making prep easier-migraine sufferer

Hi. I was diagnosed with uc 25 years ago, so I've had well over that many colonoscopies. Of course, the prep is a major hurdle, particularly for me because I also have chronic migraines which, of course, are triggered by fasting. So, my challenged has been to find the prep that requires the least amount of fasting. Well, I have good news and bad news. That is old-fashioned, heinous, digusting Colyte. Here's what I did and NO MIGRAINE. A few days before the prep, I start to eat way less--lots of juicing. I also schedule the colonoscopy way ahead and got the first appointment of the day (usually reserved for diabetics). The day before the colonoscopy, I have an omelet for breakfast and pasta for lunch. about an hour or so after lunch, I have some frozen yogurt. After that, and before I start the prep, I hydrate like crazy with clear Gatorade. I start the prep at around 7pm. It's horrible, yes. If the taste gets me, I suck a lemon in between consuming the vile liquid. I usually finish around 9:30. With my doc, I can have clear liquids after the prep as long as it is before midnight. So, I have broth, more Gatorade, apple juice--anything to balance blood sugar and replace the potassium. Yes, I know the Colyte is horrible but, for me, it's either pay now or pay later. I rather find a way to consume it, balance out my blood sugar, and not find myself puking with a migraine on the way to the procedure. I hope this helps someone in the same situation.

More or less--1 per year between the ages of 29 and 55. I also have a family history of colon cancer and long standing ulcerative colitis (you were diagnosed 10years ago; I was diagnosed 24 years ago), so they are very cautious about screening for epithelial changes. Also, my case initially presented atypically and, in the early days, they checked every six months to assess the effectiveness of the then very limited range of medications ( pretty much the initial 5-ASA's). Sad, but true.

Thank you for posting this! I got a migraine during prep for my last colonoscopy (a year ago). I was doing the Miralax prep and woke up at 5 am thinking I was going to die. I ended up going into the scope clinic 2 hours ahead of my appt to get them to give some pain relief. They put me on something that worked alright but made me vomit for the rest of the day. The whole thing was awful.

I am also a migraneur but never had migraine while prepping. You mentioned that if you keep juicing, you are fine. That is exactly what I do, I get lemon flavor Gatorade or similar and keep drinking it when I am prepping. So far no migraine. Lucky me.

@ Soystud,
I am diagnosed for about 6 years now and have had at least 15 scopes. Except one, every time I was wide awake and watching everything on the screen.

Just wanted to add a word about the frequency of colonoscopy question and what I know.. Of course, the key concern with long standing ulcerative colitis is the increased risk of colon cancer. As my doctor says, "you can't pretend you don't have this disease, even if you feel ok." The risk increases with (1) the extent of inflammation in the colon and (2) long standing disease. One can have inflammation in the absence of symptoms! The recommendation for colonoscopy frequency for those of us with long standing illness is 1-2 years, with the majority of folks going about 18 months. What they look for is (1) epithelial changes in the mucosa and (1) polyps. In the old days, sometimes I would get sigmoidoscopies between colonoscopies but, since they do not go through the entire colon with that procedure, it could give a false sense of security--unless, of course, your disease is limited to the rectum (proctitis). Also, I hate taking meds even though I am pretty much in remission but, as my doctor explains, you need to keep the inflammation away--which, again, may not produce noticeable symptoms--in order to reduce the risk of colon cancer. Thoughts? Other information?