Colonoscopy prep fail. Please help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are at risk, do the mail in test.

Exactly. Cologuard or something like it. How old are you and do you have a hisotry of colon cancer in your family? Otherwise, no way in hell would I do a colonoscopy when there are other options.

I did the Cologuard because I couldn't go through with all the prep and fasting.

Still a million times better than chemo.

[Anonymous]

My procedure is in three hours and I’m still having brown stools. I followed the instructions given to me by my dr. Any chance this will change to clear before the procedure? This is my first time and the drs office doesn’t open until 7.

[Anonymous]

I hope you figure it out. Colonoscopies are really important.

As an aside if you are not getting cleaned out do you have constipation? This is an abnormal symptom that should be discussed with your doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My procedure is in three hours and I’m still having brown stools. I followed the instructions given to me by my dr. Any chance this will change to clear before the procedure? This is my first time and the drs office doesn’t open until 7.

Right after posting this I had yellow stool so we’re on the right track!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi, OP. Did you read this thread? There is lots of good advice about the Miralax and Gatorade approach. I posted about it and others did as well. Read and see if it might work for you. There is a link that more fully outlines the approach. It is highly effective.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1009321.page#21111416

The person in that thread drinks orange gatorade which is a no-no (no reds)- no idea otherwise re that prep approach but in 30 years of cxolonoscopies I’ve never had that approach suggested.

Orange is fine. At least it was at my place.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I finally had my successful colonoscopy yesterday and I'm reporting back for future prep failers. After scheduling it they told me to call the nurse to discuss prep options and she seemed more knowledgeable about options than the initial nurse I saw.

I ended up doing:
1) 1 week low fiber diet along with standard cap dose of miralax
2) 2 ducalax two days prior (definitely glad to be at home the next day following this)
3) split Miralax prep night before (8.3 oz) and morning of (4.1 oz). Our clinic allows orange gatorade and drinking that was like A DREAM compared to the golytely.
4) a few Simethicone tablets along the way for gas.

Before I went in to my procedure I thought my "output" was a little borderline but headed in the right direction, but then before my procedure I could tell it was not ok. This time, though, the nurse talked to the doctor and offered to let me go home and do additional prep and return in the afternoon. She told me to drink 3 bottles of magnesium citrate and lots of water. I bought 3, but after reading about it online I suspected that this was a crazy amount. I drank the first and part of the second before nausea would not allow me to continue anyway. I wasn't 100% sure I was clean enough when I left the house for my return procedure, but I had to wait in the office about 90 minutes and by then I was good (so like 5 hours later).

Colonoscopy was completed, 1 polyp removed and sent for biopsy, and pending those results my next one is in 10 years.

Also, the doctor found that I had a "tortuous colon". Before I left that morning the nurse had hypothesized that my colon was "twisty" because I was tall and thin, and that's why my prep was difficult, but I didn't realize it was an actual medical thing. For me it apparently has no consequences, except it is maybe related to my difficulty prepping.

Anyway, yay.

TL/DR: Extended prep with miralax while on the low fiber diet might help. Also, look into magnesium citrate as an add-on if you need one more thing the morning of. I believe it can be problematic/dangerous for people with certain health conditions, though, so check with your doctor first. If you think you might add it on, I would consider scheduling a late morning appt. so you have time to do it.