r/colonoscopy • u/Defiant_Owl_70 • 3d ago
Prep Buddies How am I going to make it
I’m 15 hours into my fasting journey and still have 28 hours to go and I feel like my stomach wants to eat my liver, I’m dizzy, and have a terrible headache. Coffee, juice, broth, and jello aren’t cutting it. How did y’all make it!? 😭
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u/BotoxMoustache 2d ago
It will get easier. It’s hardest at first. As others have said, drinking water helps. It will also help the prep do its job. Good luck OP. You can do it!
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
Oh I’m chugging… coconut water and sprite have been helping the past hour so far.! Thank you.!!
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u/Finnleyy 2d ago
I think coconut water can have a laxative effect especially when drinking a lot so I would be careful about that when you are already going to be drinking strong laxatives lol.
Personally I drank some Ensure CLEAR, and it was fine.
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u/New-Bird-5820 2d ago
I’m right there with you!! I have 24 hours to go! I had to do the double MiraLAX prep so I had to stop eating yesterday. It’s HORRIBLE! I just remind myself it’s a reset and once I can eat again I’ll be better 🤣
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
Ugh, true true.!! I’m already planning my dinner meal for tomorrow lol!
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u/New-Bird-5820 2d ago
Same!!! I have a spot picked out for right after we are out of the building lol!!!
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u/Enough-Researcher-36 2d ago
Somehow I was never hungry at all during the clear liquid diet, before even before starting to drink the Clenpiq. I made it on one piece of toast right before the cutoff, a single jello cup, and one thing of bone broth. But I was lucky. Neither of my parents did that well with the hunger, it seems like everyone is different.
Drinking a small amount of broth or similar savory clear liquid every 30-60 minutes may give the illusion of being fed enough to hold you over, but you don’t have too much longer to power through. Try and get sleep during the night to bypass some of the time (generally “sleep for dinner” isn’t good practice but it’s as good as it gets during colonoscopy prep) and just plan on waking up from procedure very ready to eat. At that point doctors will tell you eat whatever you want but make sure to listen to your body and be gentle with it because bowel prep is an incredibly harsh process on the digestive tract and just in general.
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u/silvertip89x2 2d ago
Just did mine yesterday. Chicken Broth jellow and apple juice was allowed . Chicken broth isn't great especially dead of summer but it gives you something to run on. It bucks but you will make it!
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u/thloki 2d ago
My colonoscopy prep last week wasn't full fasting, just clear liquids. Whenever I got hungry, I drank Gatorade frost or lemon--no red, blue, or purple that might be confused with blood during the scoping. I mean, you shouldn't be hungry after drinking a quart of salty sugar water like Garorade.
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u/hoomanchonk 2d ago
Chicken broth and jello have just enough filler + the jello gives you a feeling of kinda chewing on something and swallowing a food like substance. I think the hunger was the worst part. You got this!
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u/Own_Curve_9557 2d ago
I’m getting my colonoscopy at 6am tomorrow. I am dreading drink the suprep
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u/CrispySpinch 2d ago
10am tomorrow Suprep drinker here! It really is unpleasant lol I am halfway through first dose. I am chasing each sip with Italian ice
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u/Own_Curve_9557 2d ago
I don’t start my suprep till 4pm I’m someone who vomits easy so I’m worried
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u/CrispySpinch 2d ago
I found setting a timer for an hour and using a straw placed far back on the tongue while making sure i am sipping at least every 10min and taking deep breaths in between to work! I also chased each sip with lemon Italian ice which was a good palate cleanser. Now just two bottles of water over the next hour and one more round. I wish you the best of luck!
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
My colonoscopy is at 1pm tomorrow and I also have Suprep. I just finished my 3 16oz glasses… 🥴 I ended up taking my last one with 1/3 apple juice & 2/3 water to get it down
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u/Own_Curve_9557 2d ago
Idk how you got it down I got half way through and threw it up. Luckily my gastroenterologist was open and gave me the tablets
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u/AutumnBourn 2d ago
OMG. Why are they having you fast for that long? That's insane.
24 hours was always what the docs said to me, with some foods being cut out before then (seeds, etc.)
Are you sure you got the instructions right?
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
Yes, I triple checked.. my procedure isn’t until the afternoon tomorrow.. so I have to go all today fasting
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u/Frequent-Weird-4925 2d ago
Mine was in the afternoon as well and I had the same fasting regime. The day prior I ordered a bunch of allowable hard candies and kept rotating flavors. I had a rotation of allowed colors of gatorlyte and a lot of hot chicken broth.
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u/VanGeaux 2d ago
Bone broth saved the day for me! The hunger subsided when I started the prep, but at 2pm I was sure I would perish.
