Another correspondent went through the prep day for her own colonoscopy today, which leads me to the following two additional tips, both relating to the TriLyte solution.
First, the orange may in fact be slightly, slightly more palatable than the citrus-berry I had. Second, one of the nurses suggested to my spouse that she use a little powder from one of the unused flavor packets occasionally at the rim of the glass to give a little extra flavor. She notes that that does in fact help a little.
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1 – 200 of 310 Newer› Newest»I used the orange, as suggested here. I didn't think it tasted that bad. I drank the whole thing but then I threw up six times, so it didn't get to my colon, apparently, and I have to keep fasting and take another cleaner called Fleet tomorrow night to try the procedure again Friday.
I tried some pineapple at the rim of my glass. It tasted very bitterly of artificial sweeteners (I like my men like I like my Trilyte flavor packet . . . . ) and I gave up on the flavor packets without a second thought. I prefer the potassiumy back-flavor of ice cold plain liquid to the saccharine.
I'm an endoscopy tech at a colonoscopy center. I've done 1000's of colonoscopies, and had one myself, using TriLyte. Here are a couple of tips for TriLyte and the other PEG solutions.
You can flavor it with Crystal Lite or any other sugar free drink mix, as long as it's not red.
Don't sip it, drink it down quickly.
Chase it with ginger ale, it cuts the potassium taste. Biting a lemon is also effective.
If you feel bloated, slow down to a glass every 15 or 20 minutes. You don't have to drink it every 10 minutes.
Drink other clear liquids until midnight. (Broth, tea, clear soda, apple juice, water..) The more fluids you can consume the better. Nothing after midnight.
One more thing, schedule your colonoscopy as early in the morning as possible so you don't have to fast all day.
This worked for me: I used pineapple, but the trick was to get it cold as possible - to the point ice is starting to form. After pouring put Suran wrap over the glass, poke a straw through and place it in the back in the mouth. Not having to smell the stuff did wonders for me - and I gag easily.
I went through the TriLyte prep and it wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad either. I drank through a straw pushed well back on my tongue so that it mostly just went down my throat with a minimum of tongue contact. But the real secret...(dramatic pause)...
...was that I put a lemon drop in my cheek. I took three or four gulps trying not to taste the fluid, then I would roll the lemon drop around on my tongue for a few seconds. Then it was back in my cheek for the next time. You are allowed hard candy as long as it is not red. I also bit into lemon afterward, but I don't think that did much. The lemon drop was what made it work.
--Mark
I think all the flavors are pretty awful. I had a colonoscopy today and what helped w/ the prep last night was to rotate between the following "chasers" right after drinking some of the TriLyte: Ginger Ale, Water, White Grape Juice, Chicken Soup Broth.
Good luck to anyone going through it!
Glad I found this blog. Anonymous #1, thanks for the Crystal Lite idea. I drink 2 quarts of CL tea every day so I'll do what you suggest. When I gag the stuff down I say "here's to Anonymous", then chug.
Wow, I'm so glad my husband found this blog for me. I've done Fleet before and it was FAR less fluid than TriLyte so I'm dreading the TriLyte today. I'm going to try Anonymous' tip with the lemon drops! I will report back, thanks!!!
UGH, you'd think they would come up with a better way to do this by now!
Here's is a helpful tip that I hope will help someone other than me. Definitely use a straw to drink the TriLyte. It is so awful this will help you drink it quickly. Also, try a spearmint in your mouth as you drink. I have my procedure tomorrow and thanks to a tip on this site that suggested a lemon drop (hard candy) all I have was a spearmint. It's helping. I have more than 2/3 of the jug gone and just about maybe three or four glasses left to go. Still no clear bowel. Is there such a thing?? I am struggling to drink but the spearmint and straw is helping more than the flavor pack they gave me (Cherry is the one I used). I've chased with juice, dr. pepper and it doesn't help much. I'm praying for clear stools soon! Please God!
Thanks for all your tips! I have to do this on May 12th and I'm already freaking out!!!
SOO glad to find this site. Having the procedure Fri April 17. They are also doing a gastroscopy. My past colonoscopies were done using that stuff that was taken off the market. I never had a problem with using it and am NOT looking forward to drinking this stuff. Will let you know which of the ideas worked for me.
does it have to be clear as water or what? my stools are watery but, they are yellowish like urine color.
Anon: I am not a doctor, but I think a little yellowish color is okay, I had it myself and I believe what you're seeing is bile.
thanx joe
Just had my last glass of trilyte and here is what worked for me. I had a lot of anxiety about this prep. I got 6 (maybe 7) 1pt9oz empty water bottles and filled them with the solution. I bought crystal lite packets that are made for the water bottles. I used Natural honey lemon green tea, natural lemonade and white grape. White grape I liked the best but all were ok. If you don't want it too sweet add 1/2 the packet. I put them in the frig. At first I laid them on ice but that was tooo cold for me. I sucked on the lemon drops before and after each glass. a bottle pours 2 glasses. I also munched on a banana popsicle. Nurse said I could drink 1 glass every 20 min. and that worked well. I really enjoyed throwing the empty bottles!!! I celebrated each conquest.
I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Friday and I am already hysterically upset about the prep. I'm a 28 y/o female and I have IBS so I have a sensitive stomach and diarrhea all the time. I'm worried about choking the trilyte down. My doc is having me drink a 10 oz. bottle of magnesium citrate at 11am and then starting the trilyte at 4pm - i was told i have to drink at least half and can stop when "running clear." I have a hard time drinking Airborne and gag with every sip, and I am so nervous I am going to have a really rough go of it on Thursday when I prep. I don't know which flavor packet i would prefer - can i mix each glass separately so I can try all of them and see what works better? all the instructions i have read say to mix the packet in when you mix the solution but i dont know what they'll taste like. Any advice, please let me know!!!! Good luck to everyone!
E*shie,
I haven't had opportunity to try all the suggestiosn here, but I think I'd try the lemon drop or a ginger ale chaser next time if it were me.
Best of luck!
--Joe
Last week I did a prep called nylyte where I had to drink half of the gallon, I went through the whole clear liquid diet and every thing and the prep did not work until ll:00 the next day and I had a 8:00 appointment that I had to cancel, it was awful lots of bloating and gas pains, so I suggest to drink as much fluid as possible...
I just finished my Trilyte about 2 hours ago. I used the Lemon-Lime flavor packet. I didn't find it bad at all. It just amazed me how quickly 15 minutes come around. Just chug it down... it's not bad. Having some chicken bouillon now. Procedure is in the morning.
So my doc had me drink a 10 oz bottle of magnesium citrate at 11 am - i start the tri-lyte at 4pm. i drank the magnesium which was really lemony and really fizzy and made me all bloated, but it started working after about 30 minutes and now i am laying here with a pounding headache and nauseous. Hoping it passees before 4pm! i tried to eat some jell-o but it just grossed me out. So i'm still just sipping water. Can't wait for this to all be over with. Appt is tomorrow morning @ 7:30am. Good luck to anybody who has to go through this!
Just as a follow up - the trilyte was disgusting..... at first I was like - ok this isn't so bad..... then on glass 2 i tried to show off and just chug it down, and i started gagging...... SOO i waited longer between glasses, and literally had to stand while i did it b/c it was making me so bloated and nauseous i couldn't sit down.... but my trick to getting it down with minimal gagging: i held a cup of trilyte with a straw and in my other hand i held a cup of apple juice with a straw, and i would take a big swig of trilyte and then follow with a tiny sip of apple juice to cut the taste. I got to about halfway when i just couldnt take it anymore and couldn't stop gagging, but i was running clear, so i stopped. i was pretty much clear all evening - last time it was sorta yellowish, but i don't think there's anything else i can do. so good luck to everyone! hopefully everything worked so i can put this behind me (literally!)
I am so glad to hear that I'm not the only one sort of freaking out about the prep work. But this blog has been very helpful. This Thursday when I start the process I will try: drinking everything very cold, maybe flavoring it with the lemon-lime unless someone thinks the Crystal Light was a better choice, maybe trying a straw, and definitely using a lemon drop hard candy to cut the taste. I am eating light all week so I hope I run clear maybe 3/4 of the way through!! I vomit easily, so I hope that won't be the case! I'll blog during and after, too. Thanks everyone!
Great suggestions so here is what worked for me today:
-Lemon drop candies that I used both during and after each glass.
-Ginger Ale chaser after each glass (this did the trick)
-Spread things out 15-20 minutes between glasses.
-Get it as cold as you can (almost icy) No flavor packet is going to make it taste any better but this helps...
-Scheduled procedure first thing in the morning (have to be there at 6:30am).
By the time you finish your day of cleansing, you'll be begging for the colonoscopy which is pretty much a breeze!
I hope this helps someone else not go through what I went through. I used Moviprep split does. I drank the first liter and nothing,waited 9 hours then drank the 2nd liter.Drank over 2 gallons of water,gatorade,tea. Finally after 10 hours I had B.M. total of 4 and it wasn't clear. I was in hospital bed and nurse was about to put IV in and I said this was a piece of cake except for being up all night peeing but didn't have the B.M. for 10 hours. She got the Dr and he said they couldn't do it because I should have had 12 or 15 B.M. and it doesn't work for about 2% of people using it. To say the least I was Pissed and wanted to know why the don't put that in directions. Check with your Dr first about what if you don't go and how many times you need to go and how clear it must be before you have to go through all the hassle of getting through all the paperwork and getting into bed before finding out they can't do it. Now they want me to use the trilyte. Double dose and no eating for 48 hours. Still pissed about going through all of it so I canceled all test for a few years. Stupid I know but better than having heart attack getting pissed.
how can they expect someone to fast for 48 hours? i'm honestly freaking out about the day and a half i have to endure!
Anon: I found the fasting tolerable, being able to have some liquids and sugar makes it less bad than it would otherwise be.
It's no fun, but I've watched folks go through life with colostomy bags, I'll take the fast.
I am scheduled for my third every 5 years colonoscopy May 7. I just don't think I can stand the Trilyte. Is there no alternative? I may have to not do the colonoscopy. Can I just go on a fluid diet for 3 days and then use fleet? I have dreaded the fifth year anniversary and now it is here.
Melody,
I've heard that the fleet is actually worse than the trilyte (taste wise). It's not that the trilyte has a really offensive taste or anything - it's just slightly salty and kind of thick. The flavor packets barely taste like anything. My doctor told me I only had to drink half of it, which I did - I would talk to your doctor and see what he recommends.
Thanks for the tip on the Crystal Light. I am having my colonoscopy on May 4th, '09. My last one was 8 years ago and I woke up during the procedure; not enough anesthesia I suppose. Suffice to say that now I know what it is like to be in prison.
Today is the day I have to take the 10 oz of magnesium citrate at 10 am followed at 4ish with the trylite. My problem is that I have had a gastric bypass (done in 1977 for any of you newbies lucky enough for the laproscopic procedures) Anyways I dont think I can get it all down. Furhter the reason I'm having this in the 1st place is severe stomach pain. grr. I also have a hernia repair surgery the very next day. Brutal!
My colonoscopy is at 6:45. I did the whole three day liquid diet and now I have to finish the rest of the trilyte. I was told to drink half the gallon this evening but stopped when I threw up twice. At 3:45, I begun to drink the rest and I threw up again. It is really hurting my stomach. I can't stop belching. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't use lemon drops because im allergic. My stool was clear last night but this morning I drunk some broth and color came back. I'm not sure what color it is now cause the only thing I am doing is throwing up. I really hope that the doctors will be able to do the colonoscopy. I'm not sure of my problem yet but I know it got to have something to do with internal hemorrhoids. I'm 21 and scared as every. This problem is making me miss class and I really do think I failed this semester. I just pray for the strength to get through this. I wish everyone the best of luck with their situation!!
About to leave to go get mine done in about an hour. I have 2 tell everyone, magnesium citrate is much more intolerable than the trilyte. The only problem is that you have 2 drink soooo much of it. The smell is what ever flavor you used, and the taste is what ever flavor you used.....it is a little thick, like Sunny Delight, but it really isn't bad at all. I think psychologically, after reading this blog, I expected the worst. I drank 85% and haven't eaten anything in 2 days. I have no stools, just trilyte. I guess i'm ready. Let ya'll know how it went!
