Originally Posted by Noah930 (Post 5823968)

There are two common ways to do the bowel prep. The more traditional is with Golytely. It comes flavored (but it's kind of like bitter tonic water--not like soda), and you have to drink 3 or 4 liters of it.

Another way is with Fleets Phosphosoda. It's much smaller--maybe just a couple hundred oz. Tastes like concentrated seawater. You chase it with generous amounts of water. From personal experience I'd highly recommend chilling it prior to ingestion (for minimizing the flavor). You buy two of these, take one, and if you're pooping clear by evening skip the second. If you're still fairly "brown," you take the second bottle.

I haven't taken the Golytely, but after having prescribed both ways for many people, I'd opt for the latter (Phosphosoda) method. Of course, there's more to it than just these two fluids--you have to stop eating solid foods the day before, stay on clears the morning before the prep, then consume water to prevent dehydration during the afternoon/evening of the prep.

Having been on the driver's end of the colonoscope, I'd say it's in the patient's best interest to be as compliant as possible to minimize the technical difficulty of the procedure. When the inside of your colon is coated in green slime (that's what it looks like--not brown) it's not impossible to miss a polyp or lesion.

Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 5823987)

OK - from my personal point of view, if the ins. co. pays for it my concern is my 20% + $1,000 (per year) + the hassle time + the thing up my butt...

are you a clinician? if so what practice area?

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv (Post 5822673)

The drink isn't pleasant or unpleasant - at least for me. I didn't think it would be possible for me to drink all that liquid and was amazed when it all went down. I think I dropped 3 to 5 pounds by the time I was entirely cleaned out.