Enemas for Colonoscopy Prep

I did not; the prep was totally sufficient. However, if you did not report being empty, you were given a bag prep.

I'm having a colonoscopy scheduled on February third.

I'll have to follow a preparation program of 48 hours prior to the examination, consisting of a special diet (no fiber-rich foods, seeds, nuts, and what not) and oral laxatives.

To be honest, I would not mind to get an enema. It was said in the preparation on the website of the clinic that a nurse would give one after I'd arrive in the clinic, prior to the sigmoidoscopy that I'll be getting.

But in the confirmation I got through the mail, I was told to do the oral laxative prep + diet. So that'll be a night spent on the toilet prior to the exam 😜 (well, or diapered up in sufficient layers, depending on my mood). Getting an enema would be less of a hassle for me, but more for them, I guess.

Ah well, one of my medical fetish desires / curiosities will remain unanswered in this case 😃

I won't ask for any sedation. I'm quite used to having things stuck up my bum, and I find such an exam quite interesting to be honest 😃

Plus I still want to drive myself there and back home again. You're strictly told NOT to when you're given sedation, for good reason.

For my last colonoscopy I started the afternoon before the test with 3 enemas to clear out the solids. That along with a basically liquid diet the day before worked pretty good for me. When I drank the liquid prep it just basically ran right through me. I was done on the toilet by midnight and had a good nights sleep. I will do the same next time.

It's been awhile since my last colonoscopy but whenever I am scheduled for one I always supplement the prescribed regimen of oral prep liquid with two or three large enemas. I have always been quite cleaned out by the time I arrive for my colonoscopy!

You have to cleanout the small intestine.

With only enemas you can't. You can reduce a lot the oral laxative if you do enemas, but a laxative to clean out the small intestine needed.

@Mara90

Yes and no. You are quite right that both the small and large intestine both have to be cleaned out. If the small one is not cleaned out, poo will continue to come down, and no matter how much you clean your large intestine, it won't stay clean for long.

Enemas or colonic irrigation don't do much of anything to clean the small intestine. But laxatives are not the only option. A liquid diet, completely w/o fiber, can do the small bowel cleanout, but it takes a couple of days, or more

Also, not all laxatives act on the small intestine. Castor oil and some salines will cause small intestinal cramping, but Dulcolax and Senna only work in the large intestine. That's why they are followed by a large quantity of something to flush you out, likre Golytely or Miralax.

Enemas, even mighty ones, will really only clean out your bottom end.

Enemas for Colonoscopy Prep - You can't clean the colon out with just enemas because of the small intestine will keep leaking stuff into it. So the doctor's prescribed regimen is needed, but for myself, a colonoscopy is an excuse for me to take some enemas. My wife is generally against enemas and thinks they are dangerous and maybe perverted if you take them for fun, so I don't take them nearly as often as I would otherwise. But when I get done with the Go-Lytely cleanout I just tell her I'm going to take an enema to make sure I'm clean so she doesn't start wondering where I am and what I'm doing and walk in on me giving myself an enema. Then I take the next couple of hours and give myself several large volume plain tap water enemas of as much as I can hold. The most I got into me was 3½ quarts and I think I could have held 4 quarts, but it was late and I had to be there by 6:30 AM, so I stopped. Do I really need those enemas after my cleanout, not really I guess but I like everything about taking enemas so it is an excuse to have some fun and enjoy something I don't get to do but maybe every few years or so. I'm pretty sure if I lived alone the enema bag would be out hanging in the master bathroom all the time and wet most of the time. I know too many enemas may not be good for a person, but enemas are a pleasure I do like to indulge in when I can.

Once when my wife was gone for 9 days on vacation with her sister, the enema bag was out all the time and wet most of the time as I indulged myself every day with several enemas. The most enemas I took in one day was nine enemas starting in the late morning about 10 AM with a couple of soapsuds enemas, using Ivory Soap, and then continued all day with plain warm tap water enemas ever couple of hours until that night about 11 PM. The other days I took between 4 to 5 enemas each day, mostly plain tap water enemas. It was a most enjoyable time for me. The only thing that could have made it better is if I had had someone who was skilled in giving enemas to give me all those enemas and had different enema syringes and colon tubes to use on me. I have to say that I suffered no ill effects from all those enemas and had a normal BM 2 or 3 days after my last day of enemas.

Well I’m headed in for another colonoscopy in a little over a week. My former doc retired and I have a new GI doc, the new doc is in the same clinic, and knows my history. She also knows my problems with preps, and ongoing constipation issues and wants me to go on Linssez. I haven’t started the Linssez yet, due to reviews I have read. I am currently taking 1500Mg of mag oxide a day just to have daily BM’s.

