Failed prep for colonoscopy: What can I do?

Hi Michael and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community of patients like you. You are certainly not alone in having difficulty with colonoscopy prep. For this reason, I moved your messages to this existing discussion:
- Failed prep for colonoscopy: What can I do? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/i-recently-failed-two-preps-for-a-colonoscopy-and-i-cant-imagine/

I did this so you can read past posts that include some helpful suggestions and connect easily with members like @azcyclist2018 @robbinr @mpeters @doolz @astaingegerdm @fourof5zs @asegura.

You may also be interested in these discussions related to motility:
- Having motility issues, may be gastroparesis: Any thoughts? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/suspect-gastroparisis/
- Is anyone familiar with MOTILITY clinic or doctor? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/is-anyone-familiar-with-motility-clinic-or-doctor

Have you seen a GI specialists about motility? Have you been diagnosed with a GI condition?

Not officially diagnosed with a condition, just told to take Miralax which did not work.
Can I assume if I saw that laxatives do not work that this is a motility problem ?
Any recommendations for a clinic in the twin cities ?
Thanks for your help

Michael, it's worth investigating.

Well I will be interrogating a gastro doc soon - I am sure he will not be happy.
It seems like most gastro docs do not understand that there are people out there for whom laxatives do not work.

What are the solutions in those cases ?

As far as the colonoscopy is concerned, Cologuard does not require prep. It was delivered to my home. My insurance covered all cost.

@doolz - the past couple of times I used Pico Salex. Two small sachets the size of sugar packets, taken as directed several hours apart and in between, liquid diet of your choice. Not unpleasant to take.

I’m sorry for your troubles. It’s good to get a colonoscopy. I assume you failed due to inadequate prep? That happened to me, twice. The exasperated doctor was quite mean about it. Luckily I had a Mayo doc who knew what to do about it. I have a weeklong prep. No whole wheat, whole grain anything and the usual restriction against small seeds. I don’t eat at all the two days before colonoscopy. Two nights before the procedure, I drink my first prep, which is something citrate in a small green bottle in the pharmacy for people who are constipated. The word “ something “ means I don’t remember the first word. That night I get up and am in the bathroom moderately often. The next day, which is the day before colonoscopy, I drink the usual prep, starting at about two o’clock. Believe me I have to start that early or I won’t get done in time. That night I’m in the bathroom a lot. As an aside, I suck on a lemon right before drinking my prep and I make sure it is ice cold. During the colonoscopy I’m on light anesthesia because I have tortuous colon. I hope you can have a successful colonoscopy. Please post again and let us know how you are doing.

@robbinr. To say this is not good is an understatement. I am not sure what kind of prep your doctor ordered but mine used lemon Gatorade (clear), Dulcolax, MiraLAX and magnetism citrate (it still gagged me). The prep is awful the first go around. I feel for you, I can't imagine doing it twice. Maybe, you should seek a second opinion. I am not sure what kind of prep your doctor is ordering but mine allowed to mix lemon Gatorade (clear), Dulcolax, MiraLAX and magnetism citrate (it still gagged me). The prep is awful the first go around and can't imagine doing it twice. Maybe, you should seek a second opinion and see if the doctor(s) can do a procedure where a camera is inserted to check an empty stomach, they use a short-term anesthesia.

I had a failed one, although I was meticulous about following the instructions. I switched GI doctors, and my new one had me do a prep in pill form. It worked perfectly I think it's called SuPrep, and it's quite expensive, but with insurance and my doctor's pharmacy's discount, it came to $50., which I felt was well worth it. It consists of two sets of 12 little pills in two sets, taken six hours apart. The instructions are quite clear, and the tiny pills are easy to take. The only problem is that it's hard to get a full night's sleep because you have to take the second set in the middle of the night and then, if you're lucky, you have to wake up very early for the procedure. It wasn't a big issue, since I was out for the procedure and rested once I got home. My doctor told me I was really cleaned out for the procedure.
On a lighter note: Paraphrasing Woody Allen's description of a colonoscopy - - -
Death is like a colonoscopy. You're lying there peacefully, floating along, not caring about what's going on around you.
Life, however, is like the prep!

Cologuard simply looks for the presence of blood. It isn’t a diagnostic and they don’t get to look around and see how your colon looks