Colonoscopy Miralax/Dulcolax Vs Golytely

I am scheduled to have a colonoscopy. I have AFIB and was reading on this forum that I should take GoLytely for my bowel prep. My doctor told me to take Miralax/Dulcolax. I asked him about taking Golytely because of my AFIB and he told me that Miralax/Dulcolax is the same thing and I don't need to take Golytely. I just wanted to ask about this here...is this the case? Thank you!

GoLytely is mostly the same as Miralax in that it has the polyethylene glycol. But Miralax doesn't have the electrolytes that GoLytely does. I don't think you'll get the same effect using just Miralax alone. I would ask for the GoLytely. And if you do take Miralax don't take it with Gatorade or any other sports drink containing food coloring. Water only. Food colorings will stain your gut and give the endoscopist a lot of false indications.

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wolfpack
And if you do take Miralax don't take it with Gatorade or any other sports drink containing food coloring. Water only. Food colorings will stain your gut and give the endoscopist a lot of false indications.

It's only red/purple liquids that need to be avoided. The green version of Gatorade would be okay. However, I'd recommend against Gatorade anyway because it's nothing but expensive sugar water with absolutely trivial amounts of electrolytes. I would suggest coconut water instead.

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Carey

And if you do take Miralax don't take it with Gatorade or any other sports drink containing food coloring. Water only. Food colorings will stain your gut and give the endoscopist a lot of false indications.

It's only red/purple liquids that need to be avoided. The green version of Gatorade would be okay. However, I'd recommend against Gatorade anyway because it's nothing but expensive sugar water with absolutely trivial amounts of electrolytes. I would suggest coconut water instead.

The biggest issue with coconut water is the taste to me. I do not like the taste at all! Lol
Also I would definitely request GoLytely from my experience. The Ducolax has always gave me and the wife stomach cramps. GoLYTELY was definitely user friendly if that’s possible for a Colonoscopy prep.
I drank green Gatorade with potassium mixed with it plus homemade chicken broth to watch the sodium.

Thanks a lot for the information everyone. I think I will insist on the GoLytely. Also I will contact the electrophysiologist because I thought he was supposed to communicate with the gastro doc, but perhaps he (electro) is not aware of the difference between GoLytely and Miralax.

Fair enough George, In review of your points above, I agree, the topic does have enough relevance to AFIB to remain on the Afibbers forum. Initially, it looked to me like it was mostly another colonoscopy thread, which while important for sure, would often warrant posting in General Health were it not for the focus on the electrolyte/AFIB question that I initially overlooked. Thanks for the heads up George!

I'm just back home from 5 days out of town with Magdalena and several long time friends visiting us from Hawaii (where I lived 38 years of my adult life) on their first visit to northern Arizona, and have just now had time to catch up with the forum.

The second related topic below that I posted originally is relevant over all, and thus, Ive left that portion below even though it is not directly related to colonoscopy or electrolytes.

Also, just as another friendly reminder on Afibbers Forum posting considerations. It is always good forum ‘form’ ... and courteous to other new posters too...for those who wish to explore many different questions and different topics on Afibbers Forum to please try to consolidate their various threads and posts into fewer total number of new threads started on the home page of Afibbers Forum by any individual poster.

Please just include other new posts or topics within existing threads that the poster may have started previously, in order to allow more space on the home page for other new posters to start their own threads that will have a chance to stay visible on the home page long enough to solicit reply's and answers from our many active posters to the comments of our new posters before their threads get pushed off the main first page too quickly. This can happen, inadvertently, due to too many individual, stand-alone threads being started in relatively rapid succession by a poster when some of their topics could easily have been combined within a fewer number of their existing threads.

If a poster starts too many separate threads on the front page, it can prevent other folks threads and questions from getting proper attention before their comments slide to quickly off the home page.

I’m not at all suggesting that very active posters must curtail posting of many different topics. Not at all, I’m just asking that everyone take a moment before starting many new threads in relatively short order, and to please try to combine whatever topics they may wish to explore into one or more of their own existing threads first, and thereby give more room for other new posters to submit and follow their own topics of interest as well, while those threads are still visible on the home page.

Thank you for everyone’s cooperation in this regard. I know from the many comments I’ve received over the years from a fair number of mostly new posters to our forum, that they much appreciate it when their own input gets heard and replied too in a timely manner, as we all can understand.

Best wishes,
Shannon



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2019 04:06PM by Shannon.

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Shannon
And just as another FYI for everyone, this is a perfectly good thread topic above, but it is better suited to be posted in the General Health Forum rather than Afibbers Forum. I will leave i’m the thread where it is through the coming weekend and then I will move this thread to the General Health Forum with a link from this home page location for easy follow up with this topic for those wishing to follow this thread longer term.

I disagree that this belongs in General Health. I think because of the electrolyte connection to afib, it is perfectly appropriate here and we've discussed this here before. You are the moderator, but this is my two cents.

George

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GeorgeN

And just as another FYI for everyone, this is a perfectly good thread topic above, but it is better suited to be posted in the General Health Forum rather than Afibbers Forum. I will leave i’m the thread where it is through the coming weekend and then I will move this thread to the General Health Forum with a link from this home page location for easy follow up with this topic for those wishing to follow this thread longer term.

I disagree that this belongs in General Health. I think because of the electrolyte connection to afib, it is perfectly appropriate here and we've discussed this here before. You are the moderator, but this is my two cents.

George

I agree with both Shannon and George in that I know and agree with what Shannon is driving at in his post overall and I also agree with George that Patrick has AF and colonoscopy prep badly done could easily bring an episode of AF on so relevant enough for this forum.

Anyway, it would seem that GoLightly is the way to erm... 'go' as it were!

My GI doctor likes a full bottle of miralax but my last was 10 years ago so he might had changed his protocol. I’m way overdue. I usually in the past take with coconut water like Casey suggested. Is there a concern for the overall natural sugar content? I happen to love coconut water but I found in my past AF episodes, there was a pattern for me, in a spike of high glucose in my labs. I then found Harvest Bay coconut water. Somehow the sugar level is lower @4 grams sugar and I found the taste second to best.
[www.walmart.com]
I get it at a health market.

Go to drugs.com and do an interaction test with your current meds. Miralax interacted with my drugs. Maybe yours?

Correction: It’s Carey, never Casey. Very bad case of double vision down and shifting to right where C and S are located on my iPhone. Sorry Carey...took a while to type this

No worries. For future reference, it's easiest to edit a question to fix mistakes. Just click/tap the "Edit" link beneath the post.

Patrick, I so appreciate your question at this time as I too have Afib and have been postponing my much-needed colonoscopy due to the effects of electrocytes with the prep! Most afibbers avoid anything that would trigger an episode that could end with a trip to the ER! Again, thank you for your question, as I too got answers that I have needed. I will ask for the GoLytely and drink plenty of Coconut Water. Colonoscopy preps are a real concern for those of us afib sufferers. Colonoscopies before Afib,no problem. However, with Afib, that is a different story.

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Carey

I would suggest coconut water instead.

Is this for the potassium? If so, couldn't you take water with potassium gluconate powder mixed in (for those that don't like coconut water)?

Travis