The complicating issue is they won’t do my procedure in the clinic because of cardiac risk, so I have to go to the hospital. Now, I have never had a successful oral prep, I have always had to supplement it with at least 3 tap water enemas. The good thing is that the hospital intake nurse has said they would give me an enema upon admission. This really takes the pressure off since my checkin is 6:15 am.

I have been directed to do an extended prep using Suprep. I must not be the only one who has problems, they have about 6 different protocols and each one has an extended, full week instructions. I have used Suprep before and found it was not very effective. The last time I followed the directions, took first dose at 6:00PM , went to bed around 11:00, with no BM, but cramping and growling. At 11:30 I had to sprint to the bathroom and spent the next two hours sitting on the toilet, not clear. Had to use 3 enemas to clear. I told the doc and she said OK and gave me a moderate grade for being clear.

This time, my new doc, besides using the extended plan is having me start daily Mirralax for 7 days prior, and 2.MG of Dulcolax the morning of the prep. I called the coordinator last week, and she said she wanted me to continue the Mag oxide as well. When I ask her about the long delay in action, she said I could start at 3:00pm and use an enema to get things started. I guess they really want me cleaned out.

I will report back after the procedure, and describe the hospital enema.

Well, here I am on this thread for independent study. My first ever colonoscopy, which will be a part of a top-down and bottom-up festival of endoscopy, is this Friday. I’d put it off far longer than I should based on age and family history, largely in dread of what has happened to me every time I’ve tried an oral laxative of any sort, or the one dreaded time I attempted a Fleet.

Every laxative, no matter how mild it promises to be, puts me through a phase of cold sweat, retching, and a feeling that my intestines are being pulled from my body like crochet yarn while I lie on the bathroom tile unable to hold up my head. In some cases this phase can last an hour. The thought of two massive doses of laxative had given me considerable pause, so here I am at nearly 52, a colonoscopy virgin.

But: I have other upper GI stuff going on that I need scoped, and the 2-for-1 aspect was enough to get me doing the right thing despite my fear.

After much reading here, I worked out a protocol to try. (Thanks members and mods!) I decided to start a magnesium supplement a week before just to give myself a decent starting place. My IBS diva of a colon rewarded even that with slight cramping that referred to my lower back the first few days, but as of yesterday my body seemed to adjust.

This morning I’ll do a 2-quart baking soda enema. I plan a second for tomorrow evening, right before I begin drinking the stuff. (With my IBS I regret taking more than one enema per day.) I’ve never tried laxatives without being very uncomfortably constipated to start, so I’m hoping beginning with a cleaner playing field can avoid the phase in which I feel terribly sick.

Wish me luck, e-tribe. My rational inner recovering scientist thinks this could work, but as a feeling human I’m just plain scared of the laxative part of the prep.

@Sweetest_Relief I’ve had three colonoscopies, and what helps me get through the prep more comfortably is easing into a liquid diet beginning about four days before my appointment. It’s much like doing a juice fast, what I do occasionally anyway with my older daughter.

The next day after beginning the juicing, i’ll take two warm water saline enemas with a rectal tube, one in the morning and the other in the late evening before bed. The enemas will clean out any solids. I’ll take the enemas gradually in smaller amounts, rather than trying to hold in an entire bag, so I can retain them easier with less cramping. I ask my husband to help me with the enemas because he’s a good coach who keeps me disciplined.

All of this helps makes the laxative which I drink as chilled as it can be, to just run through me. The last colonoscopy I was thoroughly cleaned out by about 11 PM the night before, so I’m not having to be getting up and down at 3AM.

The key for me is starting the juicing and doing the enemas before I have to chug down that laxative. It’s no fun, but I found a way that makes the torture more comfortable. One final thought on the juicing if you decide to try this, no red or purple juices like cranberry, grape, etc. Apple has always worked best for me, I get pretty sick of it, but it works. Also, important is to ease back into a regular diet after your procedure. You’re going to be hungry like crazy, but eat light and nibble for the next few hours. I hope all goes well and they don’t find anything serious.

Best wishes in your endo and colonoscopy procedures. I second those suggestions that may help make the overall experience more tolerable.

I've been through various exams where a bowel prep was necessary. Usually, it was top down but I used enemas as an adjunct for the process. I did find that clearing the lower G.I. prior to the laxative overdose aided in making the process less miserable. Those suggestions from others here seem quite valid!

