Colonoscopy prep: Liquid-only diets unnecessary

I just had this done yesterday, and the prep is hell.

It two factors. The first is the diet. It may as well be a fast. I had a couple things of chicken broth for breakfast and lunch, with some clear soda for a boost of sugar. All told, I probably had 300 calories and my blood sugar was not happy.

Then, of course, is the part at the end. 96 ounces of liquid (mixed with a laxative). 64 oz, the day before. 32 oz the day of ("Start at 5am...").

I simply can't drink a half gallon of liquid. Drink it until you choke and gag on it. Ya know, I actually used to like Gatorade. Not any more. Not ever.

When I told the nurse, no, I didn't consume all 96oz of stuff, she gave me a skeptical eye. They have to write the instructions in big letters and crayon. At least they gave the expected result "If you see xxx (I won't share it) then you're good to go". I was doing that long before I hit 96ozs. But, yea, the look from the nurse. Sheesh.

But especially during the day before. I'm, like, why can't I have a protein drink, like Ensure or something, or just plain milk! Something with some substance, even if it's liquid.

Hopefully they'll have this all figured out when I go back in 10 years.

But, yea, it's not a pleasant experience.

> We can advise patients that the diet on the day before a colonoscopy may include the following foods: cheese, eggs, milk, white bread, olive oil, butter, beef, chicken, fish, white rice, vanilla ice cream, and plain yogurt.

<anecdote> I've always had a terrible time with intense food restrictions, such as the typical colonoscopy diet. When I tried, I could tell within a few hours it was just not going to work for me, and I'd likely end up canceling and never trying it again. (I have a bad case of oppositional defiance regarding modern medicine.) Instead, I spent a lot of time researching exactly what the purpose of the liquid diet was. Once I understood it was basically to cut out fiber and other solids, I reckoned I could probably eat bland white bread, eggs, and yogurt for a couple of days, instead of going liquid-only. I admitted it to the doctors at my visit; they gave me a heavy stink-eye but did the procedure anyway. Everything went fine. </anecdote>

Also, there are several types of laxative. Most people get the terrible stuff by default. If you tell your doctor you're not likely to be able to handle it, they may be able to prescribe you the alternative type that is far easier to deal with. I did this, making that part of the prep the least annoying bit of the whole process.