread etc. Not sure if they do that in the UK now, but DH wasn't advised to do this with his UK colonoscopy. It made everything much more bearable as there's so much less to clear.

Use Vaseline BEFORE you start shitting and after every bout. Yes it's grim feeling but you'll be so sore if you don't and it really burns after a while.

It's not that bad. I was like you, terrified of the prep and not too concerned about the actual procedure.
I was doing my prep on a Saturday night and told myself it was a cocktail to try and make it easier
It's not bad tasting in my opinion although I know many find it unpleasant. A thick tasting orange with a salty edge to it. I started off very slow but in hindsight should have started swigging it much earlier. No unpleasant side effects for me other than having to go to the toilet so much, although that bit is annoying it's certainly manageable.
I promise it won't be as bad as you imagine. Good luck

Get a straw for the prep - it really helps to bypass the taste buds! I found drinking all of it difficult, the first 500-600ml were tolerable but drinking two litres over two hours made me feel sick (it was just the pure quantity of liquid I was needing to drink).
The procedure itself was fine - I had sedation and gas and air for a tricky bit. Good luck

I have been through this twice, what made the biggest difference and things much easier was massively reducing my diet 2/3 days before hand. I ate things like toast, eggs and cup soups, you want as little fibrous food as possible so avoid veg and legumes etc.

My first time I didn’t heed the diet advice and I paid for it when it came to the prep. Having learned my lesson, second time round prep was much quicker and easier because of the restricted diet.

As for drinking the Movicol (if that’s what your having) like others say it’s much easier to get down cold. I added sugar free cordial to mine and it was ok, I also had a cold glass of sparkling flavoured water to sip in between the prep. For hunger I found sucking/chewing ice cubes helpful.

As for caring for you delicate bum hole and it will be sore if you wipe all the time I recommend getting one of these
Deal: CROING - 40 x Sinus Rinse Mix + 1x Nasal Wash Bottle (300ml), Neti Pot Kit amzn.eu/d/1XhvKCK

Instead of doing lots of wiping you can fill the bottle with warm or tepid water and use it to rinse yourself. My second recommended is to get a pair of tena pants, the full pull up type pants and popping these on after you think the after affects of the prep are done. They will allow you to crawl into bed and get some rest without worrying as it can often feel like your not done when you are, so instead of spending needless uncomfortable hours on the loo wondering if your really finished you can use these to help you get some rest.

Hope all goes well, it’s really not so bad. 💐

Sorry I just realised I linked the wrong wash bottle…it’s this one. Lanisoh also do a version of this, and it’s the one I have but I couldn’t find it to link, but this is the same thing.

500ml Pressing-Button Nursing Bottle for Postoperative Care, 60°/180°Upside Down Spray Adjustable Slow Water Nozzle Bottle for Momwasher Postpartum Clean, Patient Care, Child & Elderly Care amzn.eu/d/2Ef90R3

DH has had this. His recommendations are wet wipes and get sedated.