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Yet another colonoscopy prep question and another

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Posted 12/15/2009 10:04 PM (GMT 0)
I'm scheduled for a colonoscopy on Friday at 8:00 am. This will be my 4th bowel prep and each prep has been different. This one says to start a clear liquid diet at noon the day before. I've always been told to start the clear liquid diet after midnight the night before. Also, it's the Miralax prep with the gatoride, but this one calls for 4 Dulcolax tabs the afternoon before. That seems like a huge amount of Dulcolax. Anyone take the 4 and live to talk about it? Anyone know how long it generally takes for Dulcolax to take effect? I'm thinking about taking them before I head out for a 45 minute drive and wondered if that's a really stupid idea. Anyone eat breakfast the day before? Thanks for any words of wisdom. SB
Posted 12/15/2009 10:09 PM (GMT 0)
If you continued with food until the evening before you would not have time to clear the system. The 4 dulcolax will definitely begin the cleanout process . . . but they are not nuclear. Usually I see results in 2-4 hours, so you have some time.

Posted 12/15/2009 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
My daughter's doc at first said take Half of the Nulytely prep plus 4 tablets (5 mgs each) bisacodyl, which is the generic form of Ducolax. BUT I read that a clinical trial showing 4 tablets posed more issues in terms of side effects than the 2 tablets. Also, 4 tablets didn't work any better than 2.

The (9/2007)  instructions from the manufacturer of both Nulytely and Halflytely recommend only 2 tablets of Bisacodyl, saying, "The HalfLytely and 20 mg Bisacodyl Tablets Bowel Prep Kit does not provide any additional efficacy benefits over the HalfLytely and 10 mg Bisacodyl Tablets Bowel Prep Kit." The manufacturer's recommendation referred to results from a clinical trial showing a higher incidence of side effects, but no added benefits, from the higher dosage of 4 tablets Bisacodyl.

I asked the doc, considering the higher safety profile of the lower dosage, whether it would be possible to reduce the Bisacodyl dosage to only 2 tablets (5 mg each) instead of 4.  He said it was OK for my daughter to take just the 2.

The notes of the colonoscopy include the gastroenterologist's notes on what a great job the prep did - just the 2 tablets plus half the Nulytely. 

Posted 12/15/2009 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
I would not risk a 45 minute drive after taking 4 Dulcolax. Like MikeB said, they probably won't kick in for hours but if they upset your stomach, that's going to be a really, really long ride.

I've taken 4 Dulcolax before for a prep I used to use. They made me a bit crampy and very noisy and when they kicked in - it was nuclear.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the day before". If you mean the day before the procedure, the day that is usually supposed to be clear liquid only, yes, I have eaten anyway. I am very hypoglycemic and can not tolerate a liquid diet all day. I eat breakfast at about 9 am and I then have a light easily digestible snack around noon. This works for me but I don't recommend it, if you aren't clean, they'll cancel and make you do it again. Plus, if you eat, it makes the purging rougher.

They used to make a prep (Nutra-Prep) that allowed you to eat special food right up until 5:00 pm the day before a procedure. Unfortunately, they don' make anymore. I matched the ingredients of the "special" food to some things I can purchase in the grocery store and I eat those on the clear liquid day. My doc would have a fit if he knew about it but I'm clean and not in a coma so that's what matters to me.
Posted 12/16/2009 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
I've done the 4 dulcolax, but I always took them the evening before the prep day. I just woke up the next morning and went straight to the bathroom. I never woke up in pain or anything...maybe I slept through it all. Then I continued clear liquids all day then the miralax in the evening. I snack on gummy bears whenever I do a prep...the chewing makes me feel like I've eaten something.

I wouldn't drive anywhere once I'd started a prep...you just never know how it'll affect you. Even if you've done the prep before, it could always hit quicker, and the car is no place to be when your body wants to be in a bathroom.

Good luck!
Posted 12/16/2009 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone - great advice. I think taking the Dulcolax the evening before the prep day makes a lot of sense. The only problem is, I have to go to work on prep day, so I don't want to have bathroom issues all day. If I had only planned better.... Even tho my prep instructions say to start a clear liquid diet at lunch the day before the colonoscopy, I think I'll start with the clear liquids at breakfast. You all made the Dulcolax sound less intimidating. I think I have a plan. Thanks!
Posted 12/16/2009 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
I had my colonoscopy this morning. I started my prep at about 2:00 PM yesterday. No OTC laxatives, just the nutra-lite drink. I had a long day and night of clearing out. Finished drinking the stuff around 7:00 PM and didn't have my last sit on the toilet until probably 11:00 PM. I at dinner two nights ago normally (though it was small), had liquid diet yesterday morning (yogurt and protein shakes etc), and then once I started the prep it was clear liquids only.

I did go to the bathroom a couple times this morning (morning of the procedure), but they said that was normal because some of the liquid stays in your small intestine and then clears out in the morning. Good luck!
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