Can enemas cleanse the colon completely for colonoscopy?

Does anyone ever ask the MD if they had a colonoscopy? If yes, what prep did they take? You will get a look or a straight answer. If the answer is no, they have not experienced the prep. The goal is have a clean, completely clean large intestine and I have used the mag citrate and dulcolax tabs and clear liquids and been told that I was prepped perfectly. When asked if I did the prep, I answered yes as I did, just not their prep they recommended. Imagine paying $30 to $60 bucks to spend a few hours on the toilet when you can but just as effective stuff for a few bucks. I would not do enemas as the solo prep. I was in health care before colonoscopies were invented and we have done every prep imaginable and the goal is to have a clean colon and not deplete your electrolytes. Whatever laxative combination you use, the end results need to be clear and you need to be clean high up so that the MD gets a good picture of the entire colon.

You HAVE to clear the small bowel for a colonoscopy. $ Dulcolax tabs and Mag. Citrate will do that if you eat no food for a couple days. If the small bowel is not clean, it will drip waste down into the large bowel every 30-45 min. or so. Once you get the small bowel empty AND eat no solids, you can do all the enemas you want to clean the large bowel. I have read that soap suds can leave irritation that can be confused with ulcerative colitis. Therefore, stick with saline, or tap water. Also, taking several enemas the day of the scoping can lead to what gastros. call a "wet bowel syndrome". requiring frequent suctioning during the scoping. I think one large wash out the day of the scoping is a good idea, but leaving the stomach with no solids and using laxatives to clean the small bowel is essential.

I get scoped every 3 years and next time I'm not going to drink the gallon of "Draino", but cease all solid foods for 2 days, take a bottle of Mag. Citrate and 4 Dulcolax tabs. I may start off with a large enema to make the solids easier to pass, then do another one the morning of the scoping to make sure it returns clear. I've tried every PEG solution out there and they all make me leak during sleep, soiling myself and the bed. They have removed my sigmoid and half my rectum and the multiple expulsions of PEG solution make my anus very sore. I know that castor oil cleans the small bowel, but it;\'s taste and texture make me want to vomit, so I'll stick with Dulcolax and Mag. Citrate. A couple enemas also help to reduce the soreness and make what solids that are present easier to expel.

In short, you have to clean out from the top down and enemas alone will not do it.

Thanks for all the advice, I'm taking my 2nd colonoscopy next month and I though I followed their directions to a "T" the Doc said that he couldn't scope the last bit of my colon. I want to be really cleaned out for this procedure.

It would take a lot of e enemas to get you ready for a colonoscopy.

Just had my third one this morning. Used MoviPrep split dose regimen. One liter at 7 pm and the other one at 1 am. Didn't sleep much. Doc was very satisfied with the cleaning - got some good pictures! Clean all the way to the cecum.

Each time I have been scheduled for a colonoscopy with my current GI specialist I have asked whether I couldn't do an enema series in lieu of the Golytely (or its equivalent). All three times she has said no. She says they simply don't get the job done adequately. On one occasion I first put the question to her nurse over the phone, and the nurse said the same thing: "The enema only cleans out your lower bowel. It needs to be cleaned from the top down."

This has been going on for three and a half YEARS.

How long does it take for people to accept that enemas do NOT clean the GI tract sufficiently for a colonoscopy?

In short, no. But a strong dose of Mag. Citrate should empty the small bowel and leave you to wash out the large intestine. You MUST have an empty small bowel, or it will leak contents into the large bowel over time and give an unclean field to scope.

There are three main classes of laxative agents. They are:

1. Bulks

2. Irritants

3. Lubricants

Examples are:

Bulks - - A good enema

Irritants - Soap

Lubricants - Mineral, olive, or cooking oil

I'll add a fourth one which is not so widely recognized but widely recommended is Colon Hydrotherapy.

All of this can be defeated by eating a couple of good meals and loading the GI tract. There is a much wiser route to follow. That is fasting two or three days before the colonics. Also remember that laxatives are poisonous chemicals butt, "An enema a day keeps the Doctor away.

73, Bill/K2MMW

I asked my GI specialist if a colonic irrigation would be acceptable before the exam and she replied that it would not be enough to thoroughly clean me out. "you have to clean out from the top down as well as the bottom up".

I just had my first one done yesterday and it was very much like self-induced flu. My prep was to drink half gallon of the stuff at 6pm and the other half gallon at 4am. I got the first half gallon down and was pretty proud of myself until an hour later when I started throwing up and then having two hours of stomach pains after that. Only got a quart down at 4am and finished with an enema to be on the safe side. My pics from the procedure showed I was clear.

In order to cleanse the bowels completely in my experience it is the best to swallow 2 oz Castor Oil, this early in the morning, not having breakfasted: Take about 1 oz Castor Oil in your mouth and mix this there with your saliva for 15 minutes before swallowing this; afterwards repeat this with the second dose of 1 oz Castor Oil and you will have swallowed the recommended total dose of 2 oz Castor Oil in a very acceptable manner. About one hour later the bowel movement will begin.

I can't think of anything more gross than having an ounce of ANY type of oil in my mouth for 15 seconds, let alone 15 minutes. . . and do this twice?. . . I'd rather die in a fire.

Switchablesusie

For me it is no problem in realizing this, this since a long time; I suppose that taking Castor Oil in this manner is a question of getting used to.

