# colonoscopy - 2 days no food?



## twonK (Oct 30, 2006)

Hi,

quick question: I've been told by Mt. Sinai GI dept to go 2 whole days (48 hours) without food. Clear-liquids only. Anyone else been told this period of time? Seems excessive to me. If so, does anyone have any tips on how to not feel totally miserable during this period!?!?









I have a suspected enlarged/inflamed appendix but don't think that's relevant since they gave me "off the shelf" instructions.

Cheers, Pete


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

sorry about the two days but oh yes--i've been through that,

because i had a long twisted colon and major C problems, for my last colonoscopy-- lucky me-- i had the two day prep preceded by two days of eating very lightly.. so that meant a fun two days of doing the wretched miralax/dulcolax thing and living on clear liquids. i have mitochondrial disease and need food for energy so all this was a bit of a trail but i survived. and this was all on thanksgiving weekend too. do i know how to enjoy a holiday or what lol...

the no-food thing didn't make me feel miserable--just a little weak. it really wasn't that bad. the two days of drinking prep did make me feel miserable but like i said, i survived.

just keep telling yourself it's only for two days...you can do it..... distraction and keeping my mind focused on something else helped me a lot..

good luck with everything


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## twonK (Oct 30, 2006)

thanks Annie. As it happens the doc replied and confirmed the two days so I just have to suck it up. Hopefully it'll be worth it. Two days of feeling miserable won't be anything new anyway!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

twonK said:


> Two days of feeling miserable won't be anything new anyway!


...oh i hear you on that one.....


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## smm001 (Mar 1, 2015)

My protocol had G2 gatorade, miralax, and magnesium citrate. The little bit of sugar in the G2 gatorade helped my body not freak out and without Doc approval I did mix a couple of BCAA teaspoons in during that time. I was really surprised that I handled it so well considering I have a fast metabolism and I'm a big eater. Find a good show to binge watch and relax, your body should adjust after you miss your first or second meal.

I had much better bowel movements the next 3-4 days too. My theory is the protocol cleared out the methane gas that was halting my colonic motility. After 3-5 days of "healthy" paleoish eating my constipation came right back....


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## Sean (Feb 8, 1999)

Pete, it is not unusual for doctors to prescribe a 2-day colonoscopy prep for those of us with slow-transit constipation or colonic inertia. I have had to endure a two-day prep for my last three colonoscopies. The rationale is that people with slow-transit take longer to clear out their colons so physicians add a day to the normal prep time. Some regimens also require doing the laxatives on the consecutive days as well. My doctor has me take stimulant laxatives (Dulcolax) two days before and the liquid prep (Golytely) the day before. Even that has not been enough to empty me adequately and I still end up having to get large volume water enemas at the hospital. All in all, a miserable experience.


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## twonK (Oct 30, 2006)

smm001 said:


> My protocol had G2 gatorade, miralax, and magnesium citrate. The little bit of sugar in the G2 gatorade helped my body not freak out and without Doc approval I did mix a couple of BCAA teaspoons in during that time. I was really surprised that I handled it so well considering I have a fast metabolism and I'm a big eater. Find a good show to binge watch and relax, your body should adjust after you miss your first or second meal.
> 
> I had much better bowel movements the next 3-4 days too. My theory is the protocol cleared out the methane gas that was halting my colonic motility. After 3-5 days of "healthy" paleoish eating my constipation came right back....


nope, none of that worked for me, I felt terrible most of the time. I was also in pain 30 mins after the procedure.


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## twonK (Oct 30, 2006)

Sean said:


> Pete, it is not unusual for doctors to prescribe a 2-day colonoscopy prep for those of us with slow-transit constipation or colonic inertia. I have had to endure a two-day prep for my last three colonoscopies. The rationale is that people with slow-transit take longer to clear out their colons so physicians add a day to the normal prep time. Some regimens also require doing the laxatives on the consecutive days as well. My doctor has me take stimulant laxatives (Dulcolax) two days before and the liquid prep (Golytely) the day before. Even that has not been enough to empty me adequately and I still end up having to get large volume water enemas at the hospital. All in all, a miserable experience.


Makes sense. My output only became clear earlier today (day 2) after the second Golytely so it looks like I needed it. As you say, bloody miserable. To top it all, he found nothing untoward. Talk about depressing.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

sorry your colonoscopy experience was so miserable. my last one was, too.

a colonoscopy helps the doctor find ulcers, colon polyps, tumors, and areas of inflammation or bleeding. it is not a test that can evaluate colon transit time or determine how your colon functions. if you have slow colonic transit, you might want to ask your gastro doc for a sitz marker test (colonic marker study) to evaluate your transit time. it's a handy diagnostic test to have.

we have another thread on here now going on about all that--maybe you've already read it...

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/240306-colonoscopy-results/

good luck with everything.


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## twonK (Oct 30, 2006)

Hi annie, he'd seen that my appendix was enflamed on a CT scan, hence the colonoscopy. That said, just before the op he told be that the appendix is so small that you can't actually see into it! So I'm assuming he did it more to rule other stuff out. I hope, otherwise it was a deliberate giant waste of time rather.


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