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Questions about new colonoscopy prep instructions

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/12/2020 10:27 AM (GMT -8)
The doctor is handing out Miralax prep instructions with three changes.

First change: you start TWO nights before the procedure with a clear liquid dinner followed by a 10oz bottle of Magnesium Citrate at 6pm. This step is most alarming since I have no experience with this drink and I wonder what will happen during the night. I am tempted to forget about magnesium citrate. Any thoughts?

Second: FIVE days before avoid nuts, grains, leafy greens, tomatoes and the usual. I'm neutral on this one. The extra days of diet changes seems to be based only on the fact that a seed could clog the scope.

Third is the good part: This is a one-part prep! Late in the day before the scope you take 4 Dulcolax tablets and 238 grams of dissolved Miralax. There is no need to get up in the middle of the night and start a second part of the prep hours ahead of an early morning appointment.

Goes without saying, all steps involve massive amounts of extra clear liquid.

As a veteran scopee I wonder if there is new advanced thinking. What happened to the highly-recommended two-part prep?
Posted 12/12/2020 11:29 AM (GMT -8)
What is the prep you usually do?
Is this a new GI?

I ONLY will do the gallon preps...sounds like yours is torture, lol.
q
Posted 12/12/2020 2:02 PM (GMT -8)
To me it sounds like it IS a two part prep. My prep used to be two bottles of the magnesium citrate ("citro-mag" is what I used). I wouldn't skip it or you might not be properly cleaned out. FWIW, I hated the magnesium citrate and had to switch to other methods... but others report it is easy-peasy because it is such a small volume to drink vs the gallon prep. I would also do the diet change for five days (in fact, I do it for more than 5 days, but my system has a lot of trouble getting fully cleaned out. It is the bane of my UC existence).
Posted 12/13/2020 10:09 AM (GMT -8)
Serenity: Ya it does sound like a two-part prep. But part one is quite early, starting two night before the scope. I guess my question was about the one early bottle of magnesium citrate, when it takes effect and how long it lasts. Will a slow responder get any sleep after drinking the stuff at 6pm? I agree that a 5-day diet change makes sense and I have done that, but it was never part of the written instructions.

Quincy: They are all torture! I used to insist on the gallon but after a bad experience switched to Miralax. The original Miralax procedure included some inconsistencies so I wrote my own, a rather long document that I thought would work for me.

The best advice from this forum is to realize that the goal is not just to follow instructions to the minute but to get cleaned out. I need extra time. Miralax can be dissolved in water and Gatorade taken as a side dish. A relative in San Diego sent a copy of a prep that includes thing like eggs, chicken and cheese the day before. Ideas are all over the place. Whatever works.
Posted 12/13/2020 10:56 AM (GMT -8)
It is hard to predict when the bottle of magnesium citrate will take effect for you. For me I recall it would begin quite quickly. If only taking one bottle, the drama would probably be over in time for you to sleep that night. I never did a split prep with the magnesium citrate, I always drank a second bottle a couple hours later so it's hard for me to say how long it would take to settle down after one bottle.
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