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Colonoscopy Coming Up---GI Won't Let Me Use Prepopik for Prep????

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Posted 10/14/2016 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all,

In a month or so I will be due for the dreaded colonoscopy checkup. I've had mild UC for almost twenty years and have had, on average, a colonoscopy every two years. I control my UC with medication and probiotics and have only had very rare flares (blood)--none lasting more than three days--in the last five years.

Because I have had so many colonoscopies over the years, my body has decided that it will not tolerate ANY of the usual preps, including the Miralax/Gatorade mix. All I have to do is taste any bottle of Gatorade or any flavored water, and my stomach starts to churn. Last time I got about 3/4 of it down, but it still came back up an hour and a half later--it just sat in my stomach until it couldn't stay down anymore.

So, I asked my GI about using Prepopik. It seems like the way to go for those of us who can't keep the other preps down, but my GI said no, it had to be the Miralax. I didn't ask him why, but I guess I should have. Haven't there been plenty of people with UC on this site who have used Prepopik with successful results? I don't understand why my GI refuses to use this prep. I can't be the only patient of his who can't keep the other preps down.

If you have UC and have used Prepopik for colonoscopy prep, please respond! I am thinking about skipping the colonoscopy altogether if he doesn't let me try this. Getting another GI is not an option right now, as I will be moving out of state within a year, and I don't want to go through getting a new doctor for just one visit.

Thanks in advance for your insight and comments!
Posted 10/14/2016 4:06 AM (GMT 0)
How will he know if you use it....is the prep prescription only?

q
Posted 10/14/2016 12:56 PM (GMT 0)
That is a strange response from your GI. I would ask why he won't give you a script for Prepopik and let him know that if you can't have it you intend to cancel your scope. My GI has told me I can do any prep I want.
Posted 10/14/2016 1:15 PM (GMT 0)
Do you have heart or kidney problems? Or maybe these side effects apply to all the other preps too, I dunno.

www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/drugsafety/ucm312633.pdf
Your chance of having fluid loss and changes in blood salts with PREPOPIK is higher if you:

have heart problems

have kidney problems
Posted 10/14/2016 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
I just had a scope on Monday and used magnesium citrate and coconut water instead of Gatorade. My instructions were to during a 15 oz bottle of mag citrate and then drink a liter of Gatorade (subbed with coconut water) over the next hour. Repeat the process 3 hours later. I could only find 10.5 oz bottles of mag citrate so I drank 1.5 of them at a time. Worked well and I wasn't chugging gallons of liquid which makes me feel sick as well. You just have to make sure you buy pulp free coconut water. Some dr's have you take dulcolax as well, but mine doesn't.
Posted 10/14/2016 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your responses so far. The Prepopik is by prescription only, so I am stuck there. The GI is not prescribing Prepopik due to any individual heart problems with me, so that's not it. I thought maybe GI's avoided it with people with UC for some reason, so that's why I'm asking how many people with UC have used it.

If he can't give me a good reason for not using Prepopik, I will definitely tell him I am considering canceling the colonoscopy (after I get my annual med prescriptions-lol) if I cannot use it. I don't think waiting three years for my next colonoscopy will matter, would it? I am 55 years old and have never had a polyp so far, and no other problems right now.
Posted 10/14/2016 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
no one can give you the right answer as to whether another year will make any difference - if it were me, i wouldn't think twice about it - but i'm a dumbass about a lot of things -

the bigger issue is not getting an explanation from your doc as to the why - if he won't communicate with you, time to find another one -
Posted 10/14/2016 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
It seems like different GIs have different protocols. My husband's GI told him that if he is in remission he doesn't need a colonoscopy for 7 years. He had one colonoscopy 3-1/2 years ago when first diagnosed. Didn't need any after that because it was very clear he was in a flare. Did have a few flex sigs. Other GI, who is prescribing the Xeljanz, insisted he have a colonoscopy to assess healing. So he had one this week -- total remission -- so shouldn't need a procedure for awhile unless starts flaring again.

For the colonoscopy this week he took Suprep, which is prescribed.
Posted 10/24/2016 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Your story is my story! I've tried every prep and they all cause me to vomit! The last time I used a "children's prep." Basically, its just a Miralax prep but you start prepping two days prior with diet -think easy in - easy out. I can't even look at the sports drinks aisle in the store, they make me shudder so I used Smart Water, it has the needed electrolytes, for the Miralax. Google the prep or contact your local children's hospital, they should be able to provide you with the full prep instructions. Good luck!
Posted 10/24/2016 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
suzy-q -- Usually they say we don't need scopes every 2 years until we have had the disease for 7 or 8 years.

The only time I got violently ill from a prep was with Miralax and Ducolax. My doc wanted me to take Miralax, Ducolax pills AND a bottle of mag citrate! I didn't even make it to the mag citrate. The other times i have had to do a prep, I did GoLytely, which I did fine with, and recently, NuLytely, which was hard for me to drink and tasted like crap, but did not make me get sick like the Miralax. That's stupid of your GI not to give you other options.

I did hear there is a researcher from Indiana University in the process of testing out bars and smoothies as a new prep that is more palatable!
Posted 10/25/2016 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
INteresting. My GI doesn't permit anyone to use the Miralax prep - excapt that I request it and he OKs it.

Each Dr. tried to do what they think best....
Posted 10/25/2016 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks again for your input, everyone. KSmomof2, I have a bottle of Smart Water in my refrigerator right now to try to see how I tolerate it! I have been putting off trying it, but with your suggestion, I'll see how it goes. I don't understand why GI's don't suggest Smart Water instead of the Gatorade for people like us, but I guess that is too much trouble. I do change my diet at least three days before the prep to help the purge, but this time I am going to be very serious about what I eat, knowing that it is becoming increasingly harder to keep the prep down enough to do its job. Thank you for the suggestion.

Sara14, I also heard on the news that Smoothies and food bars are being tested as prep alternatives. We can only hope that those methods work, and they can get them out to the public before we all die of old age. Then getting the GI's to embrace the new preps will be another whole battle.
Posted 10/25/2016 12:51 PM (GMT 0)
I used white grape juice instead of the Gatorade. It was fine and tasted much better.
Posted 10/25/2016 3:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your response, Michelejc. I was concerned about substituting something without the electrolytes in it, but I could drink the Smart Water in between. I would still REALLY like to hear from anyone with UC who has used the Prepopik for prep, however!
Posted 10/25/2016 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
I used the prepopik for my last colonoscopy. I only used one other prep and that was the dreaded gallon, I don't remember the name.

But I told my doctor I REFUSED to ever use the gallon again and if that was what he was going to give me I wasn't going to do the colonoscopy. I felt horrible drinking the gallon.

The prepopik was amazing. It tastes like a more sour version of orange juice and the best part is, it's only 8oz the night before and another 8oz the morning of. Drinking the bottles of water within a certain time afterwards was no problem for me as I started to feel thirsty and dehydrated from using the bathroom.

Side note, my mom also used the prepopik and her description of the taste was it taste just like "tang" the drink? I never heard of or drank that so I cannot compare.

I will from now on always request the prepopik as it was a breeze!!!
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