# Here I go!



## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

I will be doing my colonoscopy next week, and after doing a google search for the prep drugs found this site. I guess the first question I'd like to pose on the forum is.... What flavor is the best to use with Halflytely prep?My Dr. says not to use the flavor packs that come with the prep, but to try it plain first and if I need to add flavor I can add some Crystal Lite for flavoring. I'm a bit concerned about trying it without some kind of flavoring, but he says the flavoring is worse than the straight stuff. After reading a few posts here I will be sure to have a supply of Sprite at hand. I'm just unsettled about using the flavoring packs.Thanks in advance for any comments,remo


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

Well, judging from the lack of response, I am guessing no one has survived the Halflytely prep. So it seems that it is up to me to be the next victim – err, ah… guinea pig to take that adventure and document where it leads so others may learn from my experience.By way of explanation, my doctor has a little variation on the Halflytely prep from what the manufacturer’s instructions state. As I left the office following the consultation they handed me a 10 ounce bottle of what looks at first blush to be a 10 ounce bottle of fancy mineral water, the kind you buy at the store with a picture of a geyser, with a nice label saying it was “Magnesium Citrate.” It even has a picture of a couple of lemons on the label with the words “pleasing citrus flavor.” I was instructed to place it in the fridge and I half wondered if someone might mistakenly drink it thinking it was one of those mineral waters, but alas, as the time came to drink it down it was still there in the refrigerator. The written instructions from my doctor say I am to “pour the magnesium citrate over ice” and drink it at 8:00 am thus adding to the mineral water image. I was further instructed to discard the Bisacodyl tablets that come with the Halflytely. I opened the bottle and take a sniff. Smells like lemon Pledge, but not overpowering. I pour it “over ice” into a glass as instructed and take a taste. Not bad. It has a nice zing to it, like the after taste of Squirt soda. I can live with this. Since the instructions says to drink it over a period of 20 to 30 minutes I resisted the urge to chug it down and get it over with. Not sure what the reasoning is but just in case the rate of ingest has an affect on the rate of exit I thought I’d play it safe and follow the instructions.At 8:30 am I am sitting here, waiting for what may come next.While I wait, I will fill-in some of the other instruction I received from my doctor. First, he suggested prep day would go more easily if I ate light the day before, and kept to easily digestible foods. So with the help of Mrs. remo I did that. And at the appointed time last evening I mixed up the jug of Halflytely, sans the favoring, and stuck it in the refridgerator per my doctor’s instruction and since I found either no one who has survived this prep, or willing to admit that they had. More as the story unfolds…..


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

search function says some other people have used this particular prep on this board before.http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?a...e=%2BhalflytelyIf you want to read some of those posts.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

thanks for the search link. I did find some of those, but the ones I found seemed to be mostly the ones that tended toward complaining rather than what to expect. I wll go look at more of those in your search link.Just as an update to my saga, an hour and a half after starting to drink my "mineral water" I had my first call to the throne. Not too urgent, but it was watery and a good thing I heeded the call when I first felt the urge.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

Well, I am starting round 2. First glass of halflytely is down. Started with it plain and it was not as bad as I had feared, but still I opted to add in the Crystal Light. Not sure how to describe the "plain" taste. Kinda reminiscent of mineral oil but stronger. After a half glass I couldn't take it straight any more.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

Nearly five hours later... The instructions with the Halflytely say to drink an 8 ounce glass every 10 minutes until it is gone. My Dr's instructions say every 10 to 20 minutes. In hindsight (so to speak







) the only way I could have kept up with the one 8 ounce glass every 10 minutes is if I had the jug in the loo with me. With the additional leeway from my dr I made it but as it was I'd leave the throne to down another glass of the stuff and immediatly return to the throne. After the last glass I took my laptop in the bathroom with me and watched half a movie before stepping out just to move around a bit.Crystal Light comes in these little packets meant to be one packet for 2 quarts of water. I dumped in the whole packet with the jug of Halflytely and that seemed to do the trick. I could chug the whole glass without any problem until I got down to the last two. I also had a can of Sprite (per some postings I saw here) and a constantly filled mug of Swanson's low salt chicken broth both at the ready through the whole ordeal. BTW, the chicken broth smells worse than the Halflytely until you warm it up, then it is good. (what's up with that??







)There have yet to be any "blowout" as I had expected and I've been running clear liquid since starting the Halflytely so I am a bit concerned that something did not go right and I may have to do it all over again. But I did follow the instructions, so who knows? Maybe the blowout is yet to come?All I can say is thank goodness for pre-moistend medicated wipes!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I don't know if you have to have the blow out.Usually as long as you run clear you should be good to go.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

Made it back home after the main event. My fears about not having a thorough clean out were apparently unfounded - you were right Kathleen, a blow-out is not mandatory. He removed one small pollyup and I am basically ok but with some minor complications. I have no recollection of the proceedure itself but I woke up in the recovery area with Mrs remo and a nurse bending and kneeding me around to relieve a painful amount of gas. They said it was not a normal compliction but not to worry about it. The Dr would explain it to me in our follow-up appointmment.Once I recover and maybe after I have more info from the doctor I will add an epilog but for now, be it known that I did survive.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Glad you made it home OK and everything was clean enough in there.Some IBSers don't move intestinal gas effectively and they fill you up with gas so they can see the lining better than if the colon is collapsed. If you can't move the gas out as well as most people it may need a bit of help. Some IBSers find a gentle abdominal massage helps with the symptoms that seem to be from the gas that won't move well. (or sometimes things like yoga that twist the torso that also massages the guts). Start on the lower right and do small circles with the fingers and work up the right, across the top under the ribs then down the left.


