Hi everyone! Sorry to post so much recently! As some of you know I have a colonoscopy booked for Monday coming! Reading your encouraging words and hearing your personal experiences have eased my mind a bit so thanks so much to all of you for your replies! Anyway to get to my point, I have my prep day "clear out" tomorrow and absolutely dreading that partly because I've read a lot of people saying that the picolax made them vomit!! I have a fear of throwing up so now I'm even more worked up! Is there an way to avoid throwing up? Also from what I've read online most people only get given 2 sachets of picolax and I've been given 3?... I assume once your bowel movements start running clear on near enough that your bowel is empty, is this correct? Thanks in advance for reading and replying!!
Picolax and vomiting? Help!! : Hi everyone... - IBS Network
Picolax and vomiting? Help!!
Picolax did not make me sick or even nauseus. I was expecting to feel like you do when you have gastroenteritus but I felt completely fine.....just needed to go to the loo a lot. Also, I was expecting it to work straight away but in my case it took 2 hours to work. I had 3 sachets. Took one mid day. One that night and one in the morning. Have you got instructions?
Thanks for your reply! I do have instructions, I'm meant to have one sachet at 2 one at 6 and one on the day. The thing is that I have awful diarrhoea anyway every day so I was thinking of just having one sachet tomorrow and one on the day. Once it runs more or less clear does this mean your pretty much cleared out?
Try drinking it through a straw and add some squash to help the taste.
Personally I would take both tomorrow and miss the Monday one if you think you don't need it. I've only ever had two doses so no idea why you have been given three, seems a bit overkill !
Got my straws ready! What instructions were you given? Did you take both sachets the same day? And If so was it the day before?
I've always had an early morning appt so took the stuff day before, can't remember exact instructions as it's been a few years since my last one.
Good luck
Hey Bantam! I just wondered how long it took for the picolax to work for you? I finished drinking my first sachet at about 4.15 and it's now 7.20 and still nothing! I'm getting a bit concerned that it's not going to work! All that's happens is bubbly tummy with a bit of gas!
Have you had the second lot yet ?
Always works quickly for me, within an hour.
I guess all you can do is wait, something should happen sometime.
It has finally started! I thought it would be much quicker as I suffer from daily diarrhoea which is why I'm having the colonoscopy in the first place! Once it runs clear doe s that mean I'm cleaned out enough?
👍
Best to take as much as you can then you know it's worked properly but you will know pretty much if your done !
I wasn't sick when I had it. I had to drink 2 jug fulls of the stuff before my colonoscopy. Make sure you take the sedation before you have it done. Because my bowel was so long and loopy I found it very painful. I was diagnosed with slow transit constipation after and the prep didn't clear out my bowel to look the whole way up. I have since had 1/3 of my bowel removed as I kept getting volvolus causing bowel obstruction. Best of luck with yours. I'm sure it will be more straight forward than mine was.
Hi there.picolax 2 sachets is what I had .one at about 6pm stopped going to toilet before bedtime.next one 6am ,appointment was 3:45pm drinking it is no problem .i was constipated so going to the toilet was the worst bit for me.please don't worry it tastes ok .i just drank it without straw or gagging .its flavoured .i had mild sedative but was awake talking to nurses and watching screen.and I am the worlds biggest worrier and baby .you will be absolutely fine and the bonus is you get to find out your problems..good luck .
Thanks for your reply! I have diarrhoea all the time anyway so just hoping it doesn't make me feel any worse than that!! When you say mild sedative was that gas and air as that's what I have been offered? How long did the effects of picolax last for you? Also how many hours before your colonoscopy did you stop eating?
I had a cannula in arm because nurse could not find a vein in hand .when I went in consultant put in the sedative .i was in private clinic in uk .they never discussed what type of pain relief but seeing how stressed I was probably decided for me !! In USA they seem to be different .cant understand why they don't do picolax which is by far the best option.picolax took at 6 pm and it stopped about 9 but went to bed at 10.30 just to make sure .then next morning took second sachet.hope this helps .why not ring up and ask what other options you have .
Picolax should be ready flavoured (usually orange) and you only have a small glass of it. Kleen prep and movi prep are the nasty ones that you have to put into a litre of water and drink quickly. If you only have picolax your onto a winner as it's just like orange cordial. If you have kleen prep or movi prep mix it with plenty of cordial ( limes best) and a bit of water as it tastes like vanilla salt water and can make you nauseous, but this usually happens if you take the picolax and you haven't had a bowel movement before the kleen prep/movi prep as you have to drink a glass every 15 minutes and can bloat you up. Once the picolax has started to work i used to drink a glass between bowel movements so it's like one glass in one glass out kind of thing lol. I have emet and panicked for weeks before my bowel prep and was fine , just relax and watch tv or read a book and make sure your near a toilet.
I guess I'm lucky to have picolax then haha! That is a relief that it's only a few small glasses! Do you know how long the effects of picolax last? I really dont want to be awake in the night with it still going on!!