After reading through the thread, I think the answer is that enemas alone can't do the cleanout for a colonoscopy prep. I had my first one two years ago and my biggest problem is that I can't drink (or eat) anything that I have a problem with. SS hit on this with the not being about to drink any type of oil or hold it in her mouth. My copay on the "rocket juice" was $75 (the particular brand recommended by the doctor, conveniently preprinted prescription by the company making the product) and I didn't see paying that much for something I knew I'd throw up. A friend of mine at work has colon issues and he recommended Mirlax (or the generic equivalent). I asked if I could use this and was told no, I could not. However, it is what my friend used all the time. It mixes in with other drinks and you don't even know it is there. I tried it in coffee and Diet Coke and I couldn't tell it was there. Long story short, I fasted for three days, used Mirlax and several enemas and was good to go. That worked for me. Sadly, the Demerol made me sick and I got the dry heaves after the procedure and had no desire to eat anything for another 6 hours, but they didn't find anything. Just my experience.

I'm on the 5 yr plan, 3 procedures behind me now, yes I drink that crap and mix with something I can tolerate, though not manatory, I still do a series of enemas the morning of as it just ensures a complete cleanout, besides it's enjoyable and want good test results!

Actually, not really!

The stomach releases a part of it's content into the small intestine about every 15 minutes, and likewise the small intestine releases part of it's contents to the large intestine at about the same interval, although almost never in sync,

Given that the real world retention time for a cleansing enema is 15 minutes, an enema BY ITSELF is not going to COMPLETELY clear the bowels

The hardest part to clear, and the part where food actually moves the slowest is the small intestine, and that is the part the enema does not reach

The best way to clear the bowel is to start by clearing the stomach by fasting, at least for 12 hours, longer if you can.

Then you have options

While bisacodyl supposedly acts only on the large intestine, in high doses it does speed things up enough that the effect is felt in the small intestine as well.

The reason it normally only works on the small intestine is because the coating is made to dissolve in alkaline but not in acid, The stomach is an acid environment the large intestine is an alkaline environment.

About two hour before taking the bisacodyl you can drink some baking soda water, then 2 hours after that take the high dose of the bisacodyl, and the enema another 2 hours after that.

That way the coating on the bisacodyl tablets will dissolve in the mall intestine an tart working up there.

Another is to take the enema first, an when you get to a clear return as soon as you are able to keep it down, drink a magnesium citrate. In about two hours after you do that what is coming out will be from the mall intestine.

Yellow discharge, "like peeing out your butt" with no food scraps IS a clear return, That is the gastric juices from the stomach and small intestine

So, bottom line: Fasting clears the stomach. Enemas clear the large intestine. Laxatives clear the small intestine, even those that supposedly only work on the large intestine

That said, everybody makes their own decisions. Define your objective.

Enemas do not go far enough up to do any good as has been pointed out. You have to drink the laxatives and in my case they worked very quickly. I thought the whole thing was no big deal and don't have to do another for 10 years. I do know a nurse who has had pre cancerous polyps cut out and she goes in every year. She drinks the stuff and does an enema just to be sure she is clean. She was my late partners sister and knew I was an enema guy and she would always tell her sister to tell me she gave herself an enema. Beatch is all I can say!

I can deal with something pretty benign like Miralax, but Castor Oil or most any other purgative in my mouth for any period of time would just result in vomiting. No thanks! I once had a solution just to drink for several cups but it was the most bitter substance I could ever conceive of and it almost came back up several times. That's when I switched to MgCitrate (not TOO terrible but not really palatable) or Miralax dissolved in a flavored drink. I'd much rather add enemas rather than drink any more of anything than necessary.

Eric

The prep for my first colonoscopy was with MgCitrate with a water enema before leaving for the procedure. The next two were with MgCitrate alone and the last three were with Miralax and Dulcolax tabs. The last one, for some reason, did not clean me out sufficiently, but I have five years to to figure out why. I agree with @ericmacson, the MgCitrate was barely tolerable and anything other than that or Miralax would come right back up.

You could still use the system my Mom used for her Barium Enema as a 'teen

All the ingredients are still available.

Essentially here it is:

Day before{ Liquid only for breakfast. No milk or dairy. Clear soup, strained juice same as the modern colonoscopy preps except without the "nothing red" rule

1-pm at least 8 oz water, more is better.

3-pm One Fleet enema, in the Simms position. Since you have experience with enema you can ignore the 2-5 minute stuff and hold it as long a possible.

4-pm drink one 10 o bottle of magnesium citrate with plenty of water, Refrigerating the stuff overnight does help!

I kneel on a pillow in front of the toilet, in case it come right back up. ESPECIALLY with the cherry flavor which she had to force down and keep down. I have hear that the flavor was a lot stronger back then. Her strength is admirable!

I always use a stadium cup full of ice water, Magnesium citrate in my dominant hand and a stadium cup full of ice water in the other hand. sip of magnesium citrate sip of water, count to ten Repeat until there i no more magnesium citrate. Then while the aftertaste is subsiding drink the rest of the water in the stadium cup

You have about 45 minute that you can be any distance from the bathroom.

7-pm: take all six bisacodyl tablet with water. Swallow whole, do not chew!

5-am or at least two hours before leaving for your appointment 1 potassium bitartate suppository

Hold it in some water for 20 seconds then get it well up the rectum.

NO BREAKFAST: Coffee or water is OK

At that point the cleanout should be total

Before leaving, simple clothing that is easily removed.

In those days "no girdle" was right in the instruction sheet.

Her father also instructed her to bring a banana that he could eat on the way home.

That should do it!!