This is a lovely group of people, and I’m grateful for you all! I do think things are working so far. While this morning’s enema felt effective and exited in two quick sittings, after days of fiber avoidance I’ve never had so few solids to expel. Essentially it had the returns of a second enema despite being a first enema. Here’s hoping after a second enema tomorrow evening the laxatives can rip through too quickly to do much harm. I will start a liquid diet a little sooner than recommended, as that can only help.

I’m sensing a paradox that laxatives are only miserable when I actually need laxatives.

@Sweetest_Relief We all hope everything comes out all right - before, during and after! Cheers!

Good luck @Sweetest_Relief. Been there many a time. Piece of cake as long as you opt for the anesthesia. If you are doing the 2-4-1 like it sounds, you will likely be taking it. Another piece of cake. Wishing you "clear" sailing.

P.S. I never took or got an enema for the procedure although in the paperwork they say to be prepared in case.

Easy

My last Colonoscopy I had it unsedated, it was only SLIGHTLY uncomfortable a couple times. The next one will be the same.

I agree with @sse4fun on this. In my experience just clearing out the lower bowel with an enema made the whole prep much less uncomfortable since there wasn't an explosive release when the liquid prep kicked in. Good luck with this @Sweetest_Relief and hope the outcome is favorable.

I'm 62 and recently had my first colonoscopy. I was prescribed the 4 tablets of Ducolax and 64 oz of Gatorade mixed with 14 day supply of Mirilax, 8 oz every half hour. It was fairly palatable but was getting hard to gulp down by the end of it.

Enemas weren't recommended with the prep, even though I had mentioned during the pre colonoscopy phone consultation that I had issues with constipation often, and even to the point of needing an occasional enema. The nurse on the phone made no comment on that.

That said, I remembered reading somewhere that enemas prior to starting the prep might help to "clear the path," as some have mentioned here, and make the prep less uncomfortable. I had a 2qt baking soda and water enema administered by my girlfriend two nights in a row prior to day of starting the oral prep. Both enemas produced a fair amount of stool. I had an enema a few days before those, because I had felt like I needed one.

After starting the prep and following the liquid diet, I had only a couple of intense moments of expulsions. With only a few minor cramps in the begining, I was passing mostly light color liquid and soft yellowish solids. My Gatorade of choice was white cherry frost. The worst and most repulsive expulsion came when I woke up about 3:30 in the morning, 5 hours before I was supposed to be at the GI clinic. Yellow foaming gunk! I had a few more light expulsions after that, mostly liquid with some yellowish barely solid material. My girlfriend suggested that she should maybe give me a disposable enema before heading to the clinic. I declined that offer, I had had enough of laxatives, any kind!

All went good with my colonoscopy - they removed three benign polyps and I don't need another colonoscopy for three years. I got copies of pictures of my colon from the procedure, to me everything looked pink and healthy. My prep was apparently all good too. Being it was my first colonoscopy I don't know how well the enemas helped me tolerate the prep. The prep wasn't as unpleasant as I had feared, so maybe they did help.

I do believe that this newer generation of doctors and nursing staff have had enema use discouraged during training. My gastro doc and his practice used to publish enema use as an alternative for bowel prep. It has disappeared in the last few years. There are still a few clinics that list enemas as an alternative, or at least an effort to assure adequate prep if the laxative overdose has failed and more effort needed.

I've previously posted that one nurse asked about my prep. I described the colonics and enemas, with an abreviated laxative effort. She was closer to my age and said she may try that prep for her next one as she threw up the laxative cocktail. I had also declined sedation and she was communicating with me throughout the colonoscopy.

Well, I’m happy to report that most of the first half of my prep is done. I got the two part Suprep kit. There was very little nausea, no cold sweat, no feeling faint, and unbelievably given my history, no major cramping whatsoever, just slight aches and soreness. Thus far, I needn’t have worried. I need to wake up and drink more laxative tomorrow morning, but I can only imagine that being comparable or easier. It’s not pleasant, but not horrible.

For those of you hesitating to get screened out of a combo of IBS and prep fear, if I can do it, I think almost anyone could.

@Sweetest_Relief Glad its going well for you! I hope tomorrow goes well too!

If you don't mind me asking, what does it taste like? As far as prep goes I'm more worried about the taste of it than anything else.

@Sweetest_Relief I wouldn't worry too much about drinking all of the Suprep in the AM. The last 2 colonoscopies I had I simply couldn't get the last of that vile stuff down - left the last glass of it in the sink! I got an ok prep report from the Dr. I suspect the instructions assume all of it really isn't necessary but "better safe than sorry" just to make sure the cleanout is complete.