Hope everythings going ok? Picolax can take anything from 10 mins to an hour to work but try and drink clear fluids to replace those that you lose. Don't take dioralyte though as it may replace electrolytes but will also stop you going to the loo!
Keep us posted and good luck.
Your endoscopist wants you to have 3 sachets I would follow that advice . I have had pico lax three times with three and wasn’t sick - the action takes place in the bowel so you shouldn’t be sick especially if you’ve reduced your diet to low residue , this helps the picture but also your tolerance . I know it’s a frightening procedure and feels yucky but calm yourself down And do something you enjoy before you start taking the picolax . People who have lots of loose stools usually need more prep especially for good imaging in the terminal ileum .
I’m not going to lie , once you’ve had it , stay near a toilet but try and retain each dose for as long as you can . It’s then kind of explosive and if you can get some plain dioralyte or not red Powerade that helps you feel better But at the very least try to drink the volume in water you’ve lost . The thing that helped me was a comment a colleague made “ do you think we don’t see people open their bowels lol it’s our job to know how and we are quite used to nerves 😊 it’s not like you are giving birth you are just gonna have a day that you’re on the loo and don’t feel brilliant . So please try not to worry you aren’t likely to be sick and do try all 3 sachets . If there’s a pocket in the bowel and that third sachet would have cleared away the Pooh it’s possible you may have to do it again . I’m sure you don’t want that . Best of lucky 🍀 and relax if you can x And yes they can wash some Pooh away but the wall of the gut can be think And they won’t suck away then , risk v benefit
Ps gas and air is brilliant and better than injections 🐈 picolax normally keeps ya going for a3 hours post dose . Don’t worry and remember this is one surgery where you get the results the same day x
I had moviprep at Home ,threw it up and had a reaction after half the first litre , so went in overnight and was given picolax. Much easier ,and I chuck at the drop of a hat and I didn’t lol. Less to take made it much easier
I had Picolax and It didn't make me vomit but my sister had it and she vomited. She was okay with first sachet but was sick after 2nd. If you don't take it all you bowl won't be clear and then they won't be able to put camera far enough into your bowel. My sister had this happen so she has to go and do it again. They gave her different stuff to drink for the next time. She has to go back in 4 weeks to try again.
Good luck. I had picolax for my first colonoscopy and moviprep for the 2nd. I followed the instructions to the letter. Neither prep was nice but not that bad either. I felt more like throwing up with moviprep than picolax - just get on and take it the best you can. It’s better to be completely cleared out than have to go back again or not be sure they could check everything. They have found pre cancerous polyps both times and removed them. I wouldn’t have wanted them to miss any just because I had not done the prep properly.
Hi all. It would be helpful to let you know the relevant information regarding the differences between Picolax and Moviprep. I didn't know I had any problems until ten days after 9/11. when my Colon ruptured big time. 2 1/2 meters had to be removed. and I was in intensive care for a few days as my organs shut down. mind you. I didn't feel very musical anyway. I had yet another op a year later when complications ensued. which was when I started on Bowell preps. I have since had 6 Colonoscopies and 1 endoscopy. I'm due to have yet another colonoscopy tomorrow. I make jokes about it but it is serious. They have given me one or other of those preps each time. very little in the way of studies has been done until now. The University of Wales has recently done quite a decent study to work out which treatment was best and were there any variations, and did some patients react better to one than over the other? Picolax is given usually when evacuation is needed quickly. Moviprep is slower but some find it unpleasant due to the high volume to drink. and it doesn't taste quite so good. and some were given both.
Its been found the Picolax doesn't always clear the bowel clearly enough. and Moviprep has to be taken in addition. this is usually given as two doses a couple of hours apart. but I personally find it next to impossible to drink 4 pints in a day let alone 4 hours. I've taken my picolax tonight at 17:00 hrs. in 6 hours I had 4 bouts of Diarrhea and feel purged. But whether it has all been swept out is open to debate. so they want me to have Moviprep at 7 am and another at 9 am. It shouldn't take long to get to the hospital then as all I need to do is tie myself to a skateboard and jet power will get me there at the speed of sound. None of them has even made me vomit or even nauseous. I have had heavy doses of I assume Picolax in the morning before the op. But its too violent like that and makes one sore. so taking it over the longer period is kinder to your body. in addition, the Moviprep contains salts and electrolytes to help keep the body in balance which is very important when under sedation. I had enough pain on the first op. wasn't interested in experiencing it again especially as I also have arthritis in the spine and right hip. (and they all said Hip Hip Hooray) . I also have Fibromyalgia. which is a cocktail of things to make me live in a world of pain. my Diverticulitis which caused the rupture gives me constant Diarrhea and only a heavy dose of painkillers keeps it under control. the most painful bit is having to stop taking them 7 days leading up to the op. Dihydrocodeine is my main killer and it turns into Morphine in the body. so you can imagine i'm in a lot of pain right now. keeping to the diet helps as it means less to evacuate out the bowel. preparation is key to getting through this as painlessly as possible. not everyone is going to get through this well but the majority will. Hope you all get well as soon as possible. or at least keep as well as is possible. Andy
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