Hi
I’m due a colonoscopy next week and wondered what other people have done about their steroids. The prep leads to bowel evacuation. I’m currently on 7.5 msg. Would it be worth doubling the dose or upping it to 10mgs a few days beforehand? Any tips gratefully received!
Personally I wouldn’t up it before because that would just serve to depress any adrenal function I have. However, on the PMR front others might argue you should. On the day I might give myself an extra couple of mg because I find that kind of thing so stressful. After that I would do absolutely nothing else that day and take the next day easy, but that’s just me, not medically based.
Thanks Snazzy - that’s very helpful x
What time is your appointment? And when are you to start the prep?
The appointment is for 13.45. Moviprep to be taken at 7pm the night before, second dose 6am the day of the procedure.
Hum, bit inconsiderate!!!
If it were me, I would take the dose before going to bed, once the events of the evening have subsided, so to speak, That gives it plenty of time in the stomach to be absorbed - plain tablets only need about an hour. Or you could take it at 4,30-ish before starting the prep as the same applies but that makes the night a bit short. After the morning prep is finished isn't ideal but could also work if they allow it. I would ask the advice of the unit - usually they say taking medication is OK with water but it also has to be there long enough to be absorbed so relating to the pred is needed!
And I'd take a half dose after the thing is finished - a morning appointment is so preferable 
Thanks! All good fun but I do have uncoated tablets and think I can fiddle the timings along the lines you suggest. I gather Moviprep is a form of cement blaster - lemon flavoured 😂. Can’t wait 🥳
Vile stuff! You get the plain version here, mix with apple juice is the recommendation. Bleugh! Don't go far from the loo! Like a few metres ...
😂😂😂. Bleugh is such a good word…
Isn't it 
I had a morning appointment for my colonoscopy and took my pred dose afterwards at the clinic with a welcome cup of tea and a biscuit. You should have been sent a leaflet explaining the procedure and with instructions re medication. If you didn’t receive one of these you could ring the clinic for instructions.
Good luck and if you try to relax and breathe steadily concentrating on your breathing that will really help. I felt discomfort at one stage for a brief time and breathed through it but nothing alarming.
Thanks very much. I did ring the clinic but I don’t think they have a clue about Pred. Blood thinners and statins no problem 😀
But a tablet is a tablet - needs to be in situ long enough to be absorbed,
Couldn’t make it up, could you?
when I informed the doctor that I was taking Pred he added Hydrocortisone via my cannula. Had he explained his thinking, I would be able to be more helpful. I found watching the procedure on the screen both interesting and reassuring, oddly distracting too. The doctor removed 6 polyps, completely painless. The prep was definitely the worst bit - such an unpleasant nuisance I felt. I had the camera version too which I preferred but I still had to drink litres of unpleasant liquid. I believe that this is under review and something more patient friendly is being devised. Good luck!
If the Moviprep is under review SJ that’s great news. I had one sigmoidoscopy, two colonoscopies and one polypectomy prior to GCA and the prep was the worst part of it. Had several polyps removed and will have a monitoring colonoscopy in two years as two polyps were potentially cancerous. Unlike you I couldn’t face looking at the screen but then I’m a wimp!
I looked all pink and healthy inside, I was oddly pleased.
You were braver than I was, kept my eyes closed
After hers, a friend said she imagined it was like colonic irrigation. She too quite enjoyed the feeling of being thoroughly cleansed afterwards. Unfortunately my appointments meant getting up very early hours to drink the Moviprep so I was just relieved it was over. I do remember being given a cuppa and biscuit afterwards. Never has a cuppa and biscuit been so welcome.
Thanks lovely SJ -all answers gratefully recieved!
Hi. I queried this a few weeks ago with the Endoscopy Department who were due to do my colonoscopy. They referred me back to my GP saying he was the prescribing doctor for the steroids. But my GP said that my care on the day was the responsibility of those carrying out the procedure and decisions should rest with consultants, anaesthetists etc. In the end he rang the department for me and discussed it with the consultants. At 2.5mg they decided I would not need to increase my dose. Hope that points you in the right direction to find out.
Thanks Florrie - so hard to get answers! Thanks for the reassurance 😀
A tip I was given during the preparation period was to make up the Moviprep an hour early, leave in fridge or add lots of ice cubes to cool it. I also added a tiny bit of lime juice. This made it more palatable. The prep an hour before was useful when I had to drink it at 4.00 am, six hours before the procedure. In that case I made it up before I went to bed. Good luck. It’ll be over before you know it. It’s just the faff beforehand with the preparation and no fibre diet. I was very strict with it as I wanted to ensure everything was clear for the camera. Polyps are funny critters and cannot always be seen easily, hence me requiring a colonoscopy a week after the sigmoidoscopy. I then needed a polypectomy two weeks after the colonoscopy. It was a fun month - not!
Oh crumbs. I shall be clinically squeaky clean. I can't imagine going through the prep three times in almost as many weeks. I do hope it all ended well. Thanks for the moviprep tips - nothing like a bit of cement to get you going ...🤣
It ended well and you will be squeaky clean!
👍 😘 Glad it was a happy ending after all the bleurghy yuk 😱
Adrenal insuffiency and Colonoscopy and Endoscopy 
Colonoscopy advice please
Colonoscopy Whilst on Steroids 
update on my post about my colonoscopy on August 6th while on 3.5mg of Prednisolone.