@XR171 I’m laughing because I did the opposite of what I’d do at, say, a wine tasting when it came to the Suprep and really tried to chug it. I’m having the upper endoscopy due to issues with silent reflux, and fortunately or unfortunately must have gotten stomach acid into my sinuses a few nights ago which dulled my sense of taste at just the right time. I also threw in about 5 ice cubes and stirred to dissolve to make the brew cold and further dull the taste.

If pressed I’d say there’s a sweetness, a citrus undertone, probably lemon, a little bit of seawater, and then two different metallic tastes, one kind of acrid and one closer to, but different than, an old-school gum wrapper. The nausea I felt wasn’t from the taste, just the large volumes of liquid you need to push down to help the osmotic effect work.

I think you could get the same effect as my well-timed stuffy sinuses by holding your nose while you drink it if metallic flavors bother you a lot.

I had my one and only colonoscopy about 10 years ago. I refused the sedation and it turned out that wasn't a big deal. I'm kind of a stickler for what I put in my body so I didn't take whatever laxatives they recommended and would never take a fleet-style enema either for the same reason. Instead, prep was two enemas, just water, using a colon tube, retaining for probably 15 minutes, massaging the colon as best as I could, and flipping around to several different positions: back, sides, knee-chest, etc. The doctor said I was nice and clean except for some "material" way up at the top where the water just didn't reach with any efficacy. Prognosis: healthy colon with no issues. Next time, assuming there will probably be a next time, someday, I plan to just visit a Colon Hydrotherapist for a closed-system colonic instead and see if that will reach those stratospheric regions.

@Sweetest_Relief Thank you! I can do Miralax and magnesium citrate (I actually halfway like the taste of the lemon version of it) but just in case I'd like to have an option of something else I can handle the taste of.

I've had two endoscopies this year, they were nothing. Only part that bothered me was the sedation. If they use Propofol tell them to use plenty of lidocane first as the propoful burns. First one they used 40 mg of lidocane to 400 mg of propofol and it felt like acid being injected. Second was 100 to 300 and I felt warm like pre workout kicking in.

Fortunately I'm not afraid of the prep kicking in, I've had some gut busters of enemas before and being an adventurous eater means I'm no stranger to diarrhea. I'm really mostly worried about the taste and my GI refusing to do it without anesthesia.

Best of luck to you tomorrow and happy and clear returns!

With thanks to all who enquired, I made it through the rest of the prep (not bad) and the procedures.

My prep got an A+. I of course did not mention it started with enemas.

Although my auburn hair is from Paul Mitchell and I am not a natural redhead, I’m apparently very difficult to dislodge from consciousness and woke up during both procedures despite “more propofol than they’d given anyone.”

I gagged painfully on the endoscope a good 3-4 times before being returned to my slumber, but I was still too sedated to find this terrifying, more just an uncomfortable thing that was happening to me. My throat’s a bit sore from that but I’m otherwise fine.

Next I woke up during the colonoscopy, right at my cecum/appendix. As I could tolerate the pain and wanted to watch, they let me. Everything looked good, no polyps, and the only hint my IBS exists was some diverticulosis. I essentially got to see the full length of my colon. Nothing in my belly hurt more than a 1-2 on the pain scale as the scope moved through, and the sensation of the driving end of the scope moving in my rectum was decidedly nice.

As suspected I inherited my dad’s hiatal hernia, but it’s too small to action on. I had some duodenal redness so await biopsy results, but I suspect this is more to rule out celiac disease or some other inflammatory condition other than the silent reflux I presented for.

So, this is all to say, do not fear the prep or the scope. Even if you’re the rare freak who wakes up, it’s just not that bad.

@Sweetest_Relief Glad there was little pain in the tests, sounds like you really enjoyed the Colonoscopy. Try doing the next one unsedated, I did it on my last one, and really wasn't bad at all. And glad the results were minor. 👍

@Sweetest_Relief I'm glad it went really well for you! I could not do the EGD awake because I have a very weird and powerful gag reflex but I plan on doing the colonoscopy without anesthesia so knowing this helps me as well.

When I was getting colonics once a quarter from 2008 to 2012. A number of Gastroenterologist in my area were recommending patients who had issues with the standard prep, get a colonic before their appointment. From the article I read about it, the GI doctors reported, it was a viable prep for a colonoscopy and were pleased with the results.