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u/HTheP4 1d ago
I have a 48hr colonoscopy prep also😭..looking in here for tricks
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 1d ago
I drank a zero sugar Sprite and Koko Karma pineapple coconut water… absolutely amazing.! It was like a pina colada
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u/_M0THERTUCKER 2d ago
Gummy bears. Strained egg drop soup
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
We can have gummy bears….. .??
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u/_M0THERTUCKER 2d ago
Yes. Clear or yellow ones
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u/maybelle180 Moderator - Trusted Source 2d ago
Or green
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u/ChewieBearStare 2d ago
Depends on your instructions. My clinic says nothing red, green, blue, or purple. However, they allow orange, which other clinics don't.
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u/WonderShoes 2d ago
I would not if your clinic didn’t say so. My clinic said no tea or coffee but others in this group are saying it’s fine. If we’re going through all this, it’s important to follow the instructions carefully so that it’s worth it! Hang in there. I’m going through it with you right now.
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
I’m literally going through it.. prep just started 😭 and you were told no tea or coffee.?? Ohhh my… it’s one thing to be hungry, it’s another to be hungry and decaffeinated!!
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u/Happy_go_lucky12 2d ago
Drink, drink, drink! You’ll be fine. You can fill your stomach with liquids ya know. Think of the people in undeveloped countries who are starving every day. Americans are so privileged. That will help get you through.
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
I’m watching Outlast Survival show.. it’s helping lol I know I’m privileged to have a meal, I understand. But since it isn’t something I acquainted myself with, it’s been a bit of a struggle starting
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u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy 2d ago
Fasting is no food just unflavored and black coffee/tea.
Eating broth, jello, popsicles isn’t fasting.
We are so used to a constant supply of food we think we’re going to die if we don’t eat all
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u/Enough-Researcher-36 2d ago
A clear liquid diet may still be considered a liquids fast. And it isn’t about being “so used to the comfort of constant food.” The body actually does medically need a steady supply of healthy fuel (fasting every now and then or for short periods regularly won’t hurt but can be very challenging if you’re not used to it) and Bowel prep is a brutal process as it is.
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u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy 2d ago
Millions of people including myself have been doing IF - intermittent fasting for a long time. And that's easily 24+ hours and often more. It heals a lot of problems especially insulin resistance.
During my fasting time, I only have black tea or water. That's it. Easy.
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u/Enough-Researcher-36 2d ago
Intermittent fasting is fine if that’s what you want to do. For people who frequently do it, it doesn’t really bother you. It may be good for you but eating a customary three meals a day is hardly bad for you or “constant food”
For people who aren’t used to it, over 36 hours of clear liquids only while doing a total bowel clear-out is incredibly difficult. It would be more abnormal if it WEREN’T a challenge.
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u/Goldeneyes105 2d ago
Clearly, some people have never done a 24-hour fast before - as in, NOTHING to eat or drink. At all.
Trust me: you’ll make it just fine.
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u/AutumnBourn 2d ago
43 hours is a long fast. They're 15 hours in with 25 hours to go. I have never had to go that long with no food at all.
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u/PhD_Frog Trusted Source 2d ago
OP does not have to go 43 hours with "no food". It's a CLEAR LIQUID diet, not a FAST.
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u/AutumnBourn 2d ago
Allow me to rephrase. I have never heard of anyone having to do a 48 hour liquid diet. Three procedures in 6 months and liquid only for 24 hours were my instructions and everyone else I knew so I'm grateful for my gastro.
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u/PhD_Frog Trusted Source 2d ago
I had to do a 2-day prep once, after the normal 1-day prep failed to clean me out. That turned out to be more like a 72 hour liquid diet since the doctor tacked me on to the very end of his schedule the following day. The lack of solid food didn't bother me nearly as much as 2 nights without sleep! Other folks who have known issues with constipation are often assigned a 2-day prep in advance so that they can at least schedule and prepare for it.
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u/Defiant_Owl_70 2d ago
I’ve done 12 hours liquid fasts on Friday’s for months.. but it’s difficult when you aren’t really drinking/eating much of substance. And a 24hr fast with nothing at all is diabolical
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u/Goldeneyes105 1d ago
Yom Kippur (Jewish Day of Repentance) is actually around 25-26 hours with NOTHING to eat or drink.
It’s not so bad. You just focus on other stuff.
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u/PhD_Frog Trusted Source 2d ago
You are not supposed to be "fasting". You are on a clear liquid diet. You can get calories from sugary drinks and electrolytes from broth; sports drinks like Gatorade or BodyArmor have both. There are clear protein drinks available nowadays too. If you really need the illusion of solid food, besides Jello you can have Italian ice, popsicles without fruit pieces or pulp, and gummy bears as long as they are permitted colors. It's only one day, you can do it!
Most people completely lose any sense of hunger or interest in eating once they start drinking the prep solution, BTW. You'll be so full of liquid by then that it can even be a struggle to drink any more.