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## remo (Dec 24, 2009)

It is now the day after my colonoscopy and I am back at work. I am taking it a bit easy but mostly because it is New Years Eve and work is light, not because I couldn't work harder if I needed to.The day of the main event went like this:They said to wear something comfortable, don't bring any valuables, but do bring someone who can wait during the procedure, receive instruction from the doctor and drive you home after the procedure. So I wore a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. No keys, no Blackberry, no wallet and Mrs. remo was stuck with being my keeper. That turned out to be perfect.I arrived at the endoscopy center for my colonoscopy right on time. They had me sign a bunch of papers saying they could do what they had to do depending on what happens once they get started. It was a bit disconcerting to be asked if I had a "valid DNR." I was then escorted to the bathroom for my one last attempt at emptying anything that may remain. Nothing remained and nothing happened but at least psychologically it was good to have the opportunity.After donning my backless hospital "gown" and laying down on the gurney a nurse inserted an IV into the back of my right hand, connected an automatic BP cuff and heart monitor leads. Then I waited my turn to be wheeled into the "procedure room."Once my turn came and I was wheeled in, I was not sure that I was not in an over sized closet. The room was lined with shelves holding large plastic containers that were clear enough to see that they were full of any kind of instrument the Doctor might feel he needed at a moments notice. My gurney was pushed up along side a nurse at a small desk who alternately turned toward me to ask my name, birth date and what procedure I was there for and swiveling toward the desk to write things on her charts. The doctor was at another desk on the other side of the room completing paperwork from the prior procedure. He apologized for the delay, made a little chit-chat and kept on working on his paperwork.A couple more people filed into the room, Dr said he was ready, and someone turned off the lights - literally. The room lights were turned off, and the only light I could see was the light over the nurse's desk on my left, the light from a couple of video monitors and some light coming in through a doorway from an adjoining room.Dr asked me to turn onto my left side toward the nurse, and I used my right hand to grab the railing and pull myself over. Of course doing so pulled up the sheet and my gown exposing my back-side to the doctor and who ever else had joined him there. I nervously tried to cover myself and then realizing the futility of doing so said something to the effect of "I guess I shouldn't bother trying to cover myself should I?" There was some chuckling, and then I went "out."Next thing I was aware of was some serious gas pain in my abdomen, and what turned out to be Mrs. remo and a nurse kneading my stomach, bending me, straightening me, and doing it again while urging me to fart. I was in recovery. Once I was coherent enough they explained that I had an unusual number of twists and turns in my colon so the doctor had used more air pressure than normal to "get around the corners." That was the reason for the excessive gas pain and why they were working me over to relieve the pressure.The brief report from the doctor to Mrs. remo was:My colon had an abnormal amount of twists and turns. He removed one small polyp. He took a few biopsies just to be sure, but didn't think there was anything to be concerned about. I had a "sensitive" colon (whatever that means) and I would not need another colonoscopy for 5 years. Someone would be calling to set up a return appointment for a consultation and then I'd be referred back to my GP for further treatment.In summary







These are the things I know now, that I recommend to anyone else about to participate in this event.To make prep day easier to tolerate, eat only easily digestible food the day before, and eat light. Make up a batch of Jell-O so you can nibble on that on prep day. Also have ready some Sprite and Swanson's low salt chicken broth to sip with the Halflytely. Also buy a box of pre-moistened medicated wipes and A&D or similar ointment. Magnesium Citrate does not taste bad. It is not something I would serve at a party, but I had no problem drinking it and would next time go ahead and down it all in one quick sitting rather than space it out over a 20 minute period. Drinking it cold and "poured over ice" did make it more palatable but was not absolutely necessary. My first BM was about an hour after drinking it.According to my Doctor the flavor packs that come with Halflytely are no better than drinking the stuff plain. He recommended trying it plain and if flavoring was needed to add Crystal Light. In my experience one packet of Crystal Light flavoring in the 2 liter jug of Halflytely was about as good as the stuff can get and that is how I would do it next time. Once I had done that it became tolerable. Be sure to mix it up with warm water the night before and then put in the refrigerator to chill over night. After the second glass of Halflytely my routine became one of drink a glass, go sit on the throne, go drink a glass, and repeat. After the final glass I just sat on the throne for an hour. This is when the pre-moistened medicated wipes became a cherished commodity. When things settled down a few hours after starting the Halflytely, and again when I was ready to go to bed, the ointment was a welcome relief.Apparently eating light and only easily digestible food the day before prep day relived me from the blow-outs I had experienced many years ago and had heard/read about more recently. However uncanny it was to spend the day peeing out the wrong orifice, it was indeed the sign of a well cleaned out colon.


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