Prep-day today and I am not a happy camper! I am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy tomorrow morning 6:40am. Clear liquid diet all day and start the trilyte at 4pm. I want to hurl just thinking about it. Had this prep 6 years ago and remember it well! I will be trying some tips I found here and hopefully can get 'er DOWN. Mixed with crystal lite and will have lemon drops and broth nearby. Man will I be glad when Friday gets here!!
i agree that the magnesium citrate IS grosser than the "taste" of the trilyte - but you only have to drink one 10oz bottle of it. the thickness of the trilyte is what gets to me. after i was about 1/4 done, my body decided it was DONE and that's when it became a struggle to get it down and keep it down. good luck to everyone! i know it's hard, but at least you know you aren't alone!
These tips were helpful, especially the lemon drop idea. What really helped me was 2 days before, I put myself on a full liquid diet, then the next day was the clear liquid and it only took FOUR glasses of the awful trilyte to do the job!
Thanks for all your tips! My D-day has arrived (tomorrow AM) and I'm SO nervous that tonight I'm not going to be able to get this stuff down (and keep it down)! Wouldn't you think in this day and age the "professionals" could come up with some much better alternative? UGH!!!!
Working on the 'cleansing' as we speak and it sucks. With each additional cup you drink, you want to gag even more. But you try to get through it. It definitely makes you feel bloated, full, so no worries about feeling you maybe hungry even though you're flushing out. One thing that works for me is after each cup you drink, immediately gargle with Listerine. It takes the aftertaste away. I don't even know what it tastes like right now. Plus it makes you feel refreshed, as if you haven't been drinking this nasty stuff at all. I did pour purified COLD water in so that I did not drink it room temperature. I could see that tasting really gross. I also tried the orange flavor and it's not terrible.
I had a colonoscopy 2 1/2 months ago and was not completely cleaned out so I have to go through this all over again. Has anyone mixed TriLyte with Gatorade? I mixed Tropical Mango Gatorade with Sunkist Diet soda and it was good, so I am hoping it would help. Thanks!
I used the orange as suggested. The stuff tasted bogus. I didn't use a straw. I just gulped each glass of 8 oz down. It took 2-3 gulps. One thing I found helpful was to follow each glass (and some gulps) with a sip of cold chicken broth. It removed the bogus taste and also helped me control the gag reflex. I did not vomit once and gaged only a few times. The process sucks but it is well worth it. They removed two very small polyps and I am good to go. The actual procedure was fine. I remember talking to the anesthesiologist on my side in bed...then waking up and it was done with no pain. Hang in there folks...suck it up because its worth it...your doing it for your health. Good luck!
Anyone tried to mix in some 7up or Sprite?
WORST IDEA EVER. don't think of mixing it with kool aid. especially lemon lime kool aid. tasted like burnt carpet. chasing it with green tea was really nice though.
First let me say I am so grateful for these Trilyte Tips! I had my colonoscopy today and that part was a breeze! I had a good report thank the Lord! As for the prep, I used the suggesting of taking the empty water bottles and filling them with the Trilyte (I put 16oz in each bottle). Then I added one Crystal Lite to each bottle. I made sure they was good and cold before time to start my prep. Now the tip about drinking it every 20 minutes instead of every 10 minutes really helped. (I did this about 9 years ago and drank every 10 and got really sick.) I didn't not have any cramps or sick feeling and I used the baby wipes to keep the back side from getting sore! The taste was tolerable. Between each 8oz, I sucked on a mint. That helped sooooo much. Well I hope this helps someone like it helped me!
Had a Colonoscopy last month and was given HalfLyte with Bisacodl tabs.Dr. said to mix with Gatorade and that was a great suggestion.
All went well.
My husband goes tomorrow for his procedure and he was given TriLyte with the stool softeners tabs.
He is mixing his with Gatorade also.
His procedure is 9 am tomorrow. Thankfully we have no Memorial Day picnics to go to :)
This is my second time to do it in 3 years. The first time it took 11 hours until I had a bowel movement. I have so many bad memories from the first time that the second time is more mental than anything. I've been drinking it at room temp which isn't too bad and have been sucking on green apple jolly ranchers in between. I can't handle lemon flavor due to the first experience. I'm about half way through the jug and have thrown up twice and haven't had any bowel movements yet. I hope it doesn't take 11 hours this time!
Iam presently trying to gag down the remainder of my 4 liter bottle of trilyte. It is brutal. It takes every thing I have to keep from ralphing it up. There has got to be a better way. To expect any one to drink 4 liters of ANTI-FREEZE in one sitting is crazy. I looked the chemical up in this trilyte stuff, and it is indeed a type of anti-freeze, I guess thats why i thought it tasted like it. This just isn't right, I can't take another drink, I can't stand it any longer, what should i do?
Anon: Seriously, take an extra 15 minute break. Let the nausea subside, it won't make it much more palatable, but it will help enough to let you finish.
And just remember: You do *not* want to have to go through this again in a few weeks!
I have my procedure in the morning. I'm drinking the pineapple flavor. At first it wasn't bad but after the seventh glass I'm just about to puke. So far the suggestion of having something like mints or lemons drops in between glasses is helping a bit: I'm alternating between differnt flavors of Orbit gum. I'm halfway done but still no bathroom action--shouldnt it be working by now?
My first time with trilyte. Would people please say how long it takes to start working. Unfortunately, my appointment is in the afternoon. I'm supposed to take 1/2 the day before and then 1/2 four hours before the procedure. Since I have a long drive, I'm worried about taking the second half about two hours before I have to be in a car. Should I buy Depends? Thanks in advance for any advice.
JAN: If you take the second half of the liquid in the morning a few hours before you are supposed to leave (if that's consistent with the medical instructions you've been given), you shouldn't have any trouble.
OK. I did it. It is the morning after my TriLyte guzzle fest. I wanted you to know I survived -- all four liters of it.
First, I read this bog post before I did this. Thank you to all for allaying my concerns and helping me to get ready to do this.
Here's what I did.
I added orange. I mixed it at 9am and then started to drink it at 5pm. I held my nose and drank nine or ten 12 oz glasses with about 20 to 25 gulps each. Immediately afterward, I put the glass down, picked up a lemon lozenge, put that in my mouth and moved it around for about ten seconds, then I picked up cold chicken broth and drank a sip.
This worked. I never felt nauseous. Not once. And I got through the whole thing. It took about two or three hours.
The loose stool began about half hour or forty five minutes after the first glass. From there, it was all mostly yellow liquid. It mostly subsided before bedtime, about five hours later. (Well, ther was one last burst at night. So be close to the pot.)
I was instructed by my doctor to eat no solid food for the entire day before, and have only clear liquids. (Especially nothing red.) So I think that helped too.
It is now the morning before my colonoscopy. My first. it will happen in about two hours. I'm ready.
Folks, don't freak out about the TriLyte. Yeah, its gross. And it appears to consist in part of polyethylene glycol -- the same stuff I recall being in anti-freeze. But what I did worked, with no nausea.
Oh, and have a fleece or sweater ready after glass one or two. Drinking four liters of cold stuff fast makes you cold.
Thank you all again, and thanks to the blogger who set up this blog.
1st Timer: Thanks!
Im using trilyte now ive been on it for 2 hours and nothing is happening whats up with that??
I love your comments but can't have any kind of artificial sweeteners due to Interstitial cystitis (ulcers in bladder). Also can't have ginger ale, gatorade or chicken broth. Do the flavor packets have saccharin???
They told me at San Ramon Endoscopy to drink it from a large sports bottle. I bought a 32 oz-er - should be able to hold some of the solution. They also gave me a nausea pill to take an hour before hand - it freaked me out a little, but I'm just going to do it and get it over with.
Again - thanks for all these great comments! I'm going to print this and follow your tips.
Pamela: I don't know, I tried to look at the physicians info on the Trilyte web site but got no direct answer. I do remember that the complete ingredients were on the flavor packs themselves, and I'd want to double-check those in any case, but I can see you'd want to know in advance.
Wish I could be of more help.
Pamela,
I think I remember seeing that the flavor packets did contain saccharin. I'd double check, but I am pretty sure I do remember seeing that.
I am a pretty small woman (110 lbs). What I don't understand is why I have to drink the same amount as my husband, a 200-lb man. If I drank 4 to 6 oz every 20 to 30 minutes (closer to the children's dosage & schedule) would that be just as effective for someone my size????
I'm getting ready to start my trilyte experience. Man this like drinking 12 beers. I can do that, but invariably drinking that much of anything is going to cause problems down below.
Cant wait for this to be over
I made it!
Here a few tips for all you poor souls that are required to take 4L's of Trilyte.
1. Mix each glass with a little bit of crystal light (non red). Have a few flavors for variety. Its much better than the one packet of whatever they give you. It tastes horrible with that.
2. Keep in a very cold refridgerator.
3. You dont have to drink it all. I was told I had to but I couldnt finish it. 3L is usually good. Thats what I drank and everything went fine with the exam.
4.Dont worry about the exam, its defeintly the easy part.
Good Luck!
Just had my first colonoscopy today. I so appreciated all the comments about flavor tips, and just want to say thanks for turning me on to Crystal Light, and ginger ale chasers! FYI, the sugar on lemon drops will clog the scope - use sugar-free. I was never once nauseaous. It is important to try to finish in the time window they give you. I took my sweet time, and ended up having to chug 24 oz to make the midnight deadline; I was back/forth to the potty in the wee hours - didn't get much sleep. I don't remember anything about the procedure itself. They use Versed, generic for midazolam, a water-soluble benzodiazepine (amnesia-inducing drug). I wish I hadn't wasted so much energy worrying about the prep. It was an annoyance, but not much more. Bottom line: do the thing - and have the peace of mind to know that you're clean for another 10 years!
DAMN!!!! i love the internet!!!
thank God for this site/blog.
My girlfriend is going to have an endoscopy/colonoscopy tomorrow and was driving me nuts about how bad the Trilyte was tasting. I just googled, how to drink trylyte and found this site!
the lemondrop, ginger ale chaser worked for her as well as rimming the glass with crystal lite lemonade.
keep on posting. it really helps!
Well I survived my colonoscopy today. Thank you to all who mentioned using Crystal Light, it made ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!! It made the Trilyte very palatable. I used the Peach Mango Green Tea, Citrus Splash, and Strawberry, however don't make the mistake I made and get all of the Crystal Light with caffeine - needless to say, I was up all night... lol. There is still a slight after-taste which I drenched with a bit of lemon juice. I also took the advice of another and filled eight (yes 8!)16.9oz water bottles with the stuff and flavored each one as I went. This also made it easy to put them in the freezer for a minute or two to get them real cold. Even though the taste wasn't bad, by the 6th bottle I couldn't imagine being able to drink another drop, but somehow I got it all down in about 5 hours, (not the 3-4 hours doctor suggested)so don't freak out if you can't drink it all in 4 hours, all ended well.
I just had my first glass of Trilyte and I can't thank you enough, everyone who's posted here with tips. I had no problem drinking as long as I plugged my nose. The smell and the taste at the back of your throat both go away and it's essentially like drinking water. I'm using the orange flavor, which does not taste in the least bit orange, but putting a lemon drop in my mouth for a few seconds after the glass has helped a lot.
I want to chime in and say, thank goodness for this blog. Three quarters of the way through drinking the trilyte. Mixed it with peach flavored Crystal lite and chased it with a sip of ginger ale. Easy. Why don't the doctors, the medical assistants, the pharmacists, or trilyte provide these tips to patients? Gotta go...
One thing about the Crystal Light; it may not have the same electrolytes that the flavor packs have. Check with your doc. Green tea is not clear, they told me not to use it. Also, watch out for those lemon drops, the sugar coating can clog the scope - the nurse nearly freaked out when I told her I had 5 of them. But it came out ok.
thanks for the tips - i found them very helpful -- i put saran wrap over the glass and used a straw, which worked well for me -i also had a glass of ginger ale with me at all times when i was drinking the Trilyte - i used the lemon lime flavor pack -and it wasn't terrible, to me, just very salty -- off to bed so i can get up early tomorrow and finish drinking the rest 2 hours before my 8 a.m. appointment!
Whoa. They told me that you shouldn't have any liquids at least 6 hours before your procedure - to keep you from aspirating. Better check with your doctor..
Does anyone know if its ok that im pooping yellow stuff but in the yellow stuff theres like clearish slimey stuff in it...ive only eaten liquids today so idk why thats happening because it had ended with only yellow stuff coming out,, now its yellow and that other stuff coming out... :/
Thanks for all the hints. I probably researched and then stressed too much for this procedure. This was my first colonoscopy (I'm 65) and it was time to have it done. Good news--they found nothing!! Let me share my experience with the NuLyte prep. I mixed up the 4 liter bottle, poured it into several 16 oz.empty plastic water bottles, and flavored each one with the little packets of Crystal lite. For me, the orange was the best. I put all in the refrigerator, except for the one I was going to drink, and it went into the freezer for about 30 minutes. When it was time to start, I tried to drink the ice cold mixture quickly, kind of like chugging a beer. It went down easily. Then I repeated every 30 minutes. Overall, it wasn't a bad experience and I feel great about finally getting it done.
I wanted to come back to post here since I read this blog and took much of the advice. I'm not new to this procedure, this was I think my 5th or 6th colonoscopy and I have to do them every 2 years. But it had been years since I had to use this product as my Dr. used a much easier prep with the product that was taken off the market. I decided to follow the advice of pouring the trylyte into 16 oz bottles and I flavored them with a white grape generic target crystal lite. I actually do not think I even needed to do this because I used the straw trick and put the flexible straw all the way in the back of my mouth and just gulp the glass of stuff down, I really never even tasted it by doing it that way. That was really helpful. I also spread my intake to 15-20 minutes and I never felt sick. I still had about 5 -6 cups of solution left but my stool was clear so I called it quits. The other tip I used was that I used vaseline on my rectum BEFORE I started and reapplied each hour or so. This was so helpful and I never got sore at all. This really wasn't as bad as I was anticipating it's just more of a nuisance than anything else. Good luck and don't stress, it's not that bad.
Wow... glad I found this site! I begin prep tomorrow for a 7:10 appt on Tuesday. This is my 2nd colonoscopy. I am 40. My mother waited until 60 for her first one and cancer was found! She passed away 2 months later; so... I had to begin at 35 and will do this every 5 years. The first go-round was very yucky... I didn't have any tips like these shared above... "cocktail" tasted like dirty, salty dishwater to me... gagged a lot yet it worked and got a clean bill of health! Will let you know what works for me... thanks for the humor... makes this all the easier to handle! (And yes, the cocktail is the WORST part; even the IV wasn't bad!!!)
Good Morning everyone! It is 8:00 am and I just mixed up my jug of TriLyte.. I am thrilled I found this blog-- I thought about adding one of those flavor packs but after reading your comments-- nope, I think I will drink it straight-- although the CL sounds like a great idea.. I might try that--- Darn, I wish I knew about the lemon drops.. Nearest store is 15 miles away and I don't want to "chance" being in town without a bathroom-- LOL Anyhoo, I will keep you posted.. I am a first timer down the Colonoscopy Road..
Me again... the 40-yr-old for colo #2 today. Yesterday went "ok" (prepping)...didn't throw up any; the lemon drops helped; added some CL but couldn't really see much improvement in taste but I did have it REALLY cold and that may have worked (& used a straw). Don't think I want any Ginger Ale, Lemonade or 7-up in the near future! Off to get probed (ugh). Again, thanks for all the tips! I survived!! Woo-Hoo!! -- Angie
I used the lemon-lime flavor, mixed it in the am and put it in the refrigerator. It was actually fine. I did drink about an ounce of ginger ale after each glass. I drank 8oz every 12 to 13 min.. It started to take effect after about glass #8. I will go in this afternoon for the procedure. I really didn't see this as a big deal. You just have a lot of water coming out.
I have gastroparesis which is slow emptying of the stomach. Since drinking 8 oz of liquid quickly would be almost impossible, my doc said to start 2 hrs earlier than written on the directions (which would be around 2pm) and take one Reglan (prescription only). That helps the stomach to empty faster. Then 1/2 hr later drink only 4 oz of Trilyte. Follow it with another 4 oz 10-20 min. later. Continue with 4 oz at a time. 6 hrs after taking the first Reglan tablet take another. I'm having my colonoscopy on 8/11 so I'll let you know how it goes.
My orders called for drinking a bottle of calcium citrate at 8 this morning, and starting the cleanser at 3 PM for an exam in the AM. Finished my TriLyte just now. Thanks for the tips I read last night. The best for me were the flushable wipes, throwing away the flavor packets(with saccarin), and using vaseline (I just used coconut oil I already had and did not want the petroleum in the vaseline). I used distilled water for the solution,heated it and mixed very well, and added water to the half gallon mark. For each glass, added water and either white grape juice,powdered gatorade, or gingerale. I didn't need the candy and could smell nothing. I started drinking out of a sports container, but didn't need it. Sips of broth worked best for me as a chaser along with water to get rid of some of the sweet taste; a few times I took a sip of bottled lemon juice. I tried to drink plenty water in between. No side effects, and my bottom is compfy. I wish I had started earlier. Started at 3 and finshed about 8. However, unlike me, you should remember to stop when the you are no longer passing solids. Don't wait for the bowl to be clear like water. Much easier than expected, and the TriLyte was much better than expected. So all should just relax over the prep if you have yet to go through it. This is my first screening. Glad to be getting it done, after cancelling it for some time out of fear.
I am a 32 yr. old woman who is having a colonoscopy for the first time. I am taking the prep now as I type. I have read many great ideas to help this process...and I have to say biting a lemon with sprinkled sweet N low is making it tolerable. Now, I only did the first 8 oz. So, I guess I'll have to update you how the rest of this goes, but someone described the taste as a flat juice...if there is such a thing....I AGREE it tastes like flat juice. WEIRD. I flavored mine with the lemon lime because I knew I was using the lemon to chase the taste. Well I am just starting to feel the effects as I wrap up now. I will let you know how it goes... Toddles:)
Its meee again...the 32 yr. old woman. I started the Trilyte at 6:00 and it is now 10:30. I decided about an hour ago to stop the prep. I drank over half of it and my BM's are a light yellow. I pretty sure I am clear as I'm going to be...plus I continue to run to the bathroom. I probably still have alot of it in my system. Needless to say, I am tired. I was glad I was able to keep up with the 8oz every 10-15 minutes...but towards the end there I was going every 20 minutes even 25...just because it gets harder to drink it because you feel full. I still have hunger pains because I had to stay with liquids all day. O well. I am tired and plan on sleeping in because my appt. isn't until 11:45. Go figure that one out. I was HOPING for a 6:00 appt. but to no avail. From what I read this is the worst part. The rest is under sedation and you go home. I can update tomorrow my final results. I hope they can figure out why I've had Chronic diareaha for just over 2 months. Its been awful. Toodles!
Hi Anon: Best of luck, you've been through the worst part, and I hope your procedure tomorrow goes smoothly *and* they figure out what's going on with you! --Joe
BE NOT AFRAID!
Like others I'm delighted I found this blog. I've been putting this off for a while (I'm 65!) and finally decided to bite the bullet. Had the procedure this morning. Used many of your excellent suggestions to very good effect: flavor with Crystal Delight, chill the concoction overnight, drink though straw poked through plastic wrap over glass: as a result I have no clue what the original Gavilyte (generic for Trilyte) tastes like or smells like. My doc recommended starting the prep early, so I started at 3 p.m. and had drunk 3/4 of the liquid by 6. Effect had kicked in 1 hour 20' after I started, and all "effluents" were clear so I could go to bed at 9 as is my wont. Slept well, but procedure was at 8:30 a.m. and doc wanted me to drink that last 1/4 four hours before (in case small intestine provided late bulletins), so I had to get up at 4:30 a.m., which I think I enjoyed least of all!
Procedure went fine; I was more aware of it than I had expected to be, but it was OK and went incredibly fast. Felt bloated and a little woozy afterwards, so I napped until early afternoon, but right as rain now.
I would qualify the whole thing, in my case (and clearly I'm lucky not to have various gag, GI, or other problems) as an inconvenience: that's an awful lot of icy fluid to drink in a short period of time, and doing it every 10-15 minutes makes it hard to do much of anything else!
One thing I find hard to understand after the fact: how do you people manage to drink anything else along with the prep?! I did resort to beef consomme and Gatorade afterwards, but I've now got a lot left...
Thanks again everybody!
Just to let you know, I am on cup 14 right now. I started at 4PM and it is almost 7. You start slowing down after 11 cups!
I read the whole board. Our bathroom/bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I wanted to drink this cold. So I filled a large spaghetti pot with 4 trays of ice and some water and put the Trilyte in the pot - like a champagne bucket. That way I didn't have to go downstairs to the fridge.
I decided to drink it unflavored. I just drank it from a glass downing as much as possible. I used a timer to go off every 10 minutes. After 10 cups, 15 minutes. It kicked in about 30 minutes bathroomwise. Wish me luck tomorrow!
This blog is great. They definitely need to give people more alternatives then 4 liters of this anti-freeze tasting liquid. I followed the tips of getting crystal lite and pouring it in 6-7 16 oz. bottles (flavoring it as I went along) I STILL puked! Even taking 20 minute breaks didn't subside the nausea. Some people just have sensitive stomachs and a strong gag reflex, lol. I called by doctor after three cups, and told him there was just NO WAY. What was the point of continuing to torture myself? If I continued to throw it up, the liquid would have never reached my colon anyway. He agreed and told me to drink a bottle of 10 oz Magnesium Citrate, 2 if needed. Then follow up with a fleet enema. The combination cleans out your upper and lower bowels. I figured 10 oz. of something that tastes terrible is easier to tolerate than 4 liters of it! With Magnesium Citrate, you follow each 1/2 bottle dose with 8oz of water which helps. It tastes like 7up on acid (frizzy), but it's a better alternative than Trilyte or Nulytely. I could only keep one MC bottle down. Attempting the second, made me puke. However that 1 bottle and a fleet enema got me going enough to "run clear" as my doctor wanted, meaning watery stools. I thank God this did the job for me, my surgery procedure (to laproscopically remove ovarian cyst) went just fine. I just wanted to let everyone know there are alternatives. One BIG suggestion... Start your liquid diet 2 days before the procedure instead of 1! That way less has to come out of your system. Good Luck!
I certainly am glad to have found this blog and will be off to the store early in the morning for Crystal Lite, ginger ale, and broth.
Thanks to all who have taken the time to post. I'll let you know results of the tips tomorrow.
Best of luck!
Much ado about nothing!
The Crystal Light made the stuff taste fine. The only problem is that there was just so much of it. Likes someone else posted, 15 minutes between the glasses of this stuff passes very quickly.
As for the procedure...I was put out and the next thing I knew, I was walking to the car. Since I've been a little sleep deprived, this afternoon's nap was great.
I had read so many horrible things about the prep process that I was a little on edge before getting starting . I had to stare at that plastic jug for 3 weeks before having to prep. I added 2 packets of Crystal Lite Lemonade to the jug yesterday and chilled it over night. I started the process at 4:00 pm today. If I didn't know I was drinking a bowel prep I would have had a hard time telling you it wasn't plain old Crystal Lite Lemonade. I drank my 8 glasses and let the drink do what it had to. Bottom line is that the prep was a piece of cake. Other than craving a big bowl of pasta I feel fine right now. Colonoscopy at 7:30 in the morning.
To all of you dreading the prep portion of the exam I would tell you to relax. For me, it was a lot of worrying for nothing.
I'll keep you posted on the exam itself.
the prep is ok, I got the to go lemonade crystal lite mix packets and some strawberry kiwi propel to go packets, I poured the mix into 16.9 oz water bottles thinking I could down them. I made half lemonade and half strawberry kiwi..I am about half way through drinking the stuff. I would say the neither are the greatest tasting but the strawberry kiwi is better tasting..the lemonade I am having a harder time getting down, but with out the flavoring the stuff taste like a salty baking soda and water mixture..if you don't mind a baking soda and water mixture that is somewhat salty then you will be fine drinking the solution with out any flavoring..I am finding the more I get to the end it is harder and harder to finish a bottle of that stuff. I am drinking the trilyte. I had to take 2 laxative pills I guess like dulcolax..I have to take 2 more when I am done drinking all that liquid. I swear it is about every 10 mins and I am in the bathroom.
Follow up from the Aug. 4 @6:08 post. The proceedure itself was a non-event. As another post stated. The most I rembember is being wheeled out to the parking lot after everything was over. Results were AOK.
So thankful for this blog - just one more thing to add: Desitin lotion (for baby diaper rash) works amazingly well to prevent skin irritation once the trilyte kicks in - I never had to reapply as you would need to reapply Vaseline.
I told both my doctor and pharmacist about the crystal light trick - this experience of prep was so much easier than the same 5 years ago because of it!
I took the pills last time and that was easy. I know that has been taken off the market why can't they offer Trylite in pill form it would be so much easier
I've had 4 colonoscopies in the past 2 years and used the Trilyte each time. It always seemed to work fine but does taste horrible. It made me throw up every time. This time I'm doing the Pill Cam but you do the same prep. I have gastroparesis so this time the dr. gave me pills called OsmoPrep which includes 32 pills. They do the same thing except I take 4 pills every 15 minutes with 8oz of ANY liquid until everything is clear. So much better than the Trilyte but much more expensive. Even with insurance, I still paid $50 but well worth the extra money.
This is the first time I have tried Trilyte and I have to say it is the worst tasting stuff I have had to ingest in a long time. Don't bother with those flavor packets because they do nothing for it whatsoever. It was the longest 4 1/5 hours I have spent trying to down that nasty stuff. I am looking forward to the colonoscopy over ever drinking that horrible fluid again. I must say drinking a little apple juice right afterwards helped a lot though. I just hope all goes well so I don't have to do this again for a long time.
Having my first colonoscopy day after tomorrow. Doctor told me the best falvor (one liked by the majority of her patients) was Crystal Light Pineapple-Orange. I just stocked up on lemon, lime, orange and peach jello. I start tomorrow with two bisacodyl (dulcolax) tablets and an hour later start with the trilyle. I'm terrified. I used to be afraid of the actual procedure and possibly being conscious. But now I worry about the prep day.
I want to be delightfully put out by some great versed. Wake me when it's over.
oops..... following my own post here, don't forget that when adding flavors i.e. crystal light, do NOT buy flavor that uses RED or PURPLE coloring. It can make the test not turn out properly.
Having just been through prep day, I can honestly say that TriLyte wasn't bad at all with the Pineapple-Orange crystal light. No aftertaste at all. But I did use a straw pushed toward the back of my tongue. I used 2 of the small containers for a 4 litre bottle.
Fortunately I only had to drink 2 litres.
Great tips! there's one thing that confuses me. How much crystallite do you put in the big jug of Trilyte?
Exam is in the morning at 0800. Drinking the first liter of the Trilyte. Taste not bad at all. A lemon drop in mouth while drinking the stuff, well-chilled, works just great. I suspect the problem will be just drinking so much liquid. Not used to that.
Everyone calm down!!...TriLyte isn't that bad at all! I read this site, then freaked out, too...but, honestly, the drink is no big deal...mostly a LOT of slightly salty but mostly clear water with a distant taste of whatever flavor you add (I added lemon-lime). I finished the prescribed 3 liters in 3 hours a while ago tonite, with 1 more liter to go in the AM...I already seem "clean" but will polish off the rest at 5 AM...it's not that big a deal. Then, on to the colonoscopy! Don't panic about the drink!!!
Thank you everyone for your tips, I poured mine into water bottles as suggested and used the citrus crystal lite, I chilled it overnite and put it in the freezer an hour before so they were slushy. I used a straw and a couple lemon candies. I was freaking out too worrying about throwing up, I got nauseous at first but never threw up. The first 4 bottles weren't too bad but after 6 and a half I couldn't take anymore so I stopped, I just felt like I would throw up if I drank anymore. I think I am okay though. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting but I don't really want to do it again anytime soon.
Just finished my 2L for the evening. I have 1L left for the am. I was so panicked about this that I almost canceled, but decided I had to get it done!! No excuses!! I am a 43 yo woman with IBS and need the colonoscopy to verify the IBS diagnosis. I used lemonade Crystal Lite and filled 12 10 oz water bottles with the trilyte. A half packet of CL went into each 10 0z bottle. I managed to get all 6 bottles down and only gagged on the last couple sips. I should take 6 more oz., but I it has done it's job and I am not drinking where I am :) Thanks for the tips!!
I Love all the suggestions on here. I would love to use crystal light but I can't do aspartame. I like Gatorade as well, but the fruit punch only - which is red. I added the Cherry flavor and taking a few mins extra between each glass. I prayed that it wouldn't be that medicine cherry flavor and I'm so glad it's not - I have delicate gag reflexes LOL. I would kill for a straw and hard candy right now though. I was bad and left the noodles in the chicken broth...ate them earlier so they would be somewhat through the stomach. I was soooo hungry. There are days I forget to eat and can live on fluids...today was not one of them.
Thanks to all that posted here. All info was very helpful and made this process alot easier. Today I had my first colonoscopy and no longer afraid! From all info gathered at this site, on prep day I had 2 soft boiled eggs for breakfast and 1 serving of vegatable broth for lunch. After breakfast I mixed into my gallon of Trilyte 3 single serve Crystal Light pink lemonade, added the water and refrigerated. Late afternoon I found a large glass, added a straw and started drinking. It did not taste bad at all. I set the timer for 15 minutes, then had the next glass full. Within 30 minutes it started working. I did not have to finish the whole gallon as everything was clear after 3/4 gallon gone. You all made this very easy to finish! Thank you and good luck to those coming up.
Hi. I had a colonoscopy last week and it couldn't be finished because the prep didn't work well enough for me. I'm only 17 and this has GOT to be the worst thing to go through, especially at my age, everyone says. Last time I was supposed to use MoviPrep, but threw most of it up, it tasted like straight saltwater. I bought a few bottles of another type of prep at the pharmacy but it didn't work the same obviously. I've been given Trilyte this time and I can't stop freaking out over the taste. I have the worst gag reflexes and my mind makes the taste even wore then it actually is. Hopefully I can try to do some of these little tricks, but if anyone else has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it. I have the 48 hour fasting to start tomorrow, the hunger makes me nauseated making it even more impossible to stand the nasty stuff. :[
I have my colonoscopy on Thursday. Prep day is Wednesday. I'm more nervous about the prep than anything else. Thanks for all the comments and tips. I'll let you know how it goes! Knowing there is support out there is half the battle!
As someone with celiac,I was concerned about the prep. But I had no problems - Dulcolax at 6 two nights before and then Trilyte at 6 the night before an 8:30 am procedure. Took 8 oz of Trilyte at room temp every 15 minutes through a straw - no flavor pack. The bowel flushes started in an hour but they did not get clear until after I did the entire four liters. (Took the longest time to go from straw colored to completely clear.)
.
The procedure was four hours ago, and after a long nap, I feel great. The nurse the right - the prep was the hardest part, and it wasn't as bad as I expected
Well, had the procedure yesterday and definetly was easier than expected. Thank you all for your tips. I don't think I would have made it through the prep if it wasn't for the crystal light packs. That saved me. Everything was fine and now I have a definte answer as to where the bleeding was coming from. Thanks to all for the tips!
Had my colonoscopy yesterday, read all of your comments while preparing :-) thanks, got me thru it. After reading the ingredients of the flavor packet, I decided to try to drink the Trilyte without and I did fine. Made it very cold, held my breath, focused on something nice and downed it. Really not so disgusting as I expected. Vaguely salty and thicker than water. However, I felt lucky because I started the day with apple juice, which I dislike and never otherwise drink, it gave me the runs bigtime so I had a great headstart on the Trilyte and I "ran clear" after two glasses of the stuff. Drank another two just to make certain. Had to wait 20-30 minutes between glasses, knowing I just wouldn't be able to keep it down or even gt it down otherwise. I don't see the point in drinking it every 10-15 minutes if you're going to vomit from it. The procedure itself was nothing, and I enjoyed my day off, having a nice breakfast out with my daughter and watching movies during the day. A treat of a day!
One word of caution. Canadian research showed a significant number of potentially problematic polyps were missed during colonoscopy procedures - 30% were missed. One reason may be less than great colon prep. It pays to make sure you are running completely clear - any residue left in the colon can obscure polyps, which is basically the whole point of having the test done.
Just finished my 9th cup of GaviLyte. I say 9th, because I threw up halfway through and I'm not running clear yet, so I figured better to be safe than sorry. I am hoping that the extra cup will be enough to do it, without overdoing it! My 1st 2 cups were with Crystal Light Peach Tea. I couldn't hack that any more so I went with the Crystal Light White Grape for the next 2. I drank them quickly, once things started happening I became shakey and cold. I tried to drink the 5the cup going back to the Peach Tea, but after the first couple of sips I felt like I was going to throw up so I stood up and tried my hardest not to, but inevitably some of it came back to haunt me. I ended up with my next 5 cups drinking it straight without any flavor, but having the lemons to rub on my tongue after every few sips. (The straw actually made it worse for me, but everyone is different). I don't have any of the horrible stomach pains I expected to have with this stuff so I'm hoping it all works well to clean me out. Procedure at 8:45 tomorrow...
ok, exam is over and got the all clear. phew! I ended up making sure I took 2 extra glasses since I threw up some of it. Ice cold GaviLyte without flavoring and rubbing the lemon on my tongue worked for me and if they have this stuff in 12 more years, I won't have a problem next time! lol For the peace of mind, this was well worth the hassle. It might not seem like it the night before but once it's over you'll be thankful you did it. One more thing, follow your doctor's orders for sure, but for me since I threw up some of it, I slowed down after my 4th glass and couldn't do it every 10 minutes and it ended up being about 45-60 minutes in between sometimes, but I choked it down eventually. The nurse said that's what counts, as long as you get it all down...Best of luck to you and keep thinking positive thoughts. That will get you through :-)
I read all these comments and expected the worst.
I can't believe how easy it was. I added crystal light peach tea to the gallon of trilyte. I thought it tasted fine. It should be chilled and use a straw. I just set up a TV tray in the bathroom with my computer, a book, a crossword puzzle book and the phone. I brought the jug in with me and just kept pouring as needed. I did spend about 6 hours in the bathroom, but it wasn't bad at all. Plus I lost 2 lbs.
The test is a breeze - you are out before they start.
I am so glad I did it. One polyp and they removed it.
I read all these comments and expected the worst.
I can't believe how easy it was. I added crystal light peach tea to the gallon of trilyte. I thought it tasted fine. It should be chilled and use a straw. I just set up a TV tray in the bathroom with my computer, a book, a crossword puzzle book and the phone. I brought the jug in with me and just kept pouring as needed. I did spend about 6 hours in the bathroom, but it wasn't bad at all. Plus I lost 2 lbs.
The test is a breeze - you are out before they start.
I am so glad I did it. One polyp and they removed it.
Much easier than expected, thanks to this blog. I used 2 tubs of Crystal Light lemonade and the taste was okay. Drank it cold and it went down and stayed down. Also, I quit eating normally 72 hours prior to the procedure, instead eating only light soups and a little pasta, so I was pretty empty. My husband did the same thing. He had his procedure yesterday and it went great; mine is tomorrow. Thanks so much for having this blog; it made it so much better!
What is the definition of CLEAR? Light yellow? Clear as water? What is your discharge suppose to look like to be Clear? They refer to drinking clear liquids....Black coffee is one, any soda except red.....but what is the definition of CLEAR for what comes out?????
Thanks,
Anon.
Anon: I'm not a doctor, but it was my impression that transparent, no-solids at all but a little yellow was okay. I think I was told (and this is years back) that the yellow was bile and was continuing to be produced in my system, not food remaining in the GI tract.
yes - i agree - mine was a faint yellow...... nothing more - just a very faint yellow liquid. Sometimes it was clear-er than other times but I was told that was to be expected as it was bile-related as well.
I just had my first colonoscopy this morning, after going through the Trilyte last night (I used the Lemon-Lime flavor packet) . Thank goodness I found this blog first. As suggested here, I put a lemon drop candy in my mouth just before starting to drink each cup of Trilyte. That made all the difference and helped me get through it. Here’s the schedule I followed:
7:30 pm started drinking: 7 to 8 oz every 10 to 15 minutes – as much and as often as I could tolerate – and finished the first half gallon at 9pm. It helped to use a new lemon drop with every cup, then spit it out after I finished drinking.
8:15pm first BM
10:30pm started drinking the second half-gallon: 7 to 8 oz every 10 to 20 minutes, again with lemon drops…as time went on, I switched to every 20 minutes. Couldn’t finish drinking it all – I had about 16 oz remaining at midnight.
Midnight to 2am never left the bathroom. Finished passing the water (or so I thought) at 2am. It was very clear at this point - light yellow. (BTW, a padded toilet seat helped a lot!)
6:40am Woke up with severe headache. Was better when standing, much worse when lying down. Passed some more water, then again a couple more times until 10am.
10:30am Headache was incredibly severe, which led to having dry heaves. Called the doctor, and got the okay to take a Tylenol and half a promethazine.
12:30pm Once they got an IV in me and started fluids and pain meds, I started feeling great and fell asleep. I don’t remember a thing about the procedure, and remember little about the drive back home. Been feeling great all day since then – no pain at all, and had lots of sleep this afternoon.
Downing my Trilyte as I type and the Crystal Light Natural Lemonade makes it taste fine, not unpleasant at all! Thanks for the tips to all who have posted here.
I am currently working on the lemon-lime. I saw this blog last night and it terrified me, so I wound up drinking the Tri-Lyte way to slow. It's been 6 hours. I'm pretty small and I just don't chug well, and I'm torturing myself. I didn't have any lemon candies, but I did use lemon ice to chase each sip and that helped. I'm actually kind of getting used to it. If you're looking for advice, drink this stuff as fast as possible so you don't wind up with a 7 our ordeal like me!
Just had my second colonoscopy, and the prep went much easier this time around.
First-timers, don't freak out about the prep; as you can see from the comments, for many people it's not a big deal at all. The main thing is that you want a really thorough prep, because you *don't* want to have to go through it all again due to an incomplete prep.
One big thing that helped me was that I ate lightly and drank lots of water the day before the prep; in fact, I had no solid food after lunch...just a milkshake for dinner.
I drank lots (64 oz) of water on prep morning, but had nothing after around 1, because I knew that anything in my stomach would make the prep harder to tolerate.
Also, the straw method didn't help me at all; in fact, it made things worse, so I skipped it this year. I also started my prep earlier because I know now that I cannot drink 8oz every 15 minutes. I drink the first few glasses very quickly, then slow down to every half-hour or so...however quickly I can tolerate it without nausea. Chasing each glass with a nibble of orange popsicle was very helpful.
Had to wake up at 3 a.m. for the second part of the prep; by that time my BMs were already clear liquid, but I had a few more glasses anyway just to be sure.
Two other points...one, you will likely get dehydrated, so be sure to drink lots of water the day of your prep and the day before. And two, be aware that you may get quite cold during the prep. I'm normally very warm-blooded, but I had to put on a thick sweater and slippers, and kept a comforter over me when I wasn't on the pot.
Oh, and scented candles make for a much more pleasant atmosphere!
TG for the Crystal Light suggestion. I was half way through and did not see how I was going to make it. Lucky I has some of the CL to go lemonade in the pantry
This was my first colonoscopy at age 51. I used bits and pieces from this blog for the prep stage. Here are my two cents worth:
Used 4 packets of Crystal Lite White Peach Tea to mix with the TryLyte. Keep in frig so it stays cold when you drink it.
Used ginger ale as a chaser. Small sips did the trick.
Make sure you have baby wipes, Balmex and vaseline. Use the vaseline prior to taking the TryLyte.
A scented candle in the bathroom.
Drink all four liters. The last few glasses are the hardest but it's worth it to ensure you are completely clear.
As everyone on this blog says, it's the prep that is hardest. The rest is easy. Good luck to all.
Ready to tackle this tomorrow....pharmacist gave the go ahead for crystal light and lemonade popsicles. More worried about the prep than anything else although I've only had one IV in my life and that was last week with three tries to find a vein. Geez Louise - it's tough getting "older".
Thanks to everyone for your great suggestions. I've gathered them up in preparation for my second try at "prep." I threw up the first try, even after waiting an hour between glasses and sipping slowly. So now I'm rescheduled.
The problem wasn't so much taste or gagging, but after about an hour in my stomach, stomach votes no and up it comes, before passing anything helpful downward.
So I'm nervous about what to do next week when I try again. It might help to make drinking the stuff more palatable, and might help when I switch to a different brand. I'll surely try to eat as little solid food as possible a few days before. But I'm afraid that I'll still have the problem that after an hour, stomach votes to reject the project.
Any suggestions on this point would be much appreciated. I'm thinking a steady stream of small sips might trick the suddenly-finiky stomach? This is a stomach that usually likes everything, so its attitude to prep juice is perplexing.
hi - i'm about to have the procedure done on december 29th and i have a question about using the crystal light - this may be a dumb question but are you supposed to use the crystal light INSTEAD of one of the flavor packets it comes with and if so how much crystal light do you put in the 4 liter bottle - thanks so much
To Annie,
I haven't done the prep yet, but I am planning to use enough Crystal Light to flavor 4 liters (135 oz.). Therefore, I will use 8 of the packages that one would normally use for a 16.9 oz. bottle of water. I am not planning to use any of the furnished flavor packets. They contain saccharin which I do not like the taste of. I hope that this helps you.
Annie, You might not need to use 8 Crystal Light packets. Maybe try 4-6 packets at first and then add more if you need it. Do not use the furnished flavor packets!
Crystal lite lemonade is a definite. I made it a couple bottles at a time, as suggested, and put them in the freezer for a while. Think frozen margarita. I also kept a life saver in my mouth in case. Didn't need it after a couple of chugs. I recommend nice warm Swanson's chicken broth, Orbit gum, butterscotch lifesavers, A & D Ointment, and Cottonelle wipes as must haves. All of the tips in this blog were great-very useful-and should be in the instructions given out. Thank goodness for the internet!!
So far so good using Crystal Light Lemonade flavor. I've downed six 8 oz. portions so far. I'm using one .14 oz packet for every 24 ounces of TriLyte (actually a generic version). I'm mixing the lemonade in a 24 oz. Exxon "On The Go" cup that I have marked off in 8 oz. portions. (My husband thinks that's funny!) The solution does not taste bad at all. I was prepared with lemon drops, ginger ale, lemons, etc. but I really don't need anything to disguise the taste of the solution. I hope that the prep kicks in soon because I'm feeling kind of full with all that liquid in me.
Colonoscopy and upper endoscopy tomorrow a.m. Finding this blog was a true blessing. I've been reading since I started the yummy cocktail (Trilyte) at 4 p.m. MANY good tips on how to make it a little easier. I didn't have any hard candy, but I used sugar-free gum and it helped a lot with after taste. I also munched on a popsicle as soon as I downed a cup of "cocktail". I only had to drink 2 liters and I'm "all clear". I agree with the ones who say that there is no need to stress about details like "every 10 minutes" , etc. As my husband just said, it all works out "in the END"! hahaha Get it? In the end?? It always helps me to laugh a little. And like so many have said, this is all SO worth the time and inconvenience when you know it can save your life. My prayers are with you all.
I will have a colonoscopy at 8am this morning, and I am looking at this Trilyte. Almost hurled on my last cup so I am going to take a rest... maybe get some apple juice instead. Can you mix the Trilyte with apple juice?
I have a 1pm colonoscopy tomorrow. went ahead with the pineapple flavor. Started a little later, 7 pm. Had the fist 'wahoo' about an hour later. Stinky but wasn't bad..yet...will update later.
I had very little to eat the last 2days on the advice of my brother. Had a cup of watery turkey chili for dinner last night and 1/2 an avacodo, otherwise just apple juice, water, a few table spoons of cottage cheese and flax oil - yesterday.
Today, the day before the exam, had 3 soft boiled eggs for bkfst, 2 more at lunch, and a 1/2 cup of coconut milk yogurt at lunch and just before dinner time. Other than that, just water and juice. Been 3 hours since the 'ingestion of the stuff'.
10:45pm.... went a bit more. Nothing like the amount I drank some time ago.... guess it'll work when i want to go to sleep...
Will try to write more later.
This is supposed to be routine, but had an 'incident' after going to China and eating at the hotel buffet. Had the 'runs' for 2 days. Intestinal bloating and a hot feeling around the right side area. no temp. Infact it was 97 degrees.
No fever. anyway. Hope this
I'm the one who had the 1pm colonoscopy scheduled.
Anyway, selpt msot of the night got up 2x too the bathroom, slept till 6am. Got up and had a short vist. Things werent clear in the 'bowl' so had to drink more trylite. This is where I found out I hadnt mixed to well then night before. Tasted much wrse. Added the lemon lime flavor and chased it with bubbly grape juice, then just poured it 24% grape juice in the cup! Chugged it all down and had 5 more visits to the bathroom.
So MIX that stuff up good the first time. Also I used organic coconut oil (solid) instead of vaseline. Why put oil on your tender mucus membranes!
By the time 4 hours came and went I was finished with input. Had 4 more quick outputs after drinking the whole thing but it was finally very light yellowish, ie, pretty clear.
The other evetns went well. Got to hospital, treated nicely. Got weighed, prepped, changed and into a bed. Was asked a bunch of questions for health history, hooked up to blood pressure cuff and had a small IV in my right hand (top). relaxed and had to wait 20 mins for the doctor but watched my vitals on the computer and fell asleep.
Doctor came in, chatted a few mins and got right to it. Last thing I remember was them helping me lie on my right side and 'poof' don't remember anything else till I woke up. Felt REALLY good, relaxed restful and actually cheerful!
Was told I had some minor valley type things in the colon, ie, diverticulosis, but not severe, no polyups, etc. but the dr. took some biopsies just to check things out. Got aride hoime and havent felt that good since, well a long time.
Had some yogurt at home, green tea, couple of crackers and went to sleep. Woke up to some great homemade chicken noodle soup and will go on from there.
So unless something is found during the procedure - which arent very high odds - go do it. The worst part was the prep. But if you remember to eat really lightly the 2 days before it is so much easier! Go do it!
from V.I.P a Vascular Tech in Philly
Using Trilyte for Colonoscopy 9am tomorrow
Commenced at 6pm this evening with pineapple flavor, straw and chilled which made it very tolerable
Had first explosive semi-solid bowel motion at 9pm after just finishing 2 liters
I'm Done with Trilyte for tonight, have 2 liters left for the morning
Will see what the night hold for me
wish me luck
I had to have a clear liquid diet the day before the procedure, and take 4 Dulcolax at noon. Then, at 1 p.m. drink 4 liters of Trilyte over a few hours for the prep. Eating light the few days prior seemed to be a smart thing to do. I added the orange flavor packet to the Trilyte and it was horrible. After 3 or 4 glasses, I didn't think I could do it anymore, but I came across this blog and found out I could add Crystal Light. It made it so much better! The doctors and pharmacists should make it common knowledge that you can add Crystal Light and that you don't have to drink all 4 liters. You can drink until you have clear BM's. Also, drinking every 20 or 30 minutes instead of every 10 helps. Those tips are what's getting me through it. My procedure is tomorrow. Hopefully all goes well.
I'm on my last 2 liters of Trilyte right now. Did part 1 at 6pm, and started the second half at midnight It's tough. I'm fairly convinced this is a never ending jug! Currently chasing the solution with Gatorade which is helping a bit. I sure hope the 'clear' is coming soon so I can stop and go to sleep. Oh, and did I mention that I'm freezing cold? I have the terrible chills.
Great board, was very helpful in the mental prep and also with the tips offered to get through the procedure.
I am a 51 YO male, 1st time for anything like this (2nd IV ever and first time being put out) and thought I would relate my experience I had the choice of Osmoprep tablets (32) or Nulytely. I choose the Nulytely and was given a substitute of Trilyte. I mixed the recipe with the citrus berry packet and warm water on Tuesday evening and then refrigerated. The flavor seemed to be a waste, didn't really taste it. I started drinking the recipe at 1400 on Wednesday and drank about 8 oz every 30 minutes until the WHOLE 4 liter jug was gone late Wednesday.
I didn't find the Trilyte that bad, certainly not super pleasant, but not gagging bad either, worst thing was chugging more down while still feeling totally full. I kept the jug real cold, and I just chugged 8 oz each time as fast as I could, followed up with a lemon drop maybe 1/3 of the time, but not really needed. The drink just wasn't that bad to me.
Didn't really start passing much until about seven hours had elapsed, then pretty much went all night. Not getting much sleep was probably the worst part of the whole deal. I was concerned that I wasn't going to get cleaned out in time and still felt a bit bloated by the time of the procedure, but all was clean enough apparently, I came home with some nice glossy photos that shown nice pink and clean insides!
Arrived at 1315 for the procedure and took about an hour to get ready, procedure went real smooth, I had both a colonoscopy and a upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, from start to finish was 30-45 minutes for both once we got started. Worst part of the procedure was getting the IV during the prep, other that I remember nothing and preliminary results show no issues, yea!
I was dreading this for the last week, just not that bad, I am cleaned out (think colon cleanse), lost some weight and it didn't hurt, go forth and don't get too worked up over this.
I'm a 24 yr old female going in for my first colonoscopy. Well I don't know what I'm supposed to do, because my prep instructions specifically say to not drink ANYTHING between the prep of Trilyte or even afterwards. NOTHING! So I can't chase with anything, can't mix with anything, can't have hard candy, nothing. I'm freaking out now because some of you guys could barely get thru it while doing all those extra tips, and I can't do any of it. Won't I get dehydrated? and I'm basically guaranteed to throw it all up now since I can't chase with ginger ale, and also i can ONLY mix with the flavor packs they give me. HELP!!
Alicia,
I would maybe call your doctor's office to double check and see if you can drink. I was told to continue drinking (and hydrating) until midnight and at that point, i was not allowed anything else. i would think you'd get pretty dehydrated without having anything to drink while doing the trilyte.
I've finally found an acceptable way to take TriLyte. Did the test about 8 years ago and vowed I couldn't go thru the prep again. Here's my solution:
I started the liquid diet a day sooner than required, but did eat ice cream & pudding that day. Day before the test, clear liquids only. Mixed the TriLyte double strength (only added 1/2 the water). Chugged 4 oz TriLyte, immediately followed by 4 oz warm water every 10-15 min. Much better than trying to chug 8 oz of the nasty stuff. I did sprinkle a little of the different flavor packets on the top of the 4 oz each time. Sucked on a butterscotch in between doses. Didn't vomit even one time using this procedure, unlike my experience 8 years ago. I could now face this again in 5 years, if necessary.
First, I have to say I was glad I found this site. It helped me to know there was a support group. I used various tips/suggestions from others, but would like to share what worked for me.
My personal instructions were liquid/clear diet day before the procedure. Take 2 Ducolax tablets at 5pm and start TriLyte at 7pm drinking 2 liters over the next 3 hours (every 20 mins or so). If not clear, then get up at 4am and drink another liter and if not clear at that point, finish the jug. My doctor's office OK'd me to start a bit earlier (4pm).
I did NOT use the flavor packets that came with the TriLyte. I used Crystal Lite Lemonade (started with 4 packets) and found the solution actually bearable. My doctor's offce said I could add as much as I thought necessary or sprinkle it into the glass each time. The solution was not as thick as I suspected it would be after reading other posts, so there was no gagging. I couldn't drink it ice cold - but it was chilled. Yes, there was a point when I just couldn't drink more after 20 minutes, so I waited 30 minutes. Wasn't a big deal to wait.
I think the best suggestion I got from this blog was making sure I ate a soft diet the day BEFORE the actual TriLyte prep day. I believed it totally saved me from drinking the entire 4 liters. My soft diet included pancakes, french toast, milk, pudding, scrambled eggs, mashed potato etc.
I drank clear juice/water, jello, broth during the prep day and once I started the TriLyte I was clear in 2 hours! The required 2 liters were not even finished at that point, but I did finish 2 liters just to make sure. I certainly didn't want to have to go through this again unnessarily. During the early part of the night there were a few more trips to the bathroom - but all was still clear. No need to get up at 4am!
Appointment was in the morning and all is well. Good for 10 years.
I was as afraid and terrified as anyone to do this. But I have to say the TriLyte wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the procedure did not hurt at all and my mind is at ease. Get through the prep and the rest is a breeze. My advice is do the procedure. You will be glad you did - for you and your family.
I just wanted to update everyone, just finished drinking my 4 liters with NOTHING in between...not even a candy or a piece of gum! I did it, and it wasn't that bad! The worst part was feeling so terribly full of liquid and being freezing cold. I flavored with the lemon lime and drank really cold, with a straw all the way back on my tongue. I held my breath and drank as much as I could, then took a breath with my mouth, not my nose, and continued to drink a full glass. I did it this way and continued not breathing out of my nose for several minutes after i was done with each glass. It was seriously tolerable. It took me all of 4 hours, but i did it. Now I just have the actual colonoscopy ahead of me, which for me is the scariest part. I'm afraid that I'll get bad news, and then I'll be too out of it to hear it and they'll have to tell my husband that I'm going to die! I guess we all have parts about this that scare us...it's just really nice to know that others are going through the same thing and we are not alone. You're all right though, seems like there would be an easier way to prep for this, but I honestly think for me it was mind over matter so to speak.
Also I wanted to say that I called my doctor and asked about getting dehydrated and they said I wouldn't because Trilyte has electrolytes in it. I do know that I continued peeing and feeling like my bladder was full even though I was "going" non-stop as well, so I assume that is a good sign. I feel pretty normal now, just a little weak and still chilly. And anxious about the procedure! I have to say I got myself worried about this prep part and I'm very pleased with how it went. I was just bound and determined to do it, I know I need to, and I have cancelled before and didn't want to do that again!
Another tip, the few times I did feel a little queasy from so much liquid I just stood up and walked around a little, and distracted myself with reading/talking to someone/tv, and always held my nose!
Thank you everyone who has done this before and offered tips!!
I see from comments that some were told to drink 2 liters -- my instructions said 4 liters. I probably drank 2 and 1/2 because I was forcing myself and it made me nauseated. Also, while the stuff was not awful, it became worse aa I began to feel sick. If I had it to do over I would not use the flavor pack that came with it but would try Crystal Lite or something. Also I would ask my doctor in advance how much was the minimum I could drink. It was overwhelming to think that I had to drink the whole 4 liters. It would have been nice to know I could get by with two.
I am about to start the trilyte in a few hours and was feeling ok about it. But now I am a nervous wreck!! I did not do a light diet until today, liquid only and am terrified this isnt going to clean me out!
Until I read this blog, I didn't realize i was in for an ordeal! Tonight I had a full meal of mexican food but actually wonder if i ate stuff that was vegetable...chili rellano, corn chips, salsa (oops). Tomorrow I do the clear diet and then in the evening start drinking Gavilyte-C Sol.
I wasn't told to check the color of my stool, or that i might be tossing my liquid "cookies". I didn't realize that anxiety was a major player in this escapade!
So, now that I've read all of your irritations, solutions, and results i'm a bit unnerved. Another reason NOT to check on the internet for "how should I feel about this experience."
Thursday at 12:30 i'm in the hospital for the colonoscopy and endoscopy. I just thought I was lucky to have health insurance and good medical care!
Maybe I won't go to Rotary On thursday before my procedures since i may be a bit uncomfortable...or not. I get to wait and see how my experience is. Good luck to all!
Hey to all...your comments were so so helpful. I'm in the middle of this ordeal now but at least the 9 glasses of Colyte are done. I sucked on butterscotch hard candies in between glassfuls and sipped Dr. Pepper at other times. That kept the awful salty taste out of my mouth. Because of the ingredients in Crystal Light, I couldn't use it. The 9 glasses was nothing, though, compared to the horrendous cramping but am hoping now that the flushing started, they will go away. This blog was great and gave me the courage to persevere. Thanks everyone for their thoughts and agonies. Wow...only 4 glasses of Colyte in the morning! I'm a warrior and that's nothing!
I did not find this blog until after I started drinking the prep solution. I used the orange flavor package. After reading the blog I sucked on Altoids while drinking. Next time I will use the Crystal Light for flavoring. I did not fast until the day before and was 'clean" after drinking almost 3/4 of the gallon. (I weigh about 105 pounds) It took me about 5 and a half hours to drink that much. The procedure itself was easy, I had the minimum sedation as I wanted to watch. I was able to watch the procedure on a monitor in the room. There was slight discomfort, more of a feeling of pressure rather than pain. For anyone interested in anatomy or medicine I would recommend watching. The upside is the post op time spent in the facility is shortened. I was ready to leave in about 20 minutes. Good Luck!
This is my first Trilyte prep and I am wondering.....will I be able to take care of my 1 year old while doing this or should I make sure my husband is home?
I did not flavor the Trilyte. I do not like the taste of the artificial sweetness, I thought that it could upset my stomach. Make sure the Trilyte is cold...it helps. My doctors office told me to drink it from a straw, to drink slowly and to drink 7-up in between. I also used lemon drops, this combination helped to cut the salt taste of the Trilyte. I did not have any gas or upset stomach. Doctors office also told me to drink until stool was yellow green color and clear, check with your doctor to see if this would work for you. I probably drank about 3/4 of the bottle. I would suggest if you have small children that you might want to consider having someone there with you because you will be in the bathroom many times. Sometimes you will need to hurry to get there. For me it was not horrible but something I would not want to do again soon. The day before the procedure was the worst. Lucky for me my results were fine. I hope my experience will help someone else.
Good luck to all!!!!!
I just went through my first colonoscopy yesterday, and read this entire blog on Monday (prep day) and was so glad I did. I bought a six pack of sports bottles of water, and as advised filled those with the solution and used Crystal Light (peach iced tea in my case) to flavor each one and put them in the fridge. Took one out every 10-20 mins and drank half throught a straw. So the key for me was to have the liquid cold, flavored and through a straw. It was quite tolerable that way though I probably never want to drink peach iced tea again!! Took a little over an hour for it to kick in but once it did, it's VERY effective! I started a little after 6pm and was done by 11pm, drank all but about one cup from the giant bottle they dispensed.
Procedure yesterday was pretty straightforward: I had an endoscopy at the same time and was consciously sedated so I was aware what was going on (not my choice, but it was fine). Endo only took 10-15 mins, Colonoscopy maybe 30 mins max. Slightly uncomfortable, but nothing to worry about. For me, the first time ever in my 46 years on this planet I've been sedated or had any kind of procedure, so was more nervous than most. Need not have been!
Thank you all, what a great idea. This blog was a big help, some comments even made me smile.
How long does it take before your digestive system returns to normal? I've started eating after the procedure and I notice I am still getting loose stools and it's already been 12 hours since I last used it Trilyte. I had about a little less than half the jug too. I still get the gurgling stomach which means I may have to go again, it's less frequent but still too frequent for not taking it anymore. If you are not in any pain I would advise against having this procedure if you are going on vacation a few days later!
I would say it took me about 1 day to get back to normal. After the procedure, I still felt the effects, but by dinner time that night, all was quiet again. Then it took a couple more days until I returned to my normal schedule.
I wish I had read this blog before the prep! I'm "sitting" here, after drinking 4 liters of the lemon(?) flavoured Trilyte, which got me nauseous, but began drinking at 5;30, was finished by a little after 7.
I have my first colonoscopy tomorrow at 8:30 am. Drank lots of fluids yesterday but a very late dinner!
How will I know when it's time to umm exit the bathroom lol? I'm drinking water and Gatorade now, and all I had other than fluids today was a banana. I'm so glad to see I wasn't losing my mind when I began shivering!! My friend brought me in a hoodie! Thanks.
Folks, I've had colonoscopies before (hate the prep, love the anesthesia!) but had never used TriLyte before, so I came here to look for info on what to expect from it.
I started it last night at 6pm, with much trepidation after reading some of the comments here about gagging, and vomiting, and the taste, and the consistency...
Well, it was unpleasant (moreso than the Fleet I used to get), but not awful. It didn't taste that bad, the consistency wasn't much thicker than water, it didn't make me gag or vomit. The worst thing about it is having to drink it SO OFTEN, so frequently. The volume of prep is just too much! And starting it so late at night means staying up late to get all your emptying done -- then having to wake up early for the procedure.
But - congratulate me - no polyps! (I do have diverticulosis, but I'm not much worried about that.)
I hope everyone buys their Trilyte from the Walmart pharmacy - I hate Walmart, but no one could compete with their price!
Hello all - Tips from everyone helped so much! Had to have a colonoscopy on Friday and was so worried about EVERYTHING involved from the prep to the actual test itself.
I have to say after the whole thing is done and over it really wasn't that bad!!! Ok....the prep work is the worst (and getting the IV in my hand if you hate needles like I do). But taking the tips from this blog really did help.
I didn't use the flavoring that I got with the Trilite but instead used Peach Ice Tea Crystal Lite and dumped a whole packet into the actual mixture itself. That wasn't quite enough to dull the taste so after the first glass and me thinking there is no way I can drink like 15 more glasses of this stuff, I ended up opening a packet of Lemon Crystal Lite and poured a little into each individual glass and mixed it up with the peach ice tea trilite mixture. This was a little better (but the stuff is still nasty).
I didn't have lemon drop candies and read that all the sugar is not good anyways so I bought a box of lemon popsicles and used those to help cover the taste as well. I would take a chug of the Trilite and then suck on one of the lemon popsicles for a few seconds and if need be take a sip of Sprite. I think I went through about 5 or 6 popsicles but it helped me get everything down. Oh - and definitly USE A STRAW to drink the stuff - that helps a lot. I even poured a lot of the glasses over ice to help me chug them faster.
It took me from 4:00pm to about 9:30 or so to get it all down. I would have to say that it started to work after about the first hour or so though. You definitley want to stay close to the bathroom!!!!
As for the day of the test it was pretty easy. I had to wait for about 30 minutes in the waiting room and then they took me back and got me in a room, had me change into a gown. the nurse then came in and took my blood pressure and temp and started the IV. After a few more minutes they wheeled me into the procedure room and started the anesthesia. Unfortunately there was an issue with my IV so they had to re-do it but within a few minutes of that I don't remeber a thing excecpt for waking up to my husband saying "They gave us pictures of your colon!!! We can hang them on the fridge!!!"
The best part......the way you feel when you wake up from the anesthesia :o) and the pancakes afterwards!!!
To everyone out there stressing this like I was......DON'T....you'll be fine!!
My Dr. said I could add crystal lite, ice tea or lemonade. I hate the after taste of sugar free so I added 4C Green tea.
I did not add any of the flavor packs, just put about 7 scoops of the ice tea powder into the jug. I did boil a little water and then cooled it a bit with some lukewarm water....added that to the jug and made sure it mixed and dissolved well and then filled the rest of the jug with lukewarm tap water and refrigerated it.
When I drank the first one it wasn't all that bad, but I did chase it with ginger ale and then sucked on a lemon sour drop after each sip. The next glass I decided to put the jug in the freezer...it needed to be colder. This worked much better as far as taste. So I would suggest placing the jug in the freezer just prior to using it.
I have to say the I was petrified of this prep, but all my fears... thanks be to God did not happen. Years ago I had to take that citrate of mag and it made me terribly sick with excruciating cramping. No cramping or stomach pain what so ever with the Trilyte. As far as taste, it's nothing great but it was tolerable. I only drank 2 liters and everything seems clear so I think I'm done.
Procedure is tomorrow morning and God willing everything will be OK.
Hopes this helps others.
ok - wish I had found this site before I stated and I would have eaten "lighter" for 24 hours before....but thanks to all of you for the tips!
I added Crystal Light to the prep.
After trial and error found that putting it in an empty 16 oz water bottle was better since I did not have to smell the stuff and could chug/suck it right out of the bottle and chase it with white grape juice (did not need much) and suck on a sour lemon drop.
The first two glasses, I put in regular glass and tried to drink like a regular beverage and almost threw up on the second one.
The new way works MUCH better. Almost through the portion I need to drink. Started at 5:00 and almost finished now at 8:00
about 4 hours into prep now for colonscopy and upper endoscopy....first off, i have no idea how most of you drink this stuff so fast!!! 2-4 hours to drink a jug of that crap is just crazy. my prep includes 1 mag citrate @ 8am, start Nulytley @ 9 (and 4 bisacoydal tablets), supposed to be drinking 8 oz every half hour or so, no way is that happening. I flavored with the cherry packet that came with it, just barely gave it a cherry aftertaste, theres no covering up that salty taste. almost threw up after just a cup, but found this site, trying some of the tips. dad is bringing some straws and hard candy later, right now i filled a water bottle and used a crystal light lemonade packet and some lemon juice, and chewing some gum....tolerable. i wish my dr did the prep with just pills!! i'll end up with a total of 8 bisacoydal tabs, 3 mag citrates, and as much Nulyte as i can get down (paper says all, but if i start "going clear" then i figure thats good enough) one tip for whoever has to get mag citrate....walgreens gave me grape flavored, which i was scared of at first, but actually isn't that bad...like a sour grape pop. if that was all ihad to drink this would be a breeze. i do think a lot of it is mental, just knowing you have to force down that much liquid automatically makes you a little queasy. good luck to anyone else suffering through this prep!!
also, i wish the dr/pharmacy would mention the crystal light thing...i understand about no red/purple dye, but expecting someone to get through all that with those worthless flavor packets...thats just wrong!!
I've just started the procedure, Surprised the liquid didn't taste worse, even with a bit of Crystal Lite added; however, I have way more to down and the thought of more to go is none too appetizing.....
Started the Trilite about 6:20 when I got home, 1st BM around 7:20-had about 5 visits to see "John" within 20 mins. Using the Pineapple flavor that came with it was ok thru about the 4th glass and had to start eating banana popsicles to help, then found this blog and added a hard candy-yellow jaw breaker which helped. Am using a straw and am about 1/2 way thru the prep; straw not helping as much, but better than "Up straight." BM's are like running water and I'm thinking I'm about to call it quits. 9 am appt tomorrow-2nd colonoscopy-hemorhoids fm my 18 yr old who was 10 lb 1 1/2 oz and planning full hysterectomy in Sep, wanted colonoscopy to get "everything in the lower" ordered into one surgery time-if possible.
I'm having a colonoscopy done tomorrow, and I'm working on my trilyte jug.
First I mixed the cherry flavoring into it, and it still tasted terrible so I experimented and found that mixing it 50/50 with great value/walmart brand apple juice (actual apple juice, none of that 99% sugar free ****)
Actually makes it taste kind of like a legitimate juice...who would have thought?
Either way, it is a pleasant taste and I found myself gulping the cup down without gagging or anything.
I have a coloscopy scheduled for 10am tomorrow morning. Took the 2 laxative pills that came with the prep kit at 5 and have polished off 2 16oz glasses of the Trilyte. I mixed the Trylite with the lemon lime flavor. I find it alot more tolerable than I was expecting. The flavor isnt horrible its the thick saltiness that kinda coats your mouth like a salty milk. I tried a chicken broth chaser and found that to be to salty to chase it. I switched to ginger ale and am doing ok. I have a temporary colostomy bag so I suppose thats easier then having to run to the toilet. I am having the colostomy reversed on Friday so they are doing the colonoscopy to make certain Im ready. As far as fasting and liquid diet goes I of course cannot eat today with the colonoscopy prep but must remain on a clear liquid diet until after surgery of Friday! I must admit the liquid diet thing is alot easier in the hospital! We shal see how the evening progresses with this prep. For those of you all worked up about the taste of the Trilyte it truly is not as bad as you think. I will post more as the prep continues.
Just started taking the Trilyte about an hour ago, and so far, so good. I used the cherry flavor packet. Of the tips I have seen on this site, one of the very best is to have some ginger ale to sip after you gulp down the solution. My doctor told me to take 8 ounces every 15 to 30 minutes. The ginger ale chaser helps get the salty taste out of your mouth pretty fast. Alternating with a popsicle is good, too.
Oh - and definitely use a straw if you can. That way it doesn't coat your mouth as much. All in all, it isn't as bad as some have said, but I'm just starting. I may have a different idea in a couple of hours!
I finished the last bit of Trilyte just moments ago. No chills, no cramps, no nausea - just a very slight bloated feeling.
So what can you do to make it better? Use a straw. Have ginger ale handy to sip after drinking the solution. Use a funny movie or book for a distraction. Don't fight the urge to go to the bathroom - it will reduce the pressure (if you feel any, and chances are you won't). While the solution doesn't have a good taste, it isn't unbearable and you'll be surprised how quickly the time will go by.
My name is Joe. I'm having an Endoscopy at 10:30 and Colonoscopy at 12.30 tomorrow. I just had my first glass of Trilyte with the orange flavor. It was much better than I anticipate, and not too thick either. I followed it anyway, with a sip of white grape juice. Worked great. I feel churning already, but could be my IBS! Thanks for all the good information, everyone.
I had a colonoscopy June 21, 2010. I used MoviPrep according to directions from my doctor and only had clear liquids from Saturday night until the procedure Monday at 1:30 p.m. I gagged on it till the end but no severe nausea or throwing up. The output was very pale clear yellow for the last few hours so I thought things were good. However, there was still stuff in there and I have to have it repeated in a few weeks. The prep is definitely the worst part. The procedure is easy. This time he has me on two full days of fluids and TriLyte and a nausea medication. Not looking forward to drinking a whole gallon but you do what you have to do I guess. My question is, is doing a fleet enema at the end beneficial, or does it just clean out the last few inches? Thanks everyone for sharing your poopie secrets. :-)
So grateful to have found this blog. Was really dreading the "prep" from what others have told me. But the TriLyte was not too bad. I used a couple tricks from here. I mixed the Trilyte yesterday morning, and then got it really cold. Just before I started drinking, I measured 1 cup and poured it into 12 oz Diet Coke bottle and repeated until I had 8 bottles all ready to drink. Then kept all bottles in refrigerator until time to drink. You just take a bottle out, and then gulp it right down. Follow it with a lemon drop to kill the potassium-y taste. Much easier with the bottles - you know exactly how much you have to drink. Set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes. Did half the stuff last night, and just finished the other half this morning. Now I just have to go in a couple hours for endoscopy/colonoscopy. What fun! Have not eaten since 2 nights ago. I drank a lot of Gatorade. They say it helps. A friend told me to think of it as a speed diet! LOL
I also found this blog to provide helpful information. I have a 12:30 procedure today. This meant I had to break the Trilyte into 2 two liter portions, an early evening and an early morning "dose". I used orange and tried an old trick to help it go down. I remember liking the taste of orange creamsicles as a child. I just visualized that the trilyte tasted just like a creamsickle. It wasn't perfect, but the momentary distraction while I guzzled each glass helped. In between, I tried a small quantity of chicken broth.
I panicked when I did not have my first BM for more than 3 hours, but eventually things progressed in the usual way. I will be glad when the procedure is over so I can go back to having a normal life!
I am having my first colonoscopy tomorrow. I am supposed to drink the first 2 liter tonite and the other 2 liter tomorrow morning before 11:00 AM. My procedure is at 1:00 PM. When I go to the bathroom, I am already clear. And it is only 2 liter of Trilyte. Why in the world do I need the other 2 liter tomorrow morning?
Much thanks to all of your comments & suggestions! I started the orange flavored Trilyte today @ 12:45. Having it really cold, using a straw & taking big swallows helped alot. It was not nearly as bad as the stuff I drank 5 years ago! I chased it with a swallow of apple juice - that's all! I opened & smelled the other flavor packets (I'm not fond of orange), but they smelled much worse than the orange. Thanks again. Piece of cake
Just finished my colonoscopy today. This blog really helped, so thanks to all contributors. I found that the Crystal Lite pink lemonade really did the trick with the Trylite. It almost tasted good, but for the very slightly slaty aftertaste. But you can add a little extra Crystal Lite mix and it almost kills the aftertaste. I also found that a quick lick on suck on a Minute Maid lemonade popsicle after a few swallows through a straw removed that aftertaste instantly.
I managed to get all the Trilyte down the night before with out too much difficulty, but I did feel nauseous for a little while after the 7th and 8th glass, and then for about a two hour period about two hours after completing the drinking part. I think I made the mistake of laying down to watch TV at about that time. When I got up a moved around, I starting gradually feeling better, and sipping some ginger ale helped also.
I really did not find the time on the toilet that bothersome at all. I thought you were stuck in there for long periods, but it was just a lot of very short trips for me. The worst part of the whole evening was the nauseous feeling from drinking the stuff.
I had a early procedure the next morning and was instructed to start drinking the next liter of Trylite at 5:30 a.m. I was really worried about whether I would be able to get much of it down that early, but with the pink lemonade Crystal Lite, it was much easier than I expected. I actually felt much better in the morning after drinking than the night before and had not issues with nausea, which I attribute to having to drink twice as much the night before.
As everyone else has said, the procedure itself was a cakewalk. About on the level of getting a cavity filled in my opinion.
Between 6pm and 8pm, I choked down almost three litres of Trilyte, with lemon lime packet added and ginger ale, chicken broth and cold water at my side. I have reached the point now where I simply cannot drink anymore of it so I will have to hope that sometime during the night these violent bursts of liquid, which began about 90 minutes into the dosage "run clear." The solution is simply disgusting to me. The ginger ale was too sweet so I stuck with the cold water. I am now sipping on a cup of chicken broth. The only way I was able to drink as much as I did was to hold my nose and drink it as fast as possible, followed by cold water while still holding my nose.
Having my first colonoscopy in a week and the blog really helped! I'm scheduled for a split dose of TriLyte and the tips for the straw, lemon drop and ginger ale chasers were helpful! It's good to know what has worked for others and it takes some of the anxiety away! I cannot use artificial sugars, is there an issue with "real" sugar? Also, my instructions don't say anything about waiting until the liquid is "clear" and you can stop drinking...I'm just supposed to drink 2 liters the night before and the other 2 liters the day of the test. I'm also instructed to take GasX tabs the night before. This is a screening colonoscopy and I don't have any medical "issues" for the test, so not sure about these added instructions. Any comments are welcomed!
I had to drink 1 gallon of Gavilyte yesterday before my colonoscopy today . I don't want to EVER go throught that again. I'd rather take the pills. THANK God its over !!!
Thanks for the tips...having my first colonoscopy tomorrow and have put off for two years. Doing the split Trylite. Used the lemon lime flavor pack, not that bad...it just the thick consistency that is challenging. I didn't know that I could suck on hard candy, so I really appreciate the tip. I have not experienced any nausea or bloating and reacted immediately...about 10 minutes after the first 2 glasses. After about 2 hours stool is yellow, hopefully will clear some more over night. Now I am dreading the procedure itself...I will be too happy when this is over. I am so happy that I found this blog as I am not stressing as much anymore.
Had my colonoscopy last Friday and it all went really well! Drinking the "stuff" really wasn't too bad! I didn't flavor it at all since I'm used to drinking a lot of water and unsweetened iced tea and don't like the "sweet" taste. There was actually no taste at all, and the thickness was similar to v-8 or tomato juice. I remember hearing the dr. and nurses talking during the procedure and even felt it a little and it wasn't painful, just a little uncomfortable, but I'm SO glad I did this! It's WELL worth it! I had a good report, but I have lost a dear friend and nephew to colon cancer and I urge EVERYONE to have this test! It's just a short time of prep, really, in the big scheme of things, and it's soooo worth it! Blessings!
First time here, passing the time downing my Trilyte reading the comments!
My take on the prep? Not so bad. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Pineapple + Sprite with my Trilyte was okay. Now (halfway through) I believe I prefer the lemon-lime.
Gatorade and plain Sprite in between.
I'm 37 years old so I didn't expect to be having a colonoscopy for another 10+ years. But, especially after reading all the posts, I'm considering myself lucky.
Thanks to those who went before me and good luck to those who'll no doubt stumble upon this blog after me!
Last year I had a colonoscopy and used the trilyte prep. NO one told me that I could follow the 8 ounce doses with clear liquids, or add anything to the trilyte other than the flavor packs which did not help at all. I also was not told that I could take half of the
mixture and wait a few hours to take the rest. I consumed almost the entire gallon at 10 or 15 minute intervals. It was a nightmare! I was dehydrated and It made me very sick and very weak for days.
This year I took trilyte prep
for a different test. I took half the gallon, one liter starting at
6 pm and the other startint at 3 am. Although I was not told that
I could have any clear liquid (after each liter) but water, I
chose to have chicken bouillon and apple juice instead. It made a very important difference! The
results were very good, bowel movement was clear as water, and the prep did not make me feel totally miserable as it had last year.
( Also, I was on a clear liquid diet for about 20 hours before starting the prep). Doctors and pharmacists are not instructing
people correctly by not telling them that they can have other clear
liquids during the prep time, or that they can add clear liquids to
the prep.
I have my first colonoscopy in 3 days, after putting it off for a few yesrs. Now I'm 50 and insurance will pay 100 percent, so that helps. I'v ehad a lot of trouble with diverticulitis, and recently lost a coworker to fast progressing colon cancer, so there's really no excust to be a wimp about this.
My question is this: I have had many CT scans for other problems, and was requited each time to drink a barium mixture, although only a quart or so. Does anyone have any experience how the barium prep (taste, gagging, abdominal discomfort,etc) compares to the colonoscopy liquid prep? I am hoping if I can stand the barium, I can tolerate this too. Also, I notice several people mentioned having eggs the day before the procedure, but everything I've herd says it's all clear liquids that day.
AND - is anyone else a caffeine addict? Sometimes caffeine withdrawal is the worst part of a medical procedure. I am wondering if I can chug some Mountain Dew or the likes around the midnite liquid cutoff.
Thanks!
Susan
I had my colonoscopy today. The procedure itself is a piece of cake, as most realize... it's the prep that is miserable. My docs office allowed me to have food until 6pm the day before the procedure (just no seeds, apple skins, fruit, etc). I drank trilyte 2 liters from 6-8pm. Started going to the bathroom fairly quickly. The solution was bad. I thought it would be better with the orange flavor, while this was the case at first, then it became kind of gross, especially the next morning when I was supposed to consume the other 2 liters. I wish I hadn't put the flavoring in it. Oh well. After about 4 glasses this morning I just couldn't drink anymore, I was sure I would vomit. My b.m.s were clear so I thought I'd take the chance. Turned out ok they were able to do all they needed to do. I think if you eliminate the foods they recommend within two days of the procedure it should be easier. I also sipped on chicken broth right after each drink which helped the taste go away and sucked on lemon wedges as well as sips of fresca. All worked! The stuff was still gross. It was not fun, but at least it was quick and is over. They did find a polyp so my suggestion is when in doubt, just be on the safe side and get the colonoscopy done! Good luck!
I had to drink this nasty stuff for a colonoscopy. After reading other reviews, I decided not to put any of the so-called "flavor" packs into the jug. I tried the first glass with no flavoring just to see if it was going to be as bad as everyone said it was. It was! Then I used a little of the pineapple flavor in the 2nd and 3rd glasses. After that I tried the other four flavors and decided that the pineapple was the least objectionable, so I went back to that. It took me four hours to finish the entire 4 liters, and while it wasn't a pleasant experience, I didn't really have any problems with it - no nausea or vomiting like some people had. I bought a large bag of assorted Life Savers and sucked on one between each glass to get the nasty taste out of my mouth. I'm not sure how effective this stuff is because my colonoscopy report said that the prep was only "fair" even though I also had to take four Dulcolax tablets before and use two Fleet enemas after - one before bed and another the next morning before going to the hospital
I just completed the prep and I am doing GREAT! Here is what I did if you want a pleasant experience-This is critical! The doc will not tell you this. Stop eating anything with skins, nuts, or anything else that is hard to digest at least 4-5 days before you start the clear liquids. I ate bananas, pasta, soup, and drank Boost since Sunday. Very little. Yesterday was the clear liquids. On Monday, I took 2 Dulcolax pills and got out the 'bulk'. Last night I started the TriLyte, 3/4 jug last night and 1/4 jug this morning. I mixed the the drink and poured it into individual 16oz water bottles. I used Crystal Light On The Go packets - Lemonade- in each water bottle. Got it very cold. Drank 1/2 bottle every 10 minutes. Sucked on a Lemon-Head candy after and sipped ginger ale. I got 'full' from all the water, but I did not get nauseated or vomit. Now, Thurs morning, I am just waiting for everything to clear out before I leave for the actual appt for the test. The split method was great b/c toward the end of the 3/4 I was tasting the mixture more, so having the last 1/4 this morning was good. Maybe 1/2 and 1/2 would be ok too. YOU CAN DO THIS! I was scared to death but now that it is over, I wonder what all the fuss was about! Good luck!!!!
I too have to say thank you for all of this very helpful info.
After reading this yesterday I stopped by the store after picking up my prescription for Tryilyte and stocked up on Crystal light, popsicles-I recommend Dryer's all natural pineapple, ginger ale and crystal light lemon and pink lemonade hard candy-couldn't find lemon drops. I just drank my second 8 oz. glass. The Crystal Lite said one packet per 2 quarts of water so I used 2 for my jug. So far so good. Thanks again to everyone that wrote on this blog you eased me fears greatly!
I know the instructions say not to mix anything but water with the Trilyte, but I couldn't get it down that way. I have a juicer, so I juiced Granny Smith apples and mixed the juice with each glass of Trilyte, about 2/3 water mixture and 1/3 juice. That made it taste almost palatable, and 9 apples later I was done (albeit with a huge sugar high lol). Since we can use clear liquids, I think I could have juiced white grapes and/or cucumbers as well.
I am grateful for all the insight and advice in this blog. I followed many commenters suggestions and used Crystal Lite Lemonade in one liter club soda bottles to which I added the Gavilyte. I got the first liter down and it began to work in the middle of my second glass. My doctor's instructions were to slow down if nausea developed, and it did, almost immediately. In fact, the nausea is the worst part of the whole procedure: the rest of it is manageable. I was able to do two liters, with minimal gagging and spitting up, but I am now done. Effluent is almost clear (my doctor said it should look like "egg drop soup" -- there's something I'll never eat again!) so I am hoping that the procedure will go well. Thank you all for sharing your experiences. This has been a life-saver.
I used the cherry, refrigerated it for 6 hours and took a sip of hot chicken both right after each glass full...that took away any after taste...all went well
I'm on my seventh 8-oz cup in one hour and 25 minutes and still haven't gone to the bathroom. Is this working? Thanks, David
I did 4 of the Dulcolax pills at noon, started chocking down that nasty Trilyte at 2:30 pm. It is now 6PM and about 2/3 have been consumed and so far nothing is happening. A lot of churning and a little gas... Should I be worried or what?
i keep going to the bathroom clear does that mean i can stop drinking?
I have been running clear the last few doses and am burning terribly in the rectm. Can I stop drinking it now?!
My first c-scopy didnt work, the view wasn't clear enough. So this time I'm supposed to drink 6 liters instead of 4.. even tho' the prescription is just for 4, go figure. Has anyone else done 1 1/2 gallons? This time I will use the crystal lite idea AND the ginger ale chaser AND the straw in the back of your mouth trick. I will try to gulp down 6 oz. at one go, every 10 minutes or so. I should be done with 4L in 4 hours. From all the comments here I'm a bit anxious about the taste but my Dr says using the straw trick really works. We shall see!
I dranked 2 liters and was clear, do I need to drink the rest?
Hopefully this will give you some helpful hints. I too was paranoid about doing this prep. My theory was to cut back on my eating four days before. My test was on Monday, so on Thursday, I ate breakfast. Starting drinking instant breakfast for lunch and dinner. Not just one, several to kill the hunger. I did this for Friday, Saturday and then on Sunday at noon began the prep. Took four Ducolax Tabs and two hours later began drinking the liquid. I was clear in two hours and had to drink only half of the Trylite. I drank an 8 Oz. glass every 20 minutes with Crystal Light in the glass through a straw. Beleive it or not, I drank an extra glass just to be certain. Didn't want to drink it at night because you loose a nights sleep, so starting at noon was very convenient and you can get a good nights sleep and it is all over. Why stay up all night? By 4:00 it was all over. The only draw back is that tonite is only apple juice and jello but well worth it. Hope this helps.
The suggestion has been made to use lemon drop candy to overcome the taste, but to be careful about sugar coating. Has anyone tried using Brach's lemon drops and been able to remove the sugar coating they have? Thanks.
For anyone struggling- there is hope!
I started last night... in cups through a straw, chilled, rinsing my mouth with Sprite after each group of sips. Started out well, until I vomited up about 6 glasses. UGH. SO defeating, I was a miserable mess and tried calling the Dr. to get this done through a nose tube (they said no).
But, for real guys, once I added Crystal Light, it was bearable. Not ONLY the Crystal Light, but also rinse with Sprite or Ginger Ale, and swill a hard candy in your mouth after. I was doubtful, but it REALLY makes a big difference.
2-6 more cups to go, depending on how I feel, and I know I'm gunna make it. (SO glad! I was so depressed about this last night).
Many thanks for the suggestions on this blog!
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