Colonoscopy prep with miralax and... something other than gatorade???

With all the experience on this board, I'm sure someone has the answer for me.

I have a colonoscopy in a couple of weeks. I'm told to do the prep with Miralax and Gatorade. I hate the stuff in Gatorade (artificial colors, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, etc.).

Is there some reason I have to use Gatorade? Can I just use lemonade or grape juice or tea or .... ??

Thanks so much!

Andrina said...
In my opinion there is NO way that miralax alone will clean you enough. And Gatorade??

Um I would honestly just call the office again and ask for some real prep, like Moviprep.

Actually, the Miralax and Gatorade prep is very effective (and real).....believe me it cleans you out! I've used it three times in the past. It's an easy prep to get down too. But, some people just don't like the taste of Gatorade.

Zucchini,
Gatorade has a flavor called artic ice. It's the best tasting one if they still make it. It's clear. They want you to use Gatorade because since you are getting cleaned out the Gatorade replaces your electrolytes that you're losing.

I agree. Gatorade tastes pretty retched. I have a problem with salt/electrolyte balance, so I drink heavily watered down G2 (the "light" version of gatorade) and find the taste much more bearable. Of course, you're getting fewer electrolytes this way, but it is better than none. Or you could try different flavors like the Arctic Ice that ByeBye suggests (I haven't seen it in awhile, so I'm not sure they make it).

Miralax is definitely one of the easier preps out there IMO.

I used golytely, was just a jug of powder that I added water to and stuck in the fridge. It didn't taste good, but not bad. Just like salty lemon water.

Colonoscopies have ruined Gatorade for me lol. At least the lemon lime flavor... Eck!

My first colonoscopy my GI prescribed osmoprep. 4 pills every half hour until all 32 are gone. Not little pills either. Horse pills. Better than the liquid though supposedly. I'm allergic to benzoyl peroxide and there was apparently something in the liquid that would have had the same effect as benzoyl and could have killed me in such a large dose. Good news: didn't have to drink that crap. Bad news: insurance doesn't cover name brand... $126. My next colonoscopy was with a new GI and I did dulcolax and miralax and it was way better. Didn't feel as dehydrated as the 1st time.

Maybe try sobe life water or vitamin water instead? It has the electrolytes like Gatorade but maybe less of the artificial crap.

Not criticizing the OP or anyone else here, but isn't Miralax a synthetic sort of fiber/laxative, so that in itself is the very definition of artificial.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_glycol

In other words, even if you took Miralax with water, the Miralax is also artificial so you'd be putting something fake into your body.

Do keep in mind that these artificial things do pass out and don't necessarily absorb into your blood/liver/kidneys.

The article above also includes Moviprep, so might as well toss that in there.

If you want a great tasting Gatorade flavor, Fierce Melon is about as close to fruit juice as it gets. I can drink that stuff all day long. Also, Gatorade doesn't have HFCS -- only sucrose and dextrose. I think Powerade has HFCS, but it is a Coke product and last I checked Coca Cola was in a love affair with big corn.

I didn't know it was that effective. I may have to try that lol

water -

How much Miralax should be mixed into the Gatorade?

Use 8 oz. bottle Miralax with 64 oz. clear liquid, but do measure what is actually inside the Miralax bottle prior to mixing. Last time I found that the 8 oz. bottle purchased at pharmacy really contained 12 oz.! The caveat here is that a person may need larger proportions to clean out effectively if they have a longer colon than 4 feet. I learned a while back from my gastroenterologist that an IBD colon might shrink in length over time (in addition to narrowing in width) so that the individual patient's purging requirement should be RXed on the basis of that info if/when it's already known. Some members posting here DO mention periodically that they need a 128 oz. liquid prep rather than 64 oz. to thoroughly clear